Crozet Gazette, December 2022, Photo by Malcolm Andrews
History of Scott House
25 years ago, the Vestry and Trustees of Emmanuel Church purchased the house and property between Marston-LaRue House and what is now St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There were no plans for the house, but it seemed prudent to avoid some other kind of development or use. It was called Ledford House because that is the name of the people from whom it was purchased. It had been called that ever since.
Now, the building has a new name: Scott House. It will be dedicated at a later date in memory of Frederic W. and Elizabeth Pinkerton Scott, whose generosity and faith has shaped Emmanuel’s service to our neighbors. Elizabeth Scott was not one for recognition, and refused to be recognized publicly for her leadership, preferring for us to speak the faith in action and financial generosity to such efforts. The name of the house, however, reminds us of the spirit of ministry: the deeply held belief that service to our neighbors is how we live faith in Christ.
Beginning September 30, 2022 the Rockfish Gap Food Pantry (formerly the Bread Fund), in cooperation with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, began serving our food insecure neighbors in Scott House. This brings the generations old food distribution from Batesville to a more spacious, accessible, and prominent location right here on the Emmanuel campus. Since then additional ministries have begun operating out of Scott House including the Crozet Cares Closet and the Warm Clothing Ministry.
The Rockfish Gap Food Pantry provides nutritious food to needy individuals and families living in Albemarle and Nelson counties and is a Partner Agency of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Food is distributed at Scott House (7585 Rockfish Gap Turnpike) on the first Saturday of each month from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Clients can choose from a variety of non-perishable food items, meat (including donated turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas), and a variety of fresh produce.
Formerly called the Bread Fund, this feeding ministry is in its 38th year and in 2022 distributed over 12,000 pounds of food to 332 people from 174 households. After moving from Holy Cross to the Emmanuel Scott House, the number of clients grew with the increased visibility and central location.
The Bread Fund is operated exclusively by volunteers, most of whom are parishioners from Emmanuel Greenwood and Holy Cross churches. Volunteers are welcome to participate on Distribution Day, Restocking Day (the second Wednesday of each month at 10 am) or both. Food donations can be left in the Bread Fund basket in the Parish Hall, and monetary donations can be mailed to the church, or placed in the lock box in the Narthex. For further information contact: Nancy Avery 434-989-6209 nla14(at)msn.com Or Cindy Kirchner 434-361-2553 cinki124(at)gmail.com.
Crozet Cares Closet
A new ministry of the Crozet Region Interfaith Outreach Council Personal care products are basic necessities for our health and daily comfort, yet many of these items are out of reach of our neighbors. To help meet this urgent need, Emmanuel has joined others to form the Crozet Cares Closet to collect and distribute items such as soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, deodorant and toothpaste, which are not covered by SNAP (food stamp) benefits.
Items for donation will rotate among the participating churches on a monthly basis. There is a donation bin located in the Parish Hall.
Items are available the first Sunday of the month from 9-11 AM at Scott House (located on Rt. 250 between Emmanuel Episcopal Church and St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church.)
Emmanuel's Warm Clothing Ministry is conducted in conjunction with The Clothing Center located at 815 Bolling Ave., Charlottesville VA. The Clothing Center has been in existence for over 30 years. They provide clothes to people living on the street, people living in shelters, people coming out of prison and men with addiction problems living at Mohr Center. Collection of clean and gently worn warm coats, fleeces, sweaters, snow pants, socks, boots, hats and scarves for children and adults will be held during the month of October and the first two weeks in November. Collection boxes will be available in the parish hall for parishioners to deposit there donations.
There is also a tie in with the Rockfish Gap food Pantry distribution effort at Emmanuel in that a voucher can be placed in the food bag allowing the individual to pick up a bag of clothes four times a year at The Clothing Center. Volunteers are needed to gather the clothing placed in the boxes every Sunday and deliver them to The Clothings Center on Monday. At the present time, the virus has limited the acceptance of clothing to Mondays only.