Author: tbc

This ministry provides groceries and clothing to our neighbors in need. The food pantry and clothes closet are open every Thursday from 1:30-3:00pm. The ministry continues to be staffed primarily by dedicated church volunteers and every Thursday we look forward to opening our doors to our neighbors to share in fellowship and conversation. Many neighbors even share prayer requests with us that we can follow up with them on as the year goes by. 

In 2016 we distributed 1853 bags of groceries to 479 families in our neighborhood, including 47 individuals who are homeless. We strive to distribute full bags of groceries that will make a difference in the need of those receiving bags. This year we distributed 29,189 pounds of food and had 186 families visit our pantry for the first time. We had 20 volunteers give their time in the pantry and worked a combined 2000 hours towards serving our neighbors. 

This year I took over the administrative work of the Food Pantry from Dick Denzler, who along with his wife Jane still faithfully volunteer their time on Thursdays in the food pantry and clothes closet. Our food pantry continues to run smoothly every week thanks to the dedicated help from Dick Denzler, Jack White, Jerry Spiller, Priscilla Kinchen, Joey Kinchen, Bill and Jean Finley, and Linda Southworth. During breaks from school Jacob and John White helped stock shelves in the food pantry as well. Others have stepped in when regular volunteers need to be away like Jerry Jones and Kristen Koger.

The clothes closet continues to be full and active for our neighbors thanks to Jane Denzler along with Connie Jones, Brenda Cox and Linda White. We could not serve as many of our neighbors as we do without the help from so many wonderful volunteers.

We had many generous donations from church members, friends of the church, and the general public. We were so thankful for the canned food drive by the Richmond Concert Band and the coat drive by High Point Barbershop that filled our shelves and clothing racks during one of the most active times of the year for our ministry. 

This past fall I wrote a letter to the church about a new ministry in hunger relief which puts us in a deeper partnership with our neighbors and gives them more of a voice and responsibility in the food they receive. We envision this new ministry existing alongside our current food pantry, and not replacing it. At the end of 2016 we had productive meetings with the BGAV, Food Security for America from Atlanta, GA, Feedmore here in Richmond and interested church members about hosting this type of ministry at Tabernacle. As of the time of this writing Feedmore is looking through the documents we and Food Security for America have provided to make sure all the pieces are in place for them to support us in starting the ministry. It would be the first of its kind in the State of Virginia. We are awaiting their go ahead to begin the final conversation about starting the ministry as a church. I am encouraged by the conversations we had in December and look forward to hearing from Feedmore soon.

I am so thankful for the support provided by all of you through your donations, volunteering, and prayers for this ministry. We are only able to truly make a difference in our community and love our neighbors as we love ourselves because of the work and support of our congregation. Thanks be to God for the continued opportunity to serve.

-Rev Joel Ingram

Interim Pastor for Hunger Ministry

We have continued to have a wonderful year in the life of children’s ministry at Tabernacle! We continue to welcome new families and children on a regular basis. It has been wonderful to see our children getting to know one another and families build relationships with each other. 

On Sundays, our Sunday School numbers have continued to increase as our offerings for adult Sunday School also increase. In the spring, all of our Sunday School classes had a rotating group of teachers. It was neat to see the children getting to know different adults as they led and taught. Sunday morning in the Williams building is filled with music, games, learning, and laughter. This fall, we continued to use the Deep Blue curriculum from Cokesbury. Our preschoolers have enjoyed being taught by Natalie Hunt and Larry Allen. Our K-2^nd graders are led by Kristen White, and our 3^rd-5^th graders are led by a rotation made up of April Kennedy, Mary Curtis Powell, Katye Snipes, Laura Severns, and Helen Davidson. 

We also hired two new nursery mentors in the summer and early fall- Dianna Faison and Jennifer Jackson. Their consistency has been a welcomed thing in our nursery each week, and their smiling faces have greeted children each week. We are grateful for them as they oversee and care for the youngest among us each week.

This past fall, we continued with our Worship Explorers curriculum. Seeing the children race to the front of the sanctuary always draws some laughs from the congregation. The children focus on the Narrative Lectionary passage for the day when they gather. We also brought back a preciously used curriculum this fall for our 3^rd-5^th grade children called Everyone Worship. This curriculum is mean to teach children about the different parts of worship as they begin to engage in the whole service. This class was led by Penny Jenkins and was much appreciated by parents and children alike. We look forward to tweaking the program and using it again in 2017.

