The City and Congregation Workgroup
Meeting Highlights
- First Meeting
Charlottesville, VA
July 2, 2002 - Second Meeting
Charlottesville, VA
September 27, 2002 - Third Meeting
Los Angeles, CA
November 6 - 10, 2002 - Fourth Meeting
Charlottesville, VA
February 7, 2003 - Fifth Meeting
Charlottesville, VA
March 7, 2003 - Sixth Meeting
Charlottesville, VA
May 1, 2003
Purpose
The City and Congregation Workgroup is a local (Charlottesville, Virginia) group of pastors, community practitioners, theologians and graduate students.
"Frommer's Cities Ranked & Rated 2004," rated Charlottesville the "#1 Best City to Live" in the United States and Canada. The Workgroup decided, during the summer of 2004, to explore what the best city to live in the United States would look like from a theological perspective. To that end, the group met, from the summer of 2004 to the spring of 2006, to discuss and try to address the affordable housing crisis in Charlottesville.
During that time, the group consisted of the following people: Rev. Brian VanderWel, Christ Episcopal Church; Beth VanderWel, Christ Episcopal Church; Rydell Payne, Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries; Peter Slade, Trinity Episcopal Church, PhD candidate, University of Virginia; Jenny McBride, PhD candidate, University of Virginia; Ashley Diaz, Masters student, University of Virginia; Griff Gatewood, Piedmont Housing Alliance; Bekah Menning, Project Manager, Project on Lived Theology; Charles Marsh, Director, Project on Lived Theology). Consultants to the group during that period were: Karen Waters, Quality Community Council; Joy Johnson, Public Housing Association of Residents; Corey Walker, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, UVa; Theresa Sirois, law student, UVa; Rob Schilling, Charlottesville City Council Member; Judy Drayer, Charlottesville Realtor and member of Christ Episcopal Church; John Evans, Director of Accommodations for the UVa Housing Division, and; Mark Doherty, Chief Housing Officer for UVa.
In January of 2006, using information gleaned from our consultants and conversations on the problem of affordable housing, the workgroup started drafting a document for local churches to use as a resource in thinking about the affordable housing crisis in Charlottesville beyond. Though the group disbanded prior to finalizing a draft (due to most members moving away from Charlottesville over the summer), its last draft is posted below, and is intended to be used by local churches and other groups as a resource to build upon. View the document.
From July 2002 to May 2003 the City and Congregation Workgroup explored the role of lived theological commitment in the city of Charlottesville, through historical analysis, Biblical reflection, site visits, conversations with community leaders and activists, readings and presentations. Participants, consultants and meeting highlights are as follows:
Participants
- Rev. Dr. Bruce Beard, First Baptist Church West Main
- Rev. Gardenia Beard, Central Virginia Baptist Association
- Rev. Brian and Beth Vander Wel, Christ Episcopal Church
- Rydell and Hope Payne, Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries
- Rev. Richard Wills, PhD candidate, University of Virginia
- Laura Brown, Peace and Justice Minister, Church of the Incarnation
- Dr. Nicole Hurd, St. Thomas Aquinas Church
- George Telford, Director, Institute for Reformed Theology, Union Theological Seminary
- Peter Slade, Trinity Episcopal Church, PhD candidate, University of Virginia
- Jenny McBride, Masters student, University of Virginia
- John Kiess, Workgroup Director
- Charles Marsh, Director, Project on Lived Theology
Consultants
- Karen Waters, Director, Quality Community Council
- Joe Szakos, Virginia Organizing Project
- Audrey Oliver, Piedmont Housing Association of Residents
- Renae Nadine Shackelford, Purdue University
- James Robert Saunders, Purdue University
- Reginald Alexander Johnson, Pilgim Baptist Church
- Mary Bauer, Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers