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tbc Community Ministry, Worship & Fellowship

CBF Ministries Council Grant empowers Tabernacle Baptist Church to overcome language barriers

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.

Read the full story from CBF to see how this work is taking shape and how you can be part of it.

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.”  

tbc Building for Hope

BUILDING FOR HOPE UPDATE

We are so grateful to those of you who have completed the ISpy Activity!  We learned of so many things that most of us walk by everyday without noticing.  We hope you enjoyed doing it.  We’re going to continue to make that opportunity available, and new input would be greatly appreciated.  We have also met with many folks in our community and experts in their fields as we explore what could be next in the life of the church. 

Members of the team also participated in an off-site exploration with other churches where we learned what other tools have been used and helpful in their own exploration.  We’ve been encouraged to think bigger.  The Building Hope Team is going to be meeting biweekly through the end of the year. Stay tuned for a congregation-wide meeting after worship where we’ll report what we’re learning, share some thoughts, and gather feedback.

April Kennedy Abundant Community, Staff

Feeding Our Neighbors in a Time of Growing Need

If you’ve read the news lately, you may have noticed that food insecurity is rising across Virginia—and we’re feeling it here too. As a food pantry leader, I can tell you this work is both deeply meaningful and, right now, deeply stressful. We’re seeing skyrocketing trends at nearby pantries that open weekly. At Tabernacle, our Saturday numbers are climbing steadily, and we’re seeing more people stop by during the week in search of food or support.

We’ve also noticed a change in the variety of food we receive for TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program). To help fill the gaps, I’ve been purchasing additional food through FeedMore, prioritizing items that allow neighbors to continue choosing their own groceries that meed their specific needs and wants. We remain committed to being a choice pantry, where shopping happens with dignity, and continuing to be place of community and belonging.

The State of Virginia has said it will maintain SNAP benefits for now, but the strain on households is still very real. In addition, we are seeing the effects from the government shutdown—neighbors who have missed paychecks or are worried about what comes next. 

How can you help?

  • Add a little extra to your cart. The next time you’re grocery shopping or ordering online, consider picking up a box of cereal (or two!) to donate. Amazon Wish List

  • Give financially. This is in addition to, not instead of, your regular giving—because your financial support of the church is also what keeps Tabernacle a place of hope, support, and relief for our community. Through FeedMore, we can purchase food for nine cents a pound, including high-need items like fresh meat.

  • Show up. Join us in serving on Saturday, November 8 or November 22, as we continue this important work together.  Be ready to help us welcome community members who are looking for ways to give back. 

Note of gratitude: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the cereal that is appearing daily.  It was heart warming to see the cart overflowing when I returned to work on Monday morning.  You have collected 109 boxes so far in October! We are on track to exceed our 125 box goal, which is amazing because the need has increased.  This is certainly a miracle of abundance, thanks be to God!

April Kennedy Abundant Community, Staff

The Miracle of Abundance, Rev. April Kennedy

More than once in recent weeks, a volunteer has walked into the pantry, stopped short, and let the surprise show on their face as they look at shelves that used to be full of food. 

We’re feeling a different kind of stress in the pantry these days. Visits are climbing as families feel the ripple effects of cuts to SNAP benefits, rising food and rent costs, and job insecurity. Fear and uncertainty are shaping daily life for many of our neighbors. FeedMore is receiving fewer corporate donations, leaving less for us to purchase at discounted rates, and access to USDA food in the coming months remains uncertain.
Our shelves aren’t empty, but they don’t hold the cushion we’re used to. And that cushion, it turns out, has given us more comfort than we realized.

So what do we do when that cushion disappears? When we start to feel the weight of “not enough”?

In the Gospels, when a crowd of thousands gathers to hear Jesus, the disciples see hunger and panic sets in. They say, “Send them away so they can go to the village and buy themselves some food.” But Jesus answers, “You give them something to eat.”
All they can find are five loaves and two fish, a small offering from one person in the crowd. It isn’t much, but Jesus takes what is given, blesses it, and shares it. And somehow, there is enough for everyone.

That story reminds me that God’s abundance often begins with what someone is willing to place in God’s hands. The miracle happens not in the storage room, but in the sharing.

When the shelves feel bare, maybe the invitation isn’t to hold back until things look secure again, but to bring what we have — our boxes of cereal, our prayers, our volunteer hours, our imagination, our faith — and trust that God can make it enough.
The miracle of the loaves and fishes isn’t just that there was suddenly more food; it’s that people risked enough to share. It’s a story about community and trusting that when we each bring what we have, God multiplies it in ways that our minds can’t anticipate.