Wednesday nights are always a busy time in the halls of Tabernacle. We have averaged about 55 children over the course of the last year. Beginning in fall 2016, we changed up our Wednesday evening programming a little bit. Our preschoolers have continued with Godly Play, led by Kristen Koger, Jenny Jones, and Sara Anne Burgess. Our Kindergarten children have also used Godly Play and were led by Ryan Corbitt and Graham Grinnell. Our 1^st-5^th grade children spent the fall focusing on music. They spend half of their evening playing handbells and the other half in children’s choir. We have enjoyed their gifts and leadership in worship several times. These children are led by Jessica Corbitt, Terry Witt, Laura Severns, and Judy Fiske. 

It was also a busy year when it came to social, mission and fellowship events. There were a handful of movie nights over the year. In August, we had a family picnic in the park following worship on Sunday. In October, we had a family bread baking event as we prepared bread to be used in communion on Sunday. In October we also collected socks for Socktober (inspired by Kid President) for the Fan Feast. In November, we held our first Breakfast in Bethlehem for families as they began to prepare for the Advent season. And in December, we had our Family Christmas Eve service set up in the Fellowship Hall. By the end of the evening, we had about 50 children and adults worshipping along with the LiveStream, complete with puzzles and coloring. 

This year, we changed up what we did for Vacation Bible School. We decided to spend time in living rooms and backyards, getting to know people from other families. We focused on Joseph from the Old Testament. After an opening night at the church on Thursday, we spent Friday evenings divided up into our family groups. We originally were going to try camping in the back yard, but the weather changed that for us. We met back at the church on Saturday night for a middle eastern feast and a movie. A great time was had by all, and we look forward to tweaking this schedule to work better for 2017!

We want to thank all of you who help make children’s ministry happen at Tabernacle. It truly takes a village to help raise our children, and we know that many of you are involved in many different ways. From nursery volunteers, to driving the bus, to sitting with “adopted” children in worship- we are grateful for the care that you provide for our children. Already in 2017, we are expecting 6 new babies, and who knows what that number will be by the end of the year. Things are continuing to succeed as we move forward in children’s ministry.

We also want to give a big thank you to Jessica Corbitt, who has been the brains and organization behind much of the planning for children’s events. 2016 brought some leadership changes to our team, but we are grateful for those who served for many years, when there were only a handful of kids in the building to now, when we are busting at the seams with them. Jessica has been a consistent presence and sounding board. It’s not an easy job, and we are looking forward to finding others among us to help support this important and vital ministry. 

Blessings to each of you as you each remember that you are a child of God. 

The Children’s Leadership Team

The past year has been a tremendous year of growth and relationship building for our youth! Here are a few of the highlights from the 2016 year:

• We continued with our Wednesday Night D Groups as our middle and high school students gathered to discuss the passage for the upcoming Sunday. Leadership was provided by Mark Snipes, Kate Ayers, Emily White, Abigail Ballew, Joshua Ballew.  
• Sunday School continues to be a time of fellowship and discussion with leadership from David Wolf and Samuel Lian.
• We also continued a Youth Worship Arts program on Sunday afternoons. Youth gather together, learn music, and explore ways that they can use their gifts and talents in worship on a regular basis. The lunch for youth on Sunday was provided by our small groups as well as generous individual. We are grateful for their generosity. Leadership was provided by Judy Fiske, Marty Watkin, Ron Simmons and Samuel Lian. 
• We attended CBFVA’s Mission Madness weekend at Walnut Grove Baptist in Mechanicsville. We slept at the church and then spent the weekend doing mission work 
• We had several youth participate in the VA Baptist All State Choir. They represented Tabernacle. There was an all day Saturday rehearsal in January and then an all day rehearsal on Friday and Saturday morning before the concert on Saturday afternoon. Well done youth!
• We gathered together for a youth retreat at Eagle Eyrie Conference Center in Lynchburg by CBFVA. We spent the weekend learning about how to be the hands and feet of Christ to our neighbors. Leadership was provided by Emily Witt, David Gorman and Samuel Lian.
• We gathered several times as a group for various social events- Touring the City, River at the Welstead’s house, The Star Wars themed Halloween Party, Donuts Day at James River, movie nights and supporting our youth in various sporting and extra-curriculuar activities. Our Christmas party was hosted by the Burgesses at their new home.  
• We also participated in “Mission Matters” video competition sponsored by Entrust Credit Union and won a grant of $2000. Some of that money was used to support ReEstablish Richmond and the Rones in Myanmar. 

