Crozet Cares Closet Opens
The generosity of a caring community stocked the Scott House at Emmanuel Episcopal Church with personal care and cleaning supplies for people who need them. The closet is a ministry of the year-old Crozet Interfaith Outreach Council. July 1 was the grand opening day for the new ministry, and volunteers served 25 households of various sizes. In all, 75 people were served.
Care Closet volunteer Joan Hodskins reported that every household came away with soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, and toilet paper, as well as paper towels, cleaning spray, dish detergent, and laundry detergent.
The closet opens again August 5, and supplies needed most are full-size liquid laundry detergents and all-purpose spray cleaners. Hodskins said the volunteers anticipate that monthly inventory needs will vary, but all items are gratefully accepted.
To donate, place items in bins at Crozet Baptist Church, 5804 St. George Ave.; Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 7599 Rockfish Gap; and Denise Ramey Real Estate, 325 Four Leaf Lane.
There are online ways to donate, too: a Crozet Cares Closet Amazon wish list, which ships items directly to Emmanuel Episcopal Church; and a secure link for monetary donations. Find links to both the wish list and direct donations at emmanuelgreenwood.org.
Music, Food and Celebration Mark St. Nicholas Anniversary
His Eminence Antony, the metropolitan and prime hierarch of the Ukranian Orthodox Church of the USA and diaspora, traveled from New Jersey to attend the 25th anniversary celebration of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church. He brought seven Ukrainian seminarians with him, and was joined at the church with its present and former pastors, Fr. Michael Abrahamson and Fr. Robert Holet. The visit was part of a two-day celebration by the people of St. Nicholas, including a picnic with briskets smoked by Fr. Abrahamson and side dishes and desserts from the congregation. Bishop Antony blessed the symbolic gifts of salt and bread and conducted a formal service on the second day of the anniversary celebration.
Another highlight of the event was the a cappella singing by the seminarians at the luncheon following the religious service. The seven men sang the Ukrainian national anthem as well as the U.S. national anthem and a traditional spiritual. The joyous day had some sad moments as the music reminded people about their friends and family in Ukraine, said parishioner Debbie Delares, but both the informal events and the formal service were uplifting. “There was so much love,” she said.
Churches Fill Backpacks for School Children
Crozet-area churches continue to fill the needs of families strapped by the rising cost of school supplies and the absence of the traditional “tax holiday” for school supplies in Virginia. There are several ministries devoted to making sure each child starts school with a backpack full of everything needed to start the school year off right. St. Paul’s-Ivy asks for those with backpacks or school supplies they’d like to donate to bring them on Sundays to the back of the church. Tabor Presbyterian Church also has a backpack mission, and Our Lady of the Rosary teams up with Crozet Baptist Church to make sure no student at Crozet Elementary, Henley, Brownsville or Western shows up for school unprepared.
Each church has a slightly different list, or may direct you to order specific supplies from a website, but any donation is welcome. Find detailed information at the individual websites. Tabor: taborpc.org; Our Lady of the Rosary: olrcrozet.org; St. Paul’s, Ivy: stpaulsivy.org; Crozet Baptist: Crozet church.org.
White Hall Meditation Meets in Person
The long-standing White Hall Meditation group has been meeting in person at the Crozet Library, after months of meditation sessions led by Zoom. Dates this month are Wednesday, August 23, and Wednesday, August 30. The sessions are from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The sessions are free and everyone is welcome. For more details, visit whitehallmeditation.org.
