By Maria Sears, Santa Clarita Contributor
The Prayer Shawl Ministry at Valencia United Methodist Church began its mission in 2009 by a group of women who enjoy the art of knitting or crocheting and praying for people. Our mission is simple: to spread God’s love and bring comfort where ever we can through the work of our hands.
Our shawls are made for men and women who are in need of warmth and comfort as they face some of life’s challenges. We rarely know who will receive one of our shawls, but as we weave the yarn into a beautiful shawl, we pray into the stitches for healing of body, mind and spirit.
Most of our shawls are taken by someone who lives locally but we know some of them have reached destinations across the world in places as far as Africa, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and England. We have also sent shawls to those suffering from natural disasters and a few months ago we donated approximately two dozen shawls to the hospitalized victims of the Las Vegas massacre.
Each winter during the Christmas season, we have a special project to make warm hats and scarves for the homeless. With the help of several dedicated and warm-hearted young ladies from Girl Scout Troop #382 (who made over 100 items) we donated a total of 450 handmade hats and scarves to our local Homeless Shelter and The Midnight Mission in Los Angeles last December.
Our shawls are free of charge and available for anyone in need. New members are always welcome to join us, no church affiliation is required. We will provide free crochet lessons to anyone who wants to learn, and we gratefully accept donations of yarn.
For more information on how to obtain a prayer shawl or become a part of this loving ministry, please contact the church office, 661-255-1301, or meet us at Valencia United Methodist Church on the first Tuesday of every month in Room 1 at 7 p.m.
