Catholic mother markets 'prayers in a bag'

Published: 2006-01-12

NEWARK, Del. (CNS) -- Debbie Schmucker was looking for a creative way to keep her 11-year-old son from watching too much television. She found one, and she has turned her idea into a product that promotes prayer among children. Schmucker, 39, of St. John the Baptist-Holy Angels Parish in Newark, designed the Prayer Bag, an 8-by-8-inch yellow nylon bag that holds 14 plastic, 2-inch disks with a different prayer or intention on both sides. She offers five versions of the bag -- prayers for ages 5-7, ages 8-11, bedtime, first Communion and mealtime. A child reaches into the bag to pull out a disk and then decides which of the two prayers or intentions to use. A few of the disks are blank; if a child picks one of them he can choose his own prayer topic. Schmucker said the bag has proved to be a good educational tool for her two children, 11-year-old Michael and 5-year-old Lauren, students at Holy Angels School. The Prayer Bag is available online at: www.prayerbag.com, or by phone at: (302) 563-9669.

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