Our Ministry was actually started by my daughter, Shannon Hodges, who brought the idea here from the Methodist Church in West Des Moines, Iowa, where she is a member. When my daughter shared her shawl ministry with me I caught the spirit immediately. I feel so blessed that God laid this ministry on my heart and others.

We meet twice a month for a devotional, fellowship and knitting. After we have knit the shawls and we have a recipient we then have our prayer team and pastor lay hands on the shawl and bless it. It is then delivered by the team to the person or mailed with a letter explaining the shawl ministry and a pamphlet and a couple of cards with their name on it and prayers.

We wrap the shawls in colorful tissue paper tied with pieces of the yarn that match the shawl. We deliver them like a florist would deliver a bouquet of roses. They are so beautiful and so full of God's love, grace and healing.

We pay for the yarn through donations. The 4th Sunday of each month Pastor Mike Mclaughlin passes an extra offering plate for the ministry. WalMart has blessed us with a donation in which we are very grateful. We welcome any and all donations.

Our mission statement is as follows: Our prayer Shawl Ministry is as much about a spiritual gift as a physical gift of a shawl. The spirit of God is in the Shawl as we pray while knitting and sharing with others.

Knitting into the mystery is what we are doing. As we knit God already knows who the next recipient will be. It is as much about getting together for fellowship and spending time with God as it is in knitting the shawl.