Another Newark Main Street apartment project in the works, but this one isn't for students The News Journal
Another Newark Main Street apartment project in the works, but this one isn't for students The News Journal
Metropolitan Theodosios of Kinshasa, currently on a new missionary tour, recently visited the city of Kenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a church is being constructed in honor of Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer.
During his visit, the Metropolitan inspected the progress of the churchs construction and expressed satisfaction with the advancements made so far.
He addressed the faithful and the workers, speaking about the event of the Resurrection of the Lord. Together, they sang Christ is Risen, and the Metropolitan expressed his hope that, once the church construction is completed, the community will have a permanent priest to meet their ongoing worship needs.
Later in the afternoon, the missionary group traveled to the town of Kikwit, home to the parish of Saints Athanasios of Alexandria and Eleftherios. The priests and faithful of Kikwit warmly welcomed the Metropolitan of Kinshasa and his entourage.
Source: greek.vema.com.au
The 140-year-old temple in downtown Charlottesville that once served as the home of the historically Black Mount Zion Baptist Church is returning to its roots and will, once again, be a fully operational house of worship.
The Charlottesville-based nondenominational Point Church has acquired the building at 105 Ridge St. for $1.3 million, about 25% lower than its assessed value of $1.7 million and about 60% more than the $713,000 it last sold for in 2004.
Since 2004, the property has been home to the Music Resource Center, a nonprofit, music-based, after-school program that works with students particularly from Buford Middle School and Charlottesville High School.
The Point Church said it plans to officially begin operating out of the Ridge Street property in April of 2025 and will continue to lease the first floor of the building to the Music Resource Center until the nonprofit group relocates to its new facility on Cherry Avenue sometime in 2026.
The brick, steepled church on Ridge Street in downtown Charlottesville first opened its doors in 1884.
The Church of the Good Shepherd, an Anglican congregation that is relatively new to Charlottesville, has been using the churchs worship space since last year, sharing the property with the Music Resource Center. But according to city records, that church has recently acquired a property at 750 Hinton Ave. in Charlottesvilles Belmont neighborhood from the Hinton Avenue Methodist Church. That $1.5 million is about 50% lower than the propertys assessed value of $3 million. City Council in 2019 allowed the land to be rezoned for the Methodist church to begin construction of an affordable housing project there called Rachels Haven. Although construction was slated to begin sometime this year, so far no units have been built.
Back on Ridge Street, the Point Church says it is planning on converting the old Mount Zion space into a new downtown campus for its congregation.
Chip Measells, the churchs executive director, says the mission behind the downtown campus will be to serve individuals in the community dealing with financial struggles as well as offering coworking space for local nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to similar causes.
Through several innovative programs, we aim to address the root causes of systemic poverty, providing immediate relief and long-term empowerment for our neighbors, said Measells in a statement.
The Point Church on Pantops just east of Charlottesville was founded in 2009.
The historic Mount Zion building is a little less than 3 miles away from the Point Churchs other Charlottesville location on Hansen Road on Pantops, which was founded in 2009 along with another campus based in the town of Louisa east of the city. The downtown development is a part of an ongoing expansion throughout Central Virginia for the Point Church; a new campus in Waynesboro is expected to open later this fall.
This strategic acquisition marks a significant step in our mission to expand our presence and service within the community, said Measells.
The Black congregation at Mount Zion Baptist Church first opened its doors at 105 Ridge St. in 1884, but they had been gathering and worshipping together decades before that.
The congregation was formed in 1864, when Black congregants split from the racially segregated White Baptist church in Charlottesville. At first they met in the residence of one of their congregants, but soon outgrew the space and, in 1875, built a wooden church in a lot next door.
Less than 10 years later, the congregation moved again, this time into the newly completed brick church on Ridge Street, designed by George Wilson Spooner, a Charlottesville architect who was involved in construction on the University of Virginia Rotunda.
Embellished in the 1890s with its steeple, stained-glass windows, and pipe organ, the church became a symbol of the growing importance of Charlottesvilles black community, according to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
The Mount Zion congregation would remain there for nearly 120 years, when under the leadership of the Rev. Alvin Edwards, the church moved in 2003 to a new home at 105 Lankford Ave. less than a mile south, where it remains to this day.
