Humble Hands History
The Humble Hands Prayer Shawl Ministry has certainly been a gift and an urging from God. A few years ago we began knitting and crocheting items that we sold at a yearly Christmas Open House. We continued doing that for a few years but eventually felt that we could not continue. We had so much yarn left over and it seemed like a sin to have so much yarn just sitting idly around but what could we do with it? We felt that God had something more for us to do to serve Him but had no idea of what it was.
We went to our weekly Bible Class and a young woman there had received a prayer shawl from a church in Jackson, MS. She was anxiously awaiting test results and felt sure that she had breast cancer. She shared with us what it meant to her to know that people she didn't even know were praying for her and cared enough to make the shawl - a tangible reminder of their prayers for her and of God's comfort and love.
Later in the week our church secretary showed us a beautiful prayer shawl our pastor received from a church in Colorado as a thank-you for his work during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We knew this was God's confirmation of what He wanted us to do.
And so we began the Humble Hands Prayer Shawl Ministry at Heritage United Methodist Church in Hattiesburg, MS. There were only two of us so we feverishly began making prayer shawls. We gave our first shawl away on December 5, 2007, and since that first one we have given away more than 350 prayer shawls both locally and all over the country. In addition to requests for adults in need, we have also had a few requests for young children and/or babies. In those cases we do have small blankets that are suitable for them. Occasionally we have also been able to donate prayer shawls to the Forrest General Cancer Center and our goal is to be able to donate at least 12 each month to them.
Now there are over twenty women who have joined us and faithfully make prayer shawls so we hope that our goal will become a reality. The prayer shawls are available for the asking and we never know how many requests there will be. Some months we have given out only 4 or 5. However, there have been others months that we have given out 35, and so far God has provided us with enough to meet the need.
We never dreamed of how much of an impact this ministry would have on so many people. We have received many heart-felt notes from people who have received prayer shawls and we truly treasure them.
Our wish is to continue to be a self-supporting ministry, and we hope to be able to provide a prayer shawl to anyone who needs one.
Mary Frances Abbott
Ann Adams
