Published: November 13, 2009 11:14 pm      

Shawls offer warmth and prayer

LONACONING — Prayer shawls, lap robes and hats being crocheted in Lonaconing are warming the legs, shoulders, heads, hearts and souls of people in need of encouragement, especially cancer patients.

If there were competitive standings among the five women who create these items — and there is not — Virginia Smith would be the leader. During her crocheting career, Smith has made 73 shawls, 78 lap robes and 264 hats. During September and October she turned out eight shawls, 10 lap robes and 50 hats.

“I love doing it,” Smith said. “It makes me feel good to make someone else feel good.” Smith said she crochets four to six hours each day.

The items, which are usually prayed over by the pastor of the Lonaconing Assembly of God Church — formerly Greg George and now Robert Whitecotton — used to find their way to cancer patients at Sacred Heart Hospital and now will be headed for the new Western Maryland Regional Medical Center.

Faye Smith said the group’s contact there is Emily Maust, volunteer in the Pastoral Care Unit, who makes sure the warming garments are distributed.

Another of the crocheters, Dorothy Robosson, both wears the items and hands them out. As a current breast cancer patient, Robosson said she not only sees others feel the love and encouragement inherent in the yarn items, but senses it for herself.

“We know that our shawls have reached cancer patients in foreign countries,” Faye Smith said. The items are often distributed through the church as well as the Assembly of God Church in Hancock and are passed on by members of the congregation to those in need, often relatives.

Tammy Whitecotton, wife of the pastor and also a crocheter, said their daughter, a college student in Florida, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“We sent her a shawl and she said when she wraps it around her she feels home,” Tammy Whitecotton said.

Robert Whitecotton said the church he pastors is a church that cares. “People won’t care what you know until they know how much you care,” he said.

Jennifer Shumaker said her daughter often watches as she crochets an item. “She wants to know ‘Is that for me?’ ”

Faye Smith said the group is always looking for others to help crochet and for the names of people who need the items, which include a card of encouragement. She may be contacted at (301) 463-2583. Contributions are welcome.

“We even gave a hat and a lap robe to a premature baby that weighed less than 2 pounds,” Robosson said. “That baby is now home and doing well.”

Virginia Smith said each color in a shawl, robe or hat represents a quality: red, energy; pink, joy; brown, stability; orange, happiness; gold, wisdom; yellow, cheerfulness; green, healing; blue, loyalty; purple, dignity; and white, purity.

Contact Mike Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.