Out of an abundance of caution and due to the extreme temperatures, we have made the decision not to gather in person for worship this Sunday.
This creative service will include time for everyone to worship together in one virtual space and opportunities for more meaningful connection in smaller breakout rooms. We hope you will join us.
Why we made this decision We are incredibly grateful for the individuals who did an outstanding job clearing the perimeter of our church buildings. The sidewalks and entrances are accessible thanks to their dedicated work.
The concern lies beyond the immediate perimeter. Street parking remains unpredictable, and parking in the church lots will be extremely limited due to lingering ice and snow.
Although no significant new snow is expected, the decision reflects ongoing challenges from the last storm combined with safety concerns related to freezing temperatures.
Business Meeting Rescheduled to next Sun, Feb. 8
Our Quarterly Business Meeting has been rescheduled for next Sunday, February 8, and will take place immediately following worship.
Our primary goal with these meetings is strong participation, and we believe this change gives us the best chance of gathering well and engaging fully. There are many important things for us to come together and discuss.
We encourage everyone to read the reports submitted by our leaders ahead of time. Doing so will allow us to devote more of our time in the meeting to conversation, reflection, and discernment rather than information sharing alone.
Members of the church can access the report using the hyperlink included in the Tab Weekly e-newsletter.
A heartfelt thank you to all of our leaders who have worked so faithfully over the last six months. Your thoughtful reflections and careful storytelling in these reports help shape our shared understanding of the church’s life and direction. We are grateful for your leadership.
Thank you for joining us for self-guided worship today. Because of the projected snow and ice storm, our church building is closed and we are not gathering on site or on Zoom. For everyone’s safety, no activities will take place in the building, and it is likely the building will remain closed into the early part of the work week.
Today we invite you to worship where you are. You have two options and you are welcome to do either one or both. A recording of an Epiphany season service from last year is posted below. You will also find a beginner-friendly guided prayer experience based on Matthew 4:12–23 posted below.
If you would like to share the experience with others, consider setting up a personal Zoom call and inviting friends, family, or members of your Sunday school class or community circle to join you.
As we prepare, let us hold in prayer those most affected by the storm, especially our neighbors who are vulnerable, and those caring for our wider community throughout the weather event, including • Crews working to restore power • Those clearing and treating our roads • Emergency personnel and medical staff • Outreach teams responding to people in crisis • Neighbors helping neighbors
Looking ahead, please plan to join us next Sunday, February 1, at 11:00 a.m. for our Communion service, followed by a church-wide business meeting and lunch. We look forward to being together again and celebrating all that God is doing in and through our church family.
We are holding you in prayer and trust that you will stay safe, warm, and connected in the days ahead.
Continue below for the Guided Colloquy Prayer on this week’s Gospel Lesson, Matthew 4:12–23 and/or the Epiphany season service video.
Guided Colloquy Prayer
An imaginative, gentle conversation with Jesus or someone from today’s Gospel. For individuals, families, or small groups.
What you need: A Bible, a journal or paper, a pen. Optional candle.
If you are with others, invite one person to read clearly.
If you are alone, consider reading it twice, a little softer the second time.
Prepare your heart
Sit comfortably. Place your feet on the floor or rest in a seated position that feels steady. Close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Take three slow breaths. With each breath, remember you are already in God’s loving presence.
If you wish, light a candle as a simple sign that you are entering prayer.
Enter the story
Read the passage again. As you listen, picture the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee.
Notice the sounds of water.
Notice the feel and smell of the nets.
See the faces of Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John.
Hear Jesus say, “Follow me.”
Let one detail stand out to you.
Do not force it. Simply notice.
Begin the conversation
Open your journal.
Choose one person for a short, written conversation
Jesus
Simon Peter
Andrew
James or John
Zebedee, the father who remains with the boat
3. Write the name at the top of the page.
4. Imagine sitting or walking with them by the water.
5. Write a few lines as if you were talking with a trusted friend. Keep it simple and honest.
Try one prompt to get started Jesus, what do you see in me today that makes you say, “Follow me”
Andrew, what was it like to drop the net so quickly
James or John, what was hardest to leave and what felt unexpectedly easy
Zebedee, how did you experience God as your sons stepped out
1. After you write a question or two, pause.
2. Listen quietly for a moment, then write the response you sense. You are not forcing God’s voice. You are offering your imagination to the Holy Spirit and testing what you hear by what you know of Jesus’ goodness in Scripture.
