24 Halsted Street - Newton - New Jersey - 07860 - (973) 383-1985
A very dear parishioner from my former parish in Wayne recently wrote to me telling me that she noticed the many people for whom we pray for in our weekly bulletin and forwarded me information on a Prayer Shawl Ministry that she began at Our Lady of the Valley Church many years ago.
She shared with me that when she started this wonderful ministry twelve years ago. She began with only four women and since that time, this group has doubled in size. Since its beginning, they have created and given out 1,450 shawls to those in need.
Our Office Administrator, Anne Lundgren quickly took this new ministry under her wing and started calling some of the woman in the parish that might be interested. As a result, each Wednesday morning, several ladies gather to pray, knit, crochet and do a lot of talking. After the death of Anne, they decided that they wanted to call this new ministry the "Anne O. Lundgren Prayer Shawl Ministry" in her name and loving memory. What a fitting tribute to the woman who started this great ministry.
I think this is a wonderful idea that we could add to our list of ministries here at Saint Joseph Church. What this ministry would entail is women (or even men) gathering in the Parish Center once a week (or however often they wish) to knit or crochet prayer shawls for people who are in need of our support and prayers. While each prayer shawl is created, the person making it prays for the recipient’s intentions and particular needs. Once completed, I will bless the prayer shawl and present it to a person in need with a card explaining how the shawl was made and what their purpose is; to bring comfort, warmth and solidarity with our parishioners.
For further details, please call Mrs. Karen Glowatski at the Parish Center at: 973.383.1985 or email her at: [email protected]. There are no strict guidelines or requirements to becoming a part of this ministry. If you are able to purchase the materials, that would be a wonderful added contribution to this important ministry. However, if you have the desire and talent to knit or crochet, but are unable to purchase the materials, please let us know and we will provide them free of charge. We also would like to make this ministry available to parishioners who are homebound and would like to participate. Once this new ministry is formed and we know who would like to participate, we will send you all the information and patterns that will be needed.
We look forward to hearing from you and to begin this brand new ministry here at Saint Joseph Church where “All Are Welcome” as we are dedicated to “Working harder to work together to make a difference.”