We have a Prayer Shawl Ministry up and running at Cedar Park First United Methodist Church.  We currently have six ladies making shawls and praying over them.  We would love to have you join us no matter your age or skill set.  Even if you just come to fellowship and pray with us, that would be wonderful.  We meet the first Tuesday of the month at 11:00 a.m. and the third Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary Building.
I’d like to give you some background on this ministry and share some experiences we’ve had.
This ministry was started in 1997 by a group of women from Hartford Seminary.  Since then, these gifts of love have been given in times of sorrow and loss, to those facing health issues or surgeries, or those facing other difficult times.  Shawls are also given in times of celebration: births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, ordinations, and graduations.
This ministry is based in love and combines needlework and prayer into a tangible, unconditional symbol of care, concern, and celebration.  I have heard many stories from recipients of prayer shawls of what they have meant to them.  I’d like to share a few with you:

One woman was having twins and took her prayer shawl to the hospital with her.  She said she always thought it was “nice” that we give shawls, but when she put hers around her, she felt the prayers and it gave her peace.  She also said it gave her the opportunity to share her faith with others when they commented on her shawl.

A friend’s brother had gotten very ill and went into a coma.  She asked if we’d pray over a shawl for him.  We did and she took

it to the hospital and talked to him about it, put it over him, and at that time he briefly opened his eyes and talked to them before going back into the coma.
A lady in North Carolina who had received a prayer shawl, asked if we’d make a traveling prayer shawl for their church so they could pass it to different people in need.  We did and she later requested another because they couldn’t take it from the lady who had it and still needed it, but there was another need.

Many others were touched by the fact that people they didn’t know were praying for them.

So many stories and they weren’t the only ones blessed.  The ladies making the shawls and praying over them are blessed by their stories, pictures that are sent, etc.  No matter how many shawls we make and pray over, we are blessed more and more by their stories, and reactions.  After all, we can’t out give God.

Please join us.  If you’d like more information, you can contact me or talk to one of the ladies in the group.  If you’d like to come and just pray with us, that’s fine too.  If you’d like to donate yarn, that would also be great.  If you’d like to request a shawl for someone, we will have forms on the table in the back of the church that you can fill out and put in the offering plate.  We just ask that you be responsible for delivering them after they are made and blessed.

Contact Karen Bowker for more information using the blue button below.