Florence Ridderhof was one of the first chairperson’s of the Micah Board of Directors. Now, 94, she still cares for Micah neighbors through weekly volunteering at the Hospitality Center. Recently she has been weaving prayers from the Micah Churches into a tapestry that will eventually hang in the community center at Jeremiah Community.
Weaving a Tapestry of Love
“I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery.” ~ Colossians 2:2
Between the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and Easter Sunday, Micah has taken great care to reflect each year on what it means to be the church in Fredericksburg. In nearly 20 years, we have evolved from helping people survive on the street into a wholistic continuum of compassion, which also addresses housing, income development, health care, basic needs, spiritual support and community.
In celebration of our ministry this season, the downtown churches have been collecting prayers that are being woven into a giant tapestry, which will hang in the community center of our planned Jeremiah Community–a supportive neighborhood being built for our neighbors overcoming homelessness. We have land and are in the process of filing for a rezoning. The three-phase development, when built out, will include 189 small single family homes and duplexes, an apartment building, and a variety of amenities (I.e. community center, maker’s space, market, garden, etc.) aimed at supporting the needs of neighbors living there in the place that they live.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul agonizes that the church of his time is forgetting the fundamental truth about Jesus. False prophets, he warns, may persuade people to take the easy route; but the cross requires more. There is a chasm between human concerns and the concerns of God. The church is meant to fill the void—to share one another’s sufferings and continue the work that Christ began. Therein, the imagery of a tapestry is how he articulates God’s desire to be in relationship with us, and us with one another.
The prayers offered up by out congregations and community are an acknowledgement of how the church of this time has sought to fill the void in Fredericksburg, weaving our neighbors back into the tapestry of love and creating opportunities for the gifts of the whole community to be present in their lives.
If you would like to offer up a prayer to for the ways our community continues to work together to love God and neighbor in Fredericksburg, there is still time to have it woven into a tapestry of love. Drop by the Micah Center at 1013 Princess Anne St. Monday to Wednesday or Friday, 10am to 2pm to get a piece of fabric and a pen. Or cut a strip of fabric at home (approximately 15.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide). Drop it off or mail to P.O. Box 3277 Fredericksburg, VA 22402.
Holy Week Observance in the Micah Community
Serving Up Spring
Be part of Micah’s tapestry of love
Share your hands, heart and feet with us as we cultivate a continuum of compassion. Volunteer Orientations are first and third Fridays. Contact [email protected]
Send some of the things our neighbors need most this Spring and Summer. Buy in bulk or single items. All sizes needed. Click the wish list to help!
Join the Micah Community in celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King on the anniversary of his assassination. On this evening, we will honor two “drum majors for justice” who have meant something to the Fredericksburg community.
• Sonny Holmes, who has championed the story of 27 black students, who were not allowed to attend their graduation from Walker Grant High School in 1950 because of the Jim Crow South.
• Bill Botts, who has given his life to providing legal aid to the poor, immigrant, unhoused and otherwise marginalized neighbor.
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( Meeting ID: 865 1108 5999 Passcode: 22401 )