Blog

It is our honor to recognize Frances Mathews Thrift for her 25 years of dedication, guidance, and unlimited caring for children and their parents as Director of Tabernacle Child Care Center.   We say a special thank you for her ongoing inspiration as a key leader in our Children’s Ministry. 

We asked Frances to describe her thoughts about achieving this meaningful milestone:

Twenty five years…Unbelievable!! I had no idea of God’s leading in my life.  I thought I knew so much about following His lead as a Mom, Wife and Christian.  I was very wrong.  It has been an amazing experience to watch life unfold and smile that the One who guides us so well has allowed me this privilege.

I continue to be moved by parents who gingerly, trustingly drop their child or children off each day, leaving TCCC to give the world their amazing talents.  Each one trusting another group of individuals to teach, love and care for these incredible gifts they have produced.  It is the Teachers who need to be celebrated for my years– they work every day to love, play and teach children how to live and be a part of a community outside their home.  Our children are given the best gifts by these incredible people.  They are all truly loved! 

There are so many to be thanked for trusting me.  I wonder what I would have done without Judy Fiske’s consistent leading and dedication.  Rev. Sterling Severns’ smile and guidance.  Betty Robertson’s listening ear.  Margaret Ailes challenge and acceptance of me.  Connie Jones’ tender heart.  And most importantly Dick and Barbara Spain arriving in my first year with trikes for the children and pizza for the adults.  The list goes on and on.  I was never alone.

Thank you Tabernacle Baptist Church.  Thank you to an incredible staff and Assistant P.J. Kaye.  Thank you parents and children. Thank you Don Thrift.  

I am a blessed woman.

After a number of years of research, discussions with key stakeholders, evaluation of the church structure, and design concept considerations, Tabernacle Baptist church launched our God-Sized Vision Campaign in the Fall of 2013.  A consultant was secured to guide us in fundraising planning and volunteers were enlisted to lead us in upcoming fundraising activities.  

It is hard to believe that was three years ago!  Our blessing of ongoing growth during these three years means that there a quite a few of us that were not members when all of this started.  And those who were here may appreciate a refresher in what has happened over that time.  

God-Sized Vision Highlights

Next Steps

The Construction & Renovation Committee has made a commitment to continually engage our entire congregation in the steps we take.  We are currently evaluating another possible approach to making our Williams Building accessible by an elevator.  Once we have completed the feasibility analysis and the cost analysis for this new approach, we will announce our findings—planned for the January business meeting if not before.   

After paying for all Fellowship Hall changes, rerouting of gas service, new Williams Building roof, new HVAC system for the sanctuary, and all professional fees and services our remaining available God-Sized Vision funds are $657,426. This is dependent upon all committed funds being collected.  

Please do not hesitate at any time to contact a member of the Construction & Renovation Committee to ask questions or to provide your input.  Your participation in realizing our vision is important and very much appreciated!  Your ongoing prayers for guidance and grace in this process are greatly appreciated.

Committee Members:  Nelson Melton, Bill Welstead, Jim McMurray, Kathy McGraw, Donna Soyars, Sterling Severns

A huge thank you to all our volunteers who came out to welcome the almost 2,000 voters who came through our doors on Tuesday. You did a wonderful job making the church a welcome and inviting place for our neighbors. We are grateful for your warm smiles, generous hellos, and willingness to serve coffee and hot chocolate.

 

For the past six weeks, several of our 3rd-5th grade children have been participating in our Everyone Worship program. They have spent time learning about the elements of worship, communion, baptism, and the Narrative Lectionary. They have been led each week by Penny Jenkins. Today, we celebrate that they are completing this program.

The children enjoyed the “hands on” experiences, like taking communion and visiting the church baptistery. They learned about the church calendar (now they know about the different liturgical seasons). They children also loved getting to know Miss Penny!

Penny says, “I have been pleased to have them come into class sharing that they had used the order of worship to see what we would be talking about in the class.  When I would ask them about something that had happened in the service that morning, they could answer my question.  They had been paying attention.  More importantly, as we would discuss things in class, I was impressed by the things about the Bible and Tabernacle that they already knew from participating in Sunday School classes and being attentive in worship services.”

Tabernacle Baptist Church’s active engagement with our community is an important part of who we are. What a blessing over 25 years ago when we opened our doors to the Richmond Concert Band, providing space for band rehearsals on Tuesday evenings. Sharing our space has meant so much to both organizations, beyond the incredible “Christmas in the Fan” Christmas Concert that we join together to present each year. (NOTE: Be sure to mark your calendars for Sunday, December 18th from 4-6pm!)
We are quite grateful for how the Richmond Concert Band helps us in return for their use of our facilities. When the band learned that we needed to raise money to purchase new chairs for the Fellowship Hall, they donated $3,000 to Tabernacle as a special thank you. You may have noticed that we already received these attractive, banquet-style chairs and they have been unwrapped and are in use!

And the Richmond Concert Band collects non-perishable food for our Food Pantry ministry each Tuesday during the fall months when they practice. By December, the band members usually have gathered over 1,000 items of canned goods and other food pantry items for us to use in the pantry and for our Christmas baskets.

Helping one another…we take what we learn in Sterling’s Sunday sermon and make it reality!
One additional note—On Sunday, October 30th, the Richmond Concert Band was recognized in the Richmond Times Dispatch as Richmond’s Best Band! If you get a chance, please congratulate the band!!!!

The festival goers included Elmo, Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Peter Pan, an astronaut, several Princesses, and their close friends—an elephant, a dinosaur (or two) , a tiger, a sheep, a bear, a turtle, a strawberry, a pumpkin, and plenty of other characters. And what a wonderful time they had playing together! All of them were so thankful that the rain God gave us stopped in time for them to enjoy the all of the fun activities planned for them. Their parents were quite grateful too!

Our TCCC teachers set up activities outside around the playground. Children could have their faces painted, and have their picture taken as they peeked through the hole in the cardboard. They could color a picture, and then hunt for treasure in the pools of hay. Some tried to pin the tail on the black cat. Others found running with their friends to be the most fun! Their parents had a chance to talk with one another while the children were absorbed in all of the festivities. There we no tricks, but plenty of treats for the party crowd.

We thank everyone who joined us at this year’s TCCC Fall Festival. A good time was had by all!