September 29, 2010 // Local

Prayer blanket ministry delivers love and hope

Todays Catholic

SOUTH BEND — Saint Joseph’s High School Prayer Blanket Ministry was established at the beginning of the 2009 school year. This extracurricular ministry at Saint Joseph’s consists of students who are committed to making blankets and praying for all who receive one. Jeanette McKew, Biblical literature and New Testament teacher in the theology department, is the moderator for the ministry, that meets every Tuesday after school from 3-4 p.m.

Blessed by a priest, the prayer blankets, made of fleece and decorated with a cross, bring comfort and hope for those who are challenged by a serious illness or tragedy of the Saint Joseph’s family. Tucked inside the blanket are a prayer and explanation of the blanket. A registry of recipient names is kept in order to continue to remember them in prayer.

McKew and the Prayer Blanket Ministry members are currently participating in Operation Quiet Comfort, a unique project that provides quilts made from jean material for troops arriving for medical care. Each square of the quilt holds a message of comfort.
The University of Notre Dame students held a drive and collected enough pairs of jeans to make over 2,300 squares. The Saint Joseph’s student body has been asked to write messages of comfort on some of the squares. The members of the Prayer Blanket Ministry will be in the café during lunch hours with the fabric squares and markers. All students, faculty and staff are invited to participate.