As I spoke to Brenda Larson over the phone, three quilts were lying on her table and were headed to the United Protestant Church this week. But part of their story started years before she ever joined the Prayer Shawl Ministry group. The fabric came from a woman who once sat on her couch, cutting squares for quilts she never finished. When her daughter found the box after her mother’s death, she brought it straight to Brenda.
“She gave me the box of squares that her mother had cut and said, ‘Could you finish the quilts that my mom started?’” Brenda said.
She did. Two full‑size quilts went back to the daughter. The rest of the squares became two lap throws for the church’s prayer shawl ministry.
“It’s so special because the lady that left the material to her daughter was very, very, very active at our church,” Brenda added.
United Protestant Church’s Prayer Shawl Ministry began in 2008, inspired by a member who had seen the Catholic church in town making shawls and thought UP Church should try it too.
That member, Susan Miklavcich, has since passed, but the work she sparked continues.
“They’ve been doing it for quite a few years,” Brenda said. “I’ve only joined them maybe about two years now.”
The group meets twice a month. Five women come regularly now, down from the six to eight who once filled the pews with shawls for a pastor’s blessing.
“A lot of the ladies got older and couldn’t crochet or knit anymore. So it’s dwindled a little bit,” advised Brenda.
Brenda doesn’t knit or crochet either. When she asked if she could quilt instead, the group welcomed her in. Her quilted lap throws are sized for wheelchairs or living‑room chairs. Some recipients wrap them around their shoulders. Others keep them close for comfort.
One man recovering from knee surgery called her after receiving his.
“He said, ‘Oh, Brenda, I love it,’” she said. “His wife told me that he just uses it all the time.”
Another woman, newly moved into assisted living and struggling with the transition, received one of Brenda’s quilts in person.
“She loved it,” Brenda said. “She was just so appreciative of it, and she uses it all the time. She said it’s always on her.”
The group’s work reaches beyond their own congregation.
“If a member of our church loses a spouse, or is having a surgery, or comes down with an illness, then we have a little paper that says, This shawl has been made for you with love from the Prayer Shawl Ministry of UP Church,” Brenda said. “We just sit in a little circle, and we pass them around, and we say a prayer on each one as we’re passing them around and finishing up.”
Brenda has added something new to the mix: quilted hugs. They’re shaped like a cape, with a V‑front and a Velcro closure.
“It’s like being hugged in a little blanket around their shoulders,” she said.
Donations keep the ministry supplied. Yarn, fabric, attic finds, and even a mother-in-law’s quilting stash have all made their way into shawls and throws.
The group hopes to grow again, and anyone who quilts, crochets, or knits is welcome.
“It’s been a little bit of a practice that’s been going on for quite a few years throughout the community,” Brenda said. “I think it’s really kind of fun that we’re continuing it and people still get a little bit of comfort from getting one.”
Those interested in joining the Prayer Shawl Ministry Group or who wish to donate material for the cause can contact the UP Church at 218-226-3973 or email upchurch1956@gmail.com.
