Homemade rosaries to be part of St. Ray's event in Joliet

JOLIET – Christine Merriman shared a poignant story related to one of her homemade rosaries, a special rosary Merriman made for a former co-worker who had delivered a stillborn baby.

Merriman added a baby block with the baby's initial on it to the rosary. Then she mailed the rosary to the woman with a card expressing her sympathy.

"It's nice when you hear those stories. You feel a little connection to the rosary and to the family," Merriman said. "It tugs on your heartstrings when you hear, 'This is for my mom. She's in a nursing home.'"

Merriman will display samples of her rosaries Feb. 4 at St. Ray's Fun Fair & Vendor Fair. Because Merriman personalizes each order, none will be for sale that day.

"A rosary is different than making a necklace," Merriman said. "It's more sentimental; it's more personal."

Each rosary from ABC Rosaries costs an estimated $65 to $75. Merriman charges only for materials, never for labor. She said she makes them with sterling silver and genuine stones, such as amethyst and Swarovski crystal. She then adds a simple cross – not a crucifix.

"It's not ornate," Merriman said. "They say 'simple is best.'"

The sterling silver is the most expensive part of the rosary, which is why Merriman does not keep it in stock. Merriman made the decision to use sterling silver years ago when she began hosting rosary workshops for second-grade students preparing for their First Communion.

"I couldn't use silver plate because of the lead," Merriman said. "I didn't want [the children] to have lead on their hands."

Merriman began making rosaries about 11 years ago. The venture started as jewelry making, compliments of a friend, who brought Merriman to a bead shop in Naperville as a day for Merriman, whose second son, J.P. Merriman, 16, was 7 months old at the time.

In the past, Merriman had been a jewelry manager with Rogers and Hollands (10 years), David Nelson Jewelry (three years) and Service Merchandise (two years), before the company went out of business, she said.

Despite her management experience, Merriman had never considered making jewelry.

"I was overwhelmed at the thousands of beads hanging on the wall, and my first thought was, 'Is my newborn OK?'" Merriman said. "This was not what I wanted to be doing."

But a woman working with a torch intrigued her. And Merriman heard the woman say, "You want to work with your favorite color."

So Merriman picked out pink beads and created her first necklace, which she still wears today.

"I still have that piece," she said.

A few years later, Merriman made a rosary for her oldest son, Connor Merriman, now 19, when he was in the second grade and making his First Communion. That's when Merriman had an idea. Perhaps other parents at the Cathedral of St. Raymond – where Merriman is a member – would like to help their children make their own rosaries, too.

So Merriman offered her first of many rosary workshops.

"I showed them how to lay them out and I took them home and finished them," Merriman said. "And the kids got to bond with their moms."

Merriman said she charged only for the materials and donated part of the proceeds to the cathedral's religious education program. She wishes she had time to pray the rosary more often. But she knows someone who prays it daily – her mother-in-law, Pat Merriman, of Joliet.

"I made her an amethyst rosary," Christine said. "She takes it with her every day to Mass."

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: ABC Rosaries

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 4

WHERE: Cathedral of St. Raymond School gym, 604 N. Raynor Ave., Joliet

ETC: Christine Merriman's ABC Rosaries is part of St. Ray's Fun Fair & Vendor Fair. Admission is free to the vendor fair. Wristbands for the fun fair are $10 with a $25 limit per family.

INFO: Call Merriman at 815-744-7095, email her at ABCRosaries123@gmail.com or visit ABC Rosaries on Facebook.