MADE WITH LOVE

After hearing from a hospital chaplain connected with St. Luke’s Church in Schenectady that Ellis Hospital patients were suffering from being in isolation — due to COVID-19 restrictions — Kristen Black, pastoral associate for Pastoral Care, began to consider how students from the parish’s faith-formation program could help despite not being able to visit the patients in person.

At home, and at their own pace, students at St. Luke’s began to craft handmade cards to let patients know someone was thinking of them.
As the momentum built within her own faith-formation program, Black soon put the word out to other parishes. Not long after, cards from the faith-formation programs at St. Paul the Apostle Church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Church of St. Adalbert, Our Lady Queen of Peace — all in Schenectady — and St. Margaret of Cortona in Rotterdam came flowing in.

St. Luke’s prayer shawl ministry got to work, knitting shawls with love and prayer for hospital chaplains in gratitude for their service. St. Paul the Apostle, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the Church of St. Adalbert followed suit. Black collected the cards and prayer shawls to drop them off at Ellis Hospital.

“This is all done in the spirit of doing small things with great love,” Black said.

The cards will be distributed as staff sees fit. If a patient is especially struggling, a card will be given to them by a chaplain in hopes of brightening their day.

“I think both kids and adults want to find ways to contribute in a positive way right now and sometimes we don’t know what or how,” Black said. “I think it is important to remember that we can all make a difference with each small act of kindness and love that we share.”