A Suffolk church pastored by a U.S. Postal Service employee will hold a postal worker’s appreciation service this Sunday.

Invitations have been sent to postal workers throughout Hampton Roads, said the Rev. Charles Leavell, pastor of Open Hands Christian Fellowship and a 29-year postal employee at Norfolk’s Lafayette Station.

“There are employees with a lot of questions,” Leavell said, referring to the postal service’s financial circumstances and the proposed closure of a Norfolk processing facility. “We are believing that when one door closes, another one opens.”

The program will be held at 3 p.m. at New Hope Baptist Church, 4260 Pughsville Road. It is the second year of holding the program, which was started last year after the Norfolk facility’s closure was first announced.

“Last year, the move to close the Norfolk facility down really had not only a lot of postal employees but the community at large up in the air,” Leavell said. “They were not certain what the future holds for them.”

The guest speaker for the service is a former postal employee, Bishop Nathaniel Huggins of Praise Redemption Worship Center in Lothian, Md.

Leavell said it is important for the public to show support for the postal service, because that could motivate Congress to act on measures that would give the service’s financial situation some relief.

“We really need the public support,” he said. “We’re making a plea to the public about what they can do to help our plight. If it continues a downward spiral, it will affect every household in America.”

The service also will include musical renditions from a group of postal employees from Lafayette Station and Thomas Corner in Norfolk.

For more information on the service, call 692-9740.