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.