TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW JANUARY 27, 2006
Tennessee Conference Review January 27, 2005
The Common Table: Focusing God’s Declared Love for the World
by Randall Ganues*
(left to right) Bishop Richard Wills, CCOM Chairperson Cathie Leimenstoll, Conference United Methodist Youth representative Kate Phelps; and Assistant to the Bishop Barbara Garcia.
The Common Table composed of Lay Leaders from our seven districts, our Bishop, a District Superintendent, Conference Lay Leader, designated members by position from various entities of the Annual Conference and the Directors of Administrative Services, Communications and Connectional Ministries held a meeting on November 14, 2005 at Blakemore United Methodist Church.
(left to right) Velma Bradley, Steve Angus, Joyce Clark and Ken Edmondson.
The concept of the Common Table was approved by the 1998 Session of the Tennessee Annual Conference. As stated in the adopted proposal ‘the purpose of the Common Table is to provide a forum for constructive communication and mutual counsel and support among representatives from all bodies of the conference (program, leadership, and administrative ministries). The results would be clarification of issues, reduction of fragmentation, and increased mutual support by a common understanding of current reality through prayerful discernment of God’s will. As a Conference we accepted this challenge for better communication and mutual support which requires work and will result in change.
In the various ministries of the church we are often so focused on our assigned responsibility we forget that others are working just as diligently to fulfill God’s mission to the world. As we work together in our witness for Jesus Christ, His body-the Church, becomes alive and a powerful force in this world.
The goal of the Common Table is to focus on our mission as a local church, a district, an Annual or General Conference to proclaim God’s declared love for the world through Jesus Christ.
(left to right) Harriet Bryan, Jeremy Squires, Joe Williams, Jim Austin, Hap Hewgley, L.C. Troutt. The Common Table brings representatives of all aspects of Tennessee Conference’s life and ministry together
+to discuss common issues
+and to determine how various boards and agencies can most productively work together
Give!
Alan Griggs shares the story of the suicide of his son Lee, the loving compassion of friends, and his commitment to helping others understand the disease of depression, a condition he likens to a description from John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Griggs, a Nashville broadcast writer and producer, is a member of Calvary United Methodist Church. His wife, Lee’s mom, is the Rev. Sandra Griggs, pastor of Glendale United Methodist Church. You can reach him through his email address: agriggs@comcast.net. Much of this article appeared in the Nashville Eye section of The Tennessean, January 1, 2006.
The piercing disturbance of our ugly-sounding doorbell brought our family small talk to an abrupt halt on the evening of December 7th. I hadn’t been home long so my wife, Sandra, and daughter, Elizabeth, were joining me in the usual mixture of catching up, listening to the television, and minding our three dogs. For us as parents, life was good: we were blessed with health, the warmth of love, and three beautiful children, each wondrously different creations of the God we know and love. The Christmas season held the promise of joy and homecoming for each of us, but perhaps more so for our 24-year old son, Lee, whose child-like eagerness for Santa’s arrival seemed to grow every year.
Lee was always the child who crawled under our tree and shook the presents, eyeing them with barely-controlled anticipation, surreptitiously lifting them to his ear, and listening closely for any hint of what they held. Eventually, Lee outgrew his need to shake the presents but the magical thrill of Christmas never left his heart. Just this year, he cheerfully told others about how this Christmas was going to be the best ever. He was going to get “new eyes” through laser surgery which would finally allow him to shed the unwanted glasses and contacts he was forced to wear since his early teens.
The doorbell, that terrible sound we still feel, demanded a response on that fateful night. Not expecting anyone, I asked who was beyond the door. The response boomed out: “Metro police!” and, while puzzled, I still didn’t worry. As far as I knew, everyone in my family was safe: Elizabeth and Sandra were with me, William, our 20 year old, was at Emory and Henry College, and Lee was busy preparing for finals at Belmont University. When I finally opened the front door I encountered a man who surely must have the toughest job under the sun. And then I heard the words that no parent should ever have to hear: “Mr. Griggs, I’m afraid I have some bad news about your son.” Bad news? Bad news for us lately had been an unexpected flat tire, maybe the nuisance of a car breakdown, or a bill we forgot to pay. The closest we had had come to truly bad news was William’s hospitalization for ten days in March, 2004, due to a serious, mysterious ailment no medical specialist could ever identify. William’s illness had traumatized us but through the grace of God William survived. This time would be different.
