Author: tbc

I have almost completed my second month of my internship as a part-time pastoral intern. I will admit that making the shift from a full-time intern to a part-time one was harder than I was expecting. I take this hard, difficult transition as a positive, though- to me it is an affirmation that I am where I am supposed to be, doing what I am called by God to do. I enjoy being a minister, and look forward to continuing my journey along this path over the rest of this school year.

These days, my life is a balance between work at Tabernacle and school. My duties right now as an intern look much different than they did 2 months ago. This was expected, as I transitioned from full-time to part-time. Dan is serving as my supervisor since at this point in my ministry calling I am thinking about Associate Pastor ministry. Dan and I worked together to create my job description and to find things that speak to my passions and things that stretch me in new ways. For example, one thing that I have not done before is to create and lead a Sunday School series for adults. This fall I will be doing that as we transition from Ordinary Time into the Advent season. I will also be working on ways to provide resources for family-based spiritual formation in the home. The point of this internship is for me to find ways to become a minister not just in the eyes of the church, but in my own eyes as well. The goals that I have set for this internship are a mixture of spiritual, relational, and personal goals, but ones that are important for me as I continue to form and assume my ministerial identity.

I would also like to introduce you to my site team: Heather Rose (chair), Bill and Jean Finley, Kathryn Hall (secretary), Nathan Hatfield, and Laura Jones. These six people meet with me once a month to discuss the progress on my goals, provide both constructive and affirmative feedback, and serve as guides and mentors through my internship. They are a wonderful mixture of individuals with varying roles in the church. I am grateful to them for their commitment as we work together through the rest of this school year.

I am excited to continue to minister in this wonderful place I call home. While finding the balance between work and school has its challenges at times, I consider myself very lucky to be in a congregation that loves to equip students for ministry. It’s going to be a wonderful year, and I cannot wait to see what it brings.

Grace and peace,

Kristen Koger

Pastoral Intern, Fall 2014

Summer usually brings a change of pace to Tabernacle and this one certainly did!  Sterling was on sabbatical so Dan, Kristen, the congregation and I were in charge.  We had a great summer.

Several of the Sanctuary Choir members started the “We Sing What We Want” Choir and we spent the summer singing favorite anthems that reminded us of our spiritual home.  Sharing the stories of how we came to love the anthems we chose to share allowed the choir members to get to know one another on a deeper level.  Many thanks are due to Ron Simmons and Terry Witt for encouraging this choir—all I had to do was play!

Ron, Terry and Susan Braden were also responsible for the highly successful  “Open Mike” night events.  We shared original songs, magic tricks, stories, poems, piano solos and lots of Broadway songs.  It was great fun to discover people’s talents.  Do you know we have a member who is a dulcimer player????

July 14-18 Kristen Koger and I took Waysnah, Monica, Christina, Ja Sang Mai, Sang Lung, Doi Bu, Way Doh, K’Paw, Kekoa and Kanoa to Music and Worship Arts Camp at Eagle Eryie.  The Virginia Baptist Mission Board sponsors this camp.  Activities at Camp include singing, drama, art, orchestra and a lot of swimming!  We all had a great time and are looking forward to next summer!

September brought Sterling’s return and the return of regular church activities.  Sanctuary Choir is back and the Wednesday evening children’s activities include choir.  We are busy preparing for the weekly worship services and for Christmas concerts and programs.  The Sanctuary Choir is working on “Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi and several other anthems that are based on the “Gloria” text.   We will be singing with a string quartet again this Christmas!  The children have been working on songs based around the Narrative Lectionary passages and are now beginning to work on their Christmas Pageant.  This year Marty Watkin has written the pageant.  If you are interested in participating in either of these activities it is time to join the group for rehearsals!

The Music and Worship Ministry is looking forward to the last quarter of the year.  Advent and Christmas is always the time when music really gets to shine!

Judy

The Construction & Renovation Committee is currently sponsoring three information and comment exchange sessions in key ministry areas of our Church.  These sessions give everyone a chance to understand how specific spaces will be affected in the future, to have questions answered about planned renovation changes, as well as to offer comments to be considered as we begin working with the architects for detailed drawings.

Nelson Melton led the first session after church services on Sunday, October 12^th, discussing the changes to be made in and around the Meadow Street entrance and in the current Church offices near the Sanctuary.  Members of the Church agreed several years ago to create a Standing/Greeting area to reduce the congestion in the immediate area of the Meadow Street entrance.   Planned changes will create a glassed-in space to help support interaction among our congregation in a more open area.

In addition to our Stand-up/Greeting ministry, changes in this area will also result in improvements for Adult Sunday School classes and conference rooms.  Participants in this session suggested that we consider naming one of the new Sunday School classrooms for Cecil Gholston.  They also recommended that the construction committee review the size of the new classrooms and conference rooms in the current drawings to be sure that the size meets the need.

This walking tour included discussion about changes planned for the area of the current Church offices.   There is a possibility that this area will provide space for a climate-controlled history room and a new library.  The group agreed that there is a need for a conference room that can be used at the time of Sunday School, so the additional conference room space would be beneficial.  Elevation changes around the offices and work room are also to be addressed.

One of the general questions asked was related to parking during construction.  The Construction Management Team will create specific plans to minimize impact on parking for our congregation and Fan neighbors in all stages of construction.  For example, when the row houses are taken down, some alley and parking lot space will be needed.  After the houses are completed removed, construction parking will be created in that space.  Also, a dumpster will be placed on Grove Avenue until the houses are down.   Communication about any parking impact will be a priority of the Construction & Renovation Committee.

Thanks to all of those who attended our recent session for their open participation.  Exchanging ideas is key to our long-term success.  Please plan to attend our next two sessions:  October 19^th—Childcare & Youth Ministries and November 2^nd—Summer Program/ Mission Ministries (including parsonage space).