The following is an update from the Ministry Team. If you have questions about or would like to participate in any of our Ministries, or would like to attend the Love INC fundraiser, please contact Fran Storer at 434-245-0322 or franstorer1@gmail.com.
Immanuel’s Closet
We have just finished the switchover to fall clothing at Immanuel’s Closet, which is always a Herculean task. But many hands make light work. We’d like to give special thanks to our volunteers who labored every day for more than a week to get the task done. We are now fully stocked to support the needs of the mothers and children that depend on us. And they are very appreciative. Thank you to Marilyn MacGill, Linda Beecroft, Wen Zhang, Cynthia Traver, Yvonne Gilbert, and Natalie Branch.
We also have finally found a new home, close at hand, for all our off-season inventory. After a number of months with our small room stacked with blue, pink and gray storage bins, we now have our space back and a fabulous new storage closet on the lower level. We owe a very special thank you to a church member, who not only gave his time to scrub, clean and paint the old janitors closet, but also donated all materials and constructed new steel shelving to accommodate all of our 15 heavy storage bins. Eric Geilker, we just can’t thank you enough.
If you are looking for someplace to volunteer, you can help any Thursday afternoon between 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm – just come. If you are able to make a regular commitment, we could use additional help on the 2nd or 4th Thursdays of the month.
Becoming Great Mommies Group
The Mommies Group is launching our fall sessions beginning next Wednesday, September 12. Our spring session was very successful, and all the Moms are planning to come back. And we are hoping to see a number of new faces. We are also working with the Pregnancy Centers of Central Virginia to begin a Daddies Group led by a trained male counselor from PCCV. That group will meet in the evening for several weeks to learn about the “19 principles of fatherhood” and have open discussion. Any of our Dads or Granddads that would like to join in to provide support and wisdom are welcome. We hope this effort will help participants dovetail their understanding with the lessons learned by the Moms to create a successful family parenting model for them. Dates to come.
Our volunteer Moms are gearing up and bringing new ideas. Thank you to Becca Czirjak, Mignonne Holz, Brittany Roberts and Madelon Stone.
We are always interested in new volunteers. If you like to teach, you can take a topic and be a discussion leader, or you can just help out in the nursery and enjoy developmental play with our beautiful infants and toddlers.
Love INC Transformational Ministry
Transformational Ministry is starting its second year this fall and is running a number of simultaneous classes:” Redemptive Compassion for training mentors (spiritual friends) and teachers; “Affirming Your Potential” for low income neighbors to help them reframe their thinking (based on biblical principles) and move toward self-sufficiency; and “Making Change with Your Money, “helping neighbors to manage their money and achieve stability for their families.
On Friday, October 5, Love INC will be having a fall fundraiser with a focus on Transformational Ministry. While there will be a main speaker for the evening, more important there will be testimonials from the “Neighbors,” sharing how their participation in these classes/discussion groups has helped to change their lives by providing a hand up instead of a hand out.
If you have questions about or would like to participate in any of our Ministries, or would like to attend the Love INC fundraiser, please contact Fran Storer at 434-245-0322 or franstorer1@gmail.com.