Taking God’s love out into our community
The congregations of Historic Beckford Parish support and lead a number of important ministries and services.
The Clothes Closet
Along with other area churches, we provide volunteers on the first and third Thursday of each month to support this well-stocked local thrift store in Woodstock that provides very affordable clothing, gifts, and household items to those in need (or those who love bargain-shopping). Free clothes are given to those referred by a government or non-profit charitable organization and to those in need as a result of a fire/flood. The Clothes Closet organization puts their significant profits back into the local community and is one of our oldest outreach programs.
The Clothes Closet welcomes donations of clothing and small appliances, home goods, books, and gifts. You can drop them off during their open hours Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Recent extended hours means they need more volunteers. If you’d like to help or learn more, contact Trudy Pence.
Salvation Army Bell Ringers
Every Christmas season, volunteers from our parish join other county bell-ringers to raise money for this worthwhile organization. It’s a wonderful way to get in the Christmas spirit! If you can help, contact Richard Torovsky at St. Andrew’s.
Family Promise
Family Promise of Shenandoah County was founded in 2015 as the 200th local affiliate of the national Family Promise organization which serves homeless children and their families. Local congregations host families in their churches for one week every quarter while support churches like Emmanuel Episcopal provide dinner and companionship one night during that week. A paid staff works with the families to create permanent solutions to homelessness by working with other local agencies and nonprofits to secure jobs, affordable housing, and medical care. Katherine Morrison and Ellen Fairchild-Flugel are the main contacts for Emmanuel.
Shenandoah Alliance for Shelter
Its mission is “to prevent homelessness by providing supportive services and/or temporary shelter to enable our clients to achieve independence.” They do a great job of coordinating with other services to avoid duplication of effort and to ensure their clients get the best help they can. We encourage folks in need of assistance to reach out to them directly. More info
Shenandoah County Resources
We have compiled a list of area resources we are aware of to help those who may need the info.