What do you get when you combine prayer with a blood drive, cookie drive, coat drive, and Gabriel Project diaper drive? St. James Church in Falls Church hosted a service project marathon for the inaugural Diocesan Week of Service Nov. 11.
The Arlington diocese’s Diocesan Week of Service began Nov. 9 and runs through Nov. 16. Throughout the week, parishes, schools and other entities are engaged in projects benefitting their local communities and reflecting the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
The St. James parish community decided to take the initiative a step further, offering multiple service and prayer opportunities throughout the week, with the bulk of the projects falling on Veterans Day Nov. 11.
Father Paul D. Scalia, pastor and diocesan episcopal vicar for clergy, credited his parishioners’ zeal for service. “We already have a robust social outreach and other charitable activities. So, I simply reached out to a few key people involved in those works. And they did the rest,” he said.
Organizer Joe Knecht said that the parish service committee created so many project ideas that the members eventually were forced to set a limit. “It’s a very service-oriented parish,” he said.
Some 20 parishioners — including several toddlers and children under 10 — braved the freezing temperatures and blustery winds to offer a rosary for the souls in purgatory at the parish cemetery, kickstarting the busy Veterans Day. “The entire week of corporal works of mercy is a beautiful thing, but through prayer, that spiritual work of mercy, we’re able to … extend our love to those who still need us,” said parishioner Mary Keegan.
Mid-morning, the Red Cross opened a blood drive in the parish hall. More than 50 parishioners scheduled appointments throughout the day. For some donors, the cause was personal.
“I try to donate blood on a regular basis,” said Deanna Toman, preschool director at St. James. “I have a dear friend who was diagnosed with cancer, and she has a rare blood type. So, it sparked my need to donate more.”
Behind the school gym, three additional drives were in full swing. Several volunteers manned a cookie drive for inmates at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va. Throughout the day, parishioners dropped off bags of homemade treats for the inmates. By the end of the day, the drive had collected more than 1,860 cookies.
Several more volunteers unloaded donations of diapers and baby formula for the Gabriel Project, a ministry for pregnant women and their children. “We’ve identified several families in the community that we know are specifically struggling right now,” said organizer Anne Colevas. She said diapers and formula “tend to be the most expensive things that you need consistently.”
The volunteers also helped sort coat drive donations. Parishioner Carly Royden carried an armload of coats to the donation stand. “I just wanted to help those in need, especially kids who were younger … especially with it getting so cold today,” she said.
Parishioners will independently conduct other projects throughout the week, including writing cards for those in prison and organizing groups to rake leaves for elderly neighbors. The parish also encouraged parishioners to do individual works of mercy, such as visiting the elderly in a nursing home or volunteering at diocesan Catholic Charities Christ House in Alexandria.
This story will be updated.