Our summer was very busy with 3 different camps available for our students under the leadership of Lindsey Fulcher while Samuel was with PASSPORTkids!: 

• We attended UniDiversity Youth Camp again this summer, and focused on the theme of “ReFocus.” We explored how the world teaches us one thing, but Christ calls us to something else. Leadership was provided by Kristen Koger, Marty Watkin, Gerard Burton and Lindsey Fulcher.
• We attended Animate for again, which is a worship and arts conference at Samford University. We explored ways youth can lead in the Church universal; this has helped our youth in the Worship Arts program as they use their musical talents. 
• We also spent our summer at Metro Baptist Church leading a week of CLUE Camp, alongside Eric Hasha and his youth from First Baptist Church, Jefferson City.  We spent the week teaching children about leadership and how even though they are young, they can still be leaders in our community. 

We thank Lindsey Fulcher was her leadership and guidance to our youth over the summer as well as all the chaperones who took their time off to be with our youth. We look forward to seeing how our youth continue to learn about themselves and grow into the people God has formed them to be. The youth group has grown up in size in the past year with new faces and we warmly welcome each and every one of them. 

Grace and Peace, 

Samuel Lian

My friends, here we are again. Didn’t we just meet to talk about how 2015 went? How are we already in 2017? I guess time does fly when you are having fun. And I have had lots of fun over the course of the past year working with you fine folks. It has been a year full of continued learning, growing, challenges, and affirmations. It’s the first time I’ve been back at working full time since moving to Richmond. And one thing is for sure- that takes some adjusting after being in school for four years. But, you all know how to help a resident out as she is adjusting to full-time ministry again. In fact, today (January 29) is the 5-year anniversary of my showing up at Tabernacle. Praise the Lord! 

2016 was filled with many things for me! One of the things that was not surprising to me at all was that I sure do love this job that I have been called to. As 2016 finished, I found myself reflecting on the past year and the year to come, and while there may be a lot of things up in the air as I begin to look for jobs, I am confident that working in congregational ministry is where I am meant to be. Thank you for helping affirm that over the last two years (and really, five years since I first showed up here).  

One of the things that was surprising to me was how much I enjoyed preaching this past year. In 2016, I was lucky enough to be able to preach a total of eight times in 2016- some planned and some not. But I found that with each sermon, I began to get more and more comfortable in the pulpit. Because of this, I know that as I begin to look for jobs, one of the main questions I will be asking is, “How often can I expect to preach?” Thank you for allowing this young pastor to have a space where she can learn and grow more confident in her “preaching voice.” The Church universal needs more churches like you to empower and affirm young ministers as they learn and grow. I will be forever thankful to you, Tabernacle, for helping me realize that I am not just a minister, I am a pastor. 

Now that we have entered into 2017, I have turned a corner mentally. I will begin looking for jobs on a more regular basis as I prepare for the end of my residency in May 2017. However, my intent is to remain engaged as long as possible with you all. I’ll remind you of my 4 requests from my letter of gratitude to you from our October business meeting. 1- Help me end strong; 2- Do not make the months ahead a long good-bye; 3- Begin to pray now for whoever is called to this place next; and 4- Remember who you are as a church. This are big requests for each of us, but I am confident that we can complete them together. 

Thank you, Tabernacle, for being you. To quote a couple of phrases from one of my favorite musicals:

 “But I know I’m who I am today, because I knew you.”

 “So let me say before we part, so much of me is made from what I learned from you; you’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart.” 

“ Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? I do believe I have been changed for the better.”

“And because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” 

Much love,

Kristen Koger

Pastoral Resident, May 2015-2017

MUSIC AND WORSHIP MINISTRY

It seems that each year rushes by faster and faster, I would swear that I just wrote the report for 2015!  I suppose that is a good thing as time only seems to go slowly when you are bored and there is certainly none of that here!

In January we began Epiphany with a Sanctuary installation that featured all of the mirrors in the church building and a few more that were borrowed!  To this we added small mirrors that could go in our pocket to remind you that you are the reflection of God in the world every day.  With these mirrors we were looking to reflect the light of God in each of our lives a bit more brightly each week.  A feature in worship each week was the uncovering of a beautiful piece of artwork painted on a mirror by Rachel Laughlin.  It was covered in blue paint and a different section of the work was revealed each week.  Epiphany was a fairly short season this year as Easter was in March!   Ash Wednesday was February 10 so we moved into Lent.  

During Lent the mirrors were mixed with stones that became a pathway to the cross on Good Friday.  Each Sunday in Lent the children filled in the “shadow” of the cross with stones and small mirror pieces.  On Good Friday the shadow was destroyed and poured out on the offering table.  Easter was then a grand celebration of lilies and gold fabric.  The Sanctuary Choir, Children’s Choir and the Youth Choir sang a joint anthem and the choir loft was filled with people and song.

The Easter season featured the rocks and small mirrors slowly developing into a picture of a dove rising from the fires of the Holy Spirit to celebrate Pentecost.  The season of Pentecost lasts a really long time!  We are still in the Pentecost season in the fall when the new cycle of the Narrative Lectionary begins.  The fall season did begin a new with the Narrative Lectionary in Genesis walking through a set of Old Testament stories.  The sanctuary installation consisted of a large chalkboard with a road on it was a symbol of the road we walk along with God in life.   Each week we added the scripture passages to the road in many different languages from Biblical Hebrew to Karen.   

Through all of these seasons the Sanctuary Choir has been hard at work providing appropriate music for each season.  We presented “Return to Me” on Good Friday followed by the joyous music of Easter.  The choir sang for most of the summer.  We sang many different settings of “The Lord’s Prayer” during the summer series on the prayer.  The fall season had the choir working on many anthems based on the Old Testament scriptures while working on music for Advent and Christmas.  This Advent season featured an anthem written for us by Ryan Corbitt “Christmas Candles” and several other anthems composed by Susan Braden.  We presented these as well as other works at Tabernacle and also at Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg.  The Sanctuary Choir is a wonderful dedicated group of people who love to sing and lead in worship.  We have a wonderful time together and are always open to new people joining us.

In the spring, The Older Children’s Choir and Handbell Choir was led by Terry Witt, Jessica Corbitt, Laura Severns and Judy Fiske, the Preschool Choir was led by Helen Davidson and Judy Fiske and the Youth Worship Arts group was led Marty Watkin, Judy Fiske and Ron Simmons.  Dylan, Kaeo, Kanoa, and Kekoa Burgess, Frances Lowery, Waysnah Htoo, Monica Iang, Christina Sung and Brynne Severns attended Virginia Baptist All-State Choir in January and February.  Five youth and two chaperones attended Animate Worship Camp in June.  In July we had 15 people attend Music and Worship Arts Camp at Eagle Eyrie.   In the fall the Older Children kept their same leadership and Larry Allen assisted Helen Davidson with Preschool Choir.  Ron, Marty and Judy continued to lead the Youth Worship Arts team.

This summer Susan Braden presented her musical “Because I Can Sir” in our Sanctuary.  This musical tells the story of her battle with cancer.  She has also presented this program in NYC at Metro Baptist in NYC, in Arkansas and in Roanoke.  In 2017 she will present the show again at Metro Baptist as a fundraiser for cancer research.

The music staff continues their excellent work.  This year we celebrated “10 years with Ryan Corbitt.”  In 2017 we will celebrate 20 years with Ron Simmons!  Terry Witt has become a great mentor to our older children musicians as well as an anchor to our Sanctuary Choir.   These dedicated and talented musicians are invaluable to the ministry that is accomplished at Tabernacle. 

It has been a busy year for all of us and definitely not boring.  Take the time to thank a musician, young or older, for their hard work in preparing to lead our congregation in worship each week.

Judy

Mary Beth Foust shares a reflection about her family’s Epiphany star words from 2016. Mary Beth and Caleb and their daughter, Ava, worshipped with us during a season of transition. The Foust family relocated to High Point, NC where Caleb serves as a youth minister and Mary Beth works at the local university. 

“And darkness covered the land.” Well, at least that is what it felt like. The little piece of land in Glen Allen, Virginia that we called ours simply seemed dark. Never mind it was a marshy, wooded area and our house had little to no windows to let in the light, the circumstances of our lives simply seemed dark. We finally sort of landed at Tabernacle for a brief window during that time, September-February. We needed to simply be at church. We needed to walk in the doors without crying; to be angry at the ministers without the ministers taking it personally. To believe in the institution of church we loved so dearly. We wanted to participate but not have to be known too deeply, because it just hurt too much.

