FOUNDED IN 2017, IN RESPONSE ON THE HEELS OF GROWING RACIAL FACTIONS IN AMERICA, THE URC BEGAN AS AN ENDEAVOR TO MOBILIZE THE HAMPTON ROADS FAITH COMMUNITY ON RACE

We believe that the church has a vital role in advancing a more just society, mending broken people and systems, and showing compassion to people in need of redemption and social healing.

In July 2016, the seeds for the URC were planted. The prior week, police shot and killed Philando Castile and Alton Sterling and Micah Johnson killed five Dallas police. The nation was in an uproar. That Sunday, Pastor Jim Wood scrapped the Sunday bulletin at the First Presbyterian Church of Norfolk, VA. For three worship services, he invited Dr. Antipas Harris to engage him in a raw and unscripted conversation about race and racism in America. The congregation was deeply moved to participate in the solution for our community. A leader in the church, local CPA, and founding board member of the URC, Taze Tazwell, met with Rev. Wood to discuss a burden that he felt as a result of the conversation. “Jim, what are we going to do about the race problem?,” asked Taze.

With a burning desire to recapture the legacy of faith that bears prophetic witness in the public square, Antipas resigned his post on tenured faculty at Regent University and organized plans to start the URC as a nonprofit, community development corporation. He is the founding President and CEO. Taze donated generously and is a founding board member. Jim is the founding chair of the board. The URC has emerged as a conceptual center for moral thought, voice, and action. The agency exists to unite the community for positive change.

The URC is building what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called, “the Beloved Community” in Hampton Roads!