PRAYER WINE CHOCOLATE: THE JOURNEY FROM BLOG TO MINISTRY

How did Prayer Wine Chocolate become a Catholic blog and a ministry?

Prayer Wine Chocolate the blog got it’s name from an odd sort of Rosary group.

In my mid-20’s, I started praying the Rosary with a few friends regularly. We would meet in my apartment on Thursday nights. Some would bring food, others, a bottle of wine. We would hang out, share our intentions and pray the Rosary together.

We continued to do this for years. Eventually, we started writing our intentions in a notebook and we became very aware that we had many prayers answered. At one point I said, “we should write a book!” (about how our prayers were answered). Another friend asked in response, “what would we call it?” The host looked around and saw our rosaries, our wine glasses and our chocolate so she said “Prayer Wine Chocolate”.

6 women holding Rosaries inside the home of Amy Brooks

When I started my blog, I found that no one own the domain “prayerwinechocolate.com” and I mentioned the name as a possibility to my husband. His reaction sealed the deal, he said, “That is SO you!”

So with that, my blog had a name . . .

**How did Prayer Wine Chocolate transition from a blog to a ministry?**

I ended up writing and sharing many stories of faith and I met many people in the online and Catholic world from sharing my blog posts on Facebook.

Early on, one way a person with a blog would promote their platform was through going Live on Facebook.

I decided a way that would serve others through Facebook Live videos would be if I visited various shrines and churches in the Philadelphia area, I could show these places to others who may never get the chance to visit them.

Photo of the Miraculous Medal Shrine in Philadelphia (taken outside from the parking lot)

While I was writing blog posts and sharing my Live videos, I came to know about WINE (Women in the New Evangelization). This ministry shares my love of Catholicism, friendship and a nice wine tasting. I saw them advertising a pilgrimage to Italy . . . it was called Wine and Shrine. I looked at the description and the photos and thought, “that sounds AMAZING!”, but I also thought, “There’s no way I can go”.

I felt bummed. But shortly after I also realized there are Saint shrines and beautiful churches in my area -as well as vineyards that offer wine tastings. So, I decided I could organize a one day retreat similar to the WINE pilgrimage. I was motivated to start planning right away because the Saint Katharine Drexel Shrine announced it was closing and I wanted to make sure we got there. I was determined to visit the place where Saint Katharine Drexel lived, worshipped and left this world before it was no longer an option.