As you travel west through the Diocese of Arlington, the tall
office buildings and shopping centers that line the highway gradually fade to
grassy, open fields. When mountains frame the horizon, you might be close to
one of the smallest diocesan parishes: Our Lady of the Valley Church in Luray,
with 400 parishioners, or Our Lady of the Blue Ridge Church in Madison with
333. A little more than an hour away, Central Virginia’s natural beauty isn’t
the only thing that separates it from Washington’s sprawling suburbs.
More than 1 million people live in Fairfax County, which is the
largest in Virginia. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the majority of that
racially diverse population is college-educated and the average yearly income
is $112,552.
In contrast, 23,000 people live in Page County, home to Our Lady
of the Valley, and 13,000 live in neighboring Madison County. Less than 25
percent of the population is college-educated. The average income hovers around
$45,000. Nearly 100 percent of the population is white.
Statistics paint a stark difference between the diocese’s suburbs
and rural areas, but residents, too, are quick to share how life is different
in a country parish. Though less economically robust, the area is full of true
neighbors.
Our Lady of the Blue Ridge
Our Lady of the Blue Ridge Church is a simple building with a brick
exterior and white walls inside. Behind the altar, light shines through a small
rose window above a simple crucifix. Across the parking lot, Father James C.
Bruse, pastor, lives in the rectory with his 24-pound cat, Turbo. Next to the
church, the Knights of Columbus has laid the ground work for a brick prayer
garden, which will raise the funds needed to replace the roof on the church.

Father James C. Bruse, pastor of Our Lady of the Blue
Ridge Church in Madison, holds his cat, Turbo.
ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD
Tim Walker has been a parishioner since 1991, a year after he
converted to Catholicism. Since then, he’s sung in the choir, served as a lector
and altar server, joined the Knights and helped maintain the church. “If you
need something done, that’s what I do,” he said.
Two years ago, Walker retired from teaching industrial machine
mechanics at the Coffeewood Correctional Center in Mitchells, though he still
teaches at the local community college. Nearly 200 of the prisoners he taught
have not reoffended, he said. He likes to shop at the Amish grocery store for
his many cooking experiments, some of which he shares with Father Bruse.
The Knights of the parish, who belong to the council at St.
Isidore Church in Orange, similarly play whatever role is needed in service of
the parish and the larger community, said Walker. They’ve done odd jobs for
Barbara’s House, a transitional housing program, and MESA (Madison Emergency
Services Association), a thrift store and food bank. They do the cooking at
parish fundraisers. And they help their neighbors.
“We remove snow in the wintertime, pick up people and take them
to the hospital or appointments. We volunteer our time and our service to do
that, because there’s nobody else to do it,” said Walker. “We’re just so rural.”
Though Madison’s residents may be geographically distant from one another, the
neighborly concern is constant, he said.
“I grew up on a farm and the farming communities were always
tightknit because you don’t have all those things and you had to rely on your
neighbor,” he said. “That’s what you see here. Everyone relies on each other to
accomplish what they need — without question.”
Rural Poverty
Northern Virginians get around by car, Metro, train, Uber, bus or
bicycle. For Madison County dwellers, the lack of public transportation and the
distance between most people’s homes and their stores, offices and places of
worship makes traveling by car the only real option. It’s one of the many challenges
faced by the rural poor, said parishioner Ruth Kulick.
Having reliable electricity and internet access is a problem for
everyone in Madison, she said. Though the cost of living is lower than in
Northern Virginia, affordable housing isn’t plentiful and renters often are
forced to replace broken appliances and make their own home repairs. As with
much of the country, Madison is dealing with a serious drug problem, said
Kulick. Father Bruse decided to put “No Trespassing” signs in the parish
parking lot to deter drug deals at night. Police regularly patrol the lot.
Kulick has been a parishioner since Our Lady of the Blue Ridge
was founded in 1977. She taught religious education for 30 years and is active
in community outreach. The work puts her in close contact with the plight of many
of the county’s poor, including the disenfranchised descendants of those displaced
by the creation of Shenandoah National Park in the 1930s.

ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD
Textile manufacturers such as Wrangler were once the area’s major
employers, said Kulick, but after the passage of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, many businesses left as costs became cheaper
elsewhere. “This part of Virginia was devastated,” said Walker.
People live in Madison because it’s beautiful, said Kulick, and
if they have a college education, they can live comfortably. But for the
uneducated, job competition is fierce. “None of the employers hire for
full-time, and no one has benefits. No one has health, no one has vacation,
unless you’re with a school system,” she said. “Inside the Beltway is an
entirely different world.”
But it’s Northern Virginia Catholics, in addition to the generous
locals, who play a pivotal role in helping Madison’s needy. St. Agnes Church in
Arlington, St. Veronica Church in Chantilly and St. Raymond of Penñafort Church
in Springfield regularly give donations of food, hygiene products, school
supplies and Christmas presents. Arlington diocesan Catholic Charities’ St.
Lucy Project also donates much-needed food.
“We’ve always gotten support from the whole diocese and I don’t
know as many counties that are as well-connected as we are,” said Kulick. “A
great majority of what is done in this county is done through this church.”
Our Lady of the Valley
Our Lady of the Valley Church, about an hour’s drive from
Madison, sits right off Luray’s main street. Tourists are attracted to the
mountains, nearby wineries and of course, the famous Luray Caverns. A branch of
the Shenandoah River runs through the quaint town center, which has an antique
store, restaurants, a bookstore, a performing arts center and a theater. Murals
are painted on the brick walls of the shops. Tucked among the other businesses
is the local charity thrift store, Page One, which was founded in part by Our
Lady of the Valley in the 1970s.
Debbie Snellings has spent her whole life in Page County. In December
1974, she and her husband, Burrous, were the first couple to be married in the
fully fledged Our Lady of the Valley after its many years as a mission church.
“Father (Charles A.) Ryan performed the ceremony 26 years after he performed it
for my parents,” said Burrous, a science teacher at Page County High School.
Burrous likened the Page County of his wife’s childhood to the “Andy
Griffith Show.” It’s saddened them both to see many of the stores and factories
close. But they still love the area and feel it’s close enough to major
attractions such as Wolf Trap in Vienna or the Smithsonian museums in
Washington. It’s not the “booming metropolis” of Front Royal or Fredericksburg,
where Burrous grew up, he said. “I like the laid-back life around here.”

Our Lady of the Valley Church in Luray seats 90 people but
the church uses the annex/ parish hall for extra seating during Mass.
ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD
It’s been 42 years, but the church looks similar to how it looked
when the Snellings were married there, said Debbie. The main part of the church
seats 90, though a wing of the church, which also is used as a parish hall,
adds additional seating. The opposite wing houses the sacristy, confessional
and a meeting room for Knights, youth group and others. Father Edward R. Horkan, pastor, hopes to add
meeting rooms and an outdoor Stations of the Cross walkway in the near future.
‘God’s coloring book’
When Kathleen Murphy and her husband, Dennis, moved to Luray nine
months ago, the first thing they had to adjust to was the friendliness of the
people. “It reminds me of back when I was younger, when everyone knew everyone
and they waved to you,” said Murphy, the part-time parish secretary who
previously worked at Holy Family School in Dale City.
“We lived in our house for 25 years in Woodbridge, and once the
children were grown, we didn’t really know our neighbors,” she said. “We’ve had
more people into our house for dinner and gone to our neighbors’ houses more
(here) than we ever did there.”
As with the Murphys, many of Our Lady of the Valley’s members are
retirees from Northern Virginia, as Page County has few native Catholics. The
transplants quickly realize there are much fewer restaurants and clothing
stores. The closest dry cleaners is 25 miles away, Father Horkan lamented.
Murphy still drives two hours to go to her old hairdresser.
Wildlife and livestock are more visible, too. “I was late to
church one morning because the farmer’s cows got out,” said Sharon Booker,
president of the women’s council, who moved from Northern Virginia in 2007. In
Madison, Father Bruse and Walker spoke of spotting deer and bears in their backyards.
But nature is mostly a great source of joy. “There’s such a
serenity to the area,” said Booker. In the spring, the green leaves appear at
the bottom of the mountain and slowly make their way to the top. When the
foliage changes in autumn, they call it God’s coloring book, she said. “It’s truly magnificent. You really can be
aware of God’s miracles.”