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Hi! I’m Rachel Brock and my husband, Hogan, and I moved to Richmond and joined the Tabernacle fold at the beginning of August. So far, we have been genuinely blown away by the hospitality and life that Tabernacle exudes. I am especially grateful for all those who helped as I searched for a job last month. I have started in my new position as the Volunteer Coordinator for Higher Achievement and am already so fulfilled by the work that I’m doing.

Hogan and I moved here after spending a year in Chicago doing a program called Mission Year. We lived in an under-resourced neighborhood and were intentional about how we lived in community. We gained a lot of perspective during this season of our lives, a part of which involves a reality called the opportunity gap. You may have heard this phrase before – it refers to the idea that there are certain members of our society who lack opportunity, even though they do not lack in talent or potential. To give an example: A recent U.S. Board of Education study found that minority students comprise 42% of public school students, but only 28% of enrichment program participants. Of course, minority students are not lacking in giftedness. They are simply lacking opportunity. Perhaps they don’t have anyone in their life who recognizes and encourages their God-given gifts and potential.

I’d like to offer an opportunity for Tabernacle to be engaged in the Richmond community in a way that aims to close this opportunity gap, so that all youth can realize their full potential, no matter their race or socioeconomic status.  Higher Achievement aims to close the opportunity gap by providing rigorous afterschool and summer programming during the critical middle school years. We refer to our 5-8 grade participants as “scholars”, because they are committing to be held to a standard of excellence. We are currently seeking mentors to volunteer on Tuesday or Thursday nights from 6-7pm, from October-May at one of our four centers. We hold programming at Binford, Boushall, Henderson, and Wilder Middle Schools. As a mentor, you would use a provided curriculum to teach either Math or English through a social justice lens to a group of 3-4 scholars. We provide this detailed curriculum, along with training and on-site support, so that you can focus on the relationships.

I believe this could be a meaningful partnership, as Tabernacle seeks to “work collectively for the fulfillment of God’s purpose for humanity”. We are in need of about 60 more mentors and would be thrilled if you signed up and encouraged your spouse, small group, friends, and Sunday School class to do the same! You can apply at www.higherachievement.org/volunteer or e-mail me at rbrock@higherachievement.org if you have any questions!

Grace and Peace,

Rachel

TCCC is super excited and thankful for the new Junior Kindergarten classroom.  We have a total of 18 children in the Pre-Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten classrooms, along with the best teachers around, Ms. Catherine and Ms. Courtney. The new space is truly a wonderful learning environment.  TCCC is extremely grateful for all the assistance the church and its members have provided. From volunteer labor to clean and paint, delivery of furniture and supplies, and facilitating the relationship with our community members in need; the support has been overwhelming. A special thank you to the Soyars who worked tirelessly to ready the room. We hope the bond between church and school continues to flourish.  We couldn’t have done this without the support of everyone at TBC. God bless you all.

Many thanks to you for welcoming me warmly into your spiritual home! This has been the most exciting week of my life: the sound of sweet baby coos in the nursery, the sight of our life stories stitched together overhead in the sanctuary (wow, what a sight to behold!), the smell of scrumptious Chinese food at my Welcome Luncheon, and the sense of “Who Am I?” as the children asked insightful questions: Would you rather be invisible or fly?

My friends, I would fly! I would fly into the sky, and live among the fluffy white clouds, shining stars, and vibrant rainbows. I would soar like an eagle knowing that the Lord sustains me daily. I would simply flap my fragile butterfly wings and reach out to the heavens from whence cometh my help. As I begin my special time as Children’s Minister at Richmond’s Tabernacle Baptist Church, would you join me in this magic carpet ride? A whole new world awaits us. Gladness. Wonder. Purpose. Faith. Like that of a child.

On September 1^st, I remembered that I’ve only been at Tabernacle for a month. One month! The youth have lived a lot of life in August. Let’s run through August-

First, we met. On Sunday, August 5, we met together for lunch after church. We awkwardly said hello and I began learning what was coming in the month ahead.

Then, on the following Saturday, Emily and Gerard led us challenge our fears at King’s Dominion. There are few better places to get to know one another. For many of us, this was the first time that we stepped onto a roller coaster and felt that tinge of panic and regret as we heard that “click……click…click..click.click” as we climbed the first hill. For some of us, it was the first time that we had spent time this summer that we had spent a full day with this group of people. Thanks to the hard work and generosity of Emily and Gerard, we all survived!

The next Sunday we enjoyed the hospitality of the Welsteads as we spent a day on the river. We enjoyed jet skis, canoeing, and kayaking. It was a day of conquered fears for some of us! Stepping into muddy water and controlling a kayak are no small feats.

The next weekend, the Kennedys hosted us for a weekend retreat in Fredericksburg. We ate and we swam, we canoed and we kayaked, we played games and watched a lot of Shaun the Sheep. We spent time learning about one another and thinking about what being the youth at Tabernacle means. How do we describe ourselves? In asking these questions, we started to think about who we are as individuals, and what things we bring table. We started asking our own questions, not to have them answered, but to have them heard.

As I look back over the things that have happened in the last month in the life of our youth, I cannot help but feel that we have lived more than a month worth of life. Many of these youth have been journeying together for a long time, with supporters like Emily, Gerard, the Welsteads, and the Kennedys giving their time and energy generously. I haven’t even mentioned the youth teams and parents that sat down months ago to put all of these events together.

I have only been a part of that journey for a month, but I feel like we’ve already traveled far together. In the church I grew up in, we called August “Awesome August,” because it was the kick-off month for all of our fall programs and a lot of families came back from vacations and summer traveling to rejoin the congregation on a weekly bases. It has been an Awesome August for the youth of Tabernacle!

Hogan Brock
Minister of Youth
Tabernacle Baptist Church