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Youth Report: January 2019

YOUTH REPORT: Hogan Brock

This winter, the youth continued to study and learn together. We celebrated and supported Kekoa Burgess in his baptism. We welcomed Meesha Moses into the youth group when her mother, Jerusha, joined TBC as Minister to Children. We welcomed Ali Powell back as she and her family returned from resting after the birth of her sister, Ruby Powell. Throughout the fall and winter, many youth led in worship through music, reading scripture, and dramatic storytelling.
Meg Lacy joined Youth Worship Arts on Sunday afternoons to lead a small group in liturgical writing. The group of writers has written Calls to Worship for the Epiphany season and will be leading us in worship for the rest of the season.
In December, the youth helped plan one of the contemplative Advent services that took place on Wednesday night. Working together to plan this service allowed the youth to dig deeper into what makes worship meaningful to them and what seems empty. Thinking through worship in that way proved to be meaningful and has opened up some good conversations!
At the end of December, the youth said thank you to Sarah Smith and Andrew Sabatini for their leadership in Sunday School. After many months of teaching, they will be taking a break from teaching to rest, recover, and reinvest in their own spirituality. We are thankful for Judy Fiske, Ron Simmons, Marty Watkins, Emily White, Kathy McGraw, Gerard Burton, Sara Anne and John Burgess, Sandi Lowery, Jerry and Jenny Jones, Matt Jones, Mark Snipes, Sterling Severns, David Gorman, all of those who provided meals for the youth, and so many others who have supported and loved the youth group so well this quarter and throughout the year.

Grace and Peace,
Hogan
Minister to Students

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Music and Worship Report: January 2019

MUSIC AND WORSHIP REPORT: Dr. Judy Fiske
The first quarter of 2018 had a lot of activity packed into it. Epiphany began with a beautiful installation that included many origami stars as well as the wonderful Moravian stars that always hang in the Sanctuary. Jay Hartman added to our collection a group of stained-glass stars that he had rescued from a building renovation. They cleaned up beautifully and looked like someone had made them to hang in the sanctuary. For the first time in many years we added the celebration of Black History month to the music program in worship. We used a spiritual for the call to worship each Sunday in February. We used a Howard Thurman poem, “Listen to the Stillness”, as our theme for the Epiphany season. Susan Braden composed a lovely SATB setting of the text that the choir sang on February 11, Transfiguration Sunday. Unfortunately, I did not get to hear this anthem as I fell down steps on February 7 and broke my right wrist in three places!! This began a long period of recovery that included two surgeries and many people covering the work that I usually do. Brenda Brown substituted at the organ, Ron Simmons did a large amount of the conducting for the sanctuary choir, Susan Braden covered several of the Younger Children’s Choir rehearsals and performances, and Eric Fiske did a lot of driving and heavy lifting. Somewhere in there I also managed to do a little work! I cannot adequately express my gratitude for the work of all the people who helped —and continue to help cover my work responsibilities. My right hand is mostly working now.

Our Lenten installation included beautiful pictures of people in the congregation overlaid with the words of our Lenten theme song, “What Could You Do with Me,” by Josh Wright. This song was presented each week in Lent by a different soloist or group. We also used a shadowbox in a doorframe in which we drew a symbol that was drawn from the week’s scripture passage. This gave us six large drawings, which were used on Good Friday to remember what we had learned throughout the season. The service that evening used music and narrations written by Susan Braden that took us through the final hours of Jesus’ life as a human. Each of the drawings was torn to remind us of how shallow our understandings of Jesus’ message continue to be. The Sanctuary Choir conducted by Ron Simmons led us through the music.

The Older and Younger Children’s Choir participated actively in worship throughout the quarter by singing, reading and candle lighting. The Youth in the Worship Arts Ensemble also were active worship participants. These groups are led by Jessica Corbitt, Terry Witt, Susan Braden, Kathy McGraw, Ron Simmons, Marty Watkin and me. The children and youth are learning a great deal about worship leadership.

This was an interesting quarter for me. It was difficult to be one handed for much of the time. I cannot thank all of the people who covered work for me and made the music in this quarter amazing.

April 1st was Easter in 2018 so we started the second quarter off with a bang. Easter is always an exciting conclusion to a busy and meaningful Lent and Holy Week. Following Easter, the Sanctuary Choir began preparations for Pentecost and for summer. The Children’s Choirs also began preparations for a final performance. This year the final program was held on the last Wednesday evening in May and consisted of a concert of all types of music from Sacred to Broadway. Everyone had a great time and the music was beautiful. Many thanks are due to Jessica Corbitt, Terry Witt, Kathy McGraw and Susan
Braden for their wonderful leadership with the school-aged choirs. Helen Davidson and Larry Allen provide amazing leadership for our Preschool Choir.

