Handmade. With Love.

In 1998, Janet Severi-Bristow and Victoria Galo, both graduates of the 1997 Women’s Leadership Institute at the Harford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, gave birth to the first Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Here at St. Andrew’s UMC, our Prayer Shawl Ministry was born in July of 2024. Our group has crocheters and knitters of all skill levels from beginner to those with many years of experience. Knitting and crocheting supplies are available to those experiencing need.

Shawl making begins with prayers and blessings for the intended recipient and these intentions are carried out throughout the making of the shawl. Upon completion of the shawl, a final blessing is offered before the shawl is sent on its way. The shawl can be used for those that are: unable to leave their homes, for those experiencing medical issues, recovering from medical procedures as a comfort in times of loss or stress, during prayer, as a celebration of a marriage, birthday or graduation, or if you would like to bless someone with a gift.

We have a basket of shawls and gift bags in the Narthex that can be picked up on Sundays for gifting. We also have shawls in the pews in the Sanctuary that can used if you are chilly or you can pick one of these up for gifting as well.

Starting this year, we will be blessing the Campaign Against Human Trafficking as well as Best Care Senior Living with some of our prayer shawls. Our group meets the first Monday of the month from 10:00-11:00 a.m. and the first Wednesday of the month from 6:30-7:30pm.

We are excited to be offering crochet classes in October. One set of classes will be in the mornings and the other in the evenings. The Monday set of classes will be on October 13 and October 27 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. The Wednesday set of classes will be held on October 15 and October 29 from 6:30-7:30pm. To sign up for either of these classes, click CROCHET CLASSES.

Please join our group if you would like to be a part of the Prayer Shawl Ministry, by clicking HERE.

Holly Midboe, Coordinator

Prayer Shawl Ministry

St. Andrew's United Methodist Church-Brandon, FL

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