Written by administrator
Tuesday, 01 February 2011
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From left are Maeve Maltese, Shayne Rice, Tyler
Rice, Sister Loretta Francis Mann, art teacher Lori Oleasz,
Anthony Tedeschi, Jack Bishop, Nell Kordalski and Richard
Murray. (Photo submitted)
NEWINGTON – A Cuddle and a Prayer Blankie Ministry is the
warm and fuzzy name of a new ministry that children at St.
Mary School have started to help other children. |
The students are making blankets in art
class for children in Haiti, many of whom became orphans and
homeless after that nation’s horrific earthquake.
The name
reflects the essence of the ministry, explained art teacher
Lori Oleasz, who is steering the project. "The students’
hope and prayer is that the children who receive their
‘blankies’ [blankets just the right size for cuddling] will
be comforted by their softness; find joy in the bright,
cheerful colors of the fabric; and know that they are loved
and will be lifted high in [our students’] prayers," she
said.
The blankies are made of layers of fleece fabric that the
students cut and tie by hand. Each blankie includes a royal
blue cross (the school’s color) sewn on it. A prayer card is
attached to each blankie as well.
Mrs. Oleasz said that as the St. Mary’s students make the
blankets, they often talk about their hopes and prayers for
the children who will receive them.
The project is ambitious. Mrs. Oleasz said the ministry
plans to establish a working relationship with Catholic
agencies in the United States and missionaries abroad to
distribute the blankies to as many children as possible. She
also said they hope "to encourage children and teachers in
other Catholic schools to join us in this effort and start a
chapter of the ministry at their schools."
The seeds of the school-wide ministry were planted when
students learned, from principal Marge McDonald and Mrs.
Oleasz, about the plight of children in Haiti. The ministry
bloomed when the school learned about Franciscan Sister
Loretta Francis Mann’s visit to Haiti over the summer.
Sister Loretta served children on a mission trip to
Haiti, rocking and cuddling little ones as part of her acts
of mercy there.
Sister Loretta, a former assistant superintendent of
Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Hartford, had
visited St. Mary’s before, in 2008, the year of her
retirement. When the school learned that she planned to
return to Haiti in February, it went into action through the
art class project.
Sister Loretta visited St. Mary’s in November, when she
shared pictures and stories from her trip to Haiti. The
students presented her with six blankets that were blessed
by Father Joseph F. Keough, Pastor of St. Mary, the first of
20 blankets they planned to give her to take to Haiti in
February.
"I can’t wait to go back to … Haiti to give them your
blankies," Sister Loretta told the school community. She
also said she wanted to share the handmade blankies with the
Missionaries of Charity, the religious order founded by
Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, who operate an orphanage in
Haiti.
Students at St. Mary’s plan to help as many children as
possible by enlisting the help of other schools and by
continuing to make blankies for as long as is necessary,
Mrs. Oleasz said.
"Imagine the good, for the good of the whole, our
students from the Archdiocese can accomplish in working
together," she said.
Mrs. Oleasz said the school is seeking donations of
money, fabric store gift cards or supplies from the parish
community and the community at large.
Mrs. Oleasz is available by phone at (860) 666-3844, ext. 39, to talk about
donations and to provide information about the ministry or
how to organize a chapter. She also will provide
instructions for making the blankies, she said.
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