All Souls Presbyterian Church looking for roof help

All Souls was founded in 1952 as the first integrated church in the City of Richmond.

June 16, 2015; 10:16 AM • by Richard Hayes

A church so often is more than a place of worship, it’s the heart and soul of a neighborhood. The All Souls Presbyterian Church needs a little help.

All Souls Presbyterian Church in Richmond’s Battery Park neighborhood has begun an online fundraising campaign to replace its rapidly disintegrating roof. Without a new roof, this congregation will be forced to abandon its historic building and may not survive.

All Souls was founded in 1952 as the first integrated church in the City of Richmond. Today its ministries are as critical as ever in this transitioning neighborhood.

After many years of patching, All Souls’ roof has begun to fall in, and its members cannot afford to replace it on their own. They seek the community’s help in raising $40,000 through the modern strategy of crowdfunding, using the site YouCaring.com.

“If we are forced to abandon the building,” says All Souls’ pastor, Rev. Brint Pratt Keyes, “not only will many vital ministries cease, but the community will also lose an important monument to the Gospel’s promise of reconciliation, and to the Holy Spirit’s reconciling work here over the years.”