All Souls Presbyterian shares its North Side sanctuary with new nondenominational ministry
Jeremy M. Lazarus | 11/5/2020, 6 p.m.
Sharing space with other ministries.
That is the formula that 68-year-old All Souls Presbyterian Church in North Side is using to keep its doors open.
The church at 19 Overbrook Road became a new home last weekend for services for the New Generation Church RVA led by husband-and-wife Michael and Danielle Hathaway.
New Generation held its first, in-person 11 a.m. service in All Souls’ remodeled sanctuary last Sunday. The nondenominational church proudly talks up its informal ways, noting those who come can “wear whatever you want, drink coffee in the sanctuary and be free to be yourself.”
All Souls Elder John S. “Johnny” Walker said the Presbyterian congregation that was born in 1952 is holding virtual services at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays, with the Rev. Reuben Turner, a Baptist minister, officiating and preaching.
He said the arrangement will continue when All Souls resumes its 9:30 a.m. in-person services.
He said All Souls had been in discussions with New Generation for some time, and the new arrangement is work- ing out for both congregations. He noted a volunteer landscaper who belongs to New Generation pruned the bushes and mowed the grass recently to spruce up the church grounds.
All Souls previously rented upper-floor office space to Into the Neighborhood, a ministry led by community organizer Marti Williams that works to create a support network to assist addicts in recovery, inmates returning from jails and prisons and others in need.
