The COGS Shawl Ministry
How prayer shawls became part of our ministry.
“She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands”
–Proverbs 31:13
Sometimes, at the end of a service a Prayer shawl or a prayer blanket is blessed and one day a newer member of our church saw me knitting and asked me what I was making. When I explained it was a prayer shawl, she said, rather wistfully, that she had wondered what they looked like as, by the time they arrive at church to be blessed, they are all wrapped up. This made me think that other folk would like to know the history of the Shawl Ministry at COGS.
The story of the shawl ministry
It began more than 20 years ago when a member of our craft group saw someone making one at Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre and asked for one for a church member’s daughter who was very ill with cancer. The group decided we would like to make shawls and found the pattern and began.
Since then, well over two hundred have been made. When the Church of the Good Shepherd craft group meets, one of the first things we do is pray for those in need of God’s comfort or healing, and give thanks for answered prayers. Occasionally, we are prompted to make a Prayer Shawl for someone who would benefit from receiving one. This could be a mum coping with a new baby or someone who is ill or facing bereavement. It might be someone in the congregation or someone else with a need known to one of us.
As well as the UK, we have knitted shawls for individuals in France, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Sri Lanka, The Holy Land and Iraq. Theresa May and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, have both graciously accepted shawls from us.
How the shawls are knitted
Each shawl is knitted in a three stitch repeating pattern. The three stitches represent the Holy Trinity, and whilst knitting it, the knitter prays for God’s blessing on the person who will receive it, filling it with His loving care.
Once the shawl is knitted, we usually share in adding the finishing touches. Then we either gather round it to pray together for God’s blessing, or one of our priests blesses it during a service. When the shawl is given, it is accompanied by a card expressing God’s loving care. An appropriate prayer is also included.
We often find that, without any prior knowledge, we have been led to choose the person’s favourite colour when selecting the yarn. We also typically find that the timing of finishing the shawl, the prayer of blessing, or the actual giving, is uncannily pertinent for the recipient.
To find out more, see the book Knitting into the Mystery by Susan S. Jorgensen and Susan S. Izard
Sheila Powell
