Journalist Don Belt At Main Library This Friday
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“the ‘Real World,’ only with a twist,”
Excerpt:
The “Grace” in Grace-on-the-Hill is part tribute to Arents. But it’s also part tribute to “grace,” as in the work of God.
While the church is now more a destination than a neighborhood hub — most Sundays, the pews are filled with people who had to drive in — Bailey said St. Andrew’s still has an obligation to lift up its community, both immediate in Oregon Hill and spread across Richmond.
It also has an obligation to lift up the people who come to help.
That’s where Fado and the five others come in. For 10 months, stretching across a traditional school year, they call Oregon Hill home but spread out in the day to help the community.
Fado and James Post work at Anna Julia Cooper, an Episcopal school across the street from public housing in the East End.
Patrick Keyser walks a few doors down the street and works in the St. Andrew’s office.
Kate McPherson works at St. Andrew’s School, next to the church and still loosely affiliated with it.
Melissa Eadie works in the mission office at the diocesan office on West Franklin Street.
And Stephanie McCullough works at the Blue Sky Fund, which provides outdoor programs to children from the city.
The six also work in the church, perform community service in Oregon Hill and, one day a week, operate a laundry ministry for the homeless.
“It’s been a good experience so far,” said Keyser, a 22-year-old from the town of Burgess, on the Northern Neck. “It hasn’t been perfect, but what is?”
“I’d say it’s been real meaningful, being able to really dig in and make an impact,” McCullough said. “That none of us is from here, and that we may all go somewhere else later in our lives, I don’t think that matters. In this moment, this is right.”
To learn more on the Grace-on-the-Hill program, click here.
Rebuilding The Tredegar Wall
Victory Garden
Nice flower plantings at Victory Rug Apartments!
WRIC Story On St. Andrew’s Farm to School Program
WRIC recently featured a story on St. Andrew’s School’s Farm To School program.
Excerpt:
What will happen if students eat only fresh, local foods in school? Will their grades improve? Will absences go down? It is a study going on at Richmond’s St. Andrew’s School, and the kids are eating it up!
There is excitement in the lunch line. Today’s menu is another great one: burgers made with beef and beet, plus plenty of produce.
“I like how at the salad bar we can have eggs and cucumbers and sometimes tomatoes,” says fifth grade student Joshua Bush.
This program is built on a partnership with a purpose. Chefs from Edible Education cook and serve up fresh food brought in by Field of Dreams Farm. About 90% is grown nearby. At the beginning of the year, nurses checked each student’s weight, height and general health. Now they are following them to see how this fresh food is fuel for the classroom.
“When you’re eating healthy, you’re able to pay attention, stay focused,” says Cyndy Weldon-Lassiter, the St. Andrew’s Head of School.
Oregon Hill Funk All-Stars Playing Mojo’s Saturday
From FaceBook event page:
Live music at Mojo’s? what? Come check out Oregon Hill Funk All Stars at Mojo’s Saturday Night. 4-4-15 Music starts at 10. No Cover. 21+
Drug Violation On W. Cary
From RAIDSonline.com
DRUG/NARCOTIC VIOLATION
8XX W CARY ST
Mar 31, 2015 at 8:45 am
Data provided by Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department
Neighbor Creates ‘Sanctuary’ to Help Formerly Incarcerated Citizens
Congratulations to Pine Street neighbor Liz Canfield!
She is featured on this WTVR report: VCU professor creates ‘Sanctuary’ to help formerly incarcerated residents ease back into society
Excerpts:
Virginia Commonwealth University and the Richmond City Sheriff’s Office have teamed up to provide formerly incarcerated Richmond-area residents and their families a place to learn, create, and transition back into society. Sanctuary, which opened March 30 at 101 W. Broad Street, will provide GED tutoring, job preparation and resources, resume building, and creative expression through art for members re-entering the community.
…
Sanctuary co-founder Dr. Liz Canfield is an assistant professor at VCU in the College of Humanities and Sciences’ Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies.
