A new home for Valley Community Church
Those unfamiliar with Valley Community Church who come across the online Sunday service are in for a surprise. There’s a professional sound to the haunting bluegrass gospel, southern gospel and old-time gospel music that enlivens the service each week, including the video service that’s available during the pandemic.
If Pastor John Muncy sounds like a real musician, that’s because he is. Muncy and his congregation just moved into the church building on Twinkling Springs Road after a couple of years in Nelson County. Muncy said he has a core of about 60 Nelson County congregation members and has been adding western Albemarle people since the first service March 1.
Muncy toured for years, first with the Muncy Family Gospel Singers. He plays 30 instruments: percussion, string and woodwind. After being called to the ministry and serving at a couple of churches, he toured with an African children’s choir until 2017. “This was part of our ministry,” he said. The choir and its managers logged around 18,000 miles over nine months of the year in a bus that held 92 passengers.
Grandchildren and a desire to be more settled drew Muncy and his wife, Pam Muncy, to the area, where he pastored an established church briefly, then, pressed by some community members, he started Valley Community Church. It’s a young church: “Our first meeting was at a Golden Corral,” he said. They also met at Rockfish Valley Community Center for a while, then found a temporary place in Roseland. A while ago, local legend Jimmy Fortune dropped in on a Sunday and Muncy and he delivered “Old Rugged Cross” with amazing harmonies, along with an original composition by Fortune.
When the home of the former Restoration Cornerstone Church became available, the congregation moved a little east. “We have a four-point mission,” Muncy said. “Know, Grow, Serve and Share.” With an emphasis on discipleship, the church hopes to attract members from the Crozet and Greenwood communities.
He characterizes his congregation as accepting and loving. “They’re very warm and as sweet as they can be,” he said.
Find information online at [email protected].
Food distribution notes during closure
Emmanuel Church in Greenwood and Holy Cross in Afton will have the “Bread Fund” distribution on April 4, as usual for the first Saturday of every month. Nancy Avery, who works with both churches, said they will not be having clients enter the building because of safety concerns, but will have them pick up boxes of pre-selected food. Avery said that clients will receive a box of frozen meat, canned meats, cereal, milk, vegetables, dry beans, pasta and other shelf-stable items.
Pick-up is from a building adjacent to Holy Cross Church at 2523 Craig’s Store Road in Afton, and distribution is from 8 to 9:30 a.m.
Avery said that Emmanuel also has a small food pantry at the church in Greenwood for emergencies that she restocks from the Food Bank from time to time. She’s setting up a place for people to drop-off items as well. For information, call the parish at 540-456-6334.
At Crozet United Methodist Church, the Monday food distribution program has closed for a time to protect both the volunteers and the clients, many of whom are in high-risk categories.
Working with the school counselors, Crozet Baptist Church is collecting pantry items for families from local schools during the school closures. Food donations can be put in the bin outside the church office. Monetary donations for fresh produce are accepted during church office hours, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
