A Warm & Fuzzy Ministry
One of the most successful ministries we have had in our church is
the Prayer Bear Ministry at Children's Cooks Hospital in Fort Worth,TX. The purpose of the ministry is to pray for sick children and to have bears that
have been prayed over by the congregation ready to go out every year around christmas to bring comfort and
love to someone who is hurting.
Started about 13 years ago, members of the congregation donate NEW
teddy bears to the ministry.Bears are brought to the church and placed in the church office wraped in plastic bags until it is time to take them up to Children's Cooks Hospital.
If anyone would like to donate a bear for this ministry please follow
the guidelines below:
- The bear should be NEW.
- It should be between 10 and 12 inches long as this is a comfortable
size for young and old alike and especially easy to hold for those who are
weakened from illness.
- The bear should be soft with nothing on it that would chafe or
scratch someone. Hearts, wings and other additions to the bear are cute, but
not always soft to the touch so we have to remove them before they go in the
bin.
- No voice boxes please. Remember, we do not know where a bear is
headed and the voice box may be inappropriate for the recipient.
- Bring your bear to the church or contact the church office and let them know that it is
for the Prayer Bear ministry so that we can attach its tag before going over to
the sanctuary. And lastly before bringing the bear in to the church office,
won’t you take the time to start this bear on his way by praying for the
individual who will receive your bear.
- Because the bears go out to many who are battling serious illnesses,
we ask all not to take a bear during a worship service if they are feeling under
the weather and also not to allow their children to use the bears as a play
toy. However, we do encourage parents to explain to their child the purpose of
the prayer bear and to allow the child to pray for the person who will receive
it and then allow the bear to sit beside them during the worship
service.
For all the recipients of our bears we ask that you pray that they
will feel the love and prayers that this bear has received and pray especially
that they will feel God’s strength surrounding them, His love enfolding them,
and His peace falling over them. |