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Prayer Shawl Ministry Offers Love and Comfort to Those in Need
From 2009 to the present, our Immaculate Conception Parish Prayer Shawl Ministry has made and given 697 prayer shawls. That’s 697 people who have been either grieving or ill and have experienced being wrapped in the comfort of Christ’s loving arms.
Valerie Gattini coordinates the ministry that ranges from 15 to 20 members. The members have traditionally met from 9-11 a.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month in Immaculata Hall. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the members have been working from home, but plan to resume in-person meetings this fall. Admittedly, there sometimes is more conversation made during the meetings than shawls. But the members work faithfully on their projects at home if they don’t complete them during the gatherings.
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Besides prayer shawls, the ministry members also make baby blankets and baby hats. Valerie often makes baby hats that are given to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
“The shawls are for someone who is in need of extra comfort and love,” Valerie says. “(The recipients) are wrapped in something made with love and blessed, like they are wrapped in His arms.”
The members don’t work from a list of requests, but choose what items they want to make. The items are either knitted or crocheted from yarn the members purchase themselves. The shawls are 60 inches long and take about five weeks to make — the caps and baby blankets take less time.
When their knitted or crocheted items are completed, the members take them to Valerie’s home, and from there, she takes the finished items to the church for blessing. Shawls can either be delivered or picked up from Valerie’s or the church office.
“We have a number readily available,” Valerie says. “The shawls are given to people in the parish or other Catholic churches, or to anyone who says they need one. They don’t have to be Catholic, a parishioner, or living in-state. They really are available to anyone who has a need. We know God is with the recipients and we want to help them encounter Him in a tangible way.”
