For nearly 30 years, Marilyn Metzler, RN, has been an integral part of CrossOver, first serving as the director of CrossOver’s lay health promoter program, and for the last several years as Nursing Coordinator at CrossOver’s Henrico clinic. Her ready smile, thoughtful care, and warm greeting are a faithful presence in the clinic.
Medical Director Mike Murchie, MD describes Marilyn as someone who “doesn’t merely feel sympathy for patients, but takes action to listen, help, understand, and address the needs of patients–physical, emotional, and spiritual. Our patients regularly express the difference her compassion has made in their journey of healing.”
Marilyn Metzler has served at CrossOver for almost 30 years.
“When I first came to CrossOver, I was looking for a place to live out my Christian faith in my daily work,” Marilyn said. In 1996, she had just returned from serving in Africa where she had seen so much inequity in health care and found a real passion for health education. And she knew those issues were a significant barrier to many in the United States as well.
Micah 6:8’s call to “do justice and love mercy” resonates deeply for Marilyn a key reason for why she has served at CrossOver for so long. “I believe that CrossOver is a place where Jesus would hang out if he were here today. He would be among the sick, the vulnerable, the disenfranchised, and the hurting, and he would love the joy and the hope that is exuded at CrossOver as well.”
In 2020, Marilyn was active on the front lines of CrossOver’s COVID testing and vaccination efforts.
From Alabama to Africa to Richmond
Marilyn grew up as a farm girl in Alabama. It was her dad, who worked both as a pastor and a farmer, who saw her compassionate nature and encouraged her to consider nursing as a career. “I learned from my parents, and my grandparents too, that to be a follower of Jesus is to be someone who serves others,” Marilyn recalled.
She earned her LPN, then her RN license, and came to Virginia to earn her BA from Eastern Mennonite University, all in pursuit of a calling she felt to serve in overseas mission. Following her graduation from EMU, Marilyn joined an NGO to serve three years in Africa. In 1993 she arrived in Somalia, whose people were suffering in the midst of famine and civil war. With her team, Marilyn worked to set up feeding stations for so many who were starving. When it became impossible for her team to stay in such a dangerous situation, she served a year in Djibouti and then another in Kenya, offering medical care and health education to communities there.
As the end of her three-year term approached, Marilyn began to reach out to connections back in the United States in search of her next role. At the same time, the small staff at CrossOver were beginning to reach out to hire someone to lead their health education efforts. A journal editor at Christian Community Health Fellowship, who received both a letter from Marilyn and an ad placement from CrossOver, connected them before even placing the ad. Fresh off the plane from Africa to Alabama, Marilyn’s mother told her on the way home from the airport that she’d gotten a call from Richmond, Virginia about a job offer. Within a few months, Marilyn had packed her few belongings and started her new role, the 6th employee ever hired by CrossOver.
Marilyn served for 22 years as the director of the Lay Health Promoters program at CrossOver which empowered nearly 1,300 members of the Richmond community with skills and education to promote health and wellness in their own neighborhoods and churches. While that program ended in 2018, the deep relationships Marilyn built with friends across racial and socioeconomic lines continue to bear fruit. 
Marilyn, second from left, taught more than 500 community members in CrossOver’s Lay Health Promoters program.
Marilyn continues to bring her passion for health education to the clinic, and she regularly doles out big hugs to returning patients who she’s cared for over many years. “Just last week, someone stopped me in Aldi to say thank you because they recognized me from CrossOver. The work we do is so meaningful to the people who come here for care,” Marilyn said.
Marilyn knows that CrossOver’s longevity is a product of God’s faithfulness and blessing: “I know God has blessed the work of CrossOver because of the way God has continued to sustain this work for so long—through leadership and staff changes, and through some really lean years. There have been so many opportunities for CrossOver to have folded, but God has sustained us through donors, through staff, and through amazing volunteers along the way. It’s just mind-blowing to me how many people God has used to be part of this work, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.”
Associate Medical Director Danielle Avula, MD, knows that gratefulness goes both ways. “Marilyn’s grace under pressure and excellent clinical care sets the tone for our team. Our patients trust and value Marilyn and I have seen firsthand how she values each person and shows them love and compassion. It’s a huge blessing to work with Marilyn. I’m grateful for the way she reflects Jesus simply by the way she lives her life.”
“In reality, I need CrossOver just as much as CrossOver has ever needed me,” Marilyn said. “I’m able to be in close community with people that I know God has a heart for. It deepens my well of compassion and gratitude to be able to serve here… The days are hard sometimes, and the demands are great, but it’s just worth it when you know you’re helping people in a way that is close to the heart of God. I feel really blessed to be doing this, and want to keep doing it.”
This article was originally published in the April 2025 edition of CrossOver’s Faith Partners Newsletter.
Sign up for the Faith Partners newsletter here.