Counselor Dennett Slemp Retires

April 1, 2018 Last Official Day

Counselor Dennett C. Slemp attended his final staff meeting on Wednesday, March 25, 2018.  During the meeting, he shared his retirement plans to 'seek wonder' and continue to 'see the ordinary as holy.'

He also reflected on his years of counseling work (he has held counseling sessions from St. Stephen's Episcopal Church since the 1970s) and his belief that much of our lives is a search 'to live without despair not knowing.'

Dennett Slemp's last official day is Sunday, April 1, 2018.  

VIPCare's Waiting Room Re-Opens

new furniture to be installed shortly

VIPCare's Waiting Room is again open. Structural improvements have been made to the waiting room, the group room, and restrooms. New furniture will be installed shortly.

VIPCare's office accessibility upgrades are made possible by a generous grant from The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation.

Interior design work was donated by RoseMarie Bundy and Lucy Dabney from Evolve Architecture, a Wendel Company. Dallan Construction completed the onsite renovations.

Panel on 'Thriving in Ministry' Saturday, February 24, 2018 at Virginia Union University

Join us as the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care Takes Part in a Panel Discussion:

'Thriving in Ministry'

presented by the The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University

location: Allix B. James Chapel, Coburn Hall, Virginia Union University
Saturday, February 24, 2018
8:30-10:30 a.m.

Panelists:
Sister Cora Marie Billings, RSM, Sisters of Mercy, Mid-Atlantic Community (and VIPCare Board of Directors)
The Rev. Dr. J. Elisha Burke, Director of Health Wellness, Men's and Social Justice Ministries, Baptist General Convention of Virginia
The Rev. Dr. Peter Kim, Director of Pastoral Care, Bon Secours Richmond Health System
The Rev. Dr. Mary B. Thorpe, Director of Transition Ministry, Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
The Rev. Janie Walker, Co-Pastoral Director, Richmond Hill

Moderators: 
Dr. Jessica Young Brown, Assistant Professor of Counseling & Practical Theology and the Director of the Barry Young Center, Virginia Union University
The Rev. Dr. Douglas M. Thorpe, Executive Director, Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care

Free and open to the public.

For more information, contact STVU at 804-257-5715 or VIPCare at 804-282-8332.

https://www.vuu.edu/theology/about-stvu

Thank you to VIPCare's 2017 Donors

On behalf of VIPCare's Board of Directors and counseling staff, a special thank you to our donors,  who support VIPCare's mission to provide counseling services across Central Virginia and counseling financial aid to clients unable to afford the cost of their care.

Remarks from VIPCare's 50th Anniversary Celebration by The Rev. Dr. Jean Emile Ngue, African Counseling Center

PHOTO: l to r, The Rev. Dennett Slemp, The Rev. Dr. Jean Emile Ngue, The Rev. Dr. W. Victor Maloy, and Mary Fran Hughes-McIntyre at VIPCare's 50th Anniversary Celebration, September 28, 2017

Dear President of the Board of VIPCare, Executive Director of VIPCare, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are here to celebrate a vision, a spirit, that began 50 years ago. And it is my honor and my privilege to be a part of this celebration. I spent 3 years as a student at VIPCare.   The seed that was planted in my heart through a strong education, a deep sense of spirituality, and a network of healing relationships gave birth to the African Counseling Center (ACC).  For 15 years, individuals, families, children, widows, and people in crisis situations have found meaningful lives through the ACC in Cameroon, Africa.  Today, the ACC has a permanent building. John and Sandy Hamilton advocated for this project and the Trinity United Methodist Church in Richmond funded the building.

I am a disciple of Carl Jung and  Erik Erickson, and in this sense VIPCare is the womb through which I experienced a rebirth of my African identity.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Victor Maloy, the former Executive Director, Dr. Mary Fran McIntyre, Rev. Dennett Slemp, and the late Dr. Sandy Hamilton.  This team came to Cameroon in 2002 to train pastors and implement pastoral care and counseling. Now, many pastors and lay-people are practicing counseling and pastoral care.  Board members, Staff of VIPCare, companions in Hope, thank you for your partnership and the sense of belonging. The world context is changing, and new issues are rising. We continue count on VIPCare’s mentorship to address those issues professionally.  May God continue to use us for His Glory for the next 50 years.

An African proverb says, “when a forest grows, it does not make noises.” You just see the trees and the wonderful vegetation. VIPCare, like a forest, grows silently and after 50 years we can see the visible sign of God's Presence in the midst of this institution.

At the end, I want to give a special attention to 2 people who changed tremendously many lives in Cameroon.  In their honor the African Counseling Center has changed the name. The new name is the “Sandy and Mary Fran Foundation.”

Thank you.

Rev. Dr. Ngue, Jean-Emile

President of the Sandy and Mary Fran Foundation

Rev Dr Jean - Emile NGUE
BP 20 319 Yaoundé - Cameroun
 

VIPCare's 50th Anniversary Newsletter

l to r, VIPCare Board President Frances Broaddus Crutchfield, Congressman A. Donald McEachin, The Rev. Dr. Jean Emile Ngue, and VIPCare Executive Director Douglas M. Thorpe.

Photo taken in Washington, D.C., on September 25, 2017,  following Congressman McEachin's reading of a citation in honor of VIPCare's 50th Anniversary.

Please click on the link below to view VIPCare's 50th Anniversary Newsletter, published September 2017.

Editor, Donald D. Denton

Please note: One of the people in the photo at the bottom of the first page of VIPCare’s 50th Anniversary Newsletter was misidentified.  Pictured with William Johnson is Bruce Welch, a member of VIPCare’s Board of Directors in the 1970s, not Allix B. James.  We apologize for the error.