Joys and blessings: As the saying goes, God is good all the time! Wednesday evening we had eleven women at our meeting with lots of stories, sharing fellowship, laughter, and of course our needles and hooks were flying! We were blessed with five new Prayer Shawls and two new scarves to pray over and put in the cabinet.
Working together: We were so glad to see faces we hadn’t seen for a while (I didn’t want to say old faces), as well as new faces. Jenny was back learning to knit under Ellen’s expert tutoring.
Alida’s granny squares (about 1/3 of them) made a nice blanket and there are still quite a few left to use. Teamwork makes the work fun. God has called us for something He has given us the time and talent to do.
Watch for information: Thank you Nancy, for arranging for the information about the Prayer Shawl Ministry to be in the Sunday bulletin and on a PowerPoint slide for the Sunday service. The brochures around the church are helping to spread the word about our ministry also. Requests have been received for a Prayer Shawl and for more information making items for the ministry based on the brochure.
New Members: Please welcome JoAnn to the Prayer Shawl Ministry. The Wednesday evening meetings don’t fit in to her schedule, but she has volunteered to crochet items and deliver them to us. We welcome you with open arms, JoAnn, and look forward to meeting you.
Prayer Shawl Opportunities: We have frequent opportunities to help individuals with Prayer Shawls and Blankets and often don’t think about it. Please be mindful of helping people over their difficult times.
Simple Gifts: As we all watch our money, there are more and more articles written about going back to simple gifts for special occasions. It seems the talents we have are becoming more popular to learn and the items more valued as gifts.
Love and blessings,
Beverly
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength, - Philippians 4:13
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Prayer Shawl Ministry in Action
I received this email this morning. I have abbreviated the names down to their initials to protect the privacy of the individuals involved but this is the perfect example of the body of Chris at work.
I just got a call from A. B. and he let me know that Mrs. E. E., who was the older lady beaten so badly in a home invasion recently has passed away. A fellow officer that A.B. serves with on the police force wanted to let us know that the prayer shawl A. B. gave her has been with her since the day he brought it to her and she will be buried with it. The family was so deeply touched by this gift of grace and prayer for someone we did not even know that they wanted us to be aware of their gratitude. I told Alan that I would pass this along to you ladies. This is why we do what we do each day, isn’t it?
Love,
S.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
June 17th in The Parlor
Wednesday Evening: If we were playing games in The Parlor on the 17th, we definitely had a “Full House” with 10 members in attendance! We also were playing Checkers with Granny Squares thanks to Alidal. Alida crocheted a bag full of squares needing just the trimming and sewing together. So while trying to decide the color order and what to make out of them, the squares were spread around on the floor.
New Member: Welcome Loretta to the Prayer Shawl Ministry. Thank you, Dana, for bringing Loretta to our ministry. The best way to add new members is to invite our friends.
Many Blessings: We had the privilege of praying over several new shawls, scarves, and one fleece blanket. Barbara is so talented she doesn’t stop at working with yarn, but uses her time to sew also. Thanks for retiring, Barbara.
In addition, prayers for recipients of items distributed in June were offered. The Prayer Shawl Ministry allows us to pray while we’re crocheting or knitting, when an item is completed, and again for the recipient that God has chosen for each item.
The best way for us to continue to enjoy the many blessings and to share the many blessings is to find ways to touch as many lives as possible!
Moving Forward: As of the end of May, the Prayer Shawl Ministry Steering Committee came up with a list of several projects to pursue. It’s time to move forward on these projects, like the Fall Festival. We’re still open to other projects and working with other ministries and groups so please bring your ideas. It’s a great way to make sure our ministry known to the rest of the church and the community.
Thanks: The
In Our Prayers: Please keep the following members in your thoughts and prayers:
Dee, we hope you are feeling well enough to join us again soon
Barbara, traveling to her sister’s to help during foot surgery
Logan, reaching the end of her recovery from back surgery
Martha, knee problems
Those with unspoken needs
Tip of the Day: Knitting You all know I don’t knit so if this is obvious, I apologize, but I think I’ve heard this discussed before so when I read this, I thought I would share.
Trying to figure out how far from the end of the yarn to make your slip knot? Measure off the length of your needle once (if using a long one) or twice (a shorter one) then wrap your yarn around the needle once for each stitch. Make your slip knot and start casting on.
Love and Blessings,
Count your blessings, not your troubles. – Dale Carnegie
Monday, May 25, 2009
Chicks With Sticks - May 20th
The Parlor was humming on Wednesday evening.
Melanie is back. She came bearing three beautiful, finished afghans.
Barbara had stories to tell about her travels during her first week as a retired person. She showed us her first completed shawl and has plans for more to come.