3. Keep writing back and forth for five to ten minutes.
Listen again
Close your journal.
Sit quietly for one full minute. If a word or phrase from the passage returns to you, receive it as a gift.
If your mind wanders, gently return to your breath and to Jesus’ invitation, “Follow me.”
Respond: Write a short prayer of two or three sentences.
Name one “net” you sense Jesus inviting you to release today and one step of following you can take this week.
If you are with others, each person may share one sentence about what they noticed or received.
Honor that God may be working in different ways in each person.
Closing prayer
Jesus, Light in our darkness, thank you for stepping onto our everyday shoreline. Give us courage to release what we cling to and to follow you with open hands, open calendars, and open hearts. Amen.
Previously Recorded Worship Service
Epiphany Season: January 26, 2025: Scripture John 2:1–11
During Advent, we are learning to see more clearly the needs of our community that are rising to the surface through our Building for Hope process. This week, we’re turning our attention to affordable housing—the growing pressure our neighbors face in finding a place they can truly afford.
Last Sunday we named how this challenge shows up all around us: families facing eviction, parents choosing between rent and groceries, neighbors unable to find housing within their budget, households spending more than half their income just to keep a roof overhead, people living one unexpected bill away from losing stability, and, at its most extreme, neighbors experiencing homelessness.
We acknowledged that the crisis is larger than any one solution, and yet God invites us to begin by seeing, listening, and responding with compassion.
As you move through the week, we invite you to pause and reflect:
Name where you’ve seen the lack of affordable housing create hardship—now or in the past. Who comes to mind? What story rises up for you?
What do you find yourself longing for God to do?
May these reflections shape our prayers and our readiness to take the next faithful step together.
Prayer: God of shelter and shalom, give us eyes to see, courage to listen, and hearts willing to respond.—Amen
Lynwood “Woody” Bruce Jenkins died peacefully after a day surrounded by family and friends in his home in Powhatan, Virginia on October 11th following a 10-month battle with cancer. He leaves behind his loving wife of 44 years, Virginia “Penny”.
Woody embarked on a life of service working as a house parent to underprivileged youth in Baltimore, MD. He went on to work as integration coordinator for Morgan State University, afterwards serving as a Human Resources director in life care facilities in the Baltimore and Philadelphia areas. When he returned to Virginia, he became a real estate broker at Lake Anna. After a near-fatal automobile accident, Woody responded to his original calling to become a pastor, entering seminary at age 56 and earning Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. He served at Southampton Baptist Church in South Richmond and Elk Creek Baptist Church in Mineral, VA until he retired. In between pastorates, he worked in the development office at Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond.
When not at work, he was involved in helping family, friends, and community with whatever needed fixing. He helped coach his sons’ baseball teams and cheered loudly at his grandsons’ various games. He was the first President of Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity in Baltimore and Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Habitat for Humanity and finally served Habitat with his wife as volunteer Mid-Atlantic Regional Directors approving new projects in five states, including Richmond HFH as well. He went on mission trips to Slovakia, Panama, and Brazil. He helped to establish the Rural Institute for Theological Education in the Goshen Baptist Association to provide undergraduate studies for adults in rural counties with many students going on to pursue seminary degrees. He joined the Goochland County Fire and Rescue Department in 2002, primarily driving an ambulance for many years. Woody soon saw the need for chaplaincy services for patients, families, and even the FEMS staff themselves, and that came to fruition for FEMS and the Sheriff’s department.
Woody was predeceased by his parents, Hugh E. and Hattie C. Jenkins, his half-brother, Harold Stoneburger, and his brother, Robert. In addition to Penny, he also leaves his sister, Mary Kathryn Richardson, and brother, James Jenkins (Joyce), his first wife, Nancy Jenkins, and also his son, David, and step-children, Laurel Nelson (Brooks), Ronald Mattson (Pamela), and Michael Mattson (Rebecca), and his grandchildren, Syd (Katie), Matthew, James, Simon, and Reid. He also leaves Hung Pham, Brian Roskow, and Brian Giesler who each lived in his and Penny’s home as young men.
Among his many joys were hunting, fishing, traveling the open road in his RV, and loving on his many dogs over the years, so we add Bodie and Kylie, the last of the pack.
