Stories

Aug 15, 2023

We are blessed to have Angel Feero back as the Young Women’s Program Coordinator! Prior to her sabbatical in Costa Rica alongside her husband, Richard Feero, and their kids, Angel worked as the Elementary Program Coordinator from August 2017 to June 2021. Angel, we are thankful for your return and pray over your time here […]

Jul 28, 2023

K-4th grade Summer Programming consisted of lots of fun, laughter, and memories.

This was Calvin Kellum’s first time coordinating the Abundant Life VBS program. During programming this summer, he was able to connect with the kids he knew already from John Tutoring and new kids that joined during the summer.

Each week they would travel to a different church around Charlottesville to learn about the love of God. Before leaving for the church, Calvin would ask the children if any of them would like to pray for the upcoming day they were about to experience. At first the children were very hesitant to pray in front of all of their peers, but there was always one student whose hand would jump up immediately his name was KJ. KJ loved to pray for safe travels, for fun, and for family and friends. He was what the group needed to give all the students confidence to participate and by the end of the, summer we had every single student raising their hand to pray each and every day.

Following the daily VBS sessions, the group ate a lunch together and then moved on to afternoon activities. They worked on reading and writing at the Abundant Life house with Calvin and Ms. Faith. They would read 2 books each day and wrote 3 sentences about a prompt that was given to them. After their work was done they would have lots of fun playing outside as well as painting, drawing, and making bracelets.

This summer was filled with excitement and great times learning about the Lord. We learned how to pray and why we pray, Calvin and the children can not wait for K-4 VBS 2024.

Jun 23, 2023

Thank you to each of you who came out to our Art of Building Community annual art auction fundraiser on June 8th! We were truly blessed by your presence, along with the beautiful space provided by First Presbyterian Church, and are so grateful to our artists and sponsors – all of which made this event […]

Feb 28, 2023

As Black History Month comes to a close, we want to remember that history is always being written and we are grateful for those who pioneered and continue to pioneer against the odds.  We would like to dedicate this Highlight to Community Activist, Educator, Entertainer, and Motivator, Mr. Alex-Zan. Mr. Alex-Zan began his activism when […]

Feb 24, 2023

This week we are highlighting educator, Esther Vassar of Lane High School who stood in the gap for her students at a time of racial discrepancy.  Lane High School, Preceeding Charlottesville High School, was a segregated High School in Charlottesville up until 1959, following a three-year battle in federal court to avoid integration of schools […]

Feb 08, 2023

For our second week of Abundant Life Black History, we’d like to highlight a community of thriving black residents in Charlottesville, Virginia, that was destroyed in 1964 as part of a citywide redevelopment program. This neighborhood was known as Vinegar Hill, which extended through Main Street and the east end of the Downtown Mall.  Post-Civil […]