Blog

Construction and renovation in our Basement/Fellowship Hall area remains on target for completion in late May or early June.  Dry wall is up, plumbing lines and mounts have been installed, and duct work is near completion.  There are a couple of significant construction activities for you to be aware of this week:

• Kjellstrom & Lee, General Contractor, expects to have a crane on site on Wednesday, May 20^th to place the new HVAC compressor on the roof.  The steel support has already been installed to make this move in compressor location possible.
• By Friday, May 22^nd, we expect that all of the ceiling tiles will be reinstalled in the Fellowship Hall area.   We will literally see how much progress is being made when that part of the job is finished!

Be certain to use our God-Sized Vision mailbox located on the table in our Meadow Street entrance foyer to ask any questions that you might have.  Our committee members will respond to you quickly.  Also continue your prayers for our Construction & Renovation Oversight Committee leaders, as well as for work safety during construction.   Your prayers are an important component of the overall success of our endeavors!

While the demolition in the basement area was in progress, the team made a fascinating historical find!  A blackboard from many, many years ago reveals the names of Sunday School classes, counts of attendance, new members and other key information.  Previously hidden in a closet behind shelving, the chalk can still be read!  Because of the size, angle and location of the blackboard, it is difficult to get one good picture of it.   Take a look at the pictures included here.  Sunday School ‘Colonels’ included Delaney, Jennings, Chapin, Eubank, Thomas, Brown, Taurman, Orchestra, Officers.  Do you recognize any of those names?  Let us know if you do!  And wonder who the 12 officers were at that time?

The columns include number on roll and number in attendance, along with the collection amount for that Sunday.   Previously at Tabernacle, the Sunday collection was taken up during Sunday school as well as during the worship service.  Each class posted on the blackboard how much was collected on a Sunday and the previous Sunday, allowing for a week over week comparison.  The numbers still showing on the blackboard are from August 23^rd and August 30^th of that year.

Once construction in the Basement/Fellowship Hall area is completed, you will have the chance to take a look at what changes were made.  See the display in the basement area and on the TV monitor to refer to the list of changes and the drawing that shows where the changes are taking place.  The blackboard remains in its location in a closet, and is more visible now since we took the shelving down.  It won’t be long before you will have a chance to see if for yourself!

“We all come — in time — to view the good that inevitably results from adversity; and the history of the mission school that eventually became the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Richmond exemplifies that statement”. These are the first words in Margaret Emery’s The First Hundred Years: A History of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia. His name was John A. Traylor, a successful young businessman suddenly stricken with tuberculosis. The doctors told him that he needed to change his work environment to enable him to be outside for the better part of the time. Thus, he gave up his lucrative flour business and purchased a newspaper route to deliver the Richmond Morning Dispatch to an area bounded on the north by Main Street, on the south by the James River, on the east by Harrison Street, and on the west by the road being established to the new reservoir (this road now the Boulevard, running north/south beyond the western limit of “the Fan”.

In 1886, when he began his outdoor work in the western section beyond Richmond’s City Limits, John was a member of the Young Men’s Missionary Society of Grace Street Baptist Church, as were a number of his young friends. The area in which John came to work was a thinly-settled farming community, with dirt roads and open fields. But there were children in abundance. Daily as he made his rounds, learning to know first one child and then another, his mind dwelt on the future of these kids and on what it would mean to each of them, and to their families, if they were given the opportunity to attend a church school. John could relate to the thoughts and anxieties of children under pressure, from whatever causes. He knew instinctively that progress would eventually bring opportunities for these little ones. But his own childhood memories probably fueled his desire to make life a bit better for them while they were young.

The school began it’s ministry on a bright day, a Sunday afternoon, at half-after three o’clock on May 15, 1887. One hundred and twenty-eight years later we find ourselves continuing to live out the mission God gave this young man and the generations of faithful disciples that followed him down the road. We began as a ministry to children and youth and continue to embrace the call as God brings them to us. This week we pause to offer thanks to God for this unique calling in each and every one of our lives. We also pause to recommit ourselves to the vision. Young families are returning to the city literally from the corners of the world and collectively they are finding a home in this place. The roots that were established generations ago have been repotted by the creator over and over again; we continue to bloom where we are planted.

