The parish community at St. David’s on-the-Hill Episcopal Church is excitedly awaiting the grand opening of its newest ministry, a thrift shop.

An effort that has been two years in the making, St. David’s Closet on-the-Hill Thrift Shop is set to open on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 10 a.m.

Its regular hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week and 9 a.m. to noon on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. To start, the store will be accepting cash only.

According to parishioner Suzanne Greenbacker, who is part of the group of eight to 10 people organizing the effort, the shop has been fully stocked in time for the opening. There will be signage placed on the main road and on the neighborhood roads indicating when the shop is open.

The shop is housed in the former St. David’s Playschool preschool classroom areas. There is also a separate workspace that is utilized by the organizers to accept, prepare and store incoming items.

“This was prompted by efforts to bring in more money for the church and to make use of the space that we have here,” Greenbacker said. “I had recently sold my house and I was moving. I had lots of things to donate and it really started moving along from there. Another parishioner, Carol Blackinton, and I began the push to get it going, and people have been very receptive. We have had so many people dropping off such nice things. It’s really been a group effort and it’s growing all the time. One of our members has been polishing silver for weeks.”

As part of the planning, the group researched other successful parish thrift shop ventures from all over the state and visited several of them.

“We looked into shops that had been in business for a long time and looked at their business models and how they did things,” Greenbacker said. “We talked with them and found out their tips for success. Many of them have people coming from all over because they are so well known.”

The Closet on-the-Hill Thrift Shop is stocked with clothing and accessories, housewares, furniture, home decor, jewelry, vintage clothing, books and seasonal items for the upcoming holidays. The clothing on display will change seasonally, and the shop has an area where shoppers can try on items.

“We look for current, seasonal, clean clothing and donations,” Greenbacker said. “Anything we can’t use, we share with Grannie’s Attic [the indoor yard sale held at St. David’s on-the-Hill each November and June].”

She added: “We are hoping that this will be a very successful venture. We are not far off the beaten path and we have a lot of great things in stock. We even have space to expand easily in the future if we need to.”

St. David’s on-the-Hill is located at 200 Meshanticut Valley Parkway. For more information, visit stdavidsonthehill.net.