Ellen knitted a mini-shawl and put it on a checked background for us to wear so people could “check us out”. Very clever!
Becky told us how thankful Kevin’s family was with the shawls they received last week. She’s knitting a beautiful shawl in West Point colors for a special individual in need.
Shirley is determined to get crocheting mastered! I think she’s about there.
Robin has the blue square afghan getting larger every week.
We missed you!
Healing prayers were said as we opened the evening.
We pray God will continue to bless us with the skill, talent, and love to make the items He leads us to create for those individuals in need. Only He knows who the recipients will be. As always, we enjoy the fellowship and laughter with each other during our time together; however, our main purpose is to create the items that will bring joy and healing to those in need.
New information has been posted around the church. The tack lines in the hallways have updated flyers.
We have a new web page at http://www.fumclv.org/prayer-shawls.html. Watch the bulletin and The Messenger for updates also.
Participation in the Prayer Shawl Ministry can occur on many levels. If you can’t be with us in The Parlor on Wednesday evenings, you can knit or crochet at home.
Patterns can be found on the Internet, mailed or e-mailed to you. There are also patterns in the dresser in The Parlor. Free patterns can be found online at Lion Brand Yarns (http://cache.lionbrand.com/freePatterns.html ), Caron (http://www.caron.com/free.html), crochet pattern central (http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/) , and knitting pattern central (http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/ ).
We have yarn waiting to be used! Some of the yarn can be combined with other colors to make creative patterns. If you’re stuck on a stitch, we have expert knitters or crocheters who will gladly help you through a problem. Just ask.
If you have a special person who needs to be lifted up with one of the Prayer Shawls, and you have something special in mind, you can bring in the yarn and pattern you would like to have us use. We’ll get it done.
Love and blessings,
Beverly
Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” – Dale Carnegie
Melanie is back. She came bearing three beautiful, finished afghans.
Barbara had stories to tell about her travels during her first week as a retired person. She showed us her first completed shawl and has plans for more to come.
Ellen knitted a mini-shawl and put it on a checked background for us to wear so people could “check us out”. Very clever!
Becky told us how thankful Kevin’s family was with the shawls they received last week. She’s knitting a beautiful shawl in West Point colors for a special individual in need.
Shirley is determined to get crocheting mastered! I think she’s about there.
Robin has the blue square afghan getting larger every week.
We missed you!
Healing prayers were said as we opened the evening.
We pray God will continue to bless us with the skill, talent, and love to make the items He leads us to create for those individuals in need. Only He knows who the recipients will be. As always, we enjoy the fellowship and laughter with each other during our time together; however, our main purpose is to create the items that will bring joy and healing to those in need.
New information has been posted around the church. The tack lines in the hallways have updated flyers.
We have a new web page at http://www.fumclv.org/prayer-shawls.html. Watch the bulletin and The Messenger for updates also.
Participation in the Prayer Shawl Ministry can occur on many levels. If you can’t be with us in The Parlor on Wednesday evenings, you can knit or crochet at home.
Patterns can be found on the Internet, mailed or e-mailed to you. There are also patterns in the dresser in The Parlor. Free patterns can be found online at Lion Brand Yarns (http://cache.lionbrand.com/freePatterns.html ), Caron (http://www.caron.com/free.html), crochet pattern central (http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/) , and knitting pattern central (http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/ ).
We have yarn waiting to be used! Some of the yarn can be combined with other colors to make creative patterns. If you’re stuck on a stitch, we have expert knitters or crocheters who will gladly help you through a problem. Just ask.
If you have a special person who needs to be lifted up with one of the Prayer Shawls, and you have something special in mind, you can bring in the yarn and pattern you would like to have us use. We’ll get it done.
Love and blessings,
Beverly
Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” – Dale Carnegie
Thursday, May 14, 2009
May 13th in The Parlor
Prayers Needed: God freely gives us His love and healing. He will show us how to be His hands to reach out to those who need help if we ask Him. Perhaps we should include more prayer to the Prayer Shawl Ministry.
As all of you know, the completed Prayer Shawls and Afghans are prayed over by the members in attendance each week. When items are given to recipients, they are being recorded in a book in the Prayer Shawl cabinet. Starting next week we will bring the book to our meeting, to include the recipients of the items from the prior week in our prayers. In addition, we have members who often need our prayers.
No doubt there are many more in need of prayer. These are the people who have made their needs known. If you or your loved ones are in need of prayer, let us know so you can be included in our prayers at the next meeting.