Since 2004, the Mount Zion Baptist Church property in downtown Charlottesville has been home to the Music Resource Center, a nonprofit, music-based, after-school program.
With a police escort, and a large banner leading the way, many members marched (in remembrance of deceased members), others rode buses, from our old edifice at 105 Ridge Street to our new edifice at 105 Lankford Avenue, reads an official church history posted on its website. As we entered the new edifice singing our theme, Were Marching to Zion, both young and old gave thanks to God for his continued blessings.
The building at 105 Ridge St. was enshrined in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The Point Church is holding an open house at the church building from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Tuesday. Pastor Gabe Turner will be speaking about the organizations plans for the campus at multiple sessions throughout the day, at 9 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.
Emily Hemphill (540) 855-0362
@EmilyHemphill06 on X
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140-year-old church in downtown Charlottesville trades hands - The Daily Progress
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Construction to begin soon on new Holy Rosary Church building - Davis Enterprise
A new church on Eau Claire's south side started to take shape Friday.
TOWN OF WASHINGTON (WQOW) - A new church on Eau Claire's south side started to take shape Friday.
This morning as the sun came up, the first walls went up at what will soon be Haven Church.
Construction has been underway the past few weeks at the corner of Highway 93 and Deerfield Road. Friday, the group Builders for Christ kicked off construction of the $5 million project.
Builders for Christ is a national volunteer group. Over the next 16 weeks, 900 volunteers will travel to Eau Claire on their own dime and help with construction.
The pastor of Haven Church, James Whatley, said the free labor will save them about a million dollars.
"Personally for me, we live in a world that is really isolated. Being able to come together, particularly post Covid, is such a tremendous blessing. We just think Jesus brings hope and community and a positive future," he said.
The church hopes to be in the new 16,000 foot facility by November. In addition to a lot larger space, the church will also have a nursery, children's education area and an outdoor pollinator garden.
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Haven Church raises first wall on new building - WQOW TV News 18
The congregation at Ashley Ridge Church in Summerville has been meeting at the local high school for over a decade, patiently waiting to build a permanent home for its ministry in the Summerville community. Now, that dream is being realized.
On April 21, church leaders and representatives broke ground on a new building at 9815 Delemar Highway.
Trident Construction, which is overseeing the building development, signed on to the project four years ago and has been patiently waiting to get things going.
We picked Trident because they are deeply invested in the Summerville community, said Pastor Jenn Williams. They have also been a great asset in offering creative construction ideas to help us save money and build the best possible tool for our ministry.
Ashley Ridge is the only church in the Summers Corner community. Leaders and members anticipate rapid growth as thousands of new homes are being built there, as well as a new community center, which promises several large pools and recreational facilities.
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After 14 years, Summerville church breaks ground for new building - The Post and Courier
