Faith in her craft
May 15—SCRANTON — Bethany Purdy finds peace working with porcelain and pliers.
The Lenoxville woman began making handcrafted rosaries to cope with difficult life situations, including the death of her son, Joshua. She started selling the rosaries at craft shows and vendor fairs throughout Lackawanna and Luzerne counties about four years ago through her business, Little House of Figs Rosary.
A set of 59 beads, Roman Catholics use rosaries to pray.
The task, which started as a hobby on the advice of her pastor, the Rev. Thomas Petro, at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Dupont, developed into a passion.
"A lot of my children are very artsy, and he said this will be something great I can do with my kids," Purdy said. "Many times, I ask my kids their opinion regarding color combinations."
Purdy develops a spiritual connection with each person who buys one of her products, whether or not she knows them.
"When I make a rosary, if I know who it's for, I pray for that person specifically," she said. "If I don't know who it's going to, I'm praying for whoever ends up with the rosary."
A reading of the rosary played on Purdy's phone as she meticulously bent silver fittings while connecting glass beads Monday afternoon at the home of her mother, Roberta Kashuba, on Brook Street. She also uses porcelain and wood beads.
"It's a favorite pastime," Purdy said. "It's very calming and therapeutic to sit here and pray and make them. It's definitely been a help throughout the struggles of daily life. I've had so many things happen in my own life that only through the hand of God have I been able to persevere."
Although Joshua, born Feb. 3, 2000, only lived for an hour, Purdy was thankful for the brief time together.
"Halfway through my pregnancy, we found out there was something wrong," she said. "He was born at 7:01 and passed away at 8:01. I prayed for at least one hour so those who were meant to meet him would."
Kashuba helps her daughter set up and clean up at the craft shows and also answers questions from prospective customers. She also prays the rosary every day and uses some created by Purdy.
"She's a very spiritual person," Kashuba said. "It's what she was meant to do."
On average, Purdy pulls a rosary together in about an hour. However, more intricate designs take longer, she said.
She used caps, like roses, to distinguish the Our Father (prayer) beads on certain rosaries.
"Not only do they look differently than the rest of the rosary, but the person who is praying will feel the difference," Purdy said.
Purdy hopes the colorful creations help others find inner peace through their faith.
"It's about bringing others to God and love for his mother, because I wouldn't be doing half of what I do if she didn't help me, especially when I lost my son," she said.
The price of the rosaries typically ranges from $15 to $50, depending on the cost of materials, Purdy said.
However, the reaction of an emergency medical technician who received a free rosary at a craft fair particularly stuck with Purdy.
"I had one that was specifically done in blue — the color of St. Michael," she said. "I handed it to her and said this is meant for you. She looked at me and said I can't tell you what that means to me — a lot of times people need that extra comfort while I'm tending to their needs."
Janine Evanish, owner of Heaven & Earth Gift Shop and Cafe on Wyoming Avenue in Scranton, also sells rosaries and noticed a recent uptick in demand.
"A lot of people are turning toward prayer and meditation, and the rosary combines a lot of different types of prayers," she said. "A lot of my friends pray the rosary every day and a lot of people have telephone rosaries locally and around the world."
Contact the writer: rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5365; @rtomkavage on Twitter.
