Prayer Shawl Ministry

The mission of the St. John Prayer Shawl Ministry is to bring together people of similar interests to share in fellowship and community and to use our time and talents to produce prayer shawls that will be given away to help spread the message of God’s mercy, love and compassion.

The group normally meets once a month in the Parish Center on the 1st Saturday of the month. We knit or crochet shawls that are then blessed and available to give to someone in need. They can be picked up at the rectory and are given at no charge. We recently started to create white baby blankets that will be given at Baptisms that take place at St. John the Evangelist Church.

History and Mission

The formation of the St. John Prayer Shawl Ministry was inspired by the national prayer shawl ministry website www.shawlministry.com. The original Prayer Shawl Ministry is a worldwide ecumenical ministry that was developed by Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo in 1998 as an outgrowth of the Women’s Leadership Institute at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut.

Prayer shawls – What are they?

A prayer shawl begins with the shawl maker saying prayers of peace and blessings for the recipient. The intentions are continued throughout the creation of the shawl. Upon completion, a final blessing is obtained before the shawl is sent on its way to those who might be in need of comfort and solace. When a person wraps oneself in a prayer shawl, the shawl serves as a tangible reminder of the mercy, peace, and compassion that can be found in God’s loving embrace.