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Local Outreach
First Christian Church
Falls Church, VA
a review of the church’s involvement in local
outreach work to serve those in need for
nearly a half century
CONTENTS
Page
Response to Civil Unrest…………………………………………………………………….. 3
Helping 12th Street Christian Church………………………………………………. 4
Forming Church Coalitions……………………………………………………………….... 5
Seven Corners Children Center………………………………………………………… 7
Baileys Crossroads Community Shelter……………………………………….... 9
Patrick Henry Family Shelter…………………………………………………………… 11
Homestretch………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
Safe Haven…………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
Meals On Wheels………………………………………………………………………………… 14
Spiritual Outreach to Immigrants………………………………………………….. 15
Local Outreach Fundraisers……………………………………………………………… 21
Endnote…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
First Christian Church, Falls Church
Local Outreach Ministries
Forty Five Years “serving the least of these”
prepared by Mel Cotner
Preface
At an Outreach Council meeting in the Spring of 2013, I presented a brief
historical review of First Christian’s local outreach ministries. Since many in the
church are not aware of some of this earlier work, a suggestion was made that a
written summary of this history be prepared for a broader audience. Having been
involved in this ‘history’, the task fell to me. Much of what follows will be written
in the first person as I observed this work directly and in several cases, had
principal involvement. This review will be organized around activities.
In Matthew 25, verse 40 we find a Christian perspective about serving God. We
are to demonstrate our love for God by helping others who are in need. The Bible
teaches that when we serve the poor and rejected, it's as if we are serving God
Himself. What follows in this presentation is one aspect of our church’s attempt
to follow this Biblical teaching in the local area of First Christian Church, Falls
Church, VA.
Response to civil unrest in the 1960s
The situation in the District grew intense; the Black community still was feeling
the sting of segregation; their quality of life was not improving, especially at the
rate Martin Luther King encouraged. In 1968 after the assassination of King, the
Black community erupted. The 14th street corridor was the sight of protests,
looting and burning in spite of King’s desire for peaceful protest.
The unrest caused many in our churches to reflect on the role of the church to
help ameliorate these issues. The Christian mandate is to help those in need, so
how were we responding? Many in the church worked in the District; they saw the
conflict first hand. I recall riding the bus home from work in the District and
witnessing pillars of black smoke rising from 14th Street. Further, the concerns in
the District also existed to some extent in our own neighborhoods. The multiple
family three and four story walk-ups at that time housed mostly black families,
many in need especially in the Culmore area. These housing units originally housed
mostly white families in the WWII era, later many of these whites migrated to the
outer suburbs. All of this served as a catalyst for Christian action both in the
District and locally. And now, the predominant groups, locally in these multifamily
buildings are the Hispanic and Asian immigrants.
Helping 12th Street Christian Church
Our church’s first act in the late 1960s was to help our sister church, a “black”
Disciples Church in the District. That church started a Christian Action Center
first located in the church then later was housed in a separate facility. This
activity provided food, clothing and provided some funding support for rent and
other basic needs for needy nearby residents. The Director of this Center was
Ida Mae Reid who was in this position for a number of years. Later the Center
became a function of the Capital Area Region. Our church helped by providing
food, clothing and funds for the Center to help both individuals and families.
The 12th Street church also started a child care center. Oscar Haynes of that
church had the principal role in getting it established; our church helped with its
planning and set up. I provided direct help and I served on a 12th Street church
committee whose purpose was to provide guidance to these activities. One set of
activities was workshops for local families relating to cooking, home and financial
management. Mary Shifflet from our church conducted some of these training
sessions.
Forming Church Coalitions
With the many needs in the region and locally, several local churches felt
overwhelmed on their own to be responsive. In 1968, several churches in
Annandale decided to work together to provide emergency basic needs for low
income families in their area. The Annandale Christian Community for Action
(ACCA) was formed; a treasury was established. Programs were developed to
provide emergency assistance with rent, medicine and food. Norman Laird, one of
our members living in Annandale, served as Treasurer of ACCA for a number of
years. Irv Denton volunteered at the ACCA food pantry. A monthly collection of
non perishables items was made for the ACCA food pantry. A furniture program to
pick up and deliver donated furnishings was also formed as well as child care
facilities for low income working parents. ACCA now has more than two dozen
churches involved.
A year later in 1969 at the Holy Trinity Lutheran church on Arlington Boulevard
near Loehman’s Plaza, there was a meeting to consider a church coalition for the
greater Falls Church area. Orville Splitt from that church called this meeting. Al
Meagher, St. James Catholic church also helped to arrange the first meeting.
