DATE: Monday, September 29, 1997            TAG: 9709290033

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SERIES: Portsmouth: Turning It Around 

SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  162 lines

PORTSMOUTH CHURCHES JOIN FORCES COMMUNITY SPIRIT, COLLABORATION AT WORK TO SOLVE SOCIAL PROBLEMS.

Picture three dozen ministers in procession, young and old, black and white, dressed in the robes and vestments of various denominations.

Call it the picture of diversity.

Following the ministers, an even larger number of lay people march in, many wearing black and white to show they are one in mission.

Call it the look of unity.

Throw in the blended voices of a mass choir dressed in the robes of churches across the city.

Call it all the Jeremiah Summit.

That's the plan.

Come Sunday, the Jeremiah Project will call in the faithful for a citywide summit on what churches can do to help the city.

They already know there is plenty that can be done.

A new stage of welfare reform begins Wednesday. Some people will need help finding jobs. Some children will need after-school care. Some struggling minimum-wage earners will need transportation.

The Jeremiah Project is about partnerships. It's about what could happen if a small city with an unusually large number of churches found a way to harness all that positive energy into solving Portsmouth's problems.

``It's been wonderful to see the relationships evolve,'' said Sister Anna Mae Crane, facilitator for the Jeremiah Project. ``I think the real work begins after Oct. 5, and it's really the collaboration between churches and also working together with agencies and programs already in existence.''

If this approach to tackling a city's problems sounds like someone's pie-in-the-sky notion of blind faith, tell that to those involved with the project.

In just a few short months, clergy who never had met are breaking bread together and calling each other by first name.

That in itself is not too far from a miracle, given the many years that Portsmouth ministerial organizations have been split along racial lines.

At a recent lunch, these ministers sat side by side at tables, many of them weighing in on last-minute plans for the Jeremiah Summit.

There is no disagreement, just a tangible excitement, as one idea leads to another.

The Rev. N. LaMonte Newsome of Mount Hermon Baptist Temple makes the suggestion that ministers come to the summit dressed in their robes or vestments.

``I just think it's important that the community see a presence,'' he explains.

``And diversity,'' adds the Rev. Geoffrey Hahneman of Trinity Episcopal Church.

``I just really think it's going to do something to touch people's hearts,'' Newsome says.

During the meeting, Sister Crane points to a map on the wall she has used to mark the location of each church involved in the project. The Jeremiah Project started with half a dozen ministers seven months ago and has grown to more than 30. Lay people already are involved, too. The ecumenical coalition hopes to see the numbers swell even more as a result of the summit.

``If you look at this map, it looks like, really, the churches are taking over the city of Portsmouth,'' she said.

Sister Crane, affiliated with the Sisters of Bon Secours, showed up in Portsmouth about a year ago and began knocking on church doors.

She had been involved in a similar coalition in Phoenix. About 37 ministers there had been able to work with the city on everything from after-school programs to summer jobs for young people.

But Sister Crane is quick to back away from any credit for starting the coalition.

``I think it was just a matter of the time,'' she said. ``Everything was just right. Everybody was ready.''

One of the most rewarding aspects so far has been watching the relationships evolve among ministers, she said.

The Rev. Joel Palser of Liberty New Testament Church in Churchland agrees.

His involvement in the Jeremiah Project has meant going to meetings at churches all over the city and has introduced him to neighborhoods he otherwise might never have seen.

``I think, for me, personally, I'd be embarrassed not to stand with it,'' he said.

He estimates that 50 to 60 people from his congregation will attend the summit, helping with everything from ushering to directing cars to parking spaces.

The Rev. Vernon Lee of New Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Cavalier Manor expects to have 60 members in the mass choir alone.

Like the city's Crime Summit, the Jeremiah Summit will begin with a mass gathering in Willett Hall, with people breaking up into smaller workshops in the adjoining Hunt-Mapp Middle School.

The Rev. Matt Matthews of Simonsdale Presbyterian Church is in charge of surveys that are being conducted to find out what churches in the city already are doing. A goal of the Jeremiah Project is to come up with a directory of ministries and resources.

There will be exhibits to showcase some of those ministries. People at the summit who see or hear about something they would like to get involved in can sign commitment cards that day.

The real work, Sister Crane pointed out at the last planning meeting, comes after the summit.

``This is a sacred moment,'' she told the ministers and church leaders. ``I can't imagine it's going to be the same after Oct. 5.''

Palser will give the prayer of confession at the summit.

``That is the place we have to stand up and say we're sorry we probably haven't been as vocal about life in our city as we should have,'' Palser said. ``We've maybe left that to the government or to social agencies.''

Palser says he believes those agencies now are pleading with churches and synagogues to help.

``If we don't answer that call, God help us.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MARK MITCHELL/The Virginian Pilot

The Rev. Geoffrey Hahneman of Trinity Episcopal Church talks during

a planning meeting for the Jeremiah Project.

Graphic

GATHERING

THE JEREMIAH PROJECT is a growing interdenominational coalition

of ministers in Portsmouth that takes its name and philosophy from

this Old Testament Scripture:

Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you, and pray to

the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your own.

- Jeremiah 29:7

THE JEREMIAH SUMMIT, set for Sunday, is the organization's first

citywide summit to bring together ministers, churches and other

concerned citizens and organizations in the Jeremiah Project's

ongoing effort to meet the needs of Portsmouth.

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

The Jeremiah Summit will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at

Willett Hall, 3701 Willett Drive.

Nine workshops will be offered, so churches are encouraged to

send enough people to sit in on all of them.

The schedule:

Explanation of Jeremiah Project, 3 p.m.

Worship, 3:10 p.m.

Workshops and exhibits, 4 p.m.

Reflection, 5:30 p.m.

Workshops:

Re-weaving the Net - Presentation on pending changes in welfare

and impact on Portsmouth residents. Discussion of how individuals

and churches can help.

Mentoring - Opportunities for individuals and churches to work

with projects such as literacy programs, vocational counseling

and parenting skills.

Taking Back Our Community - Discussion of the role of prayer and

relevant biblical texts in regard to meeting the needs of the poor.

Suggestions on how to organize common prayer and Bible study.

Sheltering the Homeless - Discussion of the work churches are

doing now and how to become involved.

Hunger - Discussion of current feeding programs, resources and

how to contribute or organize assistance.

Guide to Community Resources for Pastors - Discussion of

ministries, programs and resources pastors should know about.

Effective Parenting Models - Ways to assist struggling parents,

including parenting classes, family support and Mother's Day Out

programs.

Laity Involvement - Several models of church ministry efforts

will be shared.

Senior Adults - Available resources and other ways to meet the

needs of older residents, including building ministries targeting

senior citizens.

Exhibits: Twenty-six agencies and programs ranging from the

Portsmouth Area Resources Coalition and Christian Hotline to

hospices and the Crisis Pregnancy Center.

- Janie Bryant

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