We may be feeling stretched, in our pantry, in our budget, in our own lives, but we’re also surrounded by signs of God’s faithfulness. This is a moment to keep bringing what we have, to keep trusting that God will make it enough, and to keep our eyes open for the quiet miracles that happen when a community chooses generosity over fear.
When the crowd was hungry, it wasn’t the disciples who had the food, it was a boy who offered his small lunch, trusting it could help. Jesus took that small act of generosity, blessed it, and used it to feed thousands. The disciples simply carried it forward, passing along what had been placed in their hands.

That’s our work, too— to keep offering what we have, and to keep passing along what’s been entrusted to us. Because in God’s hands, even what feels small can become abundance.

Where might God be inviting you to trust there will be enough? What do you already have—time, prayer, or resources—that God might multiply in ways you can’t yet see?
Sterling Severns Building for Hope

Building for Hope: iSpy Neighborhood Discovery

Deadline: Sunday, October 19

When you look around our neighborhood, what do you notice first? Where is the closest school, the nearest place to eat, or a spot where people gather? And as you look deeper: Who is present? Who is missing? What brings joy? What raises concern? What inspires hope? Where do you notice God already at work?

These questions are at the heart of iSpy. Together, we will take a closer look at our community and listen for what God is showing us.

How to Participate

On your own or with a partner
Use the iSpy guide anytime before October 19. Walk or drive with a friend, someone you serve beside in ministry, your Sunday School class, or your small group.

Join a group tour
Sign up here: iSpy Group Tour Sign-Up Form

• Monday, October 6 at 9:30 a.m. – Driving tour with April Kennedy (wider neighborhood)
• Monday, October 6 at 12:30 p.m. – Walking neighborhood tour with April Kennedy
• Wednesday, October 8 at 5:30 p.m. – Driving tour with Sterling Severns (wider neighborhood). Optional dinner afterward

Why It Matters

iSpy is the first congregation wide step in our Building for Hope journey. Your reflections will help shape the visioning conversations in the weeks ahead.

Watch the short intro video here: Tabernacle Baptist Church Building for Hope

As Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.”

Please complete iSpy by October 19.

Questions may be directed to Ryan Corbitt, Dan Herman, April Kennedy, or Sterling Severns

Sterling Severns Life of the Community, Staff

The Gift of Participatory Worship

This past weekend was a gift.

On Saturday, we gathered for April’s ordination. It was a beautiful, Spirit-filled celebration, with a rich mix of people from our church family, our neighborhood, and others who have walked with April in different seasons of her life. The same was true on Sunday, as we gathered to celebrate Adah’s baptism, her public profession of faith. In both services, the presence of many voices leading us in worship reflected the kind of community we are becoming, one where worship is shared, personal, and rooted in the movement of God among us.

One of our core values as a church is worship.

“WORSHIP: We strive to be a congregation rooted in the participatory worship of God, where personal relationships are nurtured and all persons are encouraged to creatively and meaningfully express their unique gifts and stories in the worship experience”

This has been true of Tabernacle for many seasons, and we give thanks for all the ways that value has been faithfully lived out across the years.

What makes this particular season distinct is the way we are now structuring worship services around those who have already said yes to leading. Rather than designing a service and then inviting individuals to fill specific roles, we are beginning with the people and gifts God has already stirred. This approach allows us to invest our time in walking closely with those who step forward, helping them feel prepared and supported. Our hope is that every person who participates in leading worship will come away feeling grateful they said yes.

Since June, it has been beautiful to see people of all ages and backgrounds come forward to read scripture, lead prayers, serve Communion, and share their gifts. Of course, the rhythm is still uneven. Some Sundays are full, others more sparse. That is to be expected as we learn and grow. We are leaning on one another. We are leaning on you. Leaders in the life of the church are reaching out within their small groups, classes, and teams to encourage others to participate. And many are going one step further by inviting someone personally.

Adults are inviting youth and children to lead alongside them. Adults are inviting other adults. That kind of shared experience is not just helpful for worship planning. It is a form of discipleship. It strengthens our relationships and deepens our faith. When we lead together, we grow together.

We give thanks for April and for Adah. We give thanks for the God who is shaping all of us in and through worship. And we give thanks for the many people who are saying yes to helping lead us week after week.

If you are drawn to our shared value of participatory worship and feel ready to step in, we invite you to sign up here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3Q2Z5Z9

If you are still discerning, we honor that too. Together, we are learning how to follow Christ more faithfully by showing up, stepping in, and offering our gifts in the ways God is calling us!

Gratefully Yours,

Rev. Sterling W. Severns

Pastor

April Kennedy Ordination Service
Sterling Severns Devotional, Devotionals

When Love Tells the Truth

How many times have you found yourself awake in bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, replaying what you did not say or what someone said to you that you cannot get out of your head? The room is quiet. The heart is not. Where does that quiet leave you?

God loves us too much to let avoidance pass for wholeness. Jesus says it plainly in Luke 12:49–56. His coming brings division, hard as that is to hear. Pay attention to what he divides. He is not severing us from one another. He is cutting through the false peace we stack like sandbags to keep truth and healing out. Avoidance is a place we go when things feel uncertain or too much. Jesus calls us out of that place.

Peace-keeping and Peace-making are not the same. 

Peacekeeping keeps a silence that harms. Peacemaking steps toward truth, confession, and repair. Jesus does not preserve a fragile calm; he makes the kind of peace that goes the long haul. Peacemaking opens space for our holy longing, the deeper quiet where a soul can finally rest.

We know the other pattern. We answer the easy notes and delay the conversation that matters. We add another meeting instead of the one we need. We speak in generalities and call it wisdom. From a distance it looks like peace; up close we are crossing our fingers.

The love of Jesus tells the truth. His grace loosens our bargains with comfort. His mercy retires the ledger and sets the table. For those who avoid conflict, cure can feel like cruelty at first. The peace Jesus brings is the narrow way. It is not easy….AND….. it is worth it. We are invited to trust that the Holy Spirit can and will hold what we cannot fix.

This week I urge you to consider:

What contract with comfort is ready to be set aside?
Where have you quietly promised yourself, “I will not risk this as long as I can stay comfortable”? Name one small bargain. What would the next faithful step look like?

What ledger are you still carrying, and can you put it down?

Whose name lives in the margins of your memory with tallies beside it? What would it mean to stop keeping score and let grace balance the account?

What fence could become a gate if you asked for help?
Where have you built a boundary that now keeps love out too? Who could step through with you?  What simple request would you make first?

Where is the Holy Spirit nudging you from peacekeeping to peacemaking?
In what conversation are you keeping the peace instead of telling the truth in love? What first sentence could open a path toward confession and repair?

May the love of Jesus tell the truth in time to heal us.

May his grace interrupt our comfort and carry us.

May his mercy set the table and save us a seat.

Grace and Peace, 

Rev. Sterling W. Severns
 Pastor

tbc Staff, Worship & Fellowship

Celebrating a Call: April Kennedy’s Ordination Service on Sept. 13

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.

Sterling Severns Devotional, Devotionals, Life of the Community, Staff

When the Door Doesn’t Budge

When the Door Doesn’t Budge
By Rev. Sterling Severns, Pastor

Life has a way of surprising us with change. One day everything feels familiar, and the next we’re in territory that’s suddenly unrecognizable. It might be a diagnosis we never expected, the loss of a job we thought was secure, or a shift in a relationship we counted on. Or it might be more subtle—realizing that something which once made perfect sense no longer feels like it fits. Moments like these can freeze us in place. We don’t know how to move forward, and we can’t go back. So we wait. And wonder. And wrestle with the weight of it all.

In my own experience, there have been more than a few seasons like this—times when the path ahead felt uncertain, and the world around me felt both familiar and foreign. Everything on the outside may have looked the same, but something inside had shifted. And without exception, each time, it’s taken its toll. The waiting. The weariness. The wondering if anything is actually changing at all. There’s a deep vulnerability in those moments, especially when we’ve asked God for help, when we’ve prayed for direction, healing, peace. We show up to our lives the best we can. Still trying. Still hoping. Still doing our thing. But the silence lingers, and the door we’ve been knocking on stays shut.

The longer we walk in faith, the more we come to see the real change comes not when the door swings open, but when something inside us opens instead. Not suddenly, not dramatically, but slowly, quietly, over time. God doesn’t always remove the stuckness, but God meets us in it, reshaping our hearts, softening the places that have grown hard with fear or frustration. Sometimes, when the exhaustion finally gives way to surrender, we discover that the door was never locked after all. We were just too weary to see how close we already were to grace. We lean against it for support, and somehow, we find ourselves on the other side.

God doesn’t wait for us beyond the threshold. God is with us in the hallway, in the waiting, in the ache. In the quiet work of transformation that begins long before the breakthrough. That is the mystery and mercy of the God who answers, not always by changing our circumstances, but by being unshakably present within them.

So wherever you find yourself this week, whether you’re waiting for the door to open, or wondering if it ever will, may you know you are not alone. May you be reminded that presence itself is a gift, that transformation often begins before we even recognize it, and that grace has a way of meeting us right where we are.