Parish prayer shawl ministry brings 'a hug from God' around the globe

(OSV News) -- A prayer shawl ministry at a Pennsylvania parish is wrapping hundreds around the world in what members call "a hug from God."

Since June 2015, a dedicated group of four to five volunteers has been meeting weekly at St. Rose of Lima Parish in the Philadelphia suburb of North Wales to stitch an array of knitted or crocheted prayer shawls, along with lap blankets, baby blankets and square "mini-shawls" that can be draped across the shoulders.

Another seven volunteers package the dozen shawls made each month, which are supplemented by regular donations of still other shawls from area crafters.

And for every twist of the knitting needle or crochet hook, there's a prayer, said Ginny Hunter, who along with her late husband, Paul, started the ministry after attending a faith formation class in which they were challenged to "do something together" in ministry that would have "longevity."

"Our philosophy is that from the first stitch, we pray for the future recipients and whatever their special intention is," she told OSV News.

The volunteers cover the cost of the wool and supplies directly, attaching a woven label featuring Hunter's silhouette drawing of Mary holding the Child Jesus.

So far, the ministry has sent out close to 2,800 prayer shawls throughout the U.S. -- and across the globe.

"We are in so many countries," said Hunter, with shawls now in Canada, Colombia, England, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Slovakia and Venezuela.

Admitting that "none of us could ever have imagined" the ministry's growth, she pointed to the Holy Spirit as "the commander in chief" and "CEO of our group."

Among the recipients are military members and their families, wounded veterans, those facing illness, job loss, loneliness or any kind of challenge, said Hunter.

The intentions -- which are consistently prayed for once submitted to the ministry -- span a wide range of concerns, she noted.

"We've gotten intentions such as, 'College starts in two weeks and my car died' or 'My loan didn't come through,'" Hunter said. "During COVID, people had us praying for their kids going back to school, since they were so nervous about germs. Or we have requests for things like, 'Would you please pray for my kids not to cry when I leave them?' as they're heading to kindergarten and first grade."

The group created a custom-fit shawl for a man in Florida facing dialysis with no immediate family members to support him.

"His wife had died and his only daughter had died," said Hunter. "He was a really big man, so we sent him a long one that he could fit around his shoulders. … He took it with him to dialysis three times a week, since he'd get chilly. He would stretch it the full length of his body, and he slept with it over a sheet. When he was buried, they put it in his casket because he was never without it."

The group's mini-shawls, which include a plastic rosary, are especially comforting to those undergoing chemotherapy, medical imaging and other treatments, Hunter said.

"One of the men in our parish is getting hyperbaric oxygen treatments for bladder cancer and he holds onto his shawl," she said. "People get claustrophobic during an MRI. So they hold onto them."

The shawls have been in the operating room as well, she said.

"We had an older gentleman who was not cooperating going into OR," Hunter said. "He kept saying, 'My prayer shawl.' … Somebody brought him the little square, and he immediately laid it on his chest and calmed down. His blood pressure cooperated; they got an IV line into him and the doctor said, 'That (shawl) will be with you after the operation.'"

In fact, said Hunter, "the family called to tell us ... the doctor said, 'I'd like to get hold of a couple of these. Sometimes my operating team and I pray together before we operate. We would hold on to the mini shawl to be mindful of God's presence.'"

One little boy with leukemia "walks around wearing his shawl like a Superman cape" when he goes for treatment, and covers his siblings with the shawl when they curl up to watch television, Hunter said, noting that the child eventually went into remission.

The shawls have even made their way to death row, she noted.

"I was contacted by a social worker (in Texas), and she said, 'I have two guys who have their death date. It would mean a lot to them and it'll go to their families when they die,'" Hunter said.

The shawls are much more than the sum of their stitches, as every single recipient's name is "written in a leather book" that the group "begins to read through every All Saints' Day (Nov. 1)," she noted.

With 2,800 petitions and shawls so far, "it will take us until Easter to finish," she said.

The recently widowed Hunter, who is battling multiple sclerosis, told OSV News she has no intention of slowing down in the ministry, especially as she reflects on the "outstanding" messages sent by recipients.

"I bring them to the group to share with them," Hunter said. "And I say, 'This is why I'm going to keep on keeping on.'"