RIGHT? WELL, SHANNON. ANDREW, CONSTRUCTION CREWS ARE WORKING RIGHT NOW TO REPLACE PART OF THE ROOF HERE AT CROSSROADS MINISTRIES. THAT WAS RIPPED OFF DURING THAT STORM AND SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE AREA. FORTUNATELY, THE PASTOR HERE TELLS ME NO ONE WAS SERIOUSLY HURT. BUT THERES A LOT OF ROOF DAMAGE BACK IN HERE. ASSESSING THE DESTRUCTION TO CROSSROADS MINISTRIES CHURCH FROM THE INSIDE. IT WAS SATURDAY EVENING WHEN WINDOWS WERE SUDDENLY BLOWN OUT AND PART OF THE ROOF WAS LIFTED INTO THE AIR, DROPPING DEBRIS ON CARS IN THE PARKING LOT, SCATTERING CHURCH BOOKS AND OTHER ITEMS OVER THE HILLSIDE. AS AROUND 100 PEOPLE GATHERED FOR WORSHIP, I STAYED AT THE TOP UP THERE AND SENT THE PEOPLE DOWN. THEY CAME DOWN. WE CAME THROUGH THIS AREA. AND THEY WERE LINING THIS HALLWAY. PASTOR KEN BARNER EVACUATING HIS CONGREGATION TO THE BASEMENT AS THEY WAITED OUT THE STORM. YEAH, I WAS PRETTY SHOCKED MYSELF. I, UM, YOU KNOW, I, IVE LIVED HERE ALL MY LIFE. IM A PITTSBURGHER. IVE GROWN UP HERE IN PITTSBURGH. IVE SEEN TORNADO WARNINGS, BUT NEVER SEEN A TORNADO. THERE WAS SKY WHERE THERE SHOULD BE CEILINGS. SO WE WENT OUT AND CHECKED MY CAR, MY WIFES CAR, AND THEY WERE BOTH DAMAGED, AS WERE MANY CARS IN THE PARKING LOT. SOME NEIGHBORS EXPERIENCING THE FORCE OF THE TORNADO FOR THE FIRST TIME AS WELL. I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANYTHING LIKE THIS EVER AGAIN. IT SOUNDED LIKE A TRAIN COMING THROUGH THE BACKYARD. ID SEEN ALL KIND OF WATER COMING OUT OF MY POLE. UM, SEEING DEBRIS FLYING EVERYWHERE FOR. AND WERE OUT HERE NOW TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE OUT. GET SOME TARPS ON SOME ROOFS, WORK TO REPAIR ROOFS, AND CLEAR FALLEN TREES IS UNDERWAY. AND BACK AT THE CHURCH, SLAGLE ROOFING WORKING TO SEAL THE GAPING HOLE IN THE ROOF. BY THE END OF THE DAY, HES DEDICATED HIS TEAMS TO HELP THIS EMERGENCY SITUATION. HES NOT ONLY HELPING US, HES HELPING OTHER PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW. SO IM THANKFUL TO GOD FOR WHAT THEYRE DOING HERE. AND THERES NO SET TIMELINE FOR WHEN ALL OF THESE REPAIRS WILL BE COMPLETE. BUT THE PASTOR IS HOPING TO HAVE THEM DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO RESUME HAVING SERVICES ONCE
Crews working to repair Washington County church roof ripped apart by tornado
Construction crews are working to replace part of a church roof that was ripped off during Saturday evenings EF-2 tornado in Washington County.
Updated: 7:22 PM EDT May 13, 2024
Construction crews are working to replace part of a church roof that was ripped off during Saturday evenings EF2 tornado in Washington County.Pastor Ken Barner, with Crossroads Ministries in the Finleyville area, said the force of the winds took pieces of the roof right through the parking lot and over the hillside. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, Barner said.Barner said Saturday evening during a worship service, windows were suddenly blown out, and part of the roof was lifted into the air. The winds dropped debris on cars in the parking lot and scattered church books and other items over the hillside. Meanwhile, around 100 people had to evacuate the worship space and shelter in place.I was pretty shocked myself, you know. Ive lived here all my life. I'm a Pittsburgher. I grew up here in Pittsburgh. I've seen tornado warnings but never seen a tornado, Barner said.There was sky where there should be ceilings. I went out and checked my car and my wifes car, and there were many cars damaged in the parking lot, David Shepley said.Meteorologist Jill Szwed explains how anomalous the recent outbreak of tornados has been in the video belowBarner said Slagle Roofing was working to seal the gaping hole in the roof by the end of Monday.He's dedicated his teams to help this emergency situation. He's not only helping us. He's helping other people in our community right now. So I'm thankful to God for what they're doing here, Barner said.Washington County officials confirmed to Pittsburghs Action News 4 that there were some minor injuries as a result of the damage sustained to the church.
Construction crews are working to replace part of a church roof that was ripped off during Saturday evenings EF2 tornado in Washington County.
Pastor Ken Barner, with Crossroads Ministries in the Finleyville area, said the force of the winds took pieces of the roof right through the parking lot and over the hillside. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, Barner said.
Barner said Saturday evening during a worship service, windows were suddenly blown out, and part of the roof was lifted into the air. The winds dropped debris on cars in the parking lot and scattered church books and other items over the hillside. Meanwhile, around 100 people had to evacuate the worship space and shelter in place.
I was pretty shocked myself, you know. Ive lived here all my life. I'm a Pittsburgher. I grew up here in Pittsburgh. I've seen tornado warnings but never seen a tornado, Barner said.
