A Story of 2,000 Blessings
The Prayer Shawl Ministry of All Saints, Appleton
On the first Sunday of Advent, something quietly remarkable happened in the life of All Saints, Appleton—a milestone so soft you could almost miss it, yet woven from threads of profound love and steadfast faith. In the hands of our Prayer Shawl Ministry, the 2,000th shawl was blessed. Two thousand. It’s a number that feels too large for something as gentle as a shawl, and yet somehow not large enough for the grace these ministries have carried out into the world.
The story begins back in 2004, when a small group of parishioners gathered with knitting needles, crochet hooks, and a simple hope: that something made slowly, stitch by stitch, might become a vessel of comfort for someone in need. They prayed over the yarn, prayed over the hands doing the work, and prayed—quietly, steadily, faithfully—for the unknown people who would one day wrap themselves in these finished shawls.
Over the past twenty-one years, the ministry has grown in ways its founders never could have imagined. Shawls have traveled far beyond Appleton, beyond Wisconsin, even beyond the United States. They’ve crossed oceans and time zones, tucked into suitcases or mailed in padded envelopes, arriving in hospital rooms, in hospice care, in moments of grief, in celebrations, and in the unspoken spaces where people simply need to feel held. Every shawl carries a story, even before we know who it’s for.
Part of what sets this ministry apart is the triple blessing each shawl receives. First, as they are being knitted or crocheted, the creators pray over them—tiny whispered petitions woven into every row. Then, on Sunday mornings, the rector blesses each new batch at the altar, asking God to make them instruments of healing and peace. After that, parishioners add their own silent prayers as they pass by, brushing their hands across the soft piles on their way to or from the Eucharist. By the time a shawl leaves All Saints, it has already been wrapped in a small congregation’s love.
This milestone would not be possible without the extraordinary dedication of the knitters and crocheters who have poured their time, skill, and hearts into this ministry for more than two decades. Our gratitude extends to:
Sara McPherson, Dolores (Dee) Wiseman (pictured), Judy Hebbe, Mary Whitehead, Janet Kaul, Donna Summers, Greta Rogers, Nancy Krueger, Dee Markley, Erin Wolf, Beth Moore, Karen Moore, Pamela Padley, Pam Sealy, Ginny Stephany-Lonzo, Ellen Watson, Jan Watson, Karen Eckola, Hilda First, Susan Allen, Joanne Bozeman, Inez Buffington, Kerstin Danielson, Sarah Gilbert, Jessica Anderson, Marion Bowers, and Nancy Guerts.
And to those who donated yarn and funding—Chris Mitchell, David Schwerbel, Thalia Krynock, Cindy Wyngaard, Laurie Leonard, Ellen Watson, and all who contributed to the prayer shawl fund—your generosity is woven into every finished piece.
Photographer Pamela Padley captured the attached images during a shawl blessing last year, and they show what words can only circle around: color, texture, warmth, and a visible echo of the care behind them. But the true beauty of this ministry can’t be photographed. It lives in the unseen moments—when someone drapes a shawl over their shoulders and feels, perhaps for the first time in a long while, that they are not alone.
Two thousand shawls blessed. Countless lives touched. And still, the needles click on.