Eleven individuals attended, representing some eight churches thus becoming the
charter group. I represented First Christian. The first activity was to establish a
roster of churches who would take responsibility a week at a time to handle
emergency needs referred by church ministers and social workers. A box was
passed from the duty church to the next. It contained information on help
provided. At the beginning of each week, the box contained $50 for use during the
week. The duty church was to replace the money used during their duty week.
First Christian was a charter church in this coalition. Currently eighteen churches
are involved.
After experiencing rising needs and acceptance of the program, the group decided
to become formally organized. I became President in 1972. We created an
organizational structure with committees to handle various functions such as food,
clothing, furniture, financial assistance. We established a bank account and with
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the help of Micky Golden, a lawyer from Dulin Methodist, we obtained our 501 (c)
(3) eligibility in 1975 as a nonprofit group. The name became the Falls Church
Community Service Council, Inc. (FCS).
FCS not only provides direct emergency services to those in need but it also serves
as an umbrella organization for other startup charitable groups in the community,
e.g. Falls Church Winter Shelter, Seven Corners Children Center and Safe Haven at
First Christian.
First Christian has supported FCS in many ways every year since FCS started.
Our church members have served on the FCS Board and helped several of the
committees, and our members have served as president for four different terms.
Every year since FCS came into being, part of the funds available from our church
for local outreach has gone to this church coalition. In the beginning, funds were
also sent to ACCA programs; later, a decision was made to provide funds only to
FCS as our church is in the FCS service area. These funds are used to provide
rent, food assistance, medical expenses and other emergency needs. Food
assistance depends on donations from churches and other organizations. Referrals
are vetted by County social workers. Church ministers and leaders can also make
referrals. Through an application and review process, public funds also are
obtained for these family emergency programs of FCS.
The FCS food pantry has had continuous support from First Christian with literally,
thousands of pounds of donated non perishables and paper goods over the years.
Several church members have worked in the pantry and delivered food to families
referred for help. Steve Barsony and Priscilla Holbert were regular volunteers to
deliver food to clients. Church volunteers also have helped with Thanksgiving
basket preparation and delivery to more than 100 families in our community each
November. Bob and Betty Goodman, Bill and Janet Miller, Hugh and Emily Furmage,
Phil Gilliland and many others have helped with basket preparation and delivery.
Frank Miller and Bill Miller have made runs to the Manassas Lockheed Martin
facility to pickup loads of food donations with their trucks for the pantry.
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Another FCS program is related to donated furniture pickup and delivery. It was
started in 1975 as a joint effort with ACCA. ACCA had access to warehouse space
in one of the older buildings on the Annandale United Methodist church grounds.
One room in this building was used for minor furniture repairs. Al Egbert from our
church helped install a work bench in this room and arranged for basic tools. Bill
LaLiberte, along with others helped repair furniture on a regular basis. Referrals
for furniture needs came from social workers and church leaders. Deliveries and
pickups were made on Saturday mornings by ACCA and FCS. Only basic items were
picked up, i.e. beds, tables, living room furniture, kitchenware, lamps. Volunteer
crews were formed by member churches. Initially each crew arranged for a pickup
truck or a trailer to haul furnishings. Norm Laird and I together purchased an old
step van for our church crews use. In the 1990s FCS rented separate space for its
furniture storage.
In the early 1980s, the furniture programs of both ACCA and FCS grew. Fairfax
County recognized the work of the furniture programs; the recycling of furnishings
was a benefit to the County’s waste management program. For a number of years
the County provided a truck and driver on Saturday mornings but this served only
part of the need. Then in the late 1980s, Tom Davis, Mason District Supervisor at
that time, arranged for box vans with lift gates that were being surplused by the
County to be given, one each to ACCA and FCS. Since the FCS service area
encompasses the City of Falls Church, Supervisor Davis and his assistant, Tina
Trapnell also arranged for the City to provide service and maintenance for the FCS
van. That service still is provided although for a newer FCS van. The County-
donated van (a 1978 model) provided 22 years of service for FCS. Many pieces of
furniture were moved. Many thankful families were served.
FCS had several furniture crews, each taking turns on Saturdays to work from a
list of pickups and deliveries. I personally managed the FCS part starting in 1975
until 2005 when my wife became gravely ill then I retired from ‘furniture’. In the
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1980s and 1990s, nearly all of the ‘able bodied’ men in First Christian volunteered
for furniture work. The Saturday morning duty was a great opportunity for
fellowship as well as doing good. I recall one crew leader, Bob McCoy, bringing his
daughters along to ride in the ‘big’ truck but also to witness how the furniture
recipients lived. Other crew leaders were Mark Fredenberg, Bill Boston, Steve
Findley and Hector Solis.