A celebration of life is planned for Monday, November 24 at 11 a.m. at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 1925 Grove Ave., Richmond, VA 23220 followed by a time of fellowship with the family. The service will be available on Live-stream. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Tabernacle Baptist Church Endowment Fund or Richmond SPCA.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recently featured our church and the simple question we have been working to answer. How do we make sure neighbors who speak different languages feel fully seen and included at the Saturday breakfast and pantry, and in our wider life together
Thanks to a CBF Ministries Council grant, we are building better bridges. From everyday communication to moments of worship and care, we are discovering new ways to belong to one another.
Beyond Words: CBF Ministries Council Grant empowers Tabernacle Baptist Church to overcome language barriers
October 28, 2025
By Kristen Thomason
Saturdays are special at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. There, over 40 volunteers prepare breakfast for those in the community who’ve come to shop at the church’s food pantry and clothing closet. As more residents who did not speak English began visiting Tabernacle on Saturdays, volunteers struggled to create the intentional relationships central to the Community Ministry program.
“Language should never be a barrier to belonging,” said April Kennedy, Tabernacle’s Minister of Abundant Community. Convinced nothing should impede the church’s ability to build relationship with their neighbors, Kennedy reached out to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship for help.
When Tabernacle Baptist revamped its food pantry six years ago, they shifted to a choice-based system to better honor the dignity of their guests. The communal breakfast beforehand is an opportunity for members of the community to gather, connect and build relationships. “Around breakfast tables, they check in on each other’s families, share items carefully chosen for a friend, offer rides and even pick up food for those who cannot make it,” said Kennedy. “There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’ on Saturday mornings—only neighbors, each contributing to the shared life of our pantry.”
The church has taken steps to make its Community Ministry program more accessible by creating forms in Spanish for the 28 percent of guests who come from Spanish speaking households. Volunteers have also made the effort to learn greetings in several additional languages. However, this is not enough to cultivate an environment where guests feel welcomed and included. “Language is more than words. It is connection, dignity and the ability to fully participate in a shared community.” With only a few bilingual volunteers and mobile phone translation apps proving inadequate, the burden of communication was unfairly falling on those most seeking resources and connection.
To better facilitate communication and foster relationships on Saturday mornings, Tabernacle Baptist applied for a grant from the CBF Ministries Council to buy translation devices. With the $1,605.79 grant they received, the church will be able to purchase several devices and position them at key places on Saturday mornings. One device will be placed at the check in area to ensure guests have accurate information. Another will be available to volunteers in the food pantry to help them answer questions about dietary requirements and food preferences. Kennedy also plans to have a translation device in the communal breakfast area to encourage conversation. “I would also love to eventually invite neighbors into using the translation devices with each other.”
The devices will eventually help shift conversations from mere transactional exchanges to something more meaningful. “Language inclusion fosters deeper relationships. When people are understood in their own language, they are more likely to share their stories, express their needs and offer their own gifts to the community.” Kennedy is hopeful that through these relationships, the food pantry will grow from a service provided by the church into a community of mutual care.
Kennedy also wants to encourage other churches facing similar challenges not to give up, and to do whatever is necessary to remove barriers like language differences, even if those early attempts are awkward. “Don’t be afraid to fumble a bit— there’s a sweetness to the grace that is offered by neighbors as they both come, without all the skills needed, and work together to understand each other.”
The Deacon Board is delighted to share that the Ordination Council has unanimously affirmed April Kennedy’s calling to vocational ministry. This decision came after a life-giving conversation on August 13 with a gathering of Tabernacle members, local clergy, and trusted voices from the wider Tabernacle community. The depth and honesty of April’s sharing: her story of faith, her call to ministry, and her openness to life-long learning, created sacred space for discernment and affirmation.
Now we invite the entire Church to gather in worship and gratitude. April’s Ordination Service will be held on Saturday, September 13 at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary and in the Virtual Acre. A reception will follow. All are welcome!
We give thanks for the Spirit’s movement in our midst, for April’s ministry, and for the hope and possibility that lie ahead for Tabernacle and the Church Universal. This is a day for celebration, reflection, and renewed commitment to the work God is doing among us.
This Sunday we’ll turn our hearts to Luke 10:25–37—the familiar but ever-challenging parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus tells this story in response to a question we’re still asking today: “Who is my neighbor?” In it, compassion crosses boundaries, defies categories, and disrupts prejudice. As we prepare to worship together, here are a few questions to carry with you this week:
I wonder what keeps us from seeing the suffering right in front of us.
