At the very east end of Toronto in West Hill, the Caring Hands Ministry at St. Margaret in-the-Pines has been meeting for many years. We are a group of about 12 women who enjoy knitting and crocheting, along with tea, goodies and each other’s company.
We make hats, mitts, scarves and prayer shawls. The hats and mitts are distributed to eight local schools and agencies in our parish. This year we gave out 80 sets of hats and mitts. The prayer shawls are given to anyone in the parish who is ill or shut in. We also have shawls for baptisms and confirmations. Over the years we have given away more than 250 shawls, which have gone all over the world to Japan, the Yukon, the Caribbean, the United States and even to a soldier in Afghanistan. We gave a number of prayer shawls to a local long-term care home for Christmas presents.
We give out the scarves to the neighbourhood. In December we set up a stand at the end of our long driveway on Lawrence Avenue East and handed out 25 scarves, served hot cider and gingerbread cookies, and met many of the people who live nearby. Most were very thankful and said they would try to attend services. One gentleman, an immigrant from Bhutan, commented that he gets great inspiration as he walks by from our large lighted cross by our old chapel. Any scarves not handed out will be given to a Homes First shelter across the road.
We give thanks to God for God’s faithfulness at St. Margaret’s as God leads us through the pandemic and into God’s love for us.
Submitted by Susan Humphreys, the coordinator of the Caring Hands Ministry at St. Margaret in-the-Pines.