My wife, Clara handled nearly all of the incoming phone calls about deliveries and
pickups. Also one young man from St Philips Catholic was a great help. Dennis Costa
was a hazmat driver, his work day ended at 2:30 PM; he met me at the truck every
Friday at 3 PM to ready the truck for the next day’s deliveries. Actually, these
two unseen volunteers were critical to the success of the furniture work. Clara
also served as FCS Co-President for one two-year term.
Seven Corners Children Center
ACCA started a day care program for low income families as one of their first
activities. The Fairfax County Office for Children was encouraging affordable day
care for low income working parents. Funding was available to subsidize the fees
for these parents based on their ability to pay. The ACCA program was successful.
Our Outreach Committee saw a need for a similar Center in the Willston, Patrick
Henry and Culmore area. I was chair of Outreach. Our first action was to visit the
ACCA Center at the John Calvin Presbyterian church on Columbia Pike to see how it
operated. Pastor John Bridwell and I visited this Center then I made a report to
our Committee. We immediately took action to start a Center in our church in
1970. We worked with the Office for Children to get a Director; we wanted to
start small. One of the Directors of the ACCA Centers was part time and was
available to help get the First Christian Center underway; also on a part time basis.
An agreement with the Church Board was approved to use class rooms in our
church. We quickly had a bigger enrollment with a full time director. We started
with seven enrollees which eventually peaked at 25. The Children’s Center involves
much more than custodial care; it is similar to preschool for three to six year olds
with many learning experiences, especially language training.
The name became Seven Corners Children Center; we wanted a name that
gives the Center a commonly recognized location. We established a Management
Board. Norman Laird served as chairman for a number of years. Among others on
this committee from our church over the years were Al Burrows, Gene Stoner and
Dana Brooks. We emphasized that the Center was a community effort; due to the
fact that we had recruited members from other churches and sought their
financial support. The Center has had six Directors over its 43 years. Mary Ellen
Ward is the current Director. Phil Gilliland currently serves on the Children’s
Center Board. Betty Burrows also has been on this Board from the beginning, but
for health reasons is now inactive. Betty played a major role in keeping the church
especially the CWF, informed about the Center. She along with her husband Al,
were devoted supporters. Al now deceased, served as chair of the Management
Board for several years.
After 17 years at First Christian the Center was moved to a new facility. The
church lacked capacity to expand and the demand was increasing. Deputy County
Executive Verdia Haywood and Supervisor Tom Davis worked with us to get the
new facility built on the old Willston School site. The County Facilities Division
received funds to design and contract to have the building erected. The contract
was with a Hagerstown, MD, firm which specialized in modular construction. The
foundation and crawl space for the structure was prepared in advance with
electricity, water and sewer connections ready. Seven large flatbed trailers were
used to get the modules to the site. In seven days the Center was erected with
utilities hooked up. All equipment and appliances were already put in place at the
factory, except for the refrigerator.
Several chores were required of our church members in the building process and
occupancy of the new building. First, we had to obtain zoning approval for the child
care function. With the help of Connie Martinsen, the Center Director at the time,
I did the spade work to get zoning approval. Further, several permits were
required, i.e. Occupancy permit, Environmental approval, Kitchen certification, Fire
Marshall inspection among others. Finally, Seven Corners Children Center was in
operation at the new site. Now some 65 to 70 children are accommodated,
representing many nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. To honor the long term
leadership of the Management Board, a large stone was placed at the entrance of
the Center. It is engraved with the names of Norman Laird, Al Burrows and Dana
Brooks, a recognition well deserved.
At the present time the Seven Corners area is involved in an effort to establish a
‘Seven Corners Revitalization Plan’. The Children’s Center site as well as our church
property, is included in the study. The Plan when approved will guide future zoning
decisions. The Willston school site is not now used for public school purposes but
it likely will be considered a site for a needed new elementary school. If this
becomes a reality, the Seven Corners Children Center would need to relocate.
First Christian has provided financial assistance to the Center from its local
outreach account every year since 1971 and provided thousands of volunteer hours.
Church School classes as well as Church Women’s Fellowship (CWF) also have
provided financial and material support for the Center over the years.
Bailey’s Crossroad Community Shelter
In the mid 1980s, there was growing concern about the homeless population in the
area; actually some were camping in the wooded area on our property. Churches in
the area were organizing to provide shelter and food for these folks. Churches
were taking the duty a week at a time. Individuals were fed and provided
overnight shelter. First Christian did not actually host individuals, but we did
provide food assistance to churches that did host. Participation ranged from five
to ten each night, sometimes more. Tom Davis was aware of these efforts and the
growing need. Also there was the experience of the death of a homeless man
under a storage trailer, presumably from the freezing weather.
