In March 2021, Central donated three books to each of the 303 students at Lincoln Terrace Elementary School.  Yes, that means Central donated over 900 books at a cost of $3 to $5 each.  It was important that the children have three books each to take home as their own books. This was an important educational gift because, unlike most folks in our congregation, many of these students do not have books of their own at home.   Central also donated approximately 50 books to the school library and another 50 books for the teachers’ classrooms. The books purchased intentionally contained diverse characters and topics and were reading level appropriate for each child.  Central worked closely with the school librarian, who was instrumental in recommending the books.  Central was able to purchase the books through the Lincoln Terrace’s Scholastic book fair, which also provided their library with Scholastic book credits for the purchase of additional books.

This was Central’s second donation of books to the students of Lincoln Terrace!  In December 2020, Central partnered with Loudon Avenue Christian Church to send every one of Lincoln Terrace’s 300 students’ home for winter break with a gift bag with three racially diverse and reading level appropriate books and some small toys.

Why is Central involved in this project?  The Witness Team and the Reading with Santa Team were alerted to the pandemic’s dramatic effect on already-struggling reading skills of children in low-income homes and schools.  With knowledge gained from Central’s educational book studies on racial wealth disparities and educational disparities, these teams put together this project to spark a love of reading in the students at Lincoln Terrace Elementary School, a school with a largely Black and low-income student population.  Some of the children did not have any books of their own at home, unlike most of us.  Knowing the fundamental value of reading, and that if you can read well and have an interest in reading, you can achieve great results in school and in life, the teams chose to focus on giving books to promote reading.

Central, through its Witness Team and other volunteers, intends for this to be an ongoing project to promote reading and increase reading achievement by giving books to all the students, as well as adding to the school’s library and classroom collections. The characters and themes of the books represent a diverse background to reflect the school’s student population.  Central hopes to include Hurt Park Elementary School in our book gifting in the next year.

We have received thank-you letters from the school staff. We also received thank you notes from some of the students, too, which are on display on the bulletin board in the sanctuary entrance hall.

Contributions are welcome!

The Race Education Team was formed in 2019 with the combined interest of congregational members, Jennie Waering and Eric Anspaugh, who discovered they were both on the same journey of understanding the reality of white privilege and a growing interest and desire to become anti-racist and to further educate others. The team has since grown to include congregational member, Chuck Hite who brings additional awareness and insight to the outreach effort of the Team. Our Pastor, Kevin Kinsey, supports and is involved in this important ministry of social justice.

The Race Education Team initiated and drafted language for Central’s Statement on Racism. The Race Education Team was instrumental in forming The Virlina Church of the Brethren Race Education Team for the Virlina District which provides a means of engaging and seeking to educate the 90 plus congregations of the District and their members in understanding race and racism. Additionally the Central Church of the Brethren Race Education Team has begun a dialogue between Black and White churches in Roanoke about the steps that need to be taken to develop a meaningful process for delivering church-based reparations to the Black community that will include conducting focus groups and surveys in the Black community.

If you are interested in hearing more about Central’s Race Education Team, please email CentralRaceEducationTeam@gmail.com.

It began as a small church study group interested in exploring issues around hunger in the Roanoke Valley. Topics eventually expanded to include poverty, homelessness, social justice, and stewardship of the earth’s resources. The Hunger Group turned its attention to the neighborhood elementary school, Highland Park, where it began food, clothing and school supply drives, volunteering as school mentors, and sponsoring teacher morale meals, teacher appreciation gifts and Christmas gifts for students. It joined with local churches to form Congregations in Action, which organized a Pack-A-Snack program to send food home for the weekend with more than 50 children identified as nutritionally at-risk.

After years of study and prayer, the group adopted the name Faith in Action (FIA) and decided to focus its efforts on addressing child hunger and homelessness in the city. FIA began providing fresh fruit to add to the Pack-A-Snack bags sent home with children. It soon took its first referral from a local agency to help a homeless family with children attending Highland Park. It helped find the family housing and defrayed the costs of food, rent, utility fees, a car and clothing as the parents searched for jobs. That family never had to return to a homeless shelter and the children are now grown and independent.

The experience taught FIA that while it could not solve hunger and homelessness for the entire world, it could make a major difference in the life of a single family in Roanoke. Since then, FIA has worked with six additional families for extended periods and numerous families needing temporary help with utilities, rent, travel, glasses, dentures, auto repairs, daycare fees, cell phones and even a suit for high school graduation. To learn more about Faith in Action, click the following link for a 11-minute video that highlights some of its work.

Years ago, Central was looking for a way to make an impact on the community, particularly the City of Roanoke near the church building. We learned about the West End Center, a non-profit that provides academic enrichment, wellness programs and social skills development to children and youth in the West End neighborhood. Among its accomplishments are a decrease in teen pregnancy among those who participate in its programs. We have been regular contributors ever since, including tithing the rental income received by the church. We have supplied tutors, too. It is a great organization, and we are happy that we help!

Reading with Santa was a decade-long partnership between Central and Child Health Investment Partnership (CHIP) where our congregation hosted about 100 children and their families for breakfast, story time, a craft, a free book, and a picture with Santa in December.

In 1976, Lou Wilson saw a report of a woman who was tearing apart furniture to burn in her stove to keep her children warm. Working with the Salvation Army, he started a program called “Project Warm” to deliver firewood in the Richmond area to families without money to heat their homes. Lou’s son and grandson, Marc and Jonathan, expanded the program to the Roanoke/Salem area. Now called the Salvation Army “Wood Heat Program”, volunteers from Central and other churches gather on Saturday mornings during cold weather at a woodlot in Salem to saw logs, load trucks and deliver firewood to homes heated with firewood. A few hours a week can warm not only homes but hearts!

The CROP Hunger Walk is a nationwide movement sponsored by Church World Service to raise funds to end hunger and poverty in the U.S. and around the world. Hundreds of religious groups, businesses, schools and others organize local Walk events in their communities each year, while others join the National Walk and choose their own location and experience. Central has participated in the CROP Walk for over 30 years by walking and contributing. The Roanoke Valley support comes primarily from churches, and we value working with other faith-based groups for a common cause.