Ava girl was loved on in the nursery and nurtured even then in ways that won’t bear fruit for years. Caleb was allowed to be angry and I held my hymnal in worship so that I could cling to the words and promises I knew lay deep in my soul…somewhere. We moved through our season as the church moved through hers. Our first Sundays, a large tree was taking root and growing in the sanctuary. It seemed like God was preparing to remind us Fousts where it was that our roots came from, how it was we grew and where our branches and trees sprouted. We participated in Thanksgiving dinner feasts and delivered Christmas baskets with Ava in tow. We waited in anticipation during Advent, celebrated Christmas and landed in Epiphany, a season of light. And yet, we still weren’t finding the light in our lives.

That Epiphany Sunday Caleb and I both lead in worship. My reading was about stars as that Sunday we would receive a metallic paper star with a word written on it. After I read, we both semi-trudged down the aisle. I walked past Tracy Hartman, a mentor and teacher in ministry, and she handed me, my star (face down of course, for it was God’s word to me, not hers). As I returned to my pew I wondered what it could mean—I wondered what Caleb’s would read. Affirmation and Obedience. Okay God. Whatever.

As the weeks would pass after that Sunday, new opportunities would begin to grow under the icy surface. Roots and blooms growing that we would not and still cannot fully comprehend. Caleb interviewed for a position at a small church in Mechanicsville (after we graciously caught the tummy bug with half the congregation of Tab). So, our Sundays and Wednesdays were re-arranged. It became increasingly difficult for me to make the trip downtown to Tabernacle by myself and work through the schedules of Sundays and Wednesdays alone, and to be honest, I missed my partner and confidant in ministry. But, that part-time position allowed Caleb to dip his feet just deep enough into the shallow end of ministry to know where his soul fit was. It was and is in the church. In that season in January, Epiphany time, I started a new job in the city. I loved it—but I knew it was not a permanent place. In February, my dad was hospitalized and didn’t leave the hospital without a 7-bypass surgery. All the while, we were surrounded in prayer and loved by sweet Tabernacle.

After the spirit began stirring in both of us, we realized we needed to make a change and we began to see the light again. Not only the light of candles, but the weight of burdens begin lifted, lighter weight to carry, little by little. An opportunity in High Point, NC of all places began to bubble and we pursued, somewhat at a distance, somewhat at the ready. After visiting with the congregation (and a unanimous yes from the search team) we knew that our stars were guiding us away from the land in Glen Allen. We moved with excitement—it’s not as hard to leave when you don’t have much left. And as we did—we pulled out our stars. Affirmation and Obedience. Okay God. Whatever.

As I prepared for my exit interview, I made notes of my helpful suggestions I would share with the CEO (yep, she conducted the interview, stellar woman and organization). I didn’t really think I had much to offer and that it might be a simple goodbye and thank you for a job-well-done-in-a-short-time kind of meeting. But she offered me words of affirmation. She encouraged me, as did my own manager, to not settle moving forward in a new position. To seek management and to rest in the assurance that I had the skills (and the references) to pursue this possibility. I hadn’t believed that about myself since I was forced to leave my ministry job in Virginia.

Looking back now, I can see and claim those two stars as God’s guiding lights in our darkness. It is no small coincidence that Tracy gave me that word, as her words of affirmation have long been in my ears, but I couldn’t allow myself to hear them. I had no idea if I would find any work in High Point, but God had bigger plans that I could see. Affirmation and Obedience. Okay God.

Here we are, the beginning of a new year, leaning in to the anticipation of Advent and tip-toeing our way toward Epiphany. This year, we will not trudge to the front, instead we will be star gazing (and sharing the starlit sky with our congregation) for more stars to guide us. But this year, the light of the stars illumines the darkness and the darkness Can. Not. Overcome it.

We are indebted to our Church and Childcare Ministry Leadership for their hard work on the 2017 budgets. We will vote on the church budget next Sunday, December 11. The Child Care Center Ministry Budget vote will take place on Sunday, December 18. Digital copies of each document is available. Contact the church office to request an e-mail attachment. Hardcopies are available in the back of the Sanctuary.