This prompted the County through the leadership of Tom Davis and Verdia
Haywood, to act. County funds became available to build the Community Shelter on
Moncure Avenue in the Bailey’s area. The Shelter is used to house male and female
homeless individuals for up to two months. During this period social workers
develop a plan for each resident to deal with medical needs, drug and alcohol
rehabilitation, job search, etc. with the goal of obtaining a new direction and
stability for each. The Shelter can house up to 60 individuals. Churches were
asked to support the Shelter with funds and volunteers. The Shelter was formally
dedicated in 1978; First Christian’s Associate Minister, Steve Perotti gave the
prayer at the dedication.
The County provided annual operating funds for the Shelter arranged through
contracts. Providers would apply for the contracts through an RFP process.
Initially, the Salvation Army was awarded the first Shelter contract. The
contractor was to seek funding and volunteers from churches and organizations.
An Advisory Board was required. Both Priscilla Holbert and I were asked to serve
on the first Board. In the early 1990’s, Bill LaLiberte worked with Shelter
residents and he also was asked to be a Board member; he remained a member,
actually for the rest of his life.
Medical appointments, counseling, training, etc. was to be scheduled for clients
each day. In the early years, if something was not scheduled, residents could not
stay in the Shelter during the day. Therefore in the winter months, some were
forced to be out in the cold and in the summer months they were in the heat.
Being a compassionate Christian, Bill LaLiberte arranged for them to come to First
Christian’s Fellowship Hall where he provided soup and sandwiches in a warm (or
cool) setting. This continued for a number of years, often involving up to a dozen
individuals. The Shelter is now available to those without appointments to stay
there during the daytime hours, and noon meals are also now available.
Patrick Henry Family Shelter
Fairfax County has also established a short term family shelter located at the
corner of Leesburg Pike and Patrick Henry Drive, a close distance from First
Christian. This is called Shelter House; this program is similar to Baileys Shelter.
Homeless families are provided temporary housing, employment search and medical
services for a period up to three months. First Christian provided direct help to
one family... Dexter and Rosenda Pittington with two daughters. John and Penny
Farris have continued to lend support and friendship to the family through the
years.
First Christian has provided financial assistance from its local outreach account
every year to both Bailey’s Shelter and Shelter House.
HOMESTRETCH
In the 1970s, transitional housing was determined to be a special need for low
income families. This need was discussed by Nancy Taxson from Dulin Methodist in
FCS Board meetings. Later, with the help of Kieran Sharpe, from Columbia Baptist,
a separate organization was founded. This became Homestretch, a program which
has become very successful in providing a broad array of support for families.
Under Nancy’s leadership, this program grew. Homestretch is a holistic program
for homeless families for up to two years. The goal is to help families to achieve
stability in their lives with housing, needed training, and employment. The program
utilizes public funds as well as funding from churches, individuals and the corporate
sector. Homestretch owns and leases housing for its clients.
The requirements for entering Homestretch is that a family is homeless, in crisis,
is living below the poverty line with no other housing options, and has children
under the age of eighteen. When entering Homestretch, a family is placed into
housing, and needed furnishings are provided. After a case manager’s assessment
of the family’s situation and building a level of trust, a plan is developed. The plan
could involve rent and utility assistance, employment assistance, English training
and various counseling and workshop options. Child care and preschool are available
for children. Homestretch graduates 87 percent of its families and has received
numerous awards for its work.
First Christian provided direct assistance to a Hurricane Katrina family that came
to Homestretch. This was a mother with two daughters who arrived with only a car
and some clothes and a few other personal belongings. Homestretch provided the
housing; First Christian provided emergency food; FCS provided furniture. The
mother was a qualified teacher; the Fairfax School system found a temporary
teaching assignment. She and her family graduated from Homestretch rather
quickly. Ruth Neikirk and Clara Cotner assisted with the support from FCCFC.
Homestretch organizes a Christmas dinner and gift program for its clients. First
Christian along with other churches, organizations and individuals, seek to ‘adopt’
families each year. Our Church School classes, the choir, and the youth all adopt
individual families. A grocery gift certificate along with three gifts for each
person is given ... two gifts to satisfy needs and a third, a wish list item. Our
church members enjoy establishing links with these families and the joy of giving.
First Christian has provided financial assistance from its local outreach account to
Homestretch every year since it began. Nancy Taxson is now retired; Christopher
Fay is the current director.
Safe Haven
In 2005, the mid-day program started by Bill LaLiberte to provide food and
comfort for Bailey’s Shelter participants who had nothing scheduled, was
broadened. Essentially, anyone who was hungry and/or needed a warm place (or
cool place) to stay in mid day was welcomed. This program was available one day
each week, initially on Thursday; later Tuesday was added during the hypothermia
season. On these days, breakfast is available at 9 AM and lunch at noon.
