Nov 6, 2009

New Christian gift store opensBy Bob RenneisenSoMdNews.com

With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, those in Calvert County shopping for appropriate Christian gifts won’t have far to travel.

God’s Gifts, a nonprofit, volunteer-managed gift shop sponsored by St. John Vianney Roman Catholic Church in Prince Frederick, will hold its grand opening next week, according to Toni Johnson, the store’s staff coordinator. The grand opening will be on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., she announced recently.

The idea of the Rev. Peter Daly, pastor of the church, the store got its start nearly two years ago, Johnson said.

Parishioner Glenette Fitzmyer of St. Leonard, “started the store downstairs in the church basement,” Johnson continued. “We were outgrowing the basement and we felt there was a need in the community for a service like this, so that’s why we moved over to this building.”

The new storefront location at 440 Main Street, adjacent to the church complex, is owned by the parish and became available when Catholic Charities relocated, explained Jeanne Prochownik, of Huntingtown, one of the parish volunteers staffing the shop.

“We had simply outgrown our little closet in the church basement,” she said.

Among books and a variety of Christian religious items, the shop carries a number of articles geared to the growing Hispanic community in the parish and the area, Johnson said.

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