Students participating in VCU’s Baptist Student Union will have to find another place to meet because the building at the corner of Floyd Avenue and Linden Street will close its doors at the end of the spring 2005 semester.
The Baptist General Association of Virginia, which governs nine Baptist Student Unions in the state approved the sale of the buildings on the VCU and the University of Virginia campuses in mid-November.
Members of the student union said the building needs repairs with problems ranging from minor termite damage to possible electrical problems. Most issues, they said, are cosmetic.
Stephanie Smith, a junior psychology major and acting president of the student group, said in December that no one told the members how much money it would take to renovate the building although some speculated on the estimated costs.
“Different amounts have been put to us. First it was only going to be $100,000 to fix it and then it was half a million,” she said. “Nobody has come here and told us anything about it, but we know that the BSU is going to be here on campus until the end of next semester.”
The Baptist Student Union, which contains members of many religious denominations, offers VCU students a free lunch and devotional every Wednesday at noon. It also meets Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. for a praise and worship service.
“It’s a group of us that have a faith that come together and worship,” Smith said.
The group also participates in a program called CARITAS, which helps homeless people by housing and feeding them for a week. During this week, the group offers chances for them to do crafts and gives them a chance to talk to someone who will listen.
Smith said she is unsure of the reason the BSU’s governing board chose the buildings at VCU and UVa from the nine BSU buildings in the state to be sold.
“Nobody has specifically come to us about it,” she said, “but from what I understand it is because it was in such poor shape, and they waited 15 to 20 years to do anything about it.”
Since the building is in such bad shape and VCU has been offering to buy it, she suggested that the group could not raise enough to repair and maintain the structure.
The BSU recently welcomed Alan Jones from Richmond’s First Baptist Church, at the intersection of Monument Avenue and the Boulevard, as its full-time campus minister. Jones said he knew when he accepted the position that the building was facing possible sale.
“I have one goal for next semester. No matter what happens to this building I want to make sure that students know that they have a ministry to come back to in the fall of 2005,” he said. “Building or no building – that’s of no concern to me.”
Amy Sharpe, a 24-year-old religious studies major who attends activities with the Baptist Student Union said she will miss the building that has been associated with her group a long time.
“I think it’s sad. I found many new friends there that influenced my life in a positive way,” she said. “It helped rebuild my faith that I had previously somewhat abandoned.”
Jones said the proceeds from the sale of the building will be invested in the renovation and upkeep of other Baptist Student Unions across the commonwealth.