Fellowship Hall has been used for food service and also as a respite area.
Some eight community churches are taking turns in providing the noon meal. This
meal has the largest participation. Breakfast participation is smaller and is
handled by staff and volunteers. The combined breakfast/lunch participation
varies with an overall average of about 100 individuals served on duty days. The
expanded program provides more than food and protection from the weather
extremes. The County provides the services of a nurse on Thursday afternoons as
well as social workers, including a mental health specialist. Other services such as
English classes, barber services and clothing are offered by volunteers.
With the increased complexity of services provided, a Management Team was
established. Janet Gayle became Chair; Phil Gilliland, Priscilla Holbert, Evelynda
Castle, Bill LaLiberte, Mary Miser, John Farris and myself were on the initial Team.
Kathleen Moore served as staff representative. Initially, volunteers handled all
aspects of Safe Haven. But with the services being made available to all, the
program management grew beyond the capability of the church’s volunteer ranks.
The Management Team decided to seek funds from the County to employ a
coordinator. An application for a $20K/year grant was forwarded to the County
for a part time coordinator. The request was made through the auspices of the
Falls Church Community Service Council (FCS). This church coalition had the
needed 501 (c) (3) authorization. Karen Moore, President of this coalition at that
time developed the Safe Haven application with the help of Kathleen Moore and
myself. It was approved for a two year period. At the end of this two year period
with the help of Janet Gayle, I prepared a second request for $30K/year that
would provide an increase in funding for an assistant coordinator for a two year
period. It was approved. An application for an extension of County funding for the
5th and 6th year at the $30K level was not approved due to a sizable reduction in
available funds. However after an appeal to Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross
by Kathleen Moore, arrangements were made for the Bailey’s Shelter contractor,
Volunteers of America to cover the Safe Haven need of $30K/year. This is the
current arrangement for the financial support of the Safe Haven coordinators.
A separate treasury account is kept by Safe Haven. With the help of Facebook,
other social media and from individuals and organizations, monetary support for
Safe Haven has been adequate to cover food expenses and other incidental needs.
Most of the food is provided by the cooperating churches. Consequently, no
monetary support from the Outreach Council’s local fund account is needed for
Safe Haven. However the provision of volunteers, space and custodial services has
been significant. The Management Team is now headed by Phil Gilliland with
membership from other churches and organizations as well as First Christian. Rob
Paxton is the current Coordinator and Erin McKenney is the Assistant Coordinator.
Meals On Wheels
The Falls Church Community Service Council sponsored Meals On Wheels service
for its service area. Initially, this included the Baileys Crossroads area. FCS
handled five routes, one was the Baileys area which is in the Annandale group’s
service area. The FCS volunteer coordinator was overwhelmed in developing
schedules. In 1989 when I was FCS president, a petition was sent to the Office on
Aging to either make this a route for the Annandale group or make it an
independent route. Today it is an independent route. Mary Lee DiSpirito, a
volunteer for ACCA, is the manager of this route.
Several in our church have been and remain drivers for Meals On Wheels. Most
have served the Baileys route: Marylyn Graves, Pat Fang, Clara Cotner, Mel Cotner,
Jim Gibbs, Grace Gibbs, John Farris, Bill LaLiberte, Phil Gilliland, Howard Heller,
Shirley Heller among others. Our goal was to provide drivers for the Baileys MOW
route for each Thursday of the week.
Without fail, every delivery results in a “big thank you”.
Spiritual Outreach to our immigrant neighbors
As part of our outreach to our neighbors, two ethnic church initiatives were
undertaken in the 1990s. One was to establish a Korean Disciples Christian church
and secondly, to establish a Hispanic Disciples Christian Church.
THE KOREAN EXPERIENCE
In 1992, the Korean initiative originated through a contact from the National
Korean Pastor, Guenhee Yu to Dick Taylor, the Capital Area Regional minister at
the time. He in turn, contacted Jack Weston, minister at First Christian. Pastor
Yu and a young pastor developer, Namjung Byun had been in the Northern Virginia
area to meet with Korean church leaders. They were interested in “planting” a new
Korean Disciples church in our area. Byun was a Yale Divinity School graduate with
a Bachelor’s degree focusing on new church development. Plans were made for
First Christian to host a startup Disciples Korean Church. A Capital Area Project
Advisory Committee (PAC) was established. I chaired this Committee. Shortie
Simmons, Carrol Sundahl, Bill Boston, Rev. Steve Perotti and Jack Weston were
members. Two Korean members were part of the PAC.