There was sky where there should be ceilings. I went out and checked my car and my wifes car, and there were many cars damaged in the parking lot, David Shepley said.
Meteorologist Jill Szwed explains how anomalous the recent outbreak of tornados has been in the video below
Barner said Slagle Roofing was working to seal the gaping hole in the roof by the end of Monday.
He's dedicated his teams to help this emergency situation. He's not only helping us. He's helping other people in our community right now. So I'm thankful to God for what they're doing here, Barner said.
Washington County officials confirmed to Pittsburghs Action News 4 that there were some minor injuries as a result of the damage sustained to the church.
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Crews working to repair Washington County church roof ripped apart by tornado - WTAE Pittsburgh
Father Agustin Martinez, associate pastor of St. Paul, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and Father Michael Hermes, pastor of St. Paul, stand in front of a rendering of the new St. Paul Church in Olathe. The parish broke ground on the church on May 11. LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
by Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org
OLATHE There was a reason St. Paul Parish here exchanged its usual Mass venue in its temporary worship space last Sunday for a grassy field adjoining the east side of the school.
The evening Mass for the solemnity of the Ascension on May 11 was also the historic groundbreaking for the construction of the fourth church in the 164-year history of the parish the first and thus oldest parish in Johnson County.
The outdoor altar was situated approximately where the new churchs altar will be located.
The mood of the more than 2,300 present on that warm, sunny evening was excited.
Thats what Jose and Maria Ramirez said, with translation assistance from their daughter Juseth Cruz.
The Ramirezes have been parishioners for 27 years and were part of the procession on Dec. 29, 2018, from the former church at 900 S. Honeysuckle Dr., where the parish worshiped since 1962, to the current St. Paul School at 21650 W. 115th Terr.
Were pretty excited for the church and very happy, said Jose.
Very happy for the new church, said Maria. Weve all been collectively working together for this new church that well all be able to celebrate in in a bigger way.
As for Cruz, she was excited, too.
Im very excited for this new church, she said, and getting to see all the new people who will join and experience this beautiful building being built.
The groundbreaking was but another step in a master plan set in motion when Father Michael Hermes became pastor on July 1, 2014. Parishioners have long been eager to exchange their temporary space for a real, beautiful church.
This is a day weve been waiting for for a long, long time, said parishioner Terry Punswick, who was handing out buttons and programs, and there are many parishioners whove been waiting longer than I have. For this day to finally happen just fills us with joy and anticipation. I wish we could start building right away.
That wont happen. Instead, parishioners will continue to use the temporary worship space a multipurpose room inside St. Paul School for a bit longer.
Plans have been drawn up by JNKA Architects of Chicago and cost estimators have produced their figures. Requests for bids by general contractors will go out in mid-June, said Father Hermes. No exact dates have been set for the start or completion of construction.
The main celebrant of the Mass was Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, and the homilist was Father Hermes. He tied the building of the new church to the duty of all Christians to evangelize.
This task belongs to all members of the church. It is not only for bishops and priests, he said in Spanish and English. Every baptized person must think of himself or herself as permanently sent, as a missionary disciple, so that in the midst of family life and in the midst of our work, we may always be carrying the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others by the testimony of our lives.
In his remarks, Archbishop Naumann praised the work of Father Hermes, associate pastor Father Agustin Martinez, the parish building and planning committees, and parishioners.
I want to congratulate Father Hermes and the building team for all theyve done, he said, and to congratulate you for responding so generously.
Its expensive to build a new church and a new campus. Thank you all for your support. Its not over yet, I hope, and I look forward to being able to be here when the new church will be dedicated to celebrate that glorious day.
The reason for a new church was alluded to by Archbishop Naumann and Olathe mayor John Bacon. Bacon said Olathe has doubled in size in the past 30 years, and now boasts approximately 153,000 residents.
St. Paul is the largest parish in the archdiocese, recently surpassing the Church of the Ascension in Overland Park, said the archbishop. It has at least 3,325 registered families, according to Father Hermes. The growth shows no sign of stopping.
The design of the new church will have both traditional and contemporary elements. It will have a Romanesque cruciform layout with some pews in the front in a fan-shaped configuration.
