Howardwick church provides comfort of prayer through handmade blankets

By Roger Estlack & Tara Allred, Clarendon Enterprise

If actions speak louder than words, then the actions of the women at Howardwick Baptist Church speak volumes about Christian love and compassion as well as the power of prayer.

The ladies, who want no personal recognition, learn through the church about individuals who have special needs, are facing problems, or are battling illnesses. Then someone volunteers to knit a prayer blanket or afghan for that person in need.

Pastor Dave Stout says that over the years more than 300 of these afghans have been prepared for people in need… people like former Howardwick mayor Nancy Davis as she continues her personal battle with cancer and cannot express her thanks enough for what she’s been given

“You can lay there at night and just feel every prayer,” Davis said.

Perhaps that’s because not only is the blanket an expression of love, but it is also a symbol of prayer. As part of this quiet ministry, the woman making the afghan says a prayer for the intended recipient at the end of each crocheted row before starting the next one.

A supply of yarn is kept at the church for the ladies, and donations of yarn are always welcome, Stout says.

The pastor says he doesn’t know just when the ministry started, but he knows that afghans from the women of Howardwick have been shipped all over the United States and to some foreign countries.

For more information or to donate yarn to the ministry, contact Pastor Dave Stout at 231-8344.