New prayer model working in Conway: Knit once, pray twice

Published: April 5, 2008

Lynn Pownall and Retha Fausett hold up the lap robes made by A Close Knit Faith Community for area nursing home residents.

Lynn Pownall and Retha Fausett hold up the lap robes made by A Close Knit Faith Community for area nursing home residents.

CONWAY -- A Close Knit Faith Community began in September as a short-term Scripture study/prayer group with a twist.

The intent was to pray while knitting caps for Knitting for Noggins, a program benefiting Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. The prayer group was the brainchild of parishioner Lynn Pownall, an avid knitter and Scripture study participant.

Pownall approached Jean Leffler, the parish's director of religious education, and Connie Balogh, PRE assistant, with her idea of a knitting Bible study. Both Leffler and Balogh are crafters and were interested in the idea. After publicizing the group in the bulletin and local daily newspaper, the group was "cast on."

The first meeting in September brought only Pownall, Leffler and Balogh together. Within weeks, crocheter Retha Fausett and "rusty knitter" Beth Boucher joined. The five women prayed weekly and listened as Pownall read the previous Sunday's Mass readings. They also mediated, discussed the parish's Question of the Week and made more than 40 hats.

At the last session in October, a prayer service was held to bless the hats and those who would wear them.

"A bond was formed among the women that none wanted to unravel," Leffler said.

The group agreed to continue to meet and provide baby items for Faulkner County's pregnancy resource center. The booties, bonnets and blankets were blessed and prayed over by the group and then given to Life Choices at Christmas.

Two new stitchers joined the group in January. Patty Benson, a self-proclaimed "rusty knitter" and Marlene Hogan, a "rusty crocheter," became part of the community.

St. Joseph parishioner Janet Tobias, an organizer for the Faulkner County Nursing Home Gift Fund, asked Pownall about making 3-foot-by-3-foot blankets called "lap robes" for the area nursing home residents. Tobias said the fund would donate the yarn, but they need more than 500 robes in order to present one to each resident.

"Lynn made it clear that A Close Knit Faith Community could not provide 500 plus lap robes, but we would indeed take on the project and make what we could," Leffler said.

By Holy Week, the group completed 13 lap robes.

"When we crafted these gifts, we thought of the elderly in our community and of the precious gift of life," Pownall said. "We reflected on the season of Lent and we reflected on the Passion of our Lord who shows us the redemptive power of suffering. We prayed for the men and women who will receive our gifts. We prayed for their healing, we prayed to strengthen and comfort them and we prayed for peace."

Each session the group follows the same format. Pownall brings the group to prayer, reads the Gospel and knitting begins in meditative silence. Pownall then draws the group into a discussion of the reading. Before the meeting ends, prayer concerns are shared and there is closing prayer.

"What started as a short-term study has grown into a long-term group bringing together strangers and knitting friendships," Leffler said.

A Close Knit Faith Community meets from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. every Wednesday in the fellowship hall. New crafters of all faiths are welcome year round. The group is also happy to teach new members to knit or crochet. For more information, call Leffler at (501) 513-6812 or e-mail Pownall at .