by Anne Haugen
The Befriender Ministry includes several ongoing projects: Befrienders make home visits, Christmas greetings and Easter greetings are sent to the homebound, birthday greetings are sent to those 80 and over, prayer shawls are made and given out, and there is a Befriender resource shelf in our church library.
Regular Befriender visits are scheduled with Prince of Peace members who live in senior residences or at home without transportation. Visits include conversations, coffee and treats, and updates on PoP events.
For many years birthday greetings have been sent to PoP members eighty and over. In 2025 we tried something new. Seventy-nine birthday greetings were created by eight individuals, three families, and the confirmations class – each taking a month to send their personal birthday greeting to a person with a birthday during that month. This made the younger members of our congregation more aware of the older members and the recipients, especially those not actively present in worship, reminded that they are not forgotten members.
Did you sign the large twenty-three Christmas greeting cards in the narthex? These cards were made by our gifted artist Lenore Bleifuss and delivered by the Befrienders.
Prayer shawls are made by ten knitters and crocheters on the first Monday of the month in the library at 12:30. The shawls are given to persons going through a transitional time such as a death, hospitalization, separation, but also joyful times such as baptism. This group welcomes new knitters.
If you would like to be a Befriender, please contact Anne Haugan at ahaugan@usfamily.net.