Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Jo Beth Massey knits shawls to be blessed by her and her fellow knitters to give to anyone in need of prayer.
Massey, 63, said shawl recipients have said there is a special warmth and inner comfort felt when trying on a prayer shawl.
Massey's group, the Prayer Shawl Circle at First United Methodist Church, is made up of six to eight women from the Portales area who meet regularly to knit and crochet garments to be blessed.
Benna Sayyed: CMI staff photo
Prayer Shawl Circle founders Jo Beth Massey, left, and Geneta Lowman knit prayer shawls during a group meeting at First United Methodist Church. Massey knits her most challenging piece, a 46-inch pale pink baby blanket. Lowman completes a deep green shawl.
"It seems like we have a lot of people who need shawls or blankets and to realize that somebody really cares about them," said Geneta Lowman, a hairdresser who helped start the Prayer Shawl Circle. "It (Prayer Shawl Circle) just gave me an outlet to work with my craft."
Lowman, 57, said she has crocheted since 8 years old. The Prayer Shawl Circle, a local branch of the Prayer Shawl Ministry started in 1998 in Hartford, Conn., by Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo, produces shawls, chemo caps, blankets for babies and families and blankets for U.S. troops deployed to war zones.
The Portales chapter started in March 2005 after Massey and fellow church members learned about the Prayer Shawl Ministry by reading the ministry's Prayer Shawl Book.
Massey said her knitters have given out about 250 shawls, 36 chemo caps and 40 blankets since the group's inception.
Chemo caps are made for cancer patients going through chemotherapy who have lost their hair or are in danger of losing their hair. Massey said she has sent shawls she's knitted to Florida, Washington state, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Massey is knitting her most challenging piece, a 46-inch pale pink baby blanket for a friend's granddaughter using a pattern published in 1940. Massey said the challenge is working with fine lace-weight yarn.
She said group meetings provide a non-denominational setting that allows members to discuss their spirituality.
"It's not a gossip session," said Massey, a retired English teacher.
"We are careful not to gossip. Most of our conversations are about prayer and then we share ideas for our work and help each other with difficult knit patterns and things like that. For us it's so comforting to get together and share our concerns and joys."
Lowman recently completed a deep green shawl and is working on a brown and beige shawl. She described herself as an intermediate knitter.
"I like that we can share things with each other," Lowman said.
"If one of us runs into a problem we can learn from each other. We've tried to help a few young members get started."
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