SELLING FAITH

On the street of 17 Saratoga Avenue in South Glens Falls, a bright red pail sits on the side of the road. A medium-sized poster board on top of the pail, a little dirty from the winter snow, reads, “Zeph 2:3 Divine Mercy Store.”

Jan Nudo, store manager, laughs about the street advertisement. “That’s our humility!” she says referring to the Old Testament passage that reads: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,  you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.”

From the outside, Divine Mercy might not look like the newest Catholic store to hit the Albany Diocese, but the inside does. Roaring with color, flowers, wind chimes and saintly decorations, each of the three rooms in the store’s space is beaming with religious life. From backgrounds on the saints to a religious relic’s history, patrons might find themselves thinking, “I didn’t know that about Catholicism,” and that’s just what store owner, Jeff Smith, wants.

More than just a place to purchase Easter cards or saint statues (while it is the perfect spot for both), Smith wanted his store to educate Catholics and non-Catholics on some of the more diluted traditions and histories of the Church, the ones that seemed to have lost their place in daily or weekly life.

Moreover, the store serves as a form of charity for Smith to give back to his faith. In a time when brick-and-mortar Catholic and Christian stores are shutting their doors, Smith opened Divine Mercy knowing fully well it would be at a loss.

“I knew without a doubt I would lose money and I am losing money,” he said. Giving his community a place for spiritual comfort came at a cost, but it was a price he was willing to pay.

“Jeff said to me, this isn’t about money,” Nudo said, “this is about good works and to glorify God and to help people to understand the faith; to come in and talk about their faith.”

In addition to his full-time job operating Plastic Maritime Corporation in Wilton, Smith opened Divine Mercy in August 2021 with Nudo’s help. The pair are old friends from St. Clement’s Church in Saratoga Springs and Nudo is familiar with the ins and outs of Catholic merchandising from when she ran her own Catholic store, The Giver of Light Gift Shoppe on Route 9.

Nudo ran her shop for 10 years before closing during the pandemic. The store was on the decline for a while before COVID hit, she said, then it was impossible to keep the lights on if nobody was allowed inside.

“I loved it,” Nudo recalled. “I loved what I did.”

Still, not having the stress of running a business was a blessing. Nudo remembers telling her husband if she could just buy and sell and greet customers she would be happy. “And look where I am!” she laughed.

Just before Giver of Light closed, Smith started kicking around the idea of opening his own Catholic store. Like many Catholics, Smith felt called to give to those in need and he often did. He donated to charities, volunteered when he could and helped as part of the pro-life movement in the area for years. But it never felt like enough.

“I think one thing we all suffer from are the sins of omission and whether or not they’re sins,” he said. “I struggle with the ‘Am I being too lazy with doing good deeds?’ part. And then I think of a list of things to do of good deeds and I think, ‘Oh I don’t want to do that, I don’t want to do that,’ and then you just end up sitting on your hands.”

Smith was meticulous in the items he chose for the store. There’s an area reserved for Catholic saints, a room for children and faith formation, there’s a book nook, a wall for Our Lady of Guadalupe, a wall for Mary, a “cozy corner” to sit and read, and there’s a section for religious jewelry, rosaries, miraculous medals and prayer cards.

On the side of each saint’s display, Smith lists notes on what each figure can help with, from mental-health issues to struggling with marriage.

A number of customers coming in right now are looking for some sort of comfort, Nudo said. One of their top selling items are rosaries and St. Michael the Archangel medals for protection: “They don’t know what’s happening” with the world, she said, “or how it’s gonna end.”

Others will come in just to talk, something that Nudo relished from her old store. Divine Mercy is just down the street from St. Michael’s, which has been a big supporter of the store.

“The people that come in, they love it,” Nudo said. “I believe they’ve been hungry for it.”

“I always analyzed what are good deeds,” Smith added. “I don’t think I’m cut out for Mother Teresa stuff … so I thought this would be a good opportunity to be evangelical because, to be honest, Catholics need to be evangelized as much as non-Catholics. A lot don’t know their faith and this is an opportunity to learn about things that got lost.”

Zeph 2:3 Divine Mercy Store is located at 17 Saratoga Avenue in South Glens Falls. To contact the store, call (518) 223-0685.