I believe we are on the cusp of a wonderful chapter of life and spiritual vitality. The vision that God gave young John Traylor continues to be lived out through our hearts and hands. What a blessing it is to live into the dream, to make the sacrifice, and prepare the way. May God guide us, and the littlest among us,  as we live into our 128th year together.

Yours in Christ,

Sterling W. Severns, Pastor

Rebuilding the area behind the Fellowship Hall stage has begun!  Demolition is done and now the steel studs that will hold the dry wall for the new Ladies Room and several additional rooms are up.  We have obtained the electrical and plumbing permits from the city so that dry wall work can be finished.  You may have noticed the missing ceiling tiles in the Fellowship Hall.  Those will be reinstalled once the HVAC work has been inspected.  We are still on track to complete the basement area changes by the end of May.  These changes are important groundwork for our next phase of construction and support the various activities held in the Fellowship Hall that are integral to our church.

See the display in the basement area and on the TV monitor to refer to this list of changes in progress and the drawing that shows exactly where the changes are taking place.

In the near future the location of our gas meter will be moved.   Preparations for this utility work will include a notification to our congregation regarding the days when use of the Grove Avenue ramp entrance will be impacted.  Stay tuned for more information regarding this aspect of the current project.

We need your help to be certain that our church activities continue to flow smoothly in conjunction with our construction activities.   The Construction & Renovation Oversight Committee is coordinating the schedule with Kjellstrom & Lee and the church staff through our church calendar.  Please be certain that all church activities are listed on the church calendar so that we plan use of our space effectively.   If you have special requests for meeting space, direct that request to the church staff as soon as possible.

Be certain to use our God-Sized Vision mailbox located on the table in our Meadow Street entrance foyer to ask any questions that you might have.  Our committee members will respond to you quickly.  Also continue your prayers for our Construction & Renovation Oversight Committee leaders, as well as for work safety during construction.   Your prayers are an important component of the overall success of our endeavors!

The first quarter of each year is spent recovering from the Advent and Christmas season, getting ready for Lent and Easter and dodging snow storms!!  This year was no different.   An early Easter made for a short Epiphany season.  The winter was cold, but the snow fall was mostly relegated to Thursday so while the children missed a fair amount of school we did not miss our regular Wednesday evening rehearsals.  This meant that Easter could arrive without a large amount of musical regret!

All of our choirs continued on their regular schedule.   Helen Davidson and Judy Fiske lead the Preschool Choir.  The Older Children’s Choir is led by Judy Fiske and Graham Grinnell and the Sanctuary Choir is led by Judy Fiske, Ron Simmons and Ryan Corbitt.  All of the rehearsals are held on Wednesday evenings.  The Older Children’s Choir and the Sanctuary Choir led worship together on two Sundays, one in Epiphany and Palm Sunday.  The Preschool Choir led in worship three Sundays including Palm Sunday and Easter.  The Sanctuary Choir led in worship almost every Sunday during this quarter.  In addition they led the Good Friday Service by singing “Return to Me” by Taylor Davis.  This music is based on the Stations of the Cross.  Ryan Corbitt(piano) and Ulysess Kirksey (cello) provided the accompaniment.   The Karen, Lisu, Kachin and Chin choirs and ensembles led us in worship throughout the season.

Eight children and youth participated in Virginia Baptist All-state Choir this year.  Waysnah Htoo, Monica Iang, Christina Sung, Brynne Severns, Kekoa, Kanoa, Kaeo and Dylan Burgess auditioned and were accepted in the 2015 All-state Choir.   There was an all day rehearsal in January and the a Friday and Saturday rehearsal in February followed by a performance on the Saturday.  The children all learned a great deal and were inspired to sing with this group again next year.   Chaperones were Judy Fiske and John Burgess.

The Epiphany season was decorated with its usual assortment of fabrics and lights.  Lent brought with it a large crown of thorns that was hung in the center of the sanctuary.    Large pieces of cheesecloth dyed in six different colors led into the crown of thorns blackened and dirty and led away from the crown of thorns clean by the grace of God.  There was a white piece of cloth that traveled the length of the installation to symbolize the fact that Jesus is always walking alongside us.  David Powers constructed the crown of thorns.

We are so fortunate to have a great group of singers and musicians at Tabernacle to help with worship leadership.  The members of the Sanctuary Choir are faithful and talented. This quarter we had the privilege of sharing music composed by one of our members, Susan Braden.  We are looking forward to singing more of her compositions and arrangements.