The Buckingham Herald Tribblog

We'll be meeting at our usual meeting place at the Arlington Oaks Community Center located at 4490 N. Pershing Drive.

We've confirmed the developer for American Service Center to discuss their project under review located on the east side of N. Glebe Road. We'll also provide updates of various projects around the neighborhood.

Next week's meeting will also include an update from Rolda Nedd, one of Arlington County's planners, to discuss future community needs. We're asking Buckingham residents to take this opportunity to weigh-in on community needs through this survey (click here).

I hope to see you at next week's meeting.

Thanks,

Patrick Hope
President, BCCA

Labels: asc, BCCA, hud

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 10:05 AM 0 comments

The first event in the Bethel United Church of Christ “Change the World” program started by looking close to home: the Buckingham neighborhood. With a revitalization grant from the national UCC, the local church kicked off the program with an open house, inviting the community, especially people from the Buckingham Outreach Center, and Patrick Hope, the president of the Buckingham Community Civic Association.

Mr. Hope gave a presentation “Buckingham—Its Past and Future.”

“I didn’t talk about the present, because there is no present in Buckingham,” Mr. Hope said near the start of his speech in front of about 50 people, a healthy mix of English and Spanish speakers.

People sat on folding chairs in the church basement and lunched on finger sandwiches, sodas, coffee and deserts [The tuna with sweet relish sandwiches were particularly good –ST.]

The neighborhood is constantly changing, Mr. Hope said, and anything he said today about the present Buckingham would not be accurate tomorrow. His presentation included a summarized history of the BCCA, the key points of the Neighborhood Strategy Area plan which is a sort of planning blueprint for the community (improved lighting, sidewalks and pedestrian safety are among the concerns there), and future projects in and around the neighborhood (such as the American Service Center and Mosaic Park redevelopments).

Buckingham Outreach Center Director Connie Freeman acted as a translator. The center operates out of a couple conjoined apartments in the Gates of Ballston complex. It serves the social service and other needs of Gates residents and others. She said in an interview that this was first time the church had asked the center to participate in an event. Quite a few people from the center attended.

The church, on the northeast corner of N. George Mason Drive at Arlington Blvd., was formed in the 1940s and many members talked about how it was, and is, a community church, a church most congregants used to walk to, though most now are drawn from all over Arlington and nearby communities.

“We’re happy to have this connection to the Buckingham Community, and we hope it continues,” said Reverend Dr. Don Smith, the interim pastor of the small church of about 40 members.

“Right now, we’re a fairly small congregation, but we’re building up,” said member Art Lipman.

The “Change the World” program is part of the national UCC’s vision that puts thoughts to social action, according to the Web site ucc.org. The local church has a dediction to changing the world that goes beyond Buckingham.

Bethel Church, along with La Luz Verdadera Iglesia—they share the church building on Arlington Blvd.—created the Vision of God Clinic in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, a impoverished city on the Pacific coast.

According to church materials, the clinic provides medical care, professionals and supplies, along with educational materials from a church basement in San Luis Talpa.

Associate Pastor Rev. Carolyn Richar said she wants to see this clinic well-established before the church takes on another international project. She was credited by many members as instrumental in the formation of the clinic.

Rev. Richar said this is the first event in a series that will continue into September.

Although Mr. Hope is running for the Virginia House of Delegates, the church was clear that he was invited only in his official capacity as BCCA president.

Labels: BCCA, bethel, san luis talpa, ucc

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:36 PM 0 comments

On Sunday, April 19, Bethel Church is hosting a “Buckingham Neighborhood Open House” from 10a.m. until 2p.m.

At 11:30, Patrick Hope, President of the Buckingham Community Civic Association, will give a presentation on “Changes in Buckingham.”

This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to learn more about the future of our neighborhood – and to meet our neighbors. Many neighborhood organizations have also been invited to attend and will be available to answer questions and provide literature about their services.

All are invited to attend Bethel’s 10:00a.m. Worship Service, with special music provided by the 16-piece “Strings Ensemble,” followed by a Neighborhood Welcome Reception at 11:00a.m. and the presentation at 11:30.

Bethel Church will also offer tours of the building, which is designated as an Emergency Shelter for the Buckingham neighborhood.

Bethel Church is located at 4347 Arlington Blvd. (Northeast corner of Arlington Blvd & George Mason Dr). Free parking is available in the Red Cross parking lot next door (access to lot off Trenton or Arlington Blvd). Church driveways are reserved for those with special needs. Bethel Church is handicap accessible. (Those who park in the Arlington Oaks Condominium lot next door to the church will be towed.)

For more information about the event, call Bethel’s main office at (703)528-0937. Please plan to attend and bring your neighbors.

Labels: BCCA, bethel, Buckingham, church

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:17 AM 0 comments

Labels: BCCA

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 10:12 AM 2 comments

I would like to give credit to Pat Hope, president of BCCA [Buckingham Community Civic Association], who was handing out sample ballots at 7 a.m. when the early risers went to vote. I will say the gym was pretty empty but a few of us voted before work.

Ilene Gerber

Labels: BCCA, letter

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 10:54 AM 0 comments