Our summer music program included a month of sharing favorite hymns and their stories, both the hymn story and their stories in our lives. This was a great deal of fun and helped people to get to know one another as we sang and shared songs we love. In late June seven of us attended Animate Worship Arts Camp at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. This camp is a favorite and we love attending. Meg Lacy was one of the preachers again this year. Each of the youth learned so much about designing and participating in worship services. Later in July, twenty-eight people attended Music and
Worship Arts Camp at Eagle Eyrie. This camp is open to children over the age of 10. We sang a lot, learned about worship, played in the amazing EE pool, and figured out how to go to bed without a parent to tell us what to do. This camp experience is very valuable to both the spiritual, musical and physical development of the children. They learn a lot about independence at camp.

August always brings renewed interest in liturgical installations. This year our theme was “Stitched Together.” We displayed quilts and told their stories as we were listening, worshiping and waiting for God’s guidance in our lives. The quilts provided a wonderful visual for the use of every scrap to make something beautiful in our lives. A group of adults and youth spent a couple of afternoons at the church dyeing fabric and stiffening it with glue after it had been cut into large squares. These were hung in the sanctuary ceiling to form a “quilt” over our heads.

The music ministry moved back into regular programing in September. The Sanctuary Choir and three children’s choirs meet on Wednesday evenings and Youth Worship Arts meets on Sunday afternoon. In September the Narrative Lectionary guides the structure of church thinking. The structure for much of our study and worship follows the structure of this Lectionary. This year we are in Year 1 of the program. The worship installation that was envisioned in August came into being. Advent and Christmas music was rehearsed. The final quarter of the year is the culmination of much work while being the beginning of the Church year.

In October the Sanctuary Choir led a Vesper Service at Lakewood Manor Retirement Center. In November the Sanctuary Choir once again traveled to South Hill to participate in the anniversary concert for New Beginnings, a Gospel Trio. We are always honored to participate in this concert and it is great musical fun! In December the Sanctuary Choir and the Lisu Ladies Ensemble led the Star Lighting Ceremony and Concert at Westminster Canterbury. It was a beautiful program and we were honored to participate. In addition to providing the music for many of the 11:00 am worship services, the Sanctuary Choir also sang a concert at Bruton Parish Church on December 22 and as a part of Christmas in the Fan with Richmond Concert Band. The children and youth worship arts groups kept up a solid educational level as well as sharing in worship leadership at least once a month. People of all ages also shared in the musical leadership of our Christmas Eve service.

The Music and Worship Arts program of at Tabernacle is indebted to the multitalented music staff and many volunteers who gladly share their talents and ideas. There is always space for more voices in all areas of the music and art ministry. Come pray, think, sing and play with us as we work hard together to keep following Jesus in our lives.

Judy Fiske
Minister of Music/Worship/Organist

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Associate Pastor’s Report: January 2019

ASSOCIATE PASTOR’S REPORT: Rev. Meg Lacy
Last Sunday, Epiphany Sunday, marked my one-year anniversary here at Tabernacle. As I moved through worship that day—setting up communion, preparing worship leaders, greeting those entering the sanctuary, and sensing the anticipation radiating from twinkling lights overhead—I felt a wave of peace and joy… a deep sense of home. It takes a long time to get to know a congregation. It takes years of hearing stories, walking through tragedy, attending meetings and parties, and learning rituals and sacred cows. I’ve only been in Richmond a little over a year, so I know I am a long way from knowing our church community fully, but with each week, each month that passes, you begin to feel a little bit more like my people. And this place begins to feel a little bit more like home.

The past 12 months have been a whirlwind of the joys and the challenges of ministry. Here are some of the highlights:

Children’s Ministry
One of the initial tasks on my job description was to offer support to the Children’s Ministry Team. In my role as “ministry architect,” I was asked to help this team assess and reorganize children’s programming around a clear set of values and to eventually hire a Children’s Minister to lead them in this work. I am delighted to report that we have done just that! Over the past year we grew the Children’s Ministry team from 2 members to 5 members, we had a series of listening sessions with parents in order to discern our goals and values for the formation of our little ones, and we hired an amazing new part-time Children’s Minister, Jerusha Moses! It’s been a joy to work with Jerusha in the on-boarding process, to hear her ideas and her vision for Children’s Ministry at Tabernacle, and to see her deep heart for God’s people in this place.

