Hopes for Harless Center

I've always liked to dream about what I would do if I won the lottery.  Lots of people do this and lots and lots of us have plans for when we win.  It’s fun to think about, and doesn't cost a thing to dream.  I love listening to someone describe what they would do, build a house, or travel to every continent.  Somebody has to win it sometime; so maybe it will be me.   It would help if I bought a ticket now and then, because I know this dream is never going to come true if I don’t.    Dreaming is fun to do, but making dreams happen is much harder.

Seven years ago a group of us sat around a table and started dreaming.  What would we do if we owned the Central school property?  What would we build on that space, how could we use it to make an impact on the community, how could it benefit the church, the daycare?  As you can imagine we had lots of ideas, big ideas, small ideas and lots and lots of crazy ideas and dreams.  We laughed at many, thought about a lot of them, and worked to make a plan.  The two things that we wanted were a playground for the child development center and a place for students to grow and explore their faith.  We talked to other people who got excited about our dream, AND we talked with others who said our dream was crazy and would never happen.  There were times when we thought our dream was so close, only to realize that what we dreamed of couldn't work as we thought, and we had to start all over again.  Yet our group kept working, kept praying, and kept the dream alive. We realized that the bend in the road was not the end of the road; it just led to new things.  

We aren't done working yet.  We still have money to raise, decisions to make, leases to be signed and more dreaming to do, but things are starting to happen.  It is exciting!  I can’t wait to see what happens in the next 18 months; it’s going to be amazing!

Sharon Portaro, Director of Presbyterian Child Development Center

Ex-Officio Member Harless Center Board of Directors

Playground site taking shape

We are excited to see the new space for the playground beginning to take shape on the former parking lot at First Presbyterian Church.  The lot has been demolished  the land has been graded and seeded, and the fence has been installed.  

In 2007 First Presbyterian Church, Morgantown became aware that the neighboring Central School property was going to be sold.   The church appointed a task force to discern the best course of action based on the impending sale, because the Presbyterian Child Development Center had leased space from the Board of Education on that property for its playground.  As the hope and vision of the task force grew, a non-profit board, formerly Westminster House now Harless Center, was formed and expanded the scope of the project to ensure not only a long term plan for the daycare playground, but also to bring faith based housing to the WVU community.    First Presbyterian Church purchased the Central School property in 2008 and has been working with financial institutions and developers to bring about this vision in a financially sustainable way.  

The board has persevered over the years to bring to fruition not only a financially sustainable project, but also a project that continues to bring forth the vision of student housing and a new playground for the daycare.  We are blessed to have found local developers who are developing and overseeing property management for the student housing, and local developers to serve as consultants to the project.  We are also excited to see a new, improved, playground for the daycare developed on church property.  We are raising money to ensure the first three years of programming are fully funded (staffing, furnishing, meals, etc), and so that we can complete the land developed for the playground.  

Playground equipment/toys and surfacing is included in the $3.5 million campaign goal.  Both the Harless Center Board and Presbyterian Child Development Council are working to raise the funds necessary to create a quality playground on the property of First Presbyterian Church, Morgantown.  

Words and images from the Groundbreaking

 

Harless Center at Central Place held their Groundbreaking and Dedication Ceremony on Sunday, September 29, 2013.  This week we are featuring the prayer of invocation led by Co-Pastors of First Presbyterian Church, Morgantown, Revs. John Sonnenday and Kristine Haig. Over the coming weeks look for more pictures and words from our speakers on the blog.   Thank you to Scott Lituchy for photographing the event.

INVOCATION 

by the Rev. Kristine Haig

God gives to all things the energy of life,

and calls us to lives of discipleship—

living with the vision of the Kingdom of God,

and being co-creators with God in bringing to life 

the promised new heaven and new earth.

This gathering is a celebration of our ongoing commitment  to serve God’s dream for this project.

So let us now turn our attention to the Holy One,whose dream has brought us here.     

Let us pray:

Ever-living One, God of Many Names,

you have led us to this project

and through all the twists and turns along the way,

to this sacred moment.

As these shovels full of earth are turned over,

may we give you thanks and praise

for all your gifts that made this day possible:

gifts of money and of time, gifts of creative vision, 

gifts of patience and stamina,

and of unfailing trust in you.

May this earth be for us a symbol of promises fulfilled,

and promises yet to be fulfilled

according to your vision, O Master Builder.

Keep us faithful to your dream,

obedient to your call,

and strong partners in co-creating this new reality.

Amen.

Groundbreaking and Dedication

We celebrated the start of construction on Sunday, September 29, 2013 with a Groundbreaking and Dedication service.  Representatives from the City of Morgantown, area faith communities and congregations, First Presbyterian Church, the Synod of the Trinity, Progressity, the Westminster Foundation, our developers, consultants, donors, project supporters, and WVU students were present to celebrate with us.   We are grateful for the hard work of Lee Mullet and Julia Bolt in planning and organizing the Groundbreaking and Dedication service.

Preparations began early Sunday morning before the sun was barely on the horizon.  Members of the the Presbyterian Student Fellowship at WVU volunteered along with members of the Harless Center board and Groundbreaking Committee to get everything ready for the celebration after church including carrying over 60 folding chairs, putting up two tents and two tables, pouring pounds of dirt, and folding many programs. 

Chet Parsons, chair of the Harless Center board of directors, served as master of ceremonies and opened by recognizing special guests and giving thanks for those in attendance.  Revs John Sonnenday and Kristine Haig gave the invocation.  We heard about the history and vision of the project from John Bolt, President of the Westminster Foundation of WV.  Harless Center board member, Jerry Stone, shared his hopes for the project and how he became involved.  John Fisher (Dean Emeritus of the WVU College of Law) shared many stories of generosity about our honorary campaign chair James "Buck" Harless.   Dr. William Riley, Harless Center board member and Fundraising Committee chair, shared about ongoing fundraising needs and our campaign goal of $3.5 million.  Jordan Gunnoe (Harless Center Student Association President), Will Armentrout (President of the Presbyterian Student Fellowship), and Zevi Lowenberg (President of WVU Hillel) blessed and dedicated the site.  We had the official turning over of dirt and closed with a blessing from Rev. Dr. Shelly Barrick Parsons, WVU Presbyterian Campus Pastor.  The event ended with a reception.  In the following weeks we will share excerpts from the remarks given at the celebration.  

WBOY in Clarksburg featured the Groundbreaking and Dedication on the evening news. 

WBOY.com: Clarksburg, Morgantown: News, Sports, Weather

Everyone got in on the groundbreaking fun after the service was over before clean up started.