Prayer Shawl Ministry
 
Having learned to knit as a child, St. Jude’s Prayer Shawl Ministry founder Jean Upton picked it up again while living in Connecticut and recovering from a car accident. She belonged to a Prayer Shawl Ministry there for 5 years, and when she moved to St. Jude parish in 2011, she decided to start one here. After running an ad in the bulletin, she sat in the church meeting room at the given time and thought, “I wonder if anyone will show up?” Soon after that thought, the new members began to file in. The group has been going strong ever since.
 
At a recent meeting on November 20, Jean and the other women present shared what the ministry is about and why they joined. Present besides Jean Upton were: Eileen McDonald, Marlo Thomas, Laura Dettore, Denice Campbell, Eileen Reising, Lucy DiNardo, Michelle Nonemaker, Germaine Ledoux, and Carol Haile (absent but frequently present were Gerri Biddle, Amber Reynolds, and Kat Figenshu).
 
Q: What does “prayer shawl” mean?
Many people misunderstand the name and think it means they’re supposed to pray with the items. What it means is that we’ve prayed for the people who will receive our blankets, shawls, and scarves. The knitters and crocheters pray as they work, and when they bring items in, the items go around the table and each person prays over them. When we give them, we say, “There are prayers in this for you.” It brings some people to tears. We get the most beautiful thank you notes. People are really touched.
 
Q: Who receives your hand-knit and hand-crocheted items?
There is no charge for a prayer shawl. Recipients don’t have to be members of the parish or even Catholic. Our recipients have included attendants at the St. Jude Healing Mass and Grief to Grace, a ministry for healing after abuse. Sometimes we send them to New Seasons Senior Living Community with the extraordinary ministers of Communion. Deacon Tim Lynch is a stronger supporter and distributes many shawls.
 
Anyone can contact the rectory or us directly and request a prayer shawl, scarf, or blanket. We started making a wider variety of items, like scarves for men when taken on bereavement calls. The items can be for caregivers, as well, and also for happy events like the birth of a baby.
 
I have a closet dedicated to the prayer shawls (says Jean), and while it sometimes gets very low, I’ve always had a shawl to give when it was needed. I believe that’s by divine intervention.
 
Q: How many have you made?
I’ve logged nearly 500 so far, not including those that we’ve made and given away before bringing them to the meetings. Sometimes friends who know we’re in this ministry make special requests from us.
 
After we pray over them, they are wrapped individually along with a St. Jude medal, a prayer card, and a printed note from the Prayer Shawl Ministry.
 
Q: Can you share some of the Thank You messages you’ve received?
Here are a couple that are typical. Sometimes they bring us to tears and we are humbled to be able to help in some way.
 
“Thank you so much for the beautiful shawl and all your prayers. It’s been a long journey, and it’s very comforting to know there are so many people praying for us. The shawl will always be a reminder of that.”
 
“Thank you very much for your love, care, attention to detail, and prayers. The Grief to Grace experience was just that. I came very broken and full of hurt. I feel like a female form of Lazarus now… My yellow and white shawl was perfect! It kept me warm and safe, and it felt so good to wrap the child who disappeared years ago and to be able to keep her warm and safe. Thank you for your part in the journey!”
 
Q: Who can join?
Anyone who is interested can join, whether you already know how to knit or crochet or you want to learn. If you can’t make the meetings you can still join and just drop off your items. We have also had a few men and a few children join us over the years.
 
Ours is a very relaxed ministry. You come when you can, and we all have varying degrees of speed or skill. Some people make one blanket a year, others make one ever month! It’s whatever you can do. Besides praying for the people who will receive our items, we also bring our own prayer intentions to the meetings so we can pray for each other and each other’s intentions.
 
Q: Why did you join this ministry?
(Reasons for joining varied among the women who were present): 

• It gives me peace, knowing that someone will benefit from my work.
• I prayed, “God, You gave me this gift of crocheting. What do You want me to do with it?” Then I saw the first ad and I knew it was an answer to my prayer. (Other women echoed this sentiment.)
• It was an opportunity to get involved with very little commitment. That opened me up to do more, and recently I joined the choir.
• I wanted to do something positive, and I also wanted to make some nice women friends.
• I enjoy doing things for others.
• I’m carrying on the tradition of my mother and grandmother, who also knit. (Other women agreed with this.)
• I can’t sit still. I always like to be doing something, so this channels my “antsy-ness.”

  Q: Any final thoughts?
We take yarn donations! (The women laughed.) We provide our own supplies, so donations do help. This is a wonderful ministry and we all get so much out of it. There’s a great deal of satisfaction knowing you’re helping people.
 
Thank you, Prayer Shawl Ministry, for all you do! 
 
Sign up on the Prayer Shawl Ministry page, stjudechalfont.org/prayer-shawl-ministry, or contact Jean directly at [email protected] to be put on her email list. Meetings are usually the 3^rd Wednesday of each month, but may vary due to holiday schedules, so sign up to receive email reminders.