Crochet Wrist-Rosary Outreach From Annunciation to Christmas
Rosary Making and Giveaways are a fun and positive way to
celebrate the Annunciation and Christmas connection as well as providing a
natural invite to Mass and church activities.
Many churches encourage parishioners to invite family and friends back
to the faith, particularly grandparents, and mailable bracelet Rosaries that
slip in a birthday card are an easy way to do so. Parishes around the country are reminding congregations that
in most families, grandparents are the best bridge from tradition to today. Find out when your parish prays the Rosary
together and slip one of the Rosary packets in a note card with an invite to
join you. Or include one with your
Christmas card along with the Mass times for Dec.24/25th to celebrate the day
together. The Rosaries are inexpensive
to make and are a cost effective way for a church to distribute Rosaries year
round. (Read more about the benefits
of a Rosary outreach below).
Right-Click
or Touch the following link to Save/Download PDF instructions (2 pgs.--print
front & back to save paper and for convenient single-sheet handouts: Click HERE
for Crochet Rosary Instructions PDF
(it is worthwhile to bag and card/slip the
Rosaries as noted in instructions--this not only makes them look attractive but
pressing out the air before sealing prevents them from doubling up to stay flat
in mailing)--Full web addresses for Crochet Wrist
Rosary instruction sheet and Rosary Prayer Cards and Info Insert Slips are:
http://dayoftheunbornchild.com/CrochetWristRosaryInstructionsFrontBackMailSafe1Stamp.pdf
When your Rosaries are completed print out
one of the two file options below to print small "How to Pray the Rosary
Cards" with the prayers on the reverse -- place the Rosary flat on the
card, insert in clear zip bag, and then use one of these info slips http://dayoftheunbornchild.com/CrochetWristRosaryClearBagBackInsertSlips_EnlargeForBasketTinBinSign.pdf
inserting the slip so it is readable through the back of bag
(slips can also be enlarged and printed on cardstock for a sign for an
info-table basket, decorative box or tin).
DOWNLOAD "HOW TO PRAY THE ROSARY"
WALLET SIZE CARDS (feel free to download and use these cards with or without
the crochet Rosaries):
Print
on 60 lb cardstock or heavyweight paper--margins are close so a backlit paper
cutter will help you see the text on both sides (you can light any paper cutter
with a flashlight laid flat shining along the cutting edge, or your phone
flashlight on the table under the paper):
Option 1 (for printers that can handle
narrow edge margins, wider internal margins are easier to cut)--print double
sided:
Option 2 (for printers that need wider
edge margins--internal margins are tighter, cut carefully)--print double sided:
Begin
with the Annunciation…
Praying the Rosary itself brings us immediately into the reality of Christ's Incarnation as the Biblical Conception/Nativity/Infancy narratives of the New Testament are chronologically first of the four sets of meditations (mysteries) with the Annunciation being the very first subject for meditation in prayer. The Rosary lends itself both to individual and small or large group prayer. Communal prayer, as a formal devotion in Church or at an off-site get-together, is a positive way to bond parishioners and invite new people in. Whether you start the crochet Rosary project on the Annunciation feast and end at Christmastime, or the other way around, it provides many opportunities for evangelization and prayer that enriches our understanding of these special feast days and the events they celebrate. An Annunciation to Christmas campaign can highlight related feast days within that time period, serving as a mini-catechism utilizing the traditional calendar. To decide which option is right for your church or group, click HERE.
NOTES ON THE DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTION SHEET–Mail-Safe 1-Stamp Crochet Rosary–(2 pg. pdf)
The
Mail-Safe Crochet Wrist-Rosary in the linked instruction file is designed to be
thin and crush-proof so it can mail in greeting cards or business envelopes
with no extra postage (in the U.S. at least where up to one ounce mails with
one stamp). As it is only one decade,
the Rosary in a snack size clear bag with a small prayer cardstock insert
should be approximately 1/4 oz–Bags with air pressed out keep the Rosaries
attractive and flat for mailing. The
filled envelope should fit through a 1/4 inch slot. The Rosary is made with common stitches--chain stitch, slip
stitch, double crochet, increase double crochet, and a modified double crochet
that forms the "beads"--beginners who've learned basic crochet who
are comfortable doing fairly right stitches with a 4 yarn and 4 hook should
have no problem making these Rosaries and they will improve with practice. Full details in downloadable instruction
sheet (note that most of the text is for helpful tips and finer points--the
basic steps are in bold).