An agreement was established whereby First Christian would provide facilities at
no cost. A Covenant of Shared Responsibilities indicated that funding for the new
congregation would come from Division of Church Extension accounts for Capital
Area new congregation starts. This was coordinated with Deborah Thompson,
Director of the Disciples wide Church Advance Now and Francis Stark, the Capital
Area leader for new Church Starts.
A Church Planting service was held in October 1992, with about 150 in attendance.
Other Korean churches sent attendees to support and celebrate the establishment
of a new church. The average attendance at church school and worship was about
30 during the winter months. Attendance, however, dropped significantly in early
1993. Most of the participants either quit attending or returned to Korean
churches they previously attended. Attendance dropped to six or seven
participants.
The Korean pastor, Namjung Byun, Rev. Steve Perotti and I attended a Pastor's
Training Session in Indianapolis in the spring of 1993. At this training, plans were
drafted for a more active effort by the Korean minister to recruit more
participants. Radio sermons and Bible studies at nearby apartment complexes for
the elderly were tried with little or no success. Finally, in October 1993, the
Korean minister resigned to pursue training and other opportunities.
The Project Advisory Committee discussed options to continue the Korean
congregation with the two Korean members on the PAC. The conclusion was to close
the ministry at that time due to lack of funding and interest of a core group of
Koreans to continue. By mutual agreement of all signing, the Covenant was
terminated in November 1993.
In retrospect, the Project Advisory Committee believes too little attention was
given to demographics. While some 250 thousand Koreans lived in northern Virginia
at the time, there were more than 170 Korean churches in the area. The Koreans
are well churched in the surrounding area of First Christian, an older residential
area. A location further out in the suburbs where young Korean families are moving
and where there are fewer churches, may have been met with more success.
Secondly, the new Korean pastor had not participated in the Pastor Developers
Screening program. The PAC felt that there was a lack of skills, at this stage at
least, to be an organizing pastor. Screening may have caught these shortcomings.
Cultural differences may have contributed to a lack of understanding about
commitments and expectations.
THE HISPANIC EXPERIENCE
In July, 1993 a Hispanic ministry was started, Three members of First Christian
were Hispanic immigrants.... Grace Escobar, Celsi Bowen and Raul Hernandez. With
our interest in reaching out to our Hispanic neighborhood’s spiritual needs, we met
to develop a plan. Rev. Steve Perotti and Penny Farris joined our group which later
became the Hispanic Church Nurturing committee. We met with Idia Rodriguez,
member of National City Christian Church. Idia was Puerto Rican and was a
Disciple of Christ member there. She encouraged First Christian to proceed with
its Hispanic initiative.
Census data at that time indicated that in the Patrick Henry, Culmore and Baileys
area some 25 percent of the households were Hispanic and the overall population
of these areas would soon approach 50 percent Hispanic. Subsequent census
reports indicate even greater concentrations of Hispanics. Other demographic
studies indicated that close to 20 percent of the Hispanics in these areas were not
participants in the Catholic Church. Most of the immigrants in these areas were
from Honduras, Salvador and Guatemala. Further, the protestant reformation was
more prevalent in these countries than in other Latin countries.
In the first Nurturing Committee meeting, a decision was made to start a Bible
study in Spanish on Sunday afternoons. Grace Escobar agreed to lead the study.
Grace was from Mexico, was a former commercial airline pilot and later became an
instantaneous language translator working for the Organization of American
States. She was fluent in seven languages. We welcomed her commitment and
leadership.
The plan was to develop a solid core group, then undertake other activities such as
worship. A sign was erected, flyers were distributed. Music was a central part of
the Bible study experience. Some existing Hispanic groups inquired about using the
church facility. They were invited to come be a part of the Disciples tradition and
help the existing group grow. The Bible study grew, initially with eight
participants. Bibles in Spanish were bought. Penny Farris organized “Spanish to
English” classes with the help of Nancy Field and Marina Barsony.
Among the regular participants, Hector and Veronica Solis attended. Grace quickly
recognized that Hector had vast knowledge of the Bible and was well qualified to
lead the study. Hector and his wife were here to escape the Guerilla/Government
conflict in Guatemala; they filed for asylum. They ran a small grocery store in
Guatemala City. The Guerillas were demanding protection money for their small
business against their will. Consequently, the Government considered Hector to be
a Guerilla sympathizer. Veronica had been threatened.
Hector became the study leader. He had obtained a college degree in broadcast
journalism at Guatemala University. His ministerial experience and training came
from his father who was a traveling protestant evangelist. Starting at the age of
17, Hector traveled with his father in southern Mexico, Salvador, Honduras and
Guatemala. Recently in 2013, an issue of TIME magazine featured a major story
about the “Latin Reformation”, in which these Central American countries were
singled out as having a higher percentage of protestant Christian churches of all
Central and South America. Hector and his father contributed to this trend.
