{"id":8331,"date":"2004-12-08T17:56:46","date_gmt":"2004-12-08T22:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=8331"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:28:37","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:28:37","slug":"4000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2004\/12\/08\/4000\/","title":{"rendered":"Touching Lives Through ‘Prayer and Knitting’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Craig Pinley<\/p>\n

NORTH EASTON, MA (December 8, 2004)\u00a0 – Prayer and knitting are part of many\u00a0 Covenant churches, but the combination through the work of Covenant\u00a0 Congregational Church has provided a special touch that has been noticed\u00a0 by many area families.<\/p>\n
The church and its parishioners have made and delivered 85 shawls to\u00a0 family, friends and acquaintances, bringing comfort, love and care, according to church\u00a0 staff. It is one of many works being done through Covenant Health\u00a0 Ministry, a service arm of the church.<\/p>\n
“If it was a ministry that was up to (associate pastor) Johnny Agurkis\u00a0 and me to get started, it wouldn’t have,” said pastor Mark Pattie. “It’s\u00a0 been a wonderful example of everybody being a minister in their church,\u00a0 with people using the gifts God gave them to do things others wouldn’t\u00a0 have dreamed of. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard from that have told me that they sleep with their prayer shawl or that someone had\u00a0 it as part of their ministry.”<\/p>\n
Lyn Carroll, a parishioner, is currently organizing the prayer shawl\u00a0 work through Covenant Health Ministry, which has been coordinated by\u00a0 Armenie Varadian. An aunt had a brain tumor and Carroll wanted to\u00a0 minister to her – she found www.shawlministry.com on the Internet and\u00a0 discovered a ministry that she thought she could ultimately bring to her\u00a0 church.<\/p>\n
Individuals knit shawls and bring them to the church. Often the\u00a0 individual will send a card with the shawl or bring the shawl to the one\u00a0 who is suffering. An angel pattern that she found has helped her in\u00a0 creating a dish towel that gives them a tangible reminder that God’s\u00a0 angels are with them.<\/p>\n
Carroll – a stay-at-home mom who also helps new mothers as a volunteer\u00a0 breastfeeding educator \u2013 has heard how parishioners have been ministered\u00a0 to by the ministry. An acquaintance told Carroll about how a person was\u00a0 so affected by the prayer shawl that when the person died, they had the\u00a0 shawl buried with them.<\/p>\n
She described how a family member’s illness two years ago became the\u00a0 catalyst for the ministry at Covenant Congregational. “Since my aunt was\u00a0 down in Ocala, Florida, I couldn’t hand deliver it, but my folks were\u00a0 there and delivered the shawl to her,” Carroll recalled. “The day before\u00a0 she went into the hospital, she told my mother that she wanted to have\u00a0 the shawl with her when she went into surgery. About two hours after\u00a0 recovery, she had the shawl wrapped around her, explaining to nurses\u00a0 about the meaning of the shawl. They (the hospital staff) later found\u00a0 that my aunt’s sight would be restored after they removed the tumor. Mom\u00a0 says that she still keeps the shawl close – and that’s a year and a half\u00a0 later.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know who’s getting more out of this, me or the ones I help,”\u00a0 Carroll continued. “We have five or six people involved and we’re amazed\u00a0 by what people write in cards they send us and what we are told. It’s\u00a0 incredible.”<\/p>\n
Covenant Health Ministry has run a number of other programs both inside\u00a0 and outside the church during the past four years, even coordinating a\u00a0 health ministry hour after church for people inquiring about various\u00a0 services. The ministry offers weekly blood pressure tests free of charge and sends monthly cards and care packages to\u00a0 college students affiliated with the congregation. Those volunteers via\u00a0 “Covenant Campus Notes” also pray regularly for the students.<\/p>\n
“The idea (of parish nursing) intrigued me,” said Varadian, who had\u00a0 served as admissions director for a health and rehabilitation center.\u00a0 “But in going to networking groups, I got a lot of encouragement. The\u00a0 key was in taking baby steps in ministry. I put out a notice that a\u00a0 group was starting to form and before I knew, there were a dozen people\u00a0 who were from the health profession (in the church) looking for a way to\u00a0 give of themselves.”<\/p>\n
Pattie also mentioned a “Boo Boo Bunny” ministry whereby parishioners\u00a0 bring new mothers a handmade item and information after they arrive home\u00a0 from the hospital. The myriad ways of caring for the congregation of 340\u00a0 has been an ongoing source of joy for the senior pastor of 11 years.<\/p>\n
“It’s one little step at a time,” said Pattie about the many volunteer\u00a0 hours given through Covenant Health Ministry. “But there are a lot of\u00a0 people that have been ministered to by this group and it has meant a\u00a0 lot. We’ve got people throughout our congregation that have had their\u00a0 lives transformed by Covenant Health Ministry. I’m also amazed at the\u00a0 amount of fun they’re having in doing this.”<\/p>\n
To learn more about Covenant Health Ministry at Covenant Congregational\u00a0 Church, call Armenie Varadian at 781-762-0029. To learn more about the\u00a0 prayer shawl ministry, call Carroll at 508-238-0861 or email her at\u00a0 lwcarroll@comcast.net.<\/div>\n
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Copyright \u00a9 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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By Craig Pinley NORTH EASTON, MA (December 8, 2004)\u00a0 – Prayer and knitting are part of many\u00a0 Covenant churches, but the combination through the work of Covenant\u00a0 Congregational Church has provided a special touch that has been noticed\u00a0 by many area families. 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