The comfort that Debbie Knudson felt when Ruth Kiefer wrapped a prayer shawl around her was more than just a knitted layer of warmth. The shawl, which was made by Kiefer, a member of Christ Church's Loving Arms Prayer Shawl Ministry, brought with it a different kind of warmth - one created by the love of its maker and the love of God, said Knudson, a lifelong member of Christ Church.

"I'd been praying to God and when Ruth surprised me with the prayer shawl, I felt it was a sign that he was at work in my life," she said.

Things have improved for Knudson, who has multiple sclerosis, in the weeks since she was given the shawl. She said she feels that the prayer shawl helped to make that difference.

"I was given the shawl at a point in my life when I was trying to deal with a lot of changes, both physically and emotionally. Knowing that someone cared enough to take the time to make the shawl for me really helped. God helps people by working through other people, like the women in the shawl ministry. When you put the shawl on, it feels like he is there with you."

Open arms

Knudson is one of nearly 100 people, both in and outside the community of Christ Church-United Methodist, who has received a shawl from the Loving Arms Ministry since it was formed in November of last year. The group at Christ Church, which was started by Kiefer and Pat Panyk, makes and delivers prayer shawls to people in need of comfort or solace, as well as those who have something to celebrate.

The idea, says Kiefer, is to make them feel as if God is wrapping his arms around them. And it isn't only adults who receive such treatment. Loving Arms also makes prayer ponchos for children, and they come with teddy bears, wearing ponchos to match.

"Prayer shawls can be given to people facing medical procedures, someone going through a divorce, families who have experienced a death, or someone who has just had a baby," she said. "We give them to anyone in need of prayer."

Pat Panyk got involved in shawl ministry after her best friend at church passed away. She was looking for a hands-on way to use the gifts that God gave her to serve others when she came across the idea of making prayer shawls on the Internet. She asked her pastor at Christ Church to bless a shawl she made for her friend's daughter, and he mentioned that Kiefer was also interested in prayer shawl ministry. The two women then got together and formed the Loving Arms group.

"It was a God thing that brought us together," Panyk said.

Since then, about 10 other women have joined Kiefer and Panyk in making and delivering the shawls. In addition to knitting and crocheting at home, the Loving Arms group meets once a month to work on the shawls and share their experiences with the ministry. When shawls are completed, they are blessed by the pastor before they are given to the recipients.

"It is so reaffirming when we get together and people recount the responses from people who they've given the shawls to," said Kiefer.

Wider community

Those receiving the shawls aren't the only ones benefiting from the ministry. Panyk said that being a part of this effort has enhanced her own prayer life.

"You are praying during the whole process of making the shawls," she said. "And, it feels good to be making a difference in people's lives. That is what God says we should be doing."

One of the benefits for Kiefer is the friendship she has formed with Knudson since giving her the shawl.

"I didn't really know her before that, and since then we have become very close," Kiefer said. "There isn't a Sunday that goes by when we don't hug each other."

Prayer shawl ministry is not unique to Christ Church. Back in 1998, two graduates of the Women's Leadership Institute at the Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Conn., created the ministry in response to their experiences in the program of applied Feminist Spirituality. Since then, their idea to combine compassion and a love of knitting/crocheting, has blossomed into prayer shawl ministries in congregations across the country and around the world, with the help of their Web site:

http://www.shawlministry.com

In Racine County, Christ Church is one of at least a half dozen congregations that take part in prayer shawl ministry. Others include Franksville United Methodist Church, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Yorkville United Methodist Church, Lutheran Chapel of the Cross and First Church of God.

Jan Peterson, coordinator of the Knit Wits group at Franksville United Methodist, said her group has been making and delivering prayer shawls for almost two years. Like Christ Church, they have given shawls to people outside their congregation, as well as within it.

Their group, which meets weekly, sent prayer shawls to people in the Virginia Tech community following the tragedy there last spring, Peterson said. They also are making smaller prayer cloths for the U.S. troops.

"We give them out to people in need of comfort, and also as gifts of hope and joy," she said.

Information about starting a prayer shawl ministry, as well as testimony from people taking part, is available at the Web site: http://www.shawlministry.com

And, you don't necessarily have to belong to one of the churches listed above to take part in their ministry. Two knitters with the Loving Arms group at Christ Church are not members of that congregation, Kiefer said. Anyone who wants to be a part of the ministry is welcome, she said.

"We are always looking for more knitters and crocheters."