25th Anniversary Gathering of Prayer Shawl Ministries

The Prayer Shawl Ministry began when its two founders, Janet Bristow and Vicky Cole-Galo, “took their love of knitting and applied it to the spiritual practice of making prayer shawls” in 1998.   They designed their shawl patterns around the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Originally made for women suffering from breast cancer, the shawl was meant to wrap the wearer in the love and prayers of the one who created it, and the One who created all of us.

On Saturday, 11/04/23, Janet Bristow held the 25^th Annual Gathering of Prayer Shawl Ministries from CT as well as other states, at St. Patrick St. Anthony Church in Hartford. The Prayer Shawl Ministry has groups all over the world and as we connect with other ministries, we have discovered the depth of need and the variety of possibilities to fill those needs.

Pat McMahon, Marj Van Dusen, and Tina Dibble attended the Gathering, representing St. Ann Church.
At St. Ann, our ministry began in 2004 with a small group of knitters, and today, we are a closely “knitted” group of about 15 women that find solace and satisfaction in the work of our hands and our yarn. Our group meets monthly from September through June, on the first Monday evening of every month, from 7-8:30pm in Fr. Bennett Hall. 

We welcome all levels of knitters and crocheters, from beginners to advanced levels, and if you want to learn how to knit or crochet, we will gladly teach you. Please feel free to join us at any meeting. We will provide yarn and instructions to start your prayer shawl.
Contact Information: Tina Dibble 860-674-1541.


          


Some of the many attendees from churches in CT and other states 










 

From left: Tina Dibble-coordinator of the St. Ann Prayer Shawl Ministry, Janet Bristow and Pat McMahon, founder of the St. Ann Church Ministry in 2004

Janet Bristow, co-founder of the Prayer Shawl Ministry