Prayer Shawls Knit and Blessed

Since November, a dedicated group of knitters has been gathering - both in person at St Paul's, Cobden and remotely at their homes across the Parish - to pray and knit prayer shawls.

Prayer shawls are, quite simply, a rectangular shawl that is knit or crocheted in prayer and then given to someone as a reminder of the prayers of their church community that surround them. Begun over 20 years ago, the ministry of Prayer Shawl knitting and crocheting is now a global movement that the Parish of the Valley has joined! In the Parish of the Valley, we gather twice a month, on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 1:30pm at St Paul's Cobden, for 60-90 minutes at a time to pray, meditate, and knit or crochet shawls. We begin by lighting a candle and opening with prayer. Then a short poem or meditation is read and we sit and knit in silent prayer for 15-20 minutes before joining in prayer and conversation together.

We all knit at different speeds, but we already have three shawls completed! On Sunday, February 9th, those three shawls will be blessed at the service at St Stephen's, Micksburg. From there, they will be given to members of the Parish as determined by our clergy team and congregational pastoral care-ers. The shawls are given as a tangible reminder of being surrounded by the love and prayers of their church community.

Each shawl has a tag which reads: We offer you this shawl - made with love by our knitters, and blessed within our community, to embrace and sustain you. May you be cradled in hope, graced with peace, and wrapped in love. Amen