Special to The Hays Daily News

RUSSELL -- More than 5,000 Ranger Rosaries have been sent to men and women in the military by the Ranger Rosary Makers of St. Mary Queen of Angels Church.

The group sends a rosary to any military personnel who would like a rosary regardless of their religion.

The Ranger Rosary is made with parachute cord, pony beads and plastic crosses. Blue is for the Navy and the Air Force, and they are black on green cord or brown on tan cord for the Marines, the Army or the National Guard.

The group also makes rosaries with black on tan cord. Chaplains let the group know what color is needed or which branch of the service they serve.

The group started August and sent 2,141 to 12 different chaplains and 577 through groups or individuals. So far in 2008, the group has mailed 2,400 rosaries to seven different chaplains and 127 rosaries through individuals for a total of 5,245.

The Ranger Rosary Makers receive updates from a coordinator who gets the requests from the chaplains in the field. They just received a new request for 3,000 rosaries for deploying troops and have open orders to fill. Each rosary costs about 35 cents to make. All the work is done by volunteers.

Places where St. Mary Queen of Angels Rosary Makers have mailed packages to include bases where troops are deploying from in the United States, Iraq, Germany, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Rio Grande Valley, and to a Navy ship.

The group welcomes names and address for any service man or woman who would like a rosaries and are accepting donations for supplies. Send names, address, color choices or donations to Diane Larson, 4291 187th, Russell, KS 67665.