The outside faade will be Spanish Colonial. The upper level of the building will be the church, and the lower level will be the social hall/church offices with a kitchen. The hall can be divided with accordion-style movable partitions. Each level will be 19,540 square feet.
To manage costs, the master plan calls for construction in stages. At first, only the upper level church and eucharistic adoration chapel will be finished. The lower level will be unfinished for a while. Later stages will include a courtyard and school gymnasium. The estimated cost of the first stage of church construction is $20 million.
The new church will be built northeast of St. Paul School. The entire campus consists of 20 acres donated by the Leonard and Ellen McKinzie Family.
Dignitaries for the groundbreaking included Archbishop Naumann, Father Hermes, Father Martinez, Bacon, Carol Kulhmann representing the McKinzie Family, David Kulhman of JNKA Architects, parish council representative Hoan Kim Pham, finance council representative Scott Anderson and building committee representative Dennis Wilbert.
To view more photos from the Mass and groundbreaking, follow us on Facebook.
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St. Paul in Olathe breaks ground on new church - The Leaven.com
Construction can now begin on a project to transform the former First Congregational Church on North Main Street into housing after new plans, updated to reflect an agreement between developers and the neighboring Greater Islamic Society of Concord, got their final city sign-off last week.
Were looking forward to getting underway after a bumpy start, developer Ben Kelley said.
The Islamic Society sued the City of Concord last fall, arguing that its concerns about parking availability it had long used parking spaces on the church property had been unfairly sidelined during the approval process by the Zoning Board. Kelley and developing partner Jonathan Chorlian made an agreement with the Islamic Society and its president Ali Sekou, also a city councilor, to give it some land between their two properties that includes a driveway where parking spaces will be added.
As part of the agreement, the Islamic Society agreed to drop its lawsuit against the city.
The new arrangement got a green light from the Zoning Board in February and another from the Planning Board last week. Kelley and Chorlian can now start construction in earnest on their plans to put 30 one- and two-bedroom apartments in the 1937 church, adding a boost of new housing downtown. Some demolition work began last week, with substantial construction work set to begin within a month and wrap up by spring of next year, Kelley said.
City council has approved seven years of property tax relief for the development, totaling an estimated $393,000, under a state law incentivizing the rehabilitation of historic buildings towards the public benefit. It must be substantially complete by the end of March 2025 to receive it, under terms extended by the council this month.
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Construction of housing project in former Church to begin with parking dispute in the rearview - Concord Monitor
Christian homes on fire in Al-Fawakher village on 23 April 2024. Image: CSW
Source: CSW
Extremists attacked the Christian community in Al-Fawakher village in Minya Province, Upper Egypt, following rumours that they were planning to build a church.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) sources report that several homes and properties belonging to Christians in the village were destroyed on 23 April, and that local police and firefighters, led by the deputy governor and the head of the police department in Minya, acted quickly to contain the situation.
The police have launched an operation seeking to arrest the instigators of the violence, including those who spread rumours online about plans to construct a church.
CSW's Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: "CSW condemns the latest sectarian attack in Upper Egypt that comes as the Coptic Orthodox community prepares to celebrate Easter. An unacceptable culture of intimidation and discrimination is still far too prevalent in this region despite positive steps taken by the Egyptian authorities in recent years, and the personal commitment of President Sisi to fight sectarian extremism and promote equality of citizenship. Egyptian citizens should all be free to practice any religion or belief of their choosing without fear of threats or physical violence. We commend the swift intervention by the local authorities, and urge the government of Egypt to continue to tackle extremism, sectarian hatred and incitement, ensuring an end to policies and practices which create division between communities."
In a separate development, the Egyptian government issued a memorandum designating Sunday 5 and Monday 6 May as bank holidays to celebrate Labour Day, which falls on 1 May. The memorandum has sparked outrage amongst the Coptic Orthodox community for ignoring Orthodox Easter Sunday, which falls on 5 May.
Coptic activists suggested to CSW that the move may be intended to appease Egypt's Salafi Muslim community, who consider recognising Easter to be sinful, as it defies the mainstream Islamic doctrine which denies Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide is a human rights organisation specialising in freedom of religion or belief. We work in over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. See: http://www.csw.org.uk