Right-Click
or Touch the following link to Save/Download PDF instructions (2 pgs.--print front
& back to save paper and for convenient single-sheet handouts): click HERE
for Crochet Rosary Instructions PDF
(it is worthwhile to bag and card/slip the Rosaries as noted in instructions--this not only makes them look attractive but pressing out the air before sealing prevents them from doubling up to stay flat in mailing)--Full web address for instruction sheet is: http://dayoftheunbornchild.com/CrochetWristRosaryInstructionsFrontBackMailSafe1Stamp.pdf
#PrayItForward
Share the Power of Prayer
Two Options for a Crochet Rosary-Making Drive (see details below):
Start Crocheting at Christmas for an Annunciation Day
Giveaway
OR
Start a Crochet Campaign on the Annunciation & Give
Out in time for Christmas
A Christmas-Season Start:
If your focus is to encourage Church attendance on the Feast of the Annunciation publicize the Rosary-making campaign around Christmas, and have the distribution on the Annunciation feast after Mass announced ahead of time in the bulletin -- add an Annunciation themed prayer card such as those available for download on this site to pair with the Rosary as a prayerful reminder of the day's significance in celebrating the Incarnation. In this case you might distribute instruction sheets just after Christmas (when holiday bustle slows down) to have enough Rosaries completed (and bagged with prayer card) for March 25th. You might encourage grandparents, etc. to enclose a Rosary in birthday cards for grandchildren -- have a variety of colors available to appeal to boys and girls and various ages. (If unsure of what color to send, medium blues have broad appeal).
Starting on the Annunciation Feast:
If your focus is to broadly evangelize--to inform about the Annunciation and encourage a return to traditional prayer and church attendance: Begin the Rosary-making campaign on the Annunciation taking the opportunity to explain the significance of choosing that feast of Christ's conception (set a goal of a making a specific number to give out by Christmas and distribute the handout instruction sheets beginning March 25th). Encourage grandparents and other relative to enclose a Rosary in Christmas cards with an invite to attend Mass together including the times. (You can also request parishioners donate extra Christmas cards in good ready-to-mail condition--make it as easy as possible for parishioners to participate in the outreach). Having a 9- month Rosary-making campaign leading to Christmas underscores the pregnancy-length interval between the feasts and provides opportunities along the way to mark progress based on the Biblically based feast days. For example, mark the progress just after two months on May 31 the Feast of the Visitation (the prenatal meeting of the unborn Jesus and John via their mothers)--the feast date was set in May because the month comes after the Annunciation but before the feast of John's birth (see bottom note for more). A more precisely set feast date in June provides another opportunity--mark 3 months progress on the June 24 feast of the Birth of John the Baptist, reflecting Luke noting Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant when Jesus was conceived. These special days provide occasions for a hands-on crochet tutorial -- or an informal get-together to compare notes and how-to tips. To make sure the Rosaries are given out early enough to enclose in Christmas cards (but not so early as to forget), the December 6 feast of St. Nicholas, and the December 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe are both perfectly timed and an occasion to highlight yet another significant feast day--both St. Nicholas and Our Lady of Guadalupe known as protectors and patrons of children. If you want to make an event of it, have extra Christmas cards available and volunteers to help older parishioners make out their Christmas cards and pick out a Rosary to enclose.
For more on the Rosary as it relates to celebrating the Annunciation, click HERE.
Once again, to Download the Instructions
for making Bracelet/Wrist Crochet Rosaries:
Right-Click or Touch the following link to
Save/Download PDF instructions (2 pgs.--print front & back to save paper
and for convenient single-sheet handouts): click HERE
for Crochet Rosary Instructions PDF
-- Full web address for instruction sheet
is: http://dayoftheunbornchild.com/CrochetWristRosaryInstructionsFrontBackMailSafe1Stamp.pdf
Note: the Visitation feast date was moved in 1969 to the
month of May, "between the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (25
March) and that of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (24 June), so that it
would harmonize better with the Gospel" -- source: Calendarium Romanum
(Libraria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 128
[Page
modified 8/01/2023)