The Weekly Yarn - August 25th

Good day to all our Chicks With Sticks.  The Prayer Shawl Ministry has begun a new season in this new school year.

Meeting Notes:  For those of you who were not there on Wednesday eve, we really missed you!  We had our first open house event this week and God has brought us new hands and new hearts.  Welcome to our newest members! Nancy was back for week 2 bringing us several gorgeous prayer cloths; Patty and Dorothy are first time visitors who blessed us with their enthusiasm and willingness to help out. God knows who to call and when to call them. Praise Him!!

We had many of our available shawls on display that evening and when you looked around at all the colors, shapes, and sizes, it reminded me of God’s people.  Some were small, some were very long, some were bright and bold while others were subtle.  Some were very delicate and some were bulky and sturdy.  We are all different, and our reasons for being part of this ministry are different, yet underneath it all, we are all made of God’s fabric and knit (or crocheted) together using His pattern to make us perfect in His eyes. We are truly blessed to be the hands and feet of our Savior, serving Him in this amazing ministry of hope. It does not matter if we are there every week, or are working as a stay at home contributor, or even an out of state contributor.  What matters is that our hearts are in line with God’s will to serve others.

We were again blessed by the arrival of several beautiful prayer shawls, chemo caps, and prayer cloths.  Each week the abundance comes in.  Each week we send out shawls, and get back even more.  I like God’s math program very much.  He is into multiplication big time.  We are prepared for our next Communion Sunday on September 5^th.  We will again place shawls, blankets, etc. out on the altar rails for 930 and 11 services, and in the first pew row for the 8am service.  If you are interested in helping arrange these items prior to each service, please let me know.  It will require very little of your time and makes a big difference for the congregation.

Prayer Cloths:  Congratulations to all the Chicks With Sticks for your persistence!  Prayer Cloths keep coming in at a steady pace.  We are well on our way to having sufficient prayer cloths for October 4^th  (World Communion Sunday).  Won’t it be awesome to see every person who enters this building on that day get offered a prayer cloth to keep, knowing that we have prayed over each and every one of them!

Announcement for all: After many years of dedicated leadership, Beverly Smith will be stepping down as the leader of the Prayer Shawl Ministry.  Beverly has been our contact person, deliverer, producer, coordinator, and general cheer leader for our group.  Thanks so much Beverly for doing a fabulous job expanding this ministry into the blessing it is for our church. 

Beverly and Helon will be our shawl delivery team and are happy to have you join them.  Delivering a prayer shawl is the biggest gift you can give yourself.  You get the blessing of praying with those who need extra prayers, as well as providing a smile for them in times of illness, stress, or any other life shaking situation.  If you feel God leading you to become part of the delivery team, please let me, Beverly or Helon know.  You get more out of it than will be required to put into it.

After hearing God’s call, I have decided to step up and take Beverly’s position of leadership.  I hope I can be as effective as she has been.  I am looking into new ways to grow our ministry, and am always open for suggestions.  I covet your prayers in this time of transition as I learn the ropes and get adjusted to new tasks.  No one is perfect, and I certainly am not, so if something comes up that needs attention, do not hesitate to let me know.  I will try my very best to get to all the suggestions, ideas, and tasks for this ministry in a timely fashion.

I hope you all have a fabulous week.  Keep knitting, crocheting, and praying, for it is in that quiet time that we will all hear from God.

Love and blessings,

Dana

“A woman is like a tea bag…you never know her strength until she is in hot water”  Eleanor Roosevelt