Author: tbc

The Construction & Renovation Committee requests your attendance at the upcoming Quarterly Business Meeting to be held after church services on Sunday, October 25^th.  As indicated in the townhall meeting held on August 30^th, Nelson Melton, committee chairperson, has some very important factual information to present to the congregation about our God-Sized Vision.  We want everyone to be there to understand how the committee is approaching next steps for this essential structural improvement project in support of our key spiritual missions.

What will you hear?

• You will see and hear an explanation of the actual cost numbers for construction and renovation that are based on completed bidding from the Richmond construction market.  What changes we have agreed to make, any updates to the needed changes based on City code requirements, and the closest we can come to actual cost numbers are included in this part of the presentation.
• You will view a couple of revised architectural drawings and reference the current plan for the sequence of construction elements.  The planned sequence has been impacted by City code requirements, and you will hear about why it is important that we align the sequence to meet those code requirements.

What do you need to do?

• Please be present so that you can fully understand how the Construction & Renovation Committee is making its decisions to move forward with our structural changes.
• Encourage your church friends to attend.
• Write down any questions that you have during the meeting so that we can make every effort to answer your questions at the designated time.  You will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation.
• As always, feel free to reach out to any of our committee members for information related to our Construction and Renovation plans.   Committee members include:  Nelson Melton, Bill Welstead, Kathy McGraw, Jim McMurray, Sterling Severns, and Donna Soyars.

Your continued prayers for our Vision and how we realize that Vision are appreciated!

September 19, 2005

Dear Rev. Severns,

Our visit with you at Tabernacle Baptist Church meant so much to my sister and me.  We deeply appreciate your time, your tour, and the opportunity to see that unique and splendid tree gracefully spreading its arms over the sanctuary, sprouting colorful leaves, celebrating families, and celebrating the grace of seasonal change.  The tree is an engineering marvel, a piece of poetry and a symbol of God’s spirit rooted in the past and reaching ever outward to new generations.  I LOVE THE TREE! And I love the book, The First Hundred Years, which you presented to us along with other materials.  The book turned out to be a treasure trove of information about our grandfather, Robert Moss Smith, as well as a beautifully written story of the birth of the church, its subsequent growth, and its continuing commitment to service in the community.  We knew little about our grandfather other than that there was a plaque honoring him next door to the church, and that he had died as a result of a fall.

The biographical sketch of Robert Smith on page 226 of the book contains a priceless bit of family history for us.  I also discovered that Robert Smith had written a history of the church which was never published, but which Margaret H. Emery used as a reference especially for the early development of the church.  My sister and I were unprepared for how relevant the book would be for us, and decided we really needed to take you up on your generous offer to give each of us a copy…