“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” -Martin Luther
The Whole Health Ministry at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Crestview Hills has many outreach support services. The Prayer Bear Ministry has been a favorite since 2009. And quite a successful outreach with over 1,000 prayer bears delivered by individuals.
A seamstress maintains a supply of 6”x8” fleece bears, with heart-shaped chest pockets for the cards which include a Bible verse and space to pen a brief note. A small basket of bears is available in the lobby along with a sign-out sheet inviting us to take a bear as a gift for someone we are praying for, listing the prayer request. The Whole Health Ministry provides prayer support along with the person taking the bear.
A number of years ago, one of our dear friends received a sweet bear from us.
For twenty-five years, we had season tickets to the Cincinnati Ballet. During our first year, a mother and teenage daughter had season seats right next to us. It didn’t take long for us to become ballet friends across the years, sharing names and addresses, then graduations, weddings, grandchildren, vacation photos, prayer requests — you get the idea. We had much in common though we lived distant from each other. The ballet season allowed us to get caught up with each other again. Always such a treat.
More than 20 years into our friendship, the mother was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. We were all devastated. She kept coming along to ballet when she could manage. We gifted her with a light-weight shawl, some chemo hats and matching muffs, and a prayer bear with all the prayers the wee stuffed animal represented. In photos from that time, the prayer bear seemed nearby, a necessary part in her fight against the disease.
There were other folks with whom we shared prayer bears but it was with that dear friend that the first bear held very special connections.
Walda Helvie, one of my good friends, heads the Whole Health ministry at the church. Over the years at lunch, we continue to speak of the bears and their individual stories.
Back in February 2024, she wondered about a children’s book to advance the prayer bears’ use by children…and so the little book, The Adventures of Prayer Bear, came into being over this last winter with Walda as one of the authors.
A child-version of the cloth Prayer Bear was developed with a heart-shaped note saying, “God loves us and takes care of us.”
The story is precious, powerful even, and the book includes a pattern with simple instructions for making a little cloth bear with its heart pocket and note.
The Adventures of Prayer Bear is available through Amazon. What a treat to see this ministry with its own book. And available for all of us.
With gratitude and warmest congratulations to Gloria Dei’s Whole Health Ministry.
“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.” – Mahatma Ghandi
Judy Harris is well established in Northern Kentucky life, as a longtime elementary and university educator. A graduate of Thomas More, she began her career there in 1980 where she played a key role in teacher education and introduced students to national and international travel experiences. She has traveled and studied extensively abroad. She enjoys retirement yet stays in daily contact with university students. Reach her at judyharris1579@gmail.com