Communications
Another area of ministry that I have focused on in my first year is communications. When I arrived, Allen Lowery was serving as Interim Communications Assistant while the church continued to discern the best shape for this position. Allen was excellent in this role, but when Allen left to pursue other work, we needed an interim for the interim! Our current pastoral intern, Jacque Green graciously stepped into Allen’s shoes. Jacque brought her organizational skills and attention to detail to this work in a way that helped us to see how valuable it could be for us to hire someone with equal skills in the areas of design/communication and organization/workflow management. While I was working with the Personnel Committee to draft a job description that reflected this, Jacque Green was called away to chaplaincy work, and Terry McMahon volunteered to step into her 20hr/week position during our time of transition. Terry’s consistent presence, keen insight, and natural calm demeanor were an amazing gift to us during the busy summer months, as pastoral staff traveled to various camps, conferences, and vacations. I don’t think we would have been able to produce the bulletin each week without him!
While Terry worked to get our weekly publications to press, the Personnel Committee and I created and posted the job description for our new Communications Coordinator position. We sifted through over 110 applicants for this position, narrowing it down to 3 phone interviews, 2 in person interviews, and one final candidate, whom we hired in July, Hope Cutchins! Hope has been an amazing gift to Tabernacle as we’ve re-visioned our communication strategy, created a new bulletin, and launched a weekly e-mail, The Tab Weekly. Hope has helped us shift our communications approach from an emphasis on print and Facebook with some level of prioritization, to an organized, prioritized, and visually engaging strategy that includes print and Facebook, as well as website development and community emails. We have made tremendous strides toward stability and strategy in Tabernacle’s internal communications approach this year. Next year we hope to continue to expand our strategy to include how we communicate who we are and what we are up to with the neighborhood and community around us.

Administration
Sterling and I are still working to determine exactly how my gifts can be used to contribute to administrative processes at Tabernacle, outside of communications. However, there are a few administrative tasks that I have taken on throughout 2018 that may be helpful for you to know. In January, I took over the leadership for our All Staff meeting, which includes some pastoral and all administrative staff. I have also taken on, in conjunction with Personnel, supervisory responsibility for non-ministerial staff members, including Susan Lumpkin (Finance), Vincent Sallie (Custodial), and Hope Cutchins
(Communications). It has been a joy to get to know and work more closely with each of these individuals who contribute so much to the life of our congregation, mostly behind the scenes. In the fall, we conducted annual reviews for these positions. I hope having a ministerial staff member present for the reviews enabled us to see more clearly how we can better support our employees. As a result of these reviews, Personnel has proposed a change in Vincent’s job tile and responsibilities in 2019 to more clearly reflect the work he actually does. For a one-year trial, Vincent will move from “Custodian” to “Building and Grounds Coordinator.” He will continue to be responsible for custodial duties, but he will also serve as the staff liaison to the Building and Grounds Committee and will have more input in repairs and maintenance.
In addition to staff-related administrative tasks, I collected data for the work of the Nominating Committee. I compiled information from each committee chair about what that committee will be working on in 2019 in order to better select leaders for particular tasks and positions. This year, I have been taking notes on the nominating process in order to expand our recruitment and development of leaders in 2019.

Pastoral Leadership
In June, Sterling, April Kennedy (the chair of my search committee) and I met for a check-in. We realized in this meeting that while I have been busy working, much of it has been behind the scenes. I was hungry for more interaction with congregation members, and there was a need for my leadership to be more visible. In response to these concerns, I spent the second half of the year shifting my leadership focus to more relational (and often more visible) endeavors. In September, I started the Lectio Divina group that gatherings on Wednesday evening to read Scripture and pray. This has been a lifegiving space for me to get to know congregation members more deeply. I also began preaching more regularly in the fall, a passion of mine, and led a 5-week writing class in Youth Worship Arts. This writing class was one of the highlights of my year. More than half a dozen young women gathered in order to listen closely to scripture and craft theologically rich pieces of writing to be used in worship during Epiphany 2019. Hogan Brock and I also worked together during December to organize an evening of contemplative worship to help us start off Advent in a state of deep connection to God and others. All of these opportunities have given me great life and great joy this year!

Lay Leadership Restructuring
In the final months of 2018 we made progress on one of the initial goals of my hire—helping Tabernacle rethink its structure of lay ministry. We have such gifted laity (that’s you!) and we want everyone at Tabernacle to find a place of service in which they can share their passions and gifts. In December, the Deacon Board approved a proposal for four new Ministry Teams to help us facilitate this process. These ministry teams will be developed around our four core values: Mission, Discipleship, Worship, and Fellowship. The teams will be comprised of deacons and laity who are passionate about each area of ministry, and each team will have a staff liaison to support the team’s work. We are excited to get these teams off the ground in 2019 and our hope is that they will help bring new vision and energy to the embodiment of our values!

