THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS a weekly bulletin & newsletter April 29, 2018 • 5 th Sunday of Easter
PRAYER BLANKETS The St. Louis Prayer Blanket Ministry was started by the School Librarian, Charlotte Vaughan, 20 plus years ago. After buying a prayer blanket from St. Theresa’s Parish and wanting another one, Charlotte found they had run out of blankets. She didn’t know how to sew but had friends that could. The Ministry started by word of mouth and was inspired by the book, “The Quilt Makers Gift”, by Jeff Brumbeau and Gail de Marcken. It has evolved into a ministry that delivers prayers and blessings through the gift of a handmade blanket to anyone who needs to be healed physically, emotionally and spiritually.
The Prayer Blanket Ministry meets every third Monday at 7:00 PM in Wozniak Hall, Our Lady of Guadalupe Room. We open the business meeting with a prayer to the Holy Spirit. Following the business meeting, our prayer intentions are said in silence, while praying the rosary together, and sewing handmade crochet crosses and Ministry labels on the finished blankets.
All members are amateur sewers who love to bring joy and comfort with their creative talent given by God. The blankets are made at each member’s home, working at their own pace. All material and instructions are provided. The fabric and yarn are donated and the Ministry does purchase some fabric, yarn and batting from the Ministry funds. We keep this at a minimum so most of our funds go to the needs of St. Louis Church.
“Thank you very much for the handmade prayer blanket which was passed along to me through the hands of my CFO, …. Even more than the blanket itself, I appreciate the promises of prayer that it represents. Since being ordained Bishop I have come to understand personally why Pope Francis is always reminding people to pray for him. With our responsibilities as bishops we need all the prayers of support we can get.”
Some purchases made over the years for St. Louis include the candle stands that line the aisles during special events, the four seasons vestments used by priests during daily Masses, the stand for the Monstrance, the linen cloth drape used in the Adoration Chapel, and the Gospel cover “The Teacher” for weekend Masses.
1
The finished blankets, sold to the public in semi-annual sales, have been shared and appreciated by many over the decades. The Ministry received the following thank you note from the Bishop of Lubbock, Most Rev. Robert M Coerver:
512-454-0384
Prayer Blanket Sale May 5th & 6th After all Masses St. Louis Catholic Church & School