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About Prayer Shawls
The blessing of the Prayer Shawl provides healing and
comfort to the sick, the lonely and the elderly, or shares in the
accomplishment of the graduate, newlywed, and newborn. Like all acts of
generosity, the presentation of a Prayer Shawl enriches the giver as well as
the recipient.
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Card Download Instructions
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| Click any link below to download free note
card designs to add that special touch to your prayer shawl. The
cards are in the format of a Microsoft Word document.
Use the blank template and you'll find your message is
formatted to print at exactly the right place on the inside of the
card!
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Card design courtesy of Michelle Edwards1
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The designs are formatted for Avery Embossed Note Cards,
stock number 3268 (available at office supply stores and in the 'paper'
section of many general-merchandise stores.) You can also print the
card design on any good-quality paper that will work in your printer and trim after printing.
To print both the cover and the inside of a card, start by
printing the cover. After printing, remove the page of cards from the
printer, turn it over and return it to the paper tray (upside down -- read
your printer instructions or experiment on blank paper!) to print your
message on the inside.
Sample messages
Please wear this shawl knowing that it was knit with my
sympathies for what you've been through as well as with my hopes for your
future happiness.
I send this shawl with the hope expressed by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
that "the shadows bear the promise of a brighter coming day."
May your shadows soon turn bright.
This shawl was knitted with my deepest sympathy for what you have lost,
along with my most fervent hopes for a brighter tomorrow.
I send you this shawl as one member of the human family to another. I am
as grieved by your losses as if you were my sister. I am also full of hope
for your future -- may it bring you all that you need and more besides.
May you wear this shawl to comfort you and keep you warm as you face the
future -- a future I hope will bring you security and happiness.
Please accept this shawl as the symbol of my sympathy and concern for your
troubles. May it keep you warm as you head into "a brighter coming
day."
Like so many others in this country, I grieve for what you have been
through. I hope this shawl will warm you inside as well as out, knowing
that others care so much about you.
Do's
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Express your sorrow or concern or sympathy for the
person's plight in a somewhat unemotional way. To talk too much about
how bad YOU feel minimizes the other person's feeling. It is the other
person's tragedy, not ours.
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Mention the hopes for their future in some realistic
way. Things will probably NOT be made "all better" very soon,
but one can look forward.
Don'ts
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Do not give any advice ("Be strong" or
"Keep your eyes on the future") or in any way tell or suggest
how the other person should cope.
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Do not catastrophize. Although this has indeed been a
catastrophe, it does no good to say how truly dreadful things are; the
other person knows this.
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Do not assume the other person shares your philosophical
or religious feelings. It is better to keep to general feelings such as
sympathy and concern.
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Do not use clichés such as "Every cloud has a
silver lining" or "Everything has a purpose" or
"This was obviously meant to be." These are not comforting to
people in distress.
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| 1Michelle
Edwards, a life long knitter, is the author and illustrator of many books
for children including Stinky Stern Forever and Papa's Latkes. She lives in Iowa City,
Iowa with her husband and three daughters. She can be contacted at www.michelledwards.com/ |
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