Communication: Please watch for information about the Prayer Shawl Ministry in the Sunday Bulletin, The Messenger, on the Sanctuary slides, the tack lines around the church, and other surprising places. This is a wonderful ministry offering a loving, caring service. We want to tell everyone about it. If you have ideas about how to spread the word about who we are and what we do, please let me know.
Revised Card: Labels are no longer being made for the Prayer Shawls and Afghans. The card to be delivered with the Prayer Shawls and Afghans has been revised so it can be given with any of the items we make. The cards are in the Prayer Shawl cabinet on the top shelf with envelopes and read:
It is my pleasure to present this item to you. I pray it will bring you God’s love and healing and His Holy Spirit will surround you with His presence in your time of need.
I pray that God will bring His strong, yet gentle hands down to comfort you and heal your body. Through Him all things are possible for He will be with you in your moment of need. He is truly the Great Physician.
The Prayer Shawl Ministry
First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville
395 West Crogan Street
Lawrenceville, GA 30045
Happy Birthday: Happy belated birthday to Leslie (May 3rd) and Lisa (May 6th).
You were missed: We were a close “knit” group tonight! In fact there was only one crocheter in the bunch for most of the night. When your schedule permits, please join us for fellowship. The top shelf of the Prayer Shawl cabinet is just about empty. One person makes a difference!
Love and Blessings,
Beverly
As all of you know, the completed Prayer Shawls and Afghans are prayed over by the members in attendance each week. When items are given to recipients, they are being recorded in a book in the Prayer Shawl cabinet. Starting next week we will bring the book to our meeting, to include the recipients of the items from the prior week in our prayers. In addition, we have members who often need our prayers.
No doubt there are many more in need of prayer. These are the people who have made their needs known. If you or your loved ones are in need of prayer, let us know so you can be included in our prayers at the next meeting.
Communication: Please watch for information about the Prayer Shawl Ministry in the Sunday Bulletin, The Messenger, on the Sanctuary slides, the tack lines around the church, and other surprising places. This is a wonderful ministry offering a loving, caring service. We want to tell everyone about it. If you have ideas about how to spread the word about who we are and what we do, please let me know.
Revised Card: Labels are no longer being made for the Prayer Shawls and Afghans. The card to be delivered with the Prayer Shawls and Afghans has been revised so it can be given with any of the items we make. The cards are in the Prayer Shawl cabinet on the top shelf with envelopes and read:
It is my pleasure to present this item to you. I pray it will bring you God’s love and healing and His Holy Spirit will surround you with His presence in your time of need.
I pray that God will bring His strong, yet gentle hands down to comfort you and heal your body. Through Him all things are possible for He will be with you in your moment of need. He is truly the Great Physician.
The Prayer Shawl Ministry
First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville
395 West Crogan Street
Lawrenceville, GA 30045
Happy Birthday: Happy belated birthday to Leslie (May 3rd) and Lisa (May 6th).
You were missed: We were a close “knit” group tonight! In fact there was only one crocheter in the bunch for most of the night. When your schedule permits, please join us for fellowship. The top shelf of the Prayer Shawl cabinet is just about empty. One person makes a difference!
Love and Blessings,
Beverly
Sunday, May 10, 2009
May 10, Meeting Update
It’s great to be back in The Parlor on Wednesday night! I missed everyone while I was in Texas.
Prayer Shawl Cabinet: There is good news and bad news! In the last week eight new shawls were added to the Prayer Shawl cabinet and only two were taken out. Actually both of those numbers are good news because we want to make a lot of shawls and we don’t want to hear about individuals in bad situations; however, we do want to have shawls and afghans ready for those who need them.
Thank you for all of the work you’ve done for this ministry. The cabinet looks much better!
New Member: Welcome Marsha as our newest member. She said she has heard about the Prayer Shawl Ministry over the last couple of years and finally has had the opportunity to join us. Last night was her second meeting. Thanks to Barbara, Marsha picked up crocheting like a pro!
New Teacher: It looks like Barbara may take over the role as crocheting teacher. Shirley and Barbara worked together so well last night. I think Barbara may be the answer to Shirley’s prayers.
Beverly
“The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.” - John Ruskin
Saturday, May 9, 2009
In The Parlor on May 6th
The Chicks with Sticks had a great time in The Parlor on the 6th. I hope the weather didn’t scare you away if you weren’t there because you missed a fun, action packed meeting.
Prayers and Prayerful Thoughts: The scene was set starting out with a word of prayerful thought from page 6 of The Upper Room which seemed to fit the Prayer Shawl Ministry so well. Beginning with the sentence that says “The wind of God is always blowing, but we must hoist our sails.” and ending with the last paragraph saying “Receive the presence of Christ, practice the presence of Christ, and be the presence of Christ to someone today.” From those thoughts, we went to prayer over completed shawls, afghans, scarves, and chemo caps. The completed items were taken to the cabinet in the pastor’s offices to be ready for distribution to those in need of comfort and healing.