Looking back on 2018, it has been a busy year. It has been a year of transition, new experiences, new people, lots of learning. But looking back it seems to me that we as a congregation, and I as an individual, are finding a new sense of stability. As a congregation, we have grown our staff to a full and amazing group of leaders. We have tweaked and organized our leadership and administrative processes. And we have done so while listening deeply to God’s vision for our shared life together, and how our congregation can be a part of healing and wholeness in our community and our world. Thank you for the ways you have welcomed me into your hearts, lives, meetings, and systems this year. It has been a joy to walk alongside you in this adventure we call ministry.

Blessings,
Rev. Meg Lacy

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Pastor’s Report: January 2019

PASTOR’S REPORT: Rev. Sterling Severns
Fourteen and a half years ago I stood before you and attempted to preach my first sermon as Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church. I don’t remember much about the specific sermon. I remember feeling both nervous and hopeful. I remember telling you that I had no idea what I was doing or where God was taking us. However, I also remember telling you that I didn’t feel the need to know the specifics because I was confident that God would reveal our collective calling as we continued to take leaps of faith. There was a tremendous sense of purpose in those fragile days of transition. Against all odds, we were still here. The nursery only had 2 active children, conveniently they relocated to Richmond with their parents when the church called their father to serve as Pastor. Back in 2004, our resources were fairly sparse and our vision was vague at best. Many outsiders didn’t think the church would survive. The odds were against us but God was for us. 

All these years later, I look back to those tender days with delight. What a journey it has been. The vitality, and spiritual growth, we experienced in 2018 is a continuation of God’s faithfulness in our story. We are small but God is doing great things through us. The legacies of the every-day-saints that came before us continue to prosper through their generosity and examples. The new life that has come to us is a direct result of God’s desire for us to grow into our identity as Christ’s followers. Each day brings a sense of adventure and each relational opportunity helps us to reclaim an influential role in the kingdom. I am more hopeful and optimistic about our future than ever. Whereas, I still don’t know what I’m doing or where God is taking us, I am confident that God isn’t finished with us. If anything, we’re just getting started….

Here are some highlights from this past year of life and ministry together:

Steady and Faithful Leadership
Our veteran staff members continued to use their God-given gifts, and love of the church to guide us forward into a productive year of ministry. Thank you to our veteran equippers: Judy, Susan, Vincent, Ron, Terry, Ryan, Dianna and Kara. You have been such a blessing to us. Your tireless energy and creativity help to make this place a beacon of light in the city. 

I can’t begin to express the depth of my gratitude for the faithful leaders that guided the flock throughout 2018. I am grateful to Woody Jenkins and Kathy McGraw, the chairpersons of our two major Boards. You, and all of your colleagues, led us well! Connie Jones, our beloved Treasurer, spent innumerable hours serving behind the scenes in the financial office and clothes closet. Connie, your integrity and dedication never ceases to amaze us. Thank you for your faithful service. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Allen Lowery, Jacque Green, and Terry McMahon for taking the helm in the office during the first portion of the year. Thank you also to Brenda Brown, for stepping back into service at the organ while Judy’s wrist healed.

I never cease to be amazed by the caliber of gifts and generosity represented in our pews. Thank you to all of our Ministry Team and Committee leaders for a stellar year of ministry together.

New Leadership
One of the strongest markers of health in the life of a congregation is exhibited trust. Our little church took an enormous leap of faith in hiring six new staff members in 2018. Meg, Hogan, Jerusha, Hope C., Hope N, and Kristen also took leaps of faith in coming to us. God has honored our collective trust in bringing each of these gifted servants into our fold. Our new staff members have brought a tremendous amount to joy to Tabernacle. The veteran staff and congregation have found deep wisdom in their words and inspiration in their leadership in the form of servanthood. Welcome home, friends.

Jacque’s ordination
One of God’s greatest gifts in 2018 was the ordination of Jacquelyn Brown Green. What a blessing it was to join together with multiple churches and mentors in Jacque’s life to affirm her calling and nudge her forward in ministry. We are better as a community of faith because of Jacque’s presence in our lives. Her unifying voice is needed in the Kingdom of God and we are humbled to play a small role in helping to shape her call.

