Prayer Shawl Ministry In January we will highlight our prayer shawl ministry.  Family night supper will be a soup supper provided by the Prayer-Givers.  Come be warmed on the inside by a hearty bowl of soup, while you support the efforts to warm the bodies and souls of our community with the loving gift of prayer shawls.  The usual supper charge will apply, and all additional donations are gratefully accepted and used to buy more yarn.                                                                                                   “Prayer shawls become tangible symbols of love                        when words can’t be found to adequately express one’s feelings…                                    …warm hugs of happiness, empathy, and support;                          a private place of escape in which to rest, relax, and renew;                         something to hold on to when all else seems to be slipping away.”                                                                                             Janet Bristow, Victoria Cole-Galo                                       The Prayer Shawl Companion In September of 2006 Madison First Baptist began its prayer shawl ministry, christened “The Prayer-Givers”, with seven members – only two of whom knew how to knit!  The desire to create and to become a part of God’s healing ministry here in our community transformed beginners into caring craftsmen in a relatively short time.   Our prayer shawl group is part of a much larger ministry begun in 1997 by Janet Bristow and Victoria Cole-Galo.  These two women, graduates of a Women’s Leadership Institute at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, sought to pair their love of knitting and crocheting with spiritual growth and prayer life, and to share those gifts with others. As members knit or crochet, prayers are continually lifted for the recipient, whether or not the name is known at the time.  It is a spiritual experience that brings the creator herself in closer communion with God.  At each meeting members suggest names of those in need of a hug - some because of trying times, other in celebration.   Shawls are then designated, and members bless them with both a community and silent prayer.  The shawls are brought to church to be blessed with prayer and commissioned by the congregation to wrap the recipients in all our love and prayers – a tangible reminder that God loves them no matter what, and our affirmation of that fact as well. Our group has tripled in size and now includes members from four other churches.  More than 500 shawls have been created and shared with folks in our area and beyond, and work is constantly in progress. Each month shawls are distributed as well to the Hospice of Rockingham County home, and to Help, Inc., the agency that provides support for battered and abused adults and children in our county.  Scarves have also been knitted and sent as far away as the Czech Republic to a school for abused and at-risk children.  Our ‘neighborhood’ is large. For more information on the history and scope of the prayer shawl ministry, visit   www.shawlministry.com.  For more information on how to participate in the Prayer-Givers, or to request a shawl, contact any Prayer-Givers member.