Tabor Presbyterian Church Breaks Ground on Fellowship Hall

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The building committee, left to right: architect Bruce Wardell, Rev. Jewell-Ann Parton, Kurt Keesecker, Henry Chiles, Dave Priddy, Ed Smith, Joe Jones and Don McElwee
The building committee, left to right: architect Bruce Wardell, Rev. Jewell-Ann Parton, Kurt Keesecker, Henry Chiles, Dave Priddy, Ed Smith, Joe Jones and Don McElwee

Tabor Presbyterian Church broke ground on its new fellowship hall April 10, with Henry Chiles, chair of the building committee, firmly sinking a shovel into the turf on the east side of the church.

“The church wanted something that would fit in with the sanctuary, the crown jewel of the property,” said architect Bruce Wardell, who designed the new hall. “We deferred to that. It had to be simple and set back from the road.” The new 6,700- square-foot, split-level building will include two small classrooms, a kitchen and an area he termed flex-space. The main space will accommodate 120 people, he said, and have a grade-level entrance on its east side. It will connect to the church through an enclosed arcade. It will have crenellation features on its roofline to tie it in with the appearance of the church.

“It will be handicapped-accessible and accommodate more people and allow us to do more outreach to the community,” said Rev. Jewell-Ann Parton. “The new building will show what a great congregation this is. I feel the presence of God in this church. We have experienced healing miracles. We are a prayerful church and God has answered our prayers.”

The congregation fluctuates at around 100 members, she said. Planning for the new space began in 2008 under the direction of the late Herbert Pickford, a highly esteemed Circuit Court judge for Albemarle County.

Architectural rendering of Tabor Presbyterian’s new fellowship hall
Architectural rendering of Tabor Presbyterian’s new fellowship hall