For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,

We thank you, Lord.     Book of Common Prayer, p. 837

In January 2013 the Heart and Hands Ministry began with a group of women who wanted to use their talents with fabric and yarn to help people in need.

Over the years we have made lap quilts for shut-ins; prayer shawls for people who need a special “hug” during a hard time; lap-size quilts with squares of textured fabrics for special needs students at a local elementary school; and a great many knitted hats, scarves, and mittens for children we knew needed them.

At present, we make blankets for a local hospital’s NICU, the neo-natal intensive care unit, where new-borns at risk receive the constant care and nursing they need if they are to thrive. We make these from colorful flannel fabrics. In 2018, Heart and Hands delivered 437 pieces for the year to Parkview Regional’s NICU. The NICU also uses pillowcases, to cover the Isolette mattress.

Heart and Hands meets Friday mornings, 10-12 noon, at the church. Besides sewing on machines, we can always use another pair of hands to turn the blankets and pillow cases right side out for another pair of hands to press. Other members knit or crochet preemie hats and an even smaller version called the Micro-Preemie.

If you like to play with fabrics and yarn, consider joining us. We work, we talk, we share our lives together, and we often have treats and coffee or tea.

Judith Palmer and Marilyn McClure,

Co-Directors of Heart and Hands