THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609270234
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: IDA KAY'S PORTSMOUTH
SOURCE: IDA KAY JORDAN
LENGTH: 58 lines
Talk about faith!
Members of Zion Baptist Church have it.
Members of the 131-year-old downtown congregation borrowed $280,000 to remodel a building at the corner of High and Green streets for the Family Life Center run by Zion Health and Human Services Inc., a non-profit organization formed by the church.
And they're just getting started.
It's a commitment to the future.
It's a classic case of putting your money where your mouth is. For many members of Zion, these are traditions.
The 21,000 square feet in the three-story building will be used for a wide spectrum of programs expanding on Zion's existing projects dealing with teen pregnancy and parenting.
Targeted for implementation first is a literacy program for young people, followed by day care for older people, a haven for latch-key children and whatever else it takes to provide for the community.
Members of Zion are committed to making the programs work. Vigorous retired educators, social workers and other professionals along with many who still work have signed on, giving their time and expertise.
The executive director, Hildegarde Richardson, gets $1 a year. In her other life she is an AIDS education specialist at Norfolk State University.
``I'm lucky,'' she said. ``I can do this because I have a job and a husband to support me.''
Central Fidelity National Bank is a partner in the project and co-hosted with Virginia Power a reception Wednesday night to call attention to the center. Dennis C. Pearson, an officer of the bank and vice president of the Zion corporation, said the bank has committed $6,000 to the building project and is helping the church with securing loans and grants.
Speaking at the reception, Mayor Jim Holley said the city supports the project and hopes it will be ``infectious.''
``This is the wave of the future,'' said the Rev. Edward Whitaker, president of the corporation and interim pastor of the church. ``The church needs to reach beyond its walls without proselytizing. So many people feel hopeless, and they need to see another dimension to life.''
Dr. Hugo Owens, a church member, said the breakdown in the social structure must be fixed.
``We've got to break the cycle,'' Owens said. ``We are on the way to making a difference. But this church and others have got to do more than go to church two hours a week if we're going to do it.''
Many Zion Baptists never have limited their religion to Sunday morning. Their compulsion to be involved in the community, to make a difference, has been evident for years. You feel the spirit when you talk to them.
Zion members have the vision to serve the community. They embody religion at its best. The Family Life Center is a major commitment, not only of money but of time and expertise.
Maybe other congregations will be challenged by this effort.
If every one of about 200 churches in Portsmouth reached out to the total community in the same spirit, most of the city's problems would be solved. by CNB