Zoe and Kekoa’s Baptism
Two of the most memorable moments in 2018 centered on Kekoa Burgess and Zoe Jamerson’s baptisms. These two disciples, both wise beyond their years, professed their faith in Christ through spoken testimony and the waters of baptism. We are grateful for their trust and eager to see what Jesus will do as they continue to walk in faith.

A Strong financial year
Another strong marker of health in the life of the church is stewardship. We started the year with a huge leap of faith in the creation of the budget and ended the financial year in the black! Thank you, Tabernacle, for faithfulness and sacrifice.

A deepening relationship with leaders and families in our Child Care Center Ministry
Two years ago, we set out to reorganize the leadership structure of our Child Care Center Ministry. We did this in anticipation of Frances Thrift’s retirement and also with a desire to connect with the TCCC leaders, children, and families in a deeper way. I am continually amazed by what God is doing through the ministry of Kristen, our Director, and the unstoppable leaders on our TCCC Ministry and Administrative Committees. We’re gaining momentum with each passing season. The center is thriving.

Bread for the Journey
We offered bread for the journey to numerous family members that have moved into various ministry positions and/or opportunities in other cities, states, and countries. Whereas, the goodbyes have been very difficult, we can’t help but feel connected to the Universal Church, as they plant roots in new places. I won’t make a list of names for fear of leaving someone out. However, God continues to use these difficult transitions to keep our motives pure and help us to see that we are participating in something so much larger than our little corner at Grove and Meadow.

Marriage Enrichment
One of the strongest highlights of 2018 came in our open dialogue about the strengthening of marriage and the expression of our desire to support couples seeking marriage. The deacons were charged with a difficult task on the other side of the official acceptance of our Statement of Welcome in 2017. That role does the church play in helping couples grow into their covenant with God and one another? What is the role of the church in the area of accountability and mentorship of couples before, during, and after their wedding day? I encourage you to take a moment to review the working draft of our marriage policy in the appendix of this Book of Reports and pray for guidance as we live into re-commitment to marriage enrichment.

BTSR
The greatest collective loss we experienced in 2018 was the official notice of the closing of the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. The seminary will close their doors in January 2019 and hold their last graduation in May. God has used BTSR to give us life in so many ways….for so many years. We are indebted to the students, graduates, faculty and staff for their partnership over this last quarter of a century. We grieve with the seminary community and trust that God will bring resurrection in surprising ways.

A turning point with our neighbors
Of the residual effects of the renovation of our row houses is positive connection with our neighbors in the Fan District. What a blessing it has been to encounter neighbors with a common sense of hopeful investment in our community. It is hard to believe we were slated to tear the houses down two short years ago. God is good!

Race Dialogue
We are a historic church located in the heart of the capitol of the confederacy. We are uniquely obligated and poised to actively engage in racial reconciliation. We spent the first half of the year in active dialogue and the back half of the year praying about next steps. I encourage you to look at the overview of our dialogue in the appendix of this document. I have no idea what fruit will be born through our lengthy conversations and faithful work of our leaders. However, I am eager to see what God will bring as we have opened the door and prepared our hearts for a new chapter together.

Hunger Ministry
We recommitted ourselves to hunger ministry in 2018. The emergency assistance program shifted to first Saturdays and we added a new weekly program for senior adults. We are eager to focus our efforts on a deepening of relationships with our neighbors and we are especially grateful to Hope Nycum for her tireless leadership, Miriam Kennedy for her support last summer, and to all of our former and current lay leaders.

Family Ministry is growing
Would you believe that we now have 90+ children and 15+ teenagers actively engaged in church life in any given month? What a difference a year makes! We’ve hired Hogan and Jerusha to focus their gifts in discipling our children, students, and parents. Ministry teams have offered stellar support and all signs point to more growth in the year ahead!

A renewed commitment to our global neighbors
2018 brought a renewed focus on support of the global community. The Rone Support Team served faithfully. The Coppages remained in touch on a weekly basis. Rob and Amanda began a new company and planted roots in a new city. Both couples came home for furlough. Our ESL mentors worked diligently with our brothers and sisters from Myanmar. Our citizenship mentors celebrated with hard working students on the other side of numerous hours of study and successful citizenship test taking. Jim McMurray helped multiple refugee families purchase their first homes. Re-Establish Richmond
continued to thrive in their support of the Refugee Community. Kate Illian moved to Indonesia to teach English. Lindsay Comstock, and her wife Mary, began a new company in Bali, and several families were blessed to return home to visit with loved ones they haven’t seen in years.

God bless the little church at the corner of Grove and Meadow. Looking forward to another wonderful year of life and ministry together.

Yours in Christ,
Rev. Sterling W. Severns, Pastor