Leadership Updates: There are a few changes in the Prayer Shawl Ministry leadership beginning in May. Lisa asked me to assume her duties as leader of the Prayer Shawl Ministry so she can emphasize her other duties which, I’ve discovered, are numerous. I’ve accepted her offer after much prayer and encouragement. Ellen has graciously agreed to be the co-leader. In addition, Martha and Robin have agreed to be on a Steering Committee with Ellen and me. Between the four of us (two knitters and two crocheters), the objectives are to find ways:
· To share God’s love, healing, and strength with as many individuals in need as possible through the items we make
· To be open to making new types of items if they will help us reach more individuals (like the chemo caps)
· To grow through the addition of new members so that we can reach the first two objectives
· To work through other ministries and groups at church like Stephen Ministers, Respite Groups, etc. who know people who may find God’s love through our works
· To find ways to make the Prayer Shawl Ministry’s work known to our church and our community so that we aren’t the best kept secret in the church any longer
This is going to take a lot of work and a lot of teamwork. I hope I can count on each and every one of you to join in, because one person can make a difference! The little things you do each day have the power to affect a great many people. We can make a world of difference to someone.
Project Tip: We talked about how to keep a pattern, the right needles or hook, and all of the yarn together when you weren’t working on a project, and I came across this tip on the Lion Brand Yarn website which I thought would work. Hopefully it will help several of you out.
"When knitting or crocheting a large item, such as a baby blanket or afghan, once I have completed several inches, I put the item inside a pillow case, leaving only the last few rows outside. On each side of the case opening, I then clamp a small hair "claw" to secure the project inside. (You could use clothes pins or binder clips instead to secure your work inside the pillow case.) This then goes in my knitting/crochet bag, along with the needles, directions, etc. I simply release the clamps whenever I have worked several more inches, dropping more of the item into the pillow case, then replace the clamps. This keeps the project clean as I work!"
Happy Mother’s Day!
Love and Blessings,
Beverly
Prayers and Prayerful Thoughts: The scene was set starting out with a word of prayerful thought from page 6 of The Upper Room which seemed to fit the Prayer Shawl Ministry so well. Beginning with the sentence that says “The wind of God is always blowing, but we must hoist our sails.” and ending with the last paragraph saying “Receive the presence of Christ, practice the presence of Christ, and be the presence of Christ to someone today.” From those thoughts, we went to prayer over completed shawls, afghans, scarves, and chemo caps. The completed items were taken to the cabinet in the pastor’s offices to be ready for distribution to those in need of comfort and healing.
Leadership Updates: There are a few changes in the Prayer Shawl Ministry leadership beginning in May. Lisa asked me to assume her duties as leader of the Prayer Shawl Ministry so she can emphasize her other duties which, I’ve discovered, are numerous. I’ve accepted her offer after much prayer and encouragement. Ellen has graciously agreed to be the co-leader. In addition, Martha and Robin have agreed to be on a Steering Committee with Ellen and me. Between the four of us (two knitters and two crocheters), the objectives are to find ways:
· To share God’s love, healing, and strength with as many individuals in need as possible through the items we make
· To be open to making new types of items if they will help us reach more individuals (like the chemo caps)
· To grow through the addition of new members so that we can reach the first two objectives
· To work through other ministries and groups at church like Stephen Ministers, Respite Groups, etc. who know people who may find God’s love through our works
· To find ways to make the Prayer Shawl Ministry’s work known to our church and our community so that we aren’t the best kept secret in the church any longer
This is going to take a lot of work and a lot of teamwork. I hope I can count on each and every one of you to join in, because one person can make a difference! The little things you do each day have the power to affect a great many people. We can make a world of difference to someone.
Project Tip: We talked about how to keep a pattern, the right needles or hook, and all of the yarn together when you weren’t working on a project, and I came across this tip on the Lion Brand Yarn website which I thought would work. Hopefully it will help several of you out.
"When knitting or crocheting a large item, such as a baby blanket or afghan, once I have completed several inches, I put the item inside a pillow case, leaving only the last few rows outside. On each side of the case opening, I then clamp a small hair "claw" to secure the project inside. (You could use clothes pins or binder clips instead to secure your work inside the pillow case.) This then goes in my knitting/crochet bag, along with the needles, directions, etc. I simply release the clamps whenever I have worked several more inches, dropping more of the item into the pillow case, then replace the clamps. This keeps the project clean as I work!"
Happy Mother’s Day!
Love and Blessings,
Beverly
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