To the Editor:
We feel very privileged to live here in Alexandria amongst neighbors so willing to "put community first." Regarding the proposed Alfred Street Baptist Church expansion we want to take a positive stand of support and inclusion of all our neighbors and especially with the ASBC as they go through their expansion process. Since moving here in 2001 we noticed the willingness of the church to be "good neighbors," acknowledging our "pain" over parking issues, security issues and general traffic disruptions.
We have noticed they have friendly guards and off-duty police to help whenever they are expecting large crowds. They are a place of safety and community. Their standards of behavior are unfailingly high. We really appreciate their presence in the neighborhood and the sense of continuing history as the oldest African American church in Alexandria. We have attended services there on occasion, taken friends from out of town, and have always been welcomed with open arms.
We have seen their need for increased worship space. So we want to encourage all our neighbors to engage with them with loving neighborly concern and cooperation as opposed to "assuming the worse," obstructing their progress, and being closed and fearful of change. Change comes whether we welcome it or not. Let's try to be a part of the change through cooperation and acceptance of their needs.
I am afraid that if their very real need to redesign their space is obstructed that they may just take their congregation elsewhere. The law of "unintended consequences" might come into play and we may end up with an enterprise at that location that is far more detrimental to our community than these good people have been.
Being "good neighbors' is a two-way street.
Annabel Foery
Alexandria