August 20, 2020
New Gardening Club sprouts this summer!
What a delight it is to volunteer at Abundant Life! I began two years ago, soon after my husband and I moved to Charlottesville to a home near Johnson Elementary, where Abundant Life offers after school tutoring and a Bible Club. These students challenge me and have created a special place in my heart. Sowing the seeds of a gardening club In Jeremiah 29:7 the exiles were encouraged to pray for...
May 19, 2020
Fellows Reflection: Introducing grief to gratitude
Right now, we all have much to grieve. The world aches as COVID-19 has brought everything, it seems, to a grinding halt. The economy suffers, people get sick and die. Our essential workers put their lives on the line each day, and we are all scared and confused. Abundant Life Fellows has been no exception to the rule of grief: our programming effectively stopped in mid-March as closures and...
April 21, 2020
Fellows Reflection: “A Year Ago”
A year ago, if you had told me I would be studying for the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) and taking it in two short months, I would have called you crazy. A year ago, I committed to join the inaugural Abundant Life Fellows Program and move to Charlottesville in August. A year ago, I was hoping that by the time I graduated from Penn State University, I would have more clarity on what my...
March 5, 2020
Fellows Reflection: Jonathan Knabe
My time in Prospect over the past six months has been quite impactful and transformative. Having previously been involved with Christian community development work for two years in Church Hill, Richmond through East End Fellowship, I somewhat knew what I was getting into. It has been difficult to learn more and more about the systemic problems that neighborhoods like Prospect have faced for...
January 29, 2020
Prospect students learn and dream on Martin Luther King Day
On January 20, first through eighth grade students from the Prospect neighborhood gathered at the Abundant Life house for activities to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. First, we shared in a pizza lunch together while watching the film Our Friend, Martin. This film explored the issues of segregation and racism during MLK’s time while examining the strides that have been made since then. The...
January 16, 2020
Fellows Reflection: Katy Correa
Each month, a member of the Abundant Life Fellows 2019-20 Class will be sharing a personal reflection on our blog. This month we hear from Katy. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” - 1 John 4:18-19 Love. One word that holds so much weight. That...