Threading Faith: The Story Behind The Prayer Beads

This week, we are grateful to share the story of Kate Steer and the quiet, meaningful ways she has been serving our community in recent weeks.

Kate and her husband, Jon, found their way to Newmarket Community Church during a season of transition. Having moved to Newmarket just before the Covid lockdown, Kate had begun searching for a church home but paused that search as the world slowed down. After things began to open back up, she decided to give NCC a try, drawn in part by its close proximity to home. But what began as a simple visit quickly became something more. As Kate shared, once she walked through the doors, she never looked back.

Service has long been a part of Kate’s faith journey. From her very first Sunday at her previous church, she was invited into participation, something that clearly stayed with her. Over the years, she has served in many capacities, offering her time, voice, leadership, and care to her church community. Here at NCC, she has continued that spirit of service by singing in the choir, supporting Pastor Patty with projects, and beginning to explore committee work. With more time since retiring from her engineering career last June, she has been able to lean even more fully into this season of giving.

Most recently, Kate has taken on a new and creative ministry, making prayer beads for our community. This is her first time doing so, and she approached it with both joy and intention, carefully selecting beads and crafting each piece by hand. What might seem like a small act has already made a meaningful impact. Knowing that others find comfort and connection through something she created has been a source of joy for her.

When asked about her relationship with prayer, Kate offered an honest and humble reflection, sharing that it is still an area of growth in her faith. And yet, in many ways, her actions speak to a lived expression of prayer, showing up, creating, and offering something tangible for others to hold onto in moments when words might be hard to find.

For Kate, being part of NCC is about returning to a place where love is meant to define both who we are and what we do. She described the church as a kind of home base, a place her soul returns to be reminded of that truth again and again.

Kate’s story is a reminder that service doesn’t always have to be loud to be meaningful. Sometimes it looks like quiet hands at work, creating something simple, thoughtful, and full of care. And in those small acts, something much bigger begins to take shape within our community.

Your friendly neighborhood church administrator,
Jeremy