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Angelic Ministries
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By Beth Booker
Angelic Ministries is a multi-church social service agency that provides clothing, emergency food, furniture, and home supplies to approximately 240 families per month. Betsy Stowers Frazier, the founder of AM began the non-profit ministry in 2002 after “much prayer.” Her husband, Mike Frazier of Knox Rail Salvage saw the need and provided space he had intended to use for storage space for his business.
In addition to local work, AM has plans for work in outlying counties where they hope to establish local branches, and other areas of the U.S. AM is also working abroad. In Africa, their donations of medical supplies are helping to outfit a hospital. School supplies are being sent to orphanages in Haiti, Belize, and Russia. Angelic Ministries holds a praise and worship service every Saturday at 3 p.m. in their basement chapel. Area churches sponsor a dinner immediately following the service, for those in need. Daily Bible studies are held for the volunteer staff and are open to all. Frazier believes in the bible verse “In so much as you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it for me.” Her work at AM is her effort to help those who need help the most. If you would like to find out more about AM or make a donation, you can contact the Fraziers at 523-8884. |
It started as a bit of curiosity. I mourned the closing of the
Merita Bread Factory. Okay, I didn’t miss the truck traffic, the loud noises, and the prostitutes that sold themselves to the delivery truckers in the shadow of the loading docks; what I missed was the smell of bread baking whenever I was working outdoors. After the bread factory closed, the factory sat empty until the
Angelic Ministries sign went up. Seeing the new traffic come and go, I decided to find out what AM does and who its clients are.
Services are provided after referral from a church, social service organization, business, or other social service agency. AM is open on Tuesday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. for distribution. Families can obtain clothing once a month, but other services are available for one-time crisis situations only. The volunteers at AM strive to make the distribution of clothing more like a shopping experience than a handout. Local churches have “adopted” the various clothing rooms at AM and work to keep clothing clean, pressed, and organized by size. An AM volunteer works with each recipient to help them choose what most closely meets their current need.