October 28 – December 9, 2000
Where to go, what to do
The Soulforce-Habitat for Humanity house is located on Floyd between 9th and 10th streets. Parking is available at Westminster Presbyterian Church at Floyd and 10th.
Work begins at 8 a.m. All volunteers must sign in (look for the sign-in table under the white canopy). Habitat staff will be there at all times, showing you where to go and what to do.
Lunch
Lunches will be brought to the work site around 11:30 a.m., coordinated by First Christian Church and provided by First Christian and other Lynchburg-area churches. (Make sure to thank them.)
Mary Adams, executive director, Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity, offers the following advice:
* If you can, bring a hammer, utility knife, measuring tape and pencil. If you can’t bring them, not to worry — Habitat can provide. If you are able to bring your own, make sure to label with your name.
* Wear *old* work clothes; the soil is mostly red clay.
* Work gloves are highly recommended; heavy shoes are a must.
* A baseball hat and sunscreen are good protection from the sun.
* Be flexible; construction is a "linear process" and many things can’t be tackled until the previous component is completed.
* "No job is too small to be important" (Mary’s exact words).
Lodging
A few suggestions if you’re staying overnight, recommended by the local Chamber of Commerce:
– Best Western, 2815 Candlers Mountain Road, (877) 444-7088 [toll-free]
– Budget Inn of Lynchburg and Bedford, Route 460-W, (540) 586-8182
– Comfort Inn, Route 29 at Odd Fellows Road, (800) 228-5158
– Courtyard by Marriott,4640 Murray Place, (800) 321-2211 [Note: Many of us stayed here last October.]
– Days Inns Lynchburg, 3320 Candlers Mountain Road, (800) 787-DAYS
– EconoLodge, U.S. Route 29, 2400 Stadium Road, (800) 553-2666
– Hampton Inn, 5604 Seminole Avenue, (804) 237-2704
– Holiday Inn Select, 601 Main Street, (804) 528-2500
– Lynchburg Hilton, 2900 Candlers Mountain Road, (804) 237-6333
– Innkeeper of Lynchburg, 5600 Seminole Avenue, (800) 822-9899
– Ramada Inn and Conference Center, U.S. Route 29 and Odd Fellows Road, (800) 721-1160
– Ramada Inn Ltd., 1500 Main Street, (804) 845-5975
If you would prefer housing with a member of a Lynchburg-area church, contact Sandy Knodel at (804) 384-8626 (First Christian Church), or David Neumeyer at (804) 528-4722 (work) or (804) 384-3936 (home).
Questions
If you have questions, please call Diana Westbrook, co-chair, Soulforce-Habitat project, (804) 266-5370 or e-mail (prosedoc@aol.com). As co-chair, Diana participated in the entire first week of construction, so she has hands-on experience. Feel free to contact her.
While in Lynchburg, another key contacts are the following:
* Sandy Knodel, First Christian Church, (804) 384-8626
* Mary Adams, Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity, (804) 528-3774
In perspective
I know you must already be aware of the recent murder of Danny Overstreet in a gay bar in Roanoke, VA, less than an hour from Lynchburg. Ronald Edward Gay has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the shooting. According to police, earlier that evening Gay told an employee at another bar that he wanted to "go waste some faggots."
The awful coincidence of the rampage only days before we arrived to begin construction underscored yet again that anti-gay rhetoric can lead to anti-gay violence.
We’ve returned to Lynchburg to help shelter the homeless, as we are admonished to do. We’re also demonstrating to Jerry Falwell that his anti-gay rhetoric about the "gay lifestyle" is not based on reality. We’re dedicating our efforts to the memory of Danny Overstreet.