Hopes and Visions for Harless Center

As the former Office Manager for the Presbytery of West Virginia, I first learned of the hopes and dreams of First Presbyterian Church for a faith-based housing project and improved Presbyterian Child Development Center when they presented their plans to purchase the old Central School property to the Presbytery for approval.

The Presbytery received regular updates as a group of dedicated individuals on the Westminster House Board (as the group was originally named) worked diligently and faithfully to bring their dreams to fruition.  There were many setbacks and disappointments along the road but the group never lost their faith and commitment to the dream. I often included the Board and congregation in my prayers because as a parent of two WVU alumni, I knew that their dream would make a significant contribution to the Morgantown and WVU community.

After moving to Morgantown in 2009, I became a member of First Presbyterian Church and as a member of the Session of the church have worked hand-in-hand with the group to bring this dream to reality.  The congregation has wholeheartedly supported the project from day one and celebrates with the Harless Center Board the progress that has been made.

The groundbreaking ceremony in September and our partnership with Central Place, LLC are milestones along the way but there is still much work to be done.

We need additional donors to join with us on the journey to providing faith-based housing and a safe place to learn and grow for students at West Virginia University beginning in Summer 2015.

Margaret Bolt, Clerk of Session

First Presbyterian Church, Morgantown

Site progress

The grass has grown AND the weather was favorable (one day) for the children from the Presbyterian Child Development Center to enjoy their new playground space.  However, They took more interest in checking at the heavy equipment and activity on the Harless Center at Central Place work site where construction is continuing.  We lift up prayers of thanksgiving for the teachers and staff at the daycare who care patiently for our children each week day.

Work continues on site despite the cold, snowy, weather.  We are grateful for the folks who braved the cold and snow, cold and sun, AND cold and rain over the last couple of weeks to begin preparing the site for the foundation.  We lift up our prayers of thanksgiving for their work, and ask God to look over them as the endure the winter weather.  We thank God for their skills and gifts of preparing the ground and soil for the foundation.

Spreading the message of Harless Center

On November 16^th, I traveled to Huntington, WV to attend a meeting of the Presbytery of West Virginia.  The Presbytery is the governing body of the Presbyterian Church and delegates from around the state of West Virginia gather four times a year to worship, do the business of the Presbytery, and share a lot of fellowship. 

At this particular meeting, churches from around the state were invited to bring a display illustrating a mission project that the church sponsors in and/or with their local community.  I was attending to share a display about Harless Center at Central Place.

As a result, I was able to spend time talking with plenty of persons who were interested and curious about our project.  Many had heard of it before due to our previous communications within the Presbytery, but some had not and most were not aware of recent events.

We shared the large display board that shows the artist’s rendering of the planned apartment complex along with the surrounding neighborhood.  This was large and colorful so it grabbed people’s interest immediately and made quite apparent what we are doing.  We shared our “At-A-Glance” handout that gives pertinent information in a one -page format.  In addition, we shared a handout that explained some reasons why a student would live at Central Place.  We had some favors remaining from our ground-breaking ceremony on Sept. 29^th that we handed out as well.

The comments from those who we talked to were overwhelmingly positive.  We were talking with parents and/or grandparents of future students, former students, or current students at WVU.  It was apparent that from a parental point of view, this is a very welcome and desirable project.  Some said, “I wish that this had been there when my daughter/son went to WVU, or “I’ll be sure to let my granddaughter/etc. know about this.”   The possibility of a positive peer culture that is built into an apartment complex offering community-building activities, faith exploration, building interfaith connections, etc. all resonated strongly with folks.   As a parent of a WVU graduate, I, too, experienced the sometimes rocky maturation process that newly independent students must navigate on the road to their college graduation.

So, it was a good day!  I enjoyed talking with folks about Harless Center.  We anticipate that by multiplying this type of event over time, many more persons will learn about and support Harless Center, whether through sending their students or by making donations to the project.

Linda Hagerty, Secretary Harless Center, Inc. Board of Directors

Moving forward one step at a time

On Thursday, November 21, 2013, First Presbyterian Church closed on the sale of the Central School property to Central Place, LLC.  This is a major milestone in the development of our project and our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all who were involved in getting us to this point.  Special thanks to Brian Gallagher of Steptoe & Johnson, Steve Shuman of Reeder & Shuman, and Glenn Adrian for all their assistance in making this day a reality!