Thrift store fashion show draws St. George community

Friday, Nov. 13, 2015

ST. GEORGE — The annual St. George Catholic Church’s Fall Fashion Show & Luncheon drew its typical sold-out crowd, with more than 200 community members gathering to view clothing from the parish’s thrift store modeled by the store’s volunteers.

Proceeds from the luncheon benefit the parish and the charities it supports, including a mission with the Hopi Indians, PAWS animal shelter and Catholic Charities, said Diane Cellini, the thrift store manager, adding that the luncheon “is extremely successful.”

“There’s lots of people here that are not Catholic, so it’s a nice community event to raise some money for a good cause,” said Mary Bujanovich; she herself attends the Episcopal Church but comes each year to the luncheon with a friend because “we just enjoy the fashion show.” 

Bujanovich didn’t bid on any of the items at the show; she is one of the 180 or so thrift store volunteers, so she sees the clothing all the time, she said. The luncheon, she said, is “a celebration of all that we do at the thrift store every day.” 

As the event began, Diane Davidson gave a presentation of the Angel Gowns ministry that she has begun in the St. George community.

Angel Gowns are garments created “for the babies that don’t make it home from the hospital – the stillborns and the miscarried babies,” Davidson said; volunteers sew the garments from wedding gowns that are donated for that purpose.

Angel Gowns was begun in 2011 by Michelle Matthews in Washington.

Davidson learned about Angel Gowns while browsing the Web this past summer, after hearing news stories about Planned Parenthood selling fetal tissue.

“It just broke my heart, and I just thought, ‘There’s nothing I can do.’ I signed petition after petition, and I thought, ‘It’s not making a difference,’” Davidson said. Then, reading about Angel Gowns, “I thought, ‘I can do that. I love to sew and maybe that will make my heart feel better, that I can do something positive for the babies that are so loved and so wanted.’”  

She said she hoped to find a local chapter of Angel Gowns, but learning none existed, she decided to start her own, and contacted the St. George Catholic Church thrift store to see about obtaining donated wedding gowns. Within 24 hours, Cellini had obtained approval to help with the ministry, and gave Davidson two dresses. 

Davidson told Cellini that she is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “I said to Diane, ‘I hope that’s OK,’ and she gave me a big hug and she said, ‘We’re all doing the Lord’s work,’ so we’re all working together,” Davidson said. “It’s been so heartwarming to get the response from the Catholic thrift store. I just went home on a cloud after talking to her.”

Cellini said the thrift store will donate all the wedding gowns it receives to Davidson’s ministry.

In addition to the Angel Gowns, the volunteers also sew angel wraps. “Some of the babies are so teeny that they can’t really be handled … so there’s little pockets that we sew that they can be tucked into,” Davidson explained. “The patterns are so simple, anyone can sew them. If you like to sew or create or re-purpose, I would love to share the patterns and materials and provide any assistance.” 

In addition to volunteers to sew the gowns, Davidson is looking for people to help create the gift tags that accompany each garment. Also, she is looking for donations of gowns, fabric, lace, ribbon, thread, buttons and other sewing items. To donate or volunteer, contact her at 435-275-2213.