“We wanted to build a safe place on the outside where people can go when they got out,” she explained.
Sanctuary is an extension of Open-Minds, a program Canfield co-directs with VCU English professor Dr. David Coogan. Open-Minds provides dual enrollment classes for VCU students and incarcerated people at the Richmond City Jail.
Illegally Demolished Historic Wall To Be Rebuilt HIGHER
After the historic Tredegar wall was illegally demolished several years ago, and much controversy resulted, several promises were made to rebuild the wall.
Recently, a neighbor who works in historic preservation has been helping preparations to finally start work on rebuilding the wall.
However, this website has recently learned that there are new plans to rebuild the wall at least twenty feet higher than its previous height. No one could comment on this development at press time.
While it remains a mystery as to the exact reasons being given for this raise, there is some speculation on the need to use ‘extra’ historic bricks that will be made available from the planned updating of old City Hall. Some Oregon Hill residents believe the higher wall will be used to host community movie screenings, while others believe that the City is preparing the wall for river level rise due to climate change.
Please stay tuned as this story develops.
St. Andrew’s Church and School To Host Blip Hop Symposium
In what is sure to stir up music fans and parishes alike, St. Andrew’s Church and St. Andrew’s School announced today that they will jointly host an academic and music symposium on the small, mostly instrumental genre of modern music known as blip hop.
Although many details still need to be confirmed, including which August weekend has been reserved, exciting aspects are starting to take shape. Some big names in blip hop have already been invited (though their appearances still need to be scheduled), including German techno duo Mouse on Mars, Matthew Herbert, and blip hop enthusiast and Grammy-winning pop musician David Byrne (formerly of the Talking Heads). Local artist ENE (aka Scott Hudgins) has definitely committed and plans to attend the entire symposium. Regardless of the final line up, tickets will be free and offered first come first serve (reserve now by calling the church office at 804-648-7980)
In the spirit of community there will be several pieces performed in conjunction with the church’s choir and organist and the school’s violin, chorus and piano classes throughout the event. Workshops on blip hop dancing will also be offered. Live concerts will be held in the church’s Baldwin Hall, near the Grace Arents Community Garden, the William Byrd Community House, and Oregon Hill’s Riverside Park. Other sponsors are still being decided though possibilities include community alternative radio station WRIR, University of Richmond radio station WDCE, Plan 9 Music, Councilperson Parker Agelasto’s Office, Girls Rock! RVA, Richmond2015 UCI Bicycle Race, and Dinamo restaurant.
Asked why St. Andrew’s Church and School is so interested in blip hop, church leadership pointed to several factors. St. Andrew’s, of course, does have historic Welsh and Scottish links to the Northern European culture that David Byrne himself has praised in blip hop. “We realized that we do have tangible links to electronic music”, said one vestry board member. He mentioned the renovated St. Andrew’s House (236 S. Laurel Street) as previously being the starting place of the seminal band LaBradford. He also said that there had been some past confusion between the church’s EFM (Education for Ministry) group and EDM (a popular acronym for Electronic Dance Music).
St. Andrew’s School is still celebrating its 120 year anniversary,” gushed the St. Andrew’s Head of School, “and this symposium is another change to highlight how music has played an important part in our education efforts.”
St. Andrew’s rector, Rev. Abbott Bailey, herself a not-so-secret Zap Mama fan, said that she sees the blip hop symposium as “a way to engage with the lost children of the nineties.”
A member of Grace-On-The-Hill, a youth ministry of St. Andrew’s Church in partnership with the Diocese of Virginia, had this thought to offer:
“Instead of just rhythm pounding on like a soothing metronome, creativities and personalities layer atop it. Things meld together as strong but diverse parts join the score. Life departs what we’ve known and suddenly feels nothing like the squishy, germ-filled meat mush in the grind nor the innocent swing of habit; it transforms into a grand experience of unity within a beat. Different components add to the piece, and it is far too complex to brave its performance alone.”
Mouse on Mars on YouTube: