Maria Bain, executive director of Hope and Healing Ministries, accepted prayer shawls that knitters and crocheters of Ss. Mary & Mathias Parish in Muscatine completed.
Father Joseph Sia, parochial vicar of the Muscatine parish, blessed the shawls on June 14.
The shawls will be given to participants of the Sept. 17 Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat in Des Moines, co-sponsored by Hope and Healing Ministries of Davenport. Rachel’s Vineyard offers healing for women and men who have suffered from abortion.
The Prayer Shawl Ministry at Ss. Mary & Mathias is a way to reach out with love and care to others who are hurting, to comfort those in need of healing, to console those who are grieving and to bring hope to those in despair.
The recipient of the shawl is known only to God as the crafter works and prays. The handicraft provides an opportunity for contemplation and a sense of stillness in the crafter’s life. Praying for a stranger helps the crafters to learn to trust the truth that God works through us when we care for friends and strangers alike.
For more information on the upcoming Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat or to donate contact the new coordinator Kris Gaspari at (515) 306-7838 or by e-mail at krisgaspari@mac.com.
