Covering the World in Prayer as St. Luke’s Shawl Ministry Reaches Far and Wide

On Sunday, September 14, Fr. Bryan Owen will offer a blessing over prayer shawls during the Sunday morning worship at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, held in Witter Hall from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

This special blessing honors the ongoing work of a devoted group of parishioners who knit, crochet, quilt, or sew shawls for those in need of comfort and prayer. Since the ministry’s founding in February 2006, more than 700 shawls have been lovingly crafted and distributed, not just to church members but to anyone in need of spiritual and emotional support.

Each shawl is created with intention and prayer, then blessed before being given to its recipient.

“I’ll never forget one woman who received a shawl just after being diagnosed with cancer,” said Health Ministries Director Becky Williams.“With tears in her eyes, she looked at it and said, ‘That’s the pattern my grandmother used to crochet.’ She kept that shawl with her through every hospitalization and when she passed, it was wrapped around her in her casket, still keeping her warm and wrapped in prayers.”

Shawls from St. Luke’s have reached people across the country and the world. From New Orleans, where they were given to bishops and the Archbishop of Canterbury, to St. Jude’s patients in Baton Rouge, to Turkey after a devastating earthquake, and even to Vestavia Hills, AL, following a church shooting in 2022, these shawls have offered warmth and healing during times of deep need.

Anyone can request a shawl by contacting the ministry at St. Luke’s at (225) 926-5343. Recipients often select a shawl in their favorite colors and each comes with a card explaining the love and prayers woven into every stitch.

“This ministry has been amazing, and to see what a piece of string or fabric can be transformed into and how it then ministers has been truly a gift,” said Williams.

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