RICHMOND, Va. — Baptist collegiate ministry at Virginia Commonwealth University moved into a new era with the dedication Nov. 30 of its new — and newly-renovated — facility in the heart of campus.
“There are daily signs that this building is fully woven into the fabric of VCU,” Nathan Elmore, Baptist campus minister at the Richmond university, told participants at the dedication service.
Baptist campus minister Nathan Elmore and Susan McBride, who oversees campus ministry for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, in front of the newly-renovated Baptist campus center at VCU.
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The new center is in a red brick, 19th-century row house purchased last year by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, which oversees Baptist campus ministry in the state.
The building is one of several row houses once owned by the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, whose cathedral sits across the street, named Cathedral Place.
VBMB treasurer Eddie Stratton worked for months on a complicated real estate deal that involved the university’s purchase of the former Baptist campus center and negotiations with both university and city of Richmond officials.
The sale of the old building made possible the purchase of two of the row houses, but one was resold to VCU, providing funds for the renovation of the remaining building.
The new campus center is in the heart of the urban campus, within a block of both the library and the student commons. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart adds architectural interest to the neighborhood and around the corner is Landmark Theatre, a 1920s performance center in the form of a mosque.
“In the looming shadow of a cathedral and a theatre in the shape of a mosque, we are constantly reminded that we must find new ways of bridging old divides,” said Elmore.
John Upton, executive director of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, said he hoped the center wouldn’t become a “haven” or a “place to escape from the world.”
“The students who attend here are passing through,” he said. “I hope this place is like a terminal — giving them a sense of direction.”
Susan McBride, team leader of the Mission Board’s emerging leaders team — which coordinated Baptist campus ministry — said “the days ahead are days of potential and prayer” for ministry on VCU’s campus. She said she was praying “that God will boldly lead [Elmore] and students into the lives of those who so desperately need the touch of our Savior.”