RICHMOND — Seven members of First Baptist Church in Danville were installing shelving in the laundry room at the House of Hope homeless shelter on Saturday, Sept. 12. In Norfolk a team from Freemason Street Baptist Church were rebuilding the porch on the house of an elderly woman facing eviction. And on the same day, 150 students and 20 staff of Virginia Intermont College in Bristol were working at eight different locations in the community.
Gail Mann from First Baptist Church, Waynesboro, disposes of construction materials.
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Twenty-four congregations and organizations in 13 states participated in this year’s Eleven-on-11 facilitated by Current, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s young leader’s network. The initiative, held on the Saturday closest to September 11, is a day of service with simultaneous mission projects offering participants the opportunity to serve in their communities and honor the memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States.
Virginia Intermont College students Jason Evi, Ashley White and Josh DeDios on Sept. 12.
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“It’s a way of doing something positive,” says Ronda Cole, chaplain at Virginia Intermont College and a member of Current’s mission team that plans the event. The first Eleven-on-11 was held in 2002 with 11 participating organizations.
Six Virginia congregations and organizations participated this year. In addition to First Baptist in Danville, Freemason Street Baptist in Norfolk and Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, service days were also taking place on September 12 at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, First Baptist Church in Waynesboro and Haymarket Baptist Church in Haymarket.
Brad and Debbie Young from Haymarket Baptist Church prepare a mailing of invitations for transitional housing organization.
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It was the first year for Haymarket Church. Sponsored by its young adult class, 12 members volunteered at the office of BARN Transitional Housing in Bristow. BARN provides temporary housing and supportive services to women and their children.
Haymarket volunteers collated, stuffed, addressed and stamped invitations to BARN’s annual fundraiser, “The Festival of Trees.” They also helped at its monthly yard sale.
Volunteers from the BTSR community fold and organize clothing available for refugee families at the resource center.
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Rebuilding Together is a local housing ministry in Waynesboro that has been coordinating a project at the home of the Martin family, members of First Baptist, Waynesboro. Joseph, their 12-year-old son, is confined to a wheelchair and there is no handicap accessibility to his upstairs bedroom. Funded by donations from the community, a handicap accessible wing is being added to the Martin home.
On Sept. 12 a team from First Baptist, Waynesboro, cleared debris to assist volunteer construction workers in completing the project. Also at a local park First Baptist members were offering free water for children’s soccer games. In all, 25 people from First, Waynesboro, were involved.
Team members from First Baptist Church, Danville, landscape an area Habitat House.
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“It’s amazing what a few hours of hard labor can do for a house that is literally falling down,” says Abby Thornton, minister of spiritual formation at Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk. In connection with a local Habitat for Humanity chapter, members from Freemason Street spent Sept. 12 doing home repairs for an elderly woman facing eviction. “We were humbled as we saw firsthand the difficult conditions that many in our own community face every day,” she says.
Students and facility at Virginia Intermont College worked on- and off-campus on Sept. 12. They cleaned playground equipment at a local park, planted flowers and repaired its gazebo. Some worked at the Salvation Army thrift store and others were at a neighborhood home ripping down wallpaper and painting a kitchen. Two groups remained on campus, rejuvenating flower beds and transforming an unused space in a residence hall into a lounge for students.
Robbie Oliver, Laura Christianson, Abby Thornton, Chris Weigle and Joanna Tarr from Freemason Street Baptist Church at their work site on Sept. 12.
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First Baptist Church in Danville sponsored three projects this year. Twelve members worked with Habitat for Humanity in Pittsylvania County doing landscaping. A group went to the House of Hope homeless shelter and installed shelving in the laundry room, repainted a hallway and washed windows. Six members stayed at church assembling “Snack Packs” for those coming to the church requesting food.
Families fleeing war-torn countries and refugee camps come to America for a new beginning. This year the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond’s community joined together with members of First and Tabernacle Baptist churches in Richmond in service to Richmond’s refugee ministry. Thirty-two people served at five sites to fulfill current needs for incoming refugee families. Team members fixed furniture at the donation center, transported furniture to empty apartments in order to prepare them for incoming families, organized clothing and household items at the resource center, transported a refrigerator to an existing apartment and sorted children’s clothing for new students beginning school.
Among the participants of BTSR’s worksite were 11 of Tabernacle’s youth, all refugees that have come to America during the past two years. They were eager to work to provide a welcoming experience for new families going through a similar transition.
Barbara Francis is a staff member of the Religious Herald.