Through a Trinity LEMO (Lenten Easter Mission Offering) grant, the Called Up program spent a week this summer doing Superstorm Sandy relief in Long Island, NY. Anne Marie Blackmon writes about that experience:
“What will you tell people about the mission trip?”
When asked this question one young lady replied, “a LOT!”
After wrestling with the question myself, I concluded a week on a mission trip is about as close to heaven on earth as one can get.
We rose before 7am, ate, did chores, packed lunches, loaded tools and water coolers, and drove to work sites. On site we worked and we worked hard. We used porta-potties, wore helmets and goggles and got filthy. We took short showers in a trailer and rarely had free time because the half-mile drive from the showers back to our living quarters took too long in NY traffic. We ate dinner, went to worship, visited with new friends and dropped off to sleep on air mattresses in a church basement each night at 11pm. Then we rose the next day and did it all over again. How can that be heaven on earth?
Because we were all there with one common purpose- to serve someone else. Our mission team became a little community where personal needs and personal space weren’t nearly as important as serving God and others. It was a community where friends got out of their air mattresses at 5am to pray for us as we headed back to Richmond. Selfishness was put aside for selflessness. It seems to me that’s what heaven is like.
Thank you Trinity United Methodist Church for grant funds to make the trip to NY. Thank you Mary Hetzel for introducing so many of us to the Micah initiative and each other. Thank you Bob Argabright for answering the call to read with second graders for an hour a week so many years ago and for your to tireless commitment to the Oak Grove community ever since. It is Bob who pulled together this special team of young women. Without the financial support and spiritual encouragement from the Trinity congregation, Mary and Bob this trip may not have happened. You are good and faithful disciples and we will honor you by trying to be the same.
On Friday, January 20, Trinity’s Bob Argabright was honored by House Joint Resolution No. 662 presented to the General Assembly.
The text of the resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, for more than a decade, Robert S. Argabright II has served as a trusted mentor to the students of Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School through his dedicated volunteer work with the Micah Initiative; and
WHEREAS, desirous to be of service to their fellow Richmond residents, Robert “Bob” S. Argabright II, a retired executive with the Chesapeake Corporation, and other members of Trinity United Methodist Church began volunteering through the Micah Initiative; and
WHEREAS, the Micah Initiative connects church congregations and public schools in Richmond, creating opportunities for members of the community to enrich the lives of students through tutoring, mentoring, or other volunteer work; and
WHEREAS, Bob Argabright began his work with the Micah Initiative by reading to elementary school students, and he now volunteers at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School for 30 to 40 hours each week; and
WHEREAS, Bob Argabright coordinates with the principal and faculty of Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School to ensure that the school’s needs are met, and he has inspired other members of the community to volunteer their time in similar ways; and
WHEREAS, in addition to organizing athletic events and field trips, Bob Argabright helped create and maintains a butterfly garden at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School, giving students a peaceful place to enjoy and appreciate nature; and
WHEREAS, Bob Argabright has also worked to ensure that students arrive at school safely each day, holding a bicycle drive that provided bicycles to 200 students and advocating for a safe corridor for children who walk to school; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, Bob Argabright supported the creation of the Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School Green Team; the team worked with Virginia Commonwealth University students and Groundwork RVA, a youth leadership organization, to learn multiple aspects of filmmaking and produce a short film on successful members of the community; and
WHEREAS, the Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School Green Team has also worked on board games addressing issues like food deserts, stereotyping, and the environment, and it plans to establish a recycling program and a community garden or urban farm to help make the community greener and cleaner; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Robert S. Argabright II for his dedicated service to the students of Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Robert S. Argabright II as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his devotion to supporting students in Richmond.
Bob has worked on behalf of Trinity’s “Trinity in Richmond” ministry, especially with his work with the community of Oak Grove – Bellemeade School, including the systems which that community involves. We congratulate Bob on this recognition for his self-less servant leadership on Trinity’s behalf.
Trinity’s 4th and 5th grade students spent their week at Surf Shack Vacation Bible School working on a project to help others. Alongside their leaders and volunteers, this crew planned, built, and painted birdhouses for Oak Grove Elementary.
Once their project was complete, the 4th & 5th graders had a great visit delivering the houses they made to the school. The group was able to tour the school and neighborhood, seeing the Minifee house, the old school, the grounds, the school, Afton Court & Jefferson Trace, as well as Central UMC.
Trinity partners with Oak Grove Elementary and the Bellemeade community in many different ways, check out some of these other projects HERE.
Trinity is grateful to all of those who helped with this bird house project and to all of the volunteers and families who spent the week with us for VBS! Look for a full 2016 Surf Shack Vacation Bible School wrap up soon!
Micah partners at Oak Grove – Bellemeade Elementary School met Monday, June 12 at Trinity to fill gift bags for 85 5th grade students for their special Moving On Celebration. Volunteers from River Road UMC; River Road Church, Baptist; Second Baptist, South Richmond; Trinity UMC; and Tuckahoe Presbyterian provided the gift items to wish our students well as they make the big transition to middle school. Delivery of the bags took place Wednesday, June 14 while the students are out for lunch at Golden Corral.
On Tuesday, August 22 we delivered school supplies for second through fifth grades at Oak Grove Elementary School. Last spring, the teachers gave us a list of items they knew they would need for their classrooms, and through your generosity, we were able to provide all of them! We caught up with a number of our wonderful teachers as we delivered the supplies. They were all organizing their rooms and working on plans to welcome students in a few short weeks. We look forward to working with them throughout the school year. Volunteers from River Road UMC also were there delivering much needed supplies for kindergarten and first grade.
Trinity has served as a Micah partner at Oak Grove since 2004. We have had the pleasure of following a number of our graduates through high school and beyond. Working with these vibrant students in South Richmond has been a challenging and rewarding opportunity. We welcome your participation in this ministry. Whether you serve as a weekly Literacy Team volunteer or classroom aide or participate in one of our many “Done in a Day” projects, your work is of great value.
Watch for our Oak Grove Volunteer Brochure in the Welcome Center and follow opportunities in The Trinity Connection. Join the fun and make a difference in the lives of our students.
Thank you for your overwhelming generosity and for being a part of such a wonderfully caring faith community! Karen Adams for the Oak Grove Team
On Friday, January 20, Trinity’s Bob Argabright was honored by House Joint Resolution No. 662 presented to the General Assembly.