When coming to the US, Hector conducted a radio ministry in Spanish. These 30
minute sessions involved a bible message and call-in prayer requests. Hector paid
for the time slots from his earnings from Fairfax Propane. Later these became
too expensive, and he did not ask for donations from his listeners.
At first the Hispanic Bible study participants attended the English worship on
Sundays; then after communion the group would go to one of the class rooms for a
sermon in Spanish given by Hector. Both Hector and Veronica placed their
membership at First Christian. Grace Escobar brought them forward. The group
grew with 10 to 12 regular attendees. Since it was a bit awkward to leave in the
middle of the service, the group opted to have communion, prayer and song in their
class room. Hector’s experience with communion and baptism was identical with
Disciples of Christ practices; however as we learned later, his approach to these
practices was very conservative. This was based on his Guatemalan background.
Some of the Catholic tradition carried over in their worship style, especially
concerning the role of women, including the eligibility as to who may receive
communion. Their music was the a cappella singing of Spanish hymns.
When Rev. Jolin Wilks, fluent in Spanish came on as Associate Minister at First
Christian, there was interest to create a new Hispanic Disciples of Christ church.
This was discussed in the Nurturing Committee. Also discussions were held with
Francis Stark in the Capital Area and with Luis Ferrer, National Hispanic Pastor in
Indianapolis. All endorsed the plan. Jolin and I along with Hector, met with the
Capital Area Ministerial group asking that Hector be licensed. He was approved.
Only minimal funding was needed. Offerings were collected by the Hispanic group
and were kept in a separate First Christian account. The Vienna Antioch Disciples
church provided some funds over a period of five years and the Nebraska Region
wanted to help get a new Hispanic church started. They provided a $15K grant.
These were kept in a First Christian account along with Hispanic church offerings,
administered by the Nurturing Committee.
Hector did not receive compensation nor did he ask for it. Available money was
used to provide health insurance for Hector and Veronica. Funds were also used to
help members with their needs. Hernia surgery was provided one member so he
could return to work. In another instance, help was provided to transport the
remains of a family member to Honduras. A sign was purchased to be placed in
front of the church. John and Penny Farris took Hector and Veronica to the
General Assembly when it was held in Kansas City; the Solis’ expenses for this trip
came from this account. An annual event was the Hispanic dinner for the English
congregation provided by Hector’s church. This was well received by all.
Hector’s church grew: in 2000 his membership reached 25 adults plus children.
While it was not obvious, most of his new members were immigrants who had
experienced the conservative evangelical style of Hector and his Dad’s church in
their countries. Consequently, his church became more conservative and less like
the liberal host, the First Christian Church. This difference became very
noticeable when Hector could not get his group to participate in a joint service
with First Christian worshipers. While there was agreement on basic practices of
baptism by immersion and weekly communion, there was reaction by these
Hispanics about several membership practices at First Christian.
These differences in Biblical interpretation regarding worship practice and
membership are not new in protestant churches, including within the Disciples of
Christ. They have been the cause of division over the centuries. In this instance,
Hector’s church, essentially became an Independent Hispanic Christian Church.
Because of these differences and the need for the space they were occupying, in
2005 Hector’s group was asked to find another location for their worship.
During the 12 years Hector and Veronica served the Hispanic church at First
Christian, I estimate that more than 400 Hispanics had an experience with this
church one way or another. He baptized 27 converts in First Christian’s baptistery
and conducted several marriages. Phil and Marilyn Gilliland and Drex George, Jr.
helped prepare the baptistery. Hector’s group is now renting commercial space in
Loudoun County. Currently, they have 34 adult members and 11 children in
attendance.
In retrospect, the goal of establishing a Disciples of Christ Hispanic Church was
not met, yet a church was established that is now serving God’s children in a
different setting.
Rebuilding Together
In the late 1980s, several home repair programs for lower income households were
underway in Northern Virginia. One was Christmas in April, another was Rebuilding
Together. The concept was to identify older homes in need of repair but the
current owner did not have the resources to make those repairs. These situations
were inventoried and home repair experts determined the repair needs. Work
projects were identified that could be handled in one day and the materials needed
to complete the job were specified.
Marie Monson, a member of ACCA managed this program for the Bailey’s, Culmore
and Patrick Henry areas. First Christian under the leadership of Bill LaLiberte,
committed to repair one of the houses each year. A house would be assigned and a
date would be set; Bill would obtain needed repair supplies and church volunteers
would devote a day to do the repairs. Some of the supplies were provided by the
home owner; other supplies were covered by Church School classes and individuals.
