CRANBERRY TWP — For Margaret Heddle, 1996 was a year of transition.

She left her network of friends and family in Canada to move to Missouri, where she knew no one.

Adapting to a new home in an unfamiliar neighborhood was tough, but she also had to help her elementary age sons, Alex and Matt, adjust to their new schools and make friends.

Feeling lonely herself, Heddle sought companions to help her transition into her new life.

"I just really needed to find other moms to pray with," she said.

Through an ad in the local newspaper, she discovered Moms in Touch International.

Moms in Touch encourages groups of two or more mothers to meet for one hour each week to pray for their children, their schools, teachers and administrators.

Prayers include four stages: praise, confession, thanksgiving and intercession.

Through scripture, mothers pray for children in general, then for specific needs, said Heddle, 48.

Three years ago, the family moved to Cranberry Township. Though Alex, now 20 and Matt, 18, were older, Heddle still felt the need to reach out to other mothers.

"I had been praying consistently for those eight years so I didn't want to give it up," she said.

"I really felt it was an important part of our lives. It's a support and comfort to have other moms pray with you."

Walking the dog one day she met a neighbor also new to Cranberry.

Discovering they had both been involved with Moms in Touch in their former communities, the women decided to start a group in the Seneca Valley School District "because all you need is two moms to pray together," Heddle said.

Moms in Touch groups meet at every school in the Seneca Valley district and there are also groups at other schools in Butler County.

Most groups meet in the morning, but the organization is open to creating evening sessions for working moms, Heddle said.

Nationally, Moms in Touch claims 17,500 groups across the United States and contacts in more than 120 other countries, according to the Web site, www.momsintouch.org.

More than 1,360 regional or area coordinators and contact people serve those groups as well as home school groups, special needs groups, faculty and teachers' groups and a growing prison ministry across the nation.

Heddle now serves as the contact person for Butler County and prays regularly with regional coordinator Debby Puth.

Involved with Moms in Touch for nearly two decades, Puth founded the first group in the Mohawk School District in Lawrence County, where she stayed for 11 years.

She has spent the last three years coordinating Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango county groups.

"It's been interesting," said Puth, 55, of New Galilee, Beaver County.

As the first regional coordinator in this area, her main focus has been "cleaning up the roster," or organizing contact information for the 50 to 60 groups in the region, many of which have been meeting regularly for decades.

"There are, it seems, long-timers — once they get started they don't want to turn loose," Puth said.

"Even though that same group doesn't stay together, you move on to a college group or whatever. It allows you to pray at a level (that meets) each others' needs."

Mothers who once found solace praying for their toddlers continue to pray for their collegians, young professionals and, eventually, grandchildren, she said.

"After you've been in a mom's group and they go to college ¿ well you just can't stop there," Puth said.

"If you think, generations before you always were right there close to mom and grandma to raise their kids. In today's world, women are working; the whole U.S. is on the move because husbands' jobs, even the wives' jobs, are moving constantly.

"Those relationships, being close to family, close to lifelong friends, aren't there anymore," she added.

Sometimes mothers praying together don't even know each other, she said. But, through Moms in Touch, they can achieve their common goals.

"It just is a blessing when you hear someone else praying for your child," Puth said. "I think that bonding that takes place is just a special blessing from God."

Heddle said groups began coming together last year to pray for the Amish children involved in the West Nickel Mines School shooting as well as the Virginia Tech tragedy in May.

And groups from across the seven-county region gathered May 19 for the first ever Moms in Touch rally, held at Camp Run Church in Fombell.

"What keeps us coming back is the support, the encouragement, the sharing — because so often at different phases in our children's lives, things can get kind of rough," Heddle said.

"It's a wonderful time to be in unity in prayer, holding them up."

Moms in Touch International groups meet at the following schools:• Butler Area — Butler High School, Butler Intermediate High School, Butler Junior High School, Broad Street School, Center Avenue School, Center Township School, Meridian School, Northwest School, Oakland Township School; Emily Brittain Elementary School, McQuistion Elementary School, Connoquenessing Elementary School, Summit Elementary School, Moraine Elementary School and Clearfield Elementary School• Karns City — Karns City High School; Chicora Elementary and Bruin Elementary schools• Mars — Mars Area Senior High, middle and elementary schools and Mars Area Primary Center• Moniteau — Moniteau Junior Senior High School• Seneca Valley — Senior high, intermediate high and middle school; Evans City schools, Haine schools; Connoquenessing Valley Elementary and Rowan Elementary schools• Slippery Rock — High school, middle school; Slippery Rock Elementary and Har-mer Elementary schools• South Butler — Knoch High School, Knoch Middle School; South Butler Intermediate Elementary School and South Butler Primary SchoolFor information, contact:Regional coordinator: Debby PuthPhone: 724-336-5927Web site: www.momsintouch.org