Page 39 - Presbyterian Connection

Connection
WOMEN
One Pocket Prayer
Shawl at a Time
presbyterian.ca
WINTER 2022
Reaching Out,
Norma Wilson from Paris Presbyterian Church in Paris, Ont., with her October supply of 300 shawls.
patterns were shared and little prayers were created to attach to the shawls. The project started slowly at first but, at the time of writing this article, some 1,500 have been sent. In the beginning, women of some auxiliaries gave the shawls along with a prayer to graduates in their congregations.
The feedback has been over- whelming!
One young husband and father facing cancer kept his pocket prayer shawl with him each time he visited a specialist, faced a test and eventually surgery for Glio- blastoma, an aggressive and rare brain cancer. He recently gave a testimony regarding his recovery.
A grandmother sent a shawl to her granddaughter in Grenville, South Carolina, as she opened a bridal shop just before Covid hit. The granddaughter phoned to thank her and say that the shawl was on her desk where she could read the prayer. The grandmother visited the shop this September and the business is thriving!
A couple from one congrega- tion moved to the Maritimes dur- ing the peak of Covid, so a shawl went with them as a prayer for safe travels and protection from
the Covid virus.
Some 40 shawls/mats were
delivered to a group of teens in Guatemala learning carpentry from Anthony, a volunteer from Paris, Ont., working with Power at Work, a Canadian organiza- tion. The idea of the gift to the teens came about when mem- bers of Connect, a small group from Paris Presbyterian Church in Paris, Ont., had received key chains with Christian wooden at- tachments. So the group thanked the boys with the gift of prayer shawls.
As the Medical Supply Depot in Stratford, Ont., began collecting donations for war-torn Ukraine, Jean Aitcheson was approached about adding pocket prayer shawls to the containers be- ing shipped. Jean was delighted with the idea. Soon Mary Duffin was researching translations in Ukrainian for members to attach to the mini-shawls, mats, squares and quilts. Mary began receiving packages of shawls to take to the depot at St. Andrew’s Presbyte- rian Church. A need was realized for donations to Cuba, so Mary provided Spanish translations. Donations are being collected for
Prayer shawls tucked in with a box going to Ukraine.
shipments to South Sudan and Zambia, with prayers in English attached.
In a recent chat with Mary, she expressed enthusiastic thanks to those members and friends from Southwestern Ontario Synodical involved in this worthwhile out- reach.
For others’ needs.
We can step out
And continue to give
Help where it’s needed
For others to live.
Don’t shut the door
And just walk away,
God needs our commitment For another day.
As children of the cross We are disciples too, God’s light shines forever In the sharing we do.
Our mission can flourish One day at a time,
If only by giving
A nickel or a dime.
So utter these words
In faithful prayer,
By telling the Lord,
That we continue to care.
By the Synodical Pocket Prayer Shawl Committee, Women’s Missionary Society
Based on the Women’s Mission- ary Society (WMS) motto from Matthew 28:19–20, to make dis- ciples of all nations, the South- west Ontario Synodical is passing God’s faithfulness through pocket prayer shawls, which, at the time of writing, are being sent to many countries around the world.
WMS Council President, Cathy Reid, who is also a member of London Presbyterial, shared the gift of a pocket prayer shawl
given to her at a Women’s Inter- Church Council of Canada execu- tive meeting. London Presbyte- rial members took to the idea and over 100 mini-shawls were knitted as favours for the 2020 Synodical annual meeting. How- ever, due to Covid restrictions, the meeting did not take place, so the shawls with a prayer attached were mailed to members who at- tended online.
The idea of a Synodical Pan- demic Pocket Prayer Shawl Pro- ject was initiated! WMS members and friends took up their knit- ting needles or crochet hooks,
PRESBYTERIAN
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Boys in Guatemala with their prayer mats from the Connect group.
Continuing to Care
The North Pelham/Kirk on the Hill/Rockway WMS.
By Margaret Rice, President of WMS Niagara Presbyterial
The North Pelham/Kirk on the Hill/ Rockway WMS, the last remain- ing group of the Women’s Mis- sionary Society in the Niagara Presbyterial, disbanded in June 2022. A poem was written by Diane McMillan to recognize this event, while looking forward to what is to come.
Closing WMS
Another door
In our missions has closed, God understands our sadness And this path we chose.
But God has a plan
To nourish the seeds
Planted through mission