Meet the Prayer Shawl Ministry: Wrapping Recipients in God’s Love

Seeing the physical and spiritual comfort her family members experienced through the gift of prayer shawls was the inspiration for Jan Nelson to establish the St. Vincent de Paul Prayer Shawl Ministry in 2010.

“With permission from our pastor, I asked for anyone who could knit or crochet to create prayer shawls,” Jan says. “Twelve ladies responded and since then it has grown to 50 dedicated ladies who give their time and talent to serve our parish and beyond. In that 11-year period, we have made 4,311 prayer shawls to help others.”

Although most of the ministry members work on the shawls at home, many of them gather from 10 a.m.-noon on the second Tuesday of the month at the Johnson Activity Center to work on their pieces.

“The meetings are very talkative,” Jan says. “There’s a wonderful fellowship with each other and they love to talk and help each other with their knitting or crocheting. We don’t get all 50 together at once, but we usually have between 15 to 20 at a time.”

Each shawl takes about three, five-ounce skeins of yarn to complete. Generous donations help pay for the yarn, and at times, the ministry members buy their own yarn so they can choose the type of yarn they prefer.

“We make them with yarn and prayer, and we pray for the recipient as we work so the shawl will bring physical warmth and spiritual comfort,” Jan says. “It’s a tangible way of giving God’s love and presence. They are blessed when they are completed and when they are given to someone, we continue to pray for them. It’s amazing to read the ‘thank you’ notes we’re given. They thank us and tell us they felt God’s love and comfort, and of how wearing them have changed their lives.”

While the shawl recipients know they are wrapped in God’s love, the women making the shawls find themselves growing closer to Christ as they work.

“They feel good they are able to help someone, and especially when you get a ‘thank you’ card and hear from a person about how wonderful it was for them,” Jan says. “It’s very encouraging to them and a blessing for us. We see God’s work, and it is humbling to be part of it. The ladies have said it benefits them spiritually. The prayer shawls go out to our parishioners, both men and women, to children, and their relatives and friends, wherever in the world they live.”

Each prayer shawl is given with a card that states “My God who understands each need bless and keep you in His tender loving care.” The card tells the recipient that the shawl was made for him or her and that the ministry is praying for the recipient. They are invited to wrap the shawl around themselves when they go out, when they are sleeping, or whenever the need is there for love and support.

The Prayer Shawl Ministry also gives shawls each month to Catholic Charities, the Gabriel Project, and the Open Arms Health Clinic. The group uses extra yarn to make hats and scarves for the needy and homeless.

“When a child is baptized at St. Vincent de Paul, we give the baby a fleece blanket to welcome him or her as a child of God into our church,” Jan says.

Jan encourages anyone in our parish to ask for a prayer shawl for a personal need or for someone they know, whether Catholic or non-Catholic.

“Most of the time our lives are full of happiness, but at times we are dealt with a challenge,” Jan says. “It might be the death of a loved one, sickness, divorce, or pain. We are reminded of God’s love when we are facing a tough time and this is when we need a prayer shawl.”

Need a prayer shawl? Call Jan Nelson at 817-496-9646, or Jo Lee Buncic at 817-454-3065. Jan also encourages anyone who can knit or crochet to contact her for info about how to join the ministry.

Members of the St. Vincent de Paul Prayer Shawl Ministry gather for one of their regular meetings. The members knit or crochet prayer shawls for those in need of spiritual comfort.