Blog
MISSION OPPORTUNITY IN HUNGARY
Doug and Lea Coppage are looking for people to help with next summer’s Baseball Camp in Vác, Hungary! The camp will be Monday, June 30, through Saturday, July 5; the trip would be (approximately) Friday, June 27, until Tuesday, July 8.
These are the kind of people we’re looking for:
1. 8-12 year olds who play baseball/softball,
2. their parents
3. any age ball players
4. chaperones
5. people interested in helping in any way.
Please ask God whether you might take part in this. If you do, contact pastor@tbcrichmond.org
Date Details:
Friday, June 27 at the latest: FLY to Hungary
Saturday, June 28: ARRIVE in Hungary
Sunday, June 29: REST, PREP for camp
Monday-Saturday, June 30 – July 5, 2025: CAMP
Sunday, July 6: Go to church in Budapest AND/OR Budapest tour.
Monday, July 7: Budapest tour OR fly back to the States.
Tuesday, July 8: fly back to the States.
Building 4 Hope
Building & Grounds Update
TBC has been accepted to participate in an exceptional program to guide us in how we utilize our church facilities to further our mission to serve God in our community. How we got accepted for this year’s grant program is a story of divine intervention. We thank Tracy and Jay Hartman for linking us to the right people at the right time to be added to the group of churches in this cohort, when the list of churches to included had apparently already been selected. God has once again provided more light for us and our work at the corner of Grove and Meadow. We thank God for this incredible opportunity.
About Building for Hope
Building for Hope is a two-year program for churches and their leadership, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The program guides congregations through a journey of repurposing their underutilized facilities and other physical assets – in order to advance each congregation’s mission. The program is a response to the epidemic of underutilized church facilities across the US; by reorienting these spaces, congregations and their surrounding communities are equipped to flourish.
TBC has been selected to participate in the inaugural cohort which officially begins in early 2025. The pastor and two lay leaders will make up our retreat team. That team will travel to Alexandria, VA for three cohort meetings: February 20-22, May 15-17, and October 16-18. We will be assigned a coach who will walk with our team through the two-year process. In the second year, the coach will work with TBC to help us discern how God is calling us to better utilize our facilities, and then to form and implement a plan. Except for transportation to Alexandria, there will be no cost to TBC or our team members to participate in this program.
We will keep everyone informed as we learn more about this exceptional program. Look for updates in the TAB, Business Meetings, and special announcements. Please direct any questions you may have to Donna Soyars at soundsidedfs@gmail.com or to Sterling Severns. Your ongoing support will make a difference!
Christmas Basket Ministry
This Saturday is our annual Christmas Basket Community Ministry, and you’re invited to come be part of this meaningful day! While the tradition of providing holiday meals continues, this year will look a little different as we live out our values of hospitality and dignity in new ways.
Instead of packing baskets, we’re offering neighbors the opportunity to choose the ingredients that best suit their needs—just as we normally do in the food pantry. Choice matters because it honors our neighbors’ preferences and experiences.
There are so many ways to be involved, and not every job requires heavy lifting! We need help with set-up, guiding neighbors through their selections, carrying groceries, and—just as importantly—offering a warm smile, a listening ear, and a spirit of welcome.
Come be part of this special day of connection, care, and joy. Together, we’ll share the love of Christ in the way we welcome and serve one another.
How Can I Participate? Sign Up Here
1. Volunteer to help prepare baskets and other Community Ministry food on Friday, December 20.
- The heavy lifting team will meet at 9:30am at Aldi (927 Meyer St). Strong muscles and trucks needed!
- Join the set up team at 10am at Tabernacle. There’s a job for every ability level!
- Stick around to help with some additional projects: Epiphany stars, organizing, etc
2. Join us Saturday, December 21 as we welcome our neighbors for breakfast, choice pantry and Christmas Basket distribution. 7:30am to 1pm
3. Commit to praying for our neighbors receiving baskets. Join me in praying for the invitation that will be extended around each table. Pray that the host and participants will recognize belonging. Pray that our neighbors will see Christ as they engage with those around their table. Pray for the lonely that they will be comforted. And pray that doors will be opened through relationships.
Help Us Share Holiday Meals with Our Community!
On December 21, Tabernacle’s Community Ministry will provide holiday meal ingredients to over 250 families, and we need muscle power to make it happen!
We’re looking for strong volunteers to help during these times:
• Friday, December 20, at 9:30 AM @Aldi: Load bags of apples, oranges, potatoes, and shelf-stable items into trucks at Aldi and transport and unload at Tabernacle (2 hours max).
• Saturday, December 21, at 7:30 AM @Aldi: Load turkeys, chickens, hams, milk, and eggs in to trucks @Aldi (1 hour max).
• Saturday, December 21, 7:30 AM – 1:00 PM @Tabernacle: Help to carry groceries to cars throughout the morning. Feel free to join us anytime!
Your strength and time will make a huge difference as we share the joy of the season with our neighbors. If you’re able to help, we’d love to have you!
Please reach out to April@tbcrichmond.org to let the team know you are coming!