I wonder how courage and compassion might look in our own lives this week.
I wonder who has been a neighbor to you when you needed it most.
I wonder how God might be inviting us to “go and do likewise,” embodying mercy, justice, and grace in real ways.
Let’s also pray especially for our youth group at Passport Camp this week—that they would experience God’s love and guidance in powerful ways.
I hope you’ll join us Sunday as we listen for Jesus’ call to become neighbors in a world so desperate for compassion.
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Sterling W. Severns, Pastor
______________ Image: Vincent van Gogh, The Good Samaritan (after Delacroix), 1890. Public Domain. Courtesy of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
As we step into a new season of worship, we’re inviting you to help shape what comes next.
We’re navigating a meaningful time of transition in our worship life, and now more than ever, we’re leaning on the gifts of our whole church family. Whether you’ve helped lead worship before or you’re open to trying something new, we’d love for you to consider stepping in.
Scripture readers, prayer leaders, singers, instrumentalists, testimony-givers—there’s room for all kinds of voices. If you’re willing to give it a try, we promise to support, guide, and walk alongside you every step of the way.
It’s not about perfection. It’s about presence, growth, and faithfulness.
“A sacrament,” Frederick Buechner once wrote, “is when something holy happens. It is transparent time—time when you can see through to something deep inside time.”
A Moment Worth Holding
And wouldn’t you know it, last Sunday felt like that. Not holy in a big, dramatic sort of way. Nothing flashy. Nothing staged. But holy in a way that you could feel in your chest. In the quiet that settled before a hymn. In the steady presence of people who knew this moment mattered. In the kind of moment you know you’ll carry with you.
Judy stood there—humble, clear-eyed, and fully herself—and guided us, as she always has, with the kind of wisdom that doesn’t need to raise its voice. She reminded us that Baptists don’t really “do” sacraments. But that doesn’t mean we don’t know when we’re standing on sacred ground.
“This is a transition,” she told us. “But more than that—it’s a glimpse. A thin place. Transparent time.”
She was teaching us to notice the holy humming beneath the familiar. To pay attention.
Honoring Judy
Last Sunday felt like one of those moments where the everyday and the sacred sit side by side, and you can sense something deeper just beneath the surface.
Music lifted us, stories grounded us, and a spirit of celebration reminded us who we are together. We honored Judy Fiske, Organist Emerita, for her years of ministry—decades spent faithfully stitching together worship and community in ways that have shaped us more than words can express.
We hold Judy, Eric, and their entire family in prayer as they step into this new season—a time to rest, reconnect, try new things, and enjoy being together in a different rhythm of life. We also anticipate seeing Judy in worship again in September—not in a staff role, but as a fellow worshiper. We’ll be eager to see her at the organ bench with some regularity, though we’re still discerning what that rhythm will be.
We’re deeply grateful for the many hands and hearts that planned and facilitated such a meaningful day—thank you for helping us mark this transition with so much love and care. The beauty of that moment continues to echo in the life of our church.
This Sunday’s Gospel: Luke 8:26–39
This Sunday, Jesus steps off a boat and into the chaos of a man’s life. The man’s name is Legion. That alone tells you plenty. He’s a walking crowd of pain.
But Jesus doesn’t flinch. He sees through to the deep inside. And in that seeing, there’s healing. In that moment—terrifying and tender and beautifully human—there is mercy.
Not the kind that says “I’ll pray for you” and keeps walking. The kind that stops, listens, lingers. The kind that stays.
Jesus sends the man home, not just well, but whole. With a story to tell.
A Request for Prayer
Like him, we too are walking forward with a story to tell—grateful for healing, grounded by mercy, and reminded that our calling is not just to look back with thanks, but to look ahead with hope.
That’s where we are, church. On the edge of something new. Listening to the Spirit who whispers, “Now go tell what God has done for you.”
We invite you to be in prayer for our pastoral and music staff, and for our congregation, as we take up the shared work of worship planning and leadership. These next few weeks will be a time of transition—filled with both memory and discovery. Let’s ask God’s Spirit to guide us gently and clearly through each step.
And together, we will keep walking—grateful for what has been and expectant for what is still to come.