In one instance, a small house received a new roof. In another, a bath room was
remodeled. Rooms were painted, fences repaired, shrubbery trimmed, etc. For
the volunteers, there was always time for a picnic lunch and plenty of lemonade
along with good fellowship. Bill managed First Christian’s effort for 12 years. The
whole church participated … men, women and youth.
Local Outreach Fundraisers – Pumpkin Patch and Neighborhood OutreachSunday
Most of the local outreach projects that FCCFC supports depend on at least part
of their funding to come from private sector funds. Churches are an important
part of the private sector funding. County grants for projects such as Bailey’s
Shelter, Seven Corners Children Center and Homestretch stress public/private
partnerships. Corporate funding often is contingent on this cooperation as well.
The Outreach Council over the years has stressed that our FCCFC local support
should be responsive to two goals. One is that FCCFC have direct knowledge of the
program, its purpose and organization, as well as having members serving as
officers, advisory board members and as volunteers for the program. And where
possible, have direct contact with those being helped. Second, the goals of the
supported program should be to help those in need achieve self sufficiency and
self respect, whether they are individuals or family. The emphasis of these
programs should be to help those who are homeless or on the brink of being
homeless.
The annual FCCFC budget provides a share of new income received for outreach
work. This allocation is to cover the broader mission of the Disciples of Christ
Denomination– global, national, regional and for local needs as well. The local share
is combined with fundraisers to form a pool of funds for distribution to local
outreach programs. These fundraisers are Pumpkin Patch and Neighborhood
Outreach Sunday.
PUMPKIN PATCH
In the late 1990s, Bill LaLiberte conceived the idea of a pumpkin sales program on
the front lawn of the church leading up to Halloween. Arrangements were made
with a New Mexico producer to have pumpkins delivered to the church in early
October. A share of the proceeds goes to the grower and shipper.
Sales are handled by church member teams taking three hour turns in selling
pumpkins. The program provides not only an income source for local outreach but
serves as an opportunity to have fellowship time with other members. The program
also provides an opportunity to engage with the community. And it is a major
component of the funding pool for local outreach work.
Bill managed the program for a number of years. Now Bob McCoy and Mark
Fredenburg lead the program by ordering pumpkins, setting up volunteer schedules
and organizing the off-loading of pumpkins from the big 18 wheeler when it arrives.
NEIGHBORHOOD OUTREACH SUNDAY
Also in the 1990s, the Outreach Council asked that a Sunday during the year be
designated as Neighborhood Outreach Sunday. A special Sunday was approved,
this has become a time that the local programs supported are identified along with
an explanation of the needs served by each. Church participants are asked to
provide funding designated for local programs. These gifts are over and above
regular giving. Neighborhood Sunday is one of several special days during the year.
This offering has become a significant component of the local outreach funding
pool.
END NOTE
One should note that the First Christian Church Women Fellowship (CWF) have
numerous outreach efforts, some local such as the Mitten Tree to provide clothes
for children at the Seven Corners Children Center at Christmas time. Another local
program is the Teddy Bear program to provide teddy bears to hospitalized children
locally. CWF supports the blanket program of Church World Service and some of
these blankets come back to this area to supplement the local furniture program
needs of FCS and ACCA.
The focus in this presentation has been on local outreach. The Outreach Council
also provides support to regional, national as well as worldwide needs. Some of the
outreach monies are kept in a small emergency account; these monies have provided
extra support to disaster areas such as Katrina, Haiti, Joplin, Sandy and others.
Also our church members have served on various County and Community Boards and
Councils, but these are additional stories.
This essay benefitted from edits suggested by Penny Farris and David Findley.
Thank you Penny and David. And also, thanks to Joel Wurl who suggested that it
be written.
I have enjoyed writing about our Church’s local outreach program over the 45 year
period -- 1968 to 2013. I often reflect on the old African proverb, “It takes a
village to raise a child”. In many ways this principle applies to the work of our
church in the community. It takes dedicated, compassionate, church people,
working together “to serve the least of these”. I have been privileged to have
witnessed and have been able to participate and work with others in these efforts
over the last 45 years.
I close with a perspective about reviewing history. Recently, the Washington Post
carried an article about its future owner, the Amazon founder Mr. Bezos. It
quoted his comments recently when he met with the Post writers and
columnists. He said and I paraphrase "It is the death knell of any endeavor that
tries to glorify its past". I believe this perspective fits us as we look at our local
church history. In a similar vein, David Findley, Chair of our Outreach Council
quotes Luke 9, verse 62 “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit
for service in the Kingdom of God”. To me, our local history is interesting and
perhaps inspiring, but its real value will be about what we can learn from it to guide
future endeavors.
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