Summer Mission Opportunity in Hungary
Doug and Lea Coppage are looking for people to help with next summer’s Baseball Camp in Vác, Hungary! The camp will be Monday, June 30, through Saturday, July 5; the trip would be (approximately) Friday, June 27, until Tuesday, July 8.
These are the kind of people we’re looking for:
1. 8-12 year olds who play baseball/softball,
2. their parents
3. any age ball players
4. chaperones
5. people interested in helping in any way.
Please ask God whether you might take part in this. If you do, contact pastor@tbcrichmond.org
Date Details:
Friday, June 27 at the latest: FLY to Hungary
Saturday, June 28: ARRIVE in Hungary
Sunday, June 29: REST, PREP for camp
Monday-Saturday, June 30 – July 5, 2025: CAMP
Sunday, July 6: Go to church in Budapest AND/OR Budapest tour.
Monday, July 7: Budapest tour OR fly back to the States.
Tuesday, July 8: fly back to the States.
Lifting up Cochrane Family…
We lift up the Cochrane Family and all those who loved and shared life with Jimmy. In this time of sorrow, let us find meaningful ways to be the heart and hands of Christ, bringing comfort and compassion to those who are grieving. As we honor his life, let’s also express our gratitude for the many ways Jimmy touched our lives and the life he continues to share with God. Let’s commit to pray, for comfort and thanksgiving!
James “Jimmy” H. Cochrane, Jr departed Newport, the Hokie Nation and his SCV camp unexpectedly on October 24. He was born in Richmond, spent much of his childhood and adult years in Rockville. Jim graduated from the Collegiate Schools, Virginia Tech (Architecture) and the University of Richmond (Transportation Management). He was the ultimate Tech fan, rarely missing a Hokie football or basketball game. When he was not wearing orange or maroon, he might be found in Civil War battalion attire or a Scottish kilt. He was pre-deceased by his parents J. Harwood Cochrane and Louise “Lulu” Blanks Cochrane, and his sister Suzanne Austell Martin. He is survived by his sister Judith Cochrane Hines, seven nieces and nephews, twelve great nieces and nephews and fiance’ Dale Hawthorne Harper. Jim worked at Overnite Transportation, Highway Express, then owned and operated a TourTime America motorcoach franchise.
He served on the boards of the Richmond Ski Club, the Museum & White House of the Confederacy, Huguenot Springs Cemetery and the American Frontier Culture Museum. Jim was fiercely proud of his Cochrane Scottish heritage and his brotherhood in the Kappa Alpha Order. He was well versed in American and military history. He was a long time member and Commander of the J.E.B. Stuart camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, coordinating and commanding numerous reenactments throughout Virginia and the south. He dedicated his life to civil war history and the battlefields of the Shenandoah Valley will forever be a part of his legacy. He retired to Wintergreen and subsequently Newport to be near his beloved Blacksburg.
He was larger than life and will be greatly missed by his family and friends in the Richmond Ski Club, the Knibbs Battery cannon battalion, Kappa Alpha and at Virginia Tech. There will be a memorial service at 11am Wednesday 11/6/24 at Woody Funeral Home at 1771 North Parham Rd Richmond, Va 23229. A private interment will follow. A Celebration of Life will follow a cannon salute at Huguenot Springs Cemetery on a later date.
See You at the Corner of Emmaus and Grove
Learning to See: Join us this Thursday, Oct. 24 at 6-8 p.m.
Just days earlier, they had witnessed Jesus’ brutal death in Jerusalem, leaving them overwhelmed with grief and uncertainty. Two of His followers, one named Cleopas and the other unnamed, now walk the road to Emmaus, their minds swirling with questions. How could this have happened? What if everything they believed was wrong? What next? Along the way, they find themselves hosting a stranger, and as they walk, they speak repeatedly of the burden of failure. As the sun begins to set, stillness—the great amplifier of anxiety—settles in. Broken hearts break bread together, and then it happens—the stillness is broken with the miraculous. Eyes are opened, the presence of the risen Christ is made known, and the presumed hosts find themselves invited yet again into a future wide open.
The Emmaus Road is long, and while you won’t see it on any map, it intersects at every corner in the city we call home. Just after the pandemic, Alcoholics Anonymous began meeting weekly in the “Blue Room” of the little church at the corner of Emmaus and Grove. There, each week, just after the sun goes down, the brokenhearted gather together and inevitably find themselves less alone than they thought they were. Stories of brokenness, despair, healing, and transformation are shared in that space. It’s on the road to Emmaus the future is resurrected, one broken heart at a time, one step at a time.
This Thursday, I’d like to invite you to the corner of Emmaus and Grove. We’ll gather together with one of the leaders of the AA meeting that takes place every Wednesday in the Blue Room. We’ll hear stories, and perhaps some of us will even feel called to share some of our own. Perhaps, in the sharing of stories and also in the stillness—the great amplifiers of God’s presence—we’ll all catch a glimpse of a resurrected future? Perhaps we, each and every one of us as guests, might leave that place more resolved to keep walking, one step at a time, toward that future together?
I hope to see you there.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Sterling W. Severns
Pastor
Details for Thursday, October 24, 2024:
- Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Location: Blue Room, Tabernacle Church
- Dinner: Pizza and salad provided
- RSVP: Please e-mail communications@tbcrichmond.org