Bad news. Two words that change lives forever. Two words that, uttered in mere seconds, altered everything about our existence. Then the words, “Your son, Alan, is dead.” Disbelieving, recoiling from the police chaplain, my knees grew weak and I threw myself on the floor, yelling “No! No! No!” Over and over I loudly proclaimed my refusal to absorb such gut-wrenching news. I had always heard and read how the death of a child was the most profound grief a human could experience. But I shielded any thought of that by thinking what all of us think: that could only happen to other poor souls, not me. On that cold, hard floor I was beginning to grasp just how deep the hurt was.
Lee Griggs---the little boy who loved Christmas, the kind, considerate, quiet little boy who held a special place in his heart for those less fortunate, the Eagle Scout, the young man who searched for his passion and found it in the environment, the budding scientist whose textbooks I couldn’t begin to understand, who eagerly anticipated grad school and a career making our world a little safer and cleaner---was no longer with us. No more Monday night dinners with me, no more sharing life’s experiences, no more of anything that made him part of our family. The grief is beyond description, beyond even the strongest words, and is known only to fellow survivors of suicide.
To Lee, as to the apostle Paul, the true meaning of the word “give” was important. In 2 Corinthians 9-10, Paul tells how giving actually enriches and benefits the giver while serving as an act of worship to God and inspiring other people’s faith. Lee wore the word “give” tattooed to his forearm and was always open to people’s different interpretations of its significance. Some say he had it indelibly marked on his body after being influenced by the sights of so many street people during his travels through Europe. In truth, I believe giving was a crucial part of Lee’s emotional makeup. He knew how to give. He just didn’t know how to receive.
I don’t pretend to know much about depression. I know it is an evil disease and I know I hate it more than anything I have disliked in my life. Psychiatrists tell us that depression can originate in the very genetic makeup of a human and then flourish through environmental factors such as major disappointments and other bad experiences. I liken it to a description from John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” From an early age, Lee fought the insidious bad feelings he had about himself but, in the truest form of such a terrible affliction, used almost every set back, be it the disparaging words of unthinking others, the disappointing results of a crucial test, and, eventually, the crushing blow of a broken relationship to convince himself that he was not quite up to what he thought were society’s expectations. Those feelings caused Lee, within the span of just a few minutes, to do something he would never do in his rational mind. The decision to hang himself was an impulse, abetted by what I describe as a demonic force that overwhelmed him, a crippling, mind-controlling darkness so powerful beyond our comprehension that it compelled him to perform life’s most irrational act. The gut-wrenching irony is that, in his right mind, he would never do anything to hurt us.
What a waste, what a terrible, awful loss for us as a family and for our world. But I am a firm believer that out of anything bad, no matter how awful, good things happen. Already, Lee’s legacy has been to bring people who had drifted apart closer together. Old friendships once fractured have begun to heal. We have been overwhelmed with the blessings of love, prayers, and support from friends everywhere. I am here to let everyone know that there is genuine goodness in our world, no matter what you see or hear to the contrary. True compassion not only survives, it thrives. For me, I will probably spend the rest of my life helping society realize that depression must be discussed openly and candidly. Away with the social stigma, the embarrassment, and all the other needless baggage that has dictated we place it out of sight and out of mind. Depression is widespread, it is far more prevalent than most think, and it needs to be addressed forthrightly.
Lee’s memorial service was a blessing beyond belief. As I joined other members of the family walking to our pews, I looked up and saw a church filled to overflowing with people giving of their time to mourn but also to celebrate the life of such a fine young man. My knees wobbled and I shed yet more tears. For here was the true reflection of a person’s life and the blunt, disturbing irony of depression. The disease prevented Lee from believing that so many people cared for him, yet there they were, turned out in force to worship God, thanking Him for the abbreviated life of one of God’s beloved creations.
Lee Griggs---the little boy who shook the Christmas presents, loved he outdoor world and its inhabitants, but who eventually succumbed to depression’s darkness---was celebrated through beautiful music, the testimony of a close friend, and God’s comforting word. And celebrated in solidarity as well. No long after his death, friends gathered to receive their own tattoos with the word “give” prominently placed on their bodies.
Isaiah 9:2 states: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Today, Lee has emerged from the shadows and walks in the light, runs with the wind, and is no doubt swapping high-fives with those friends and family who passed before him, free of pain while still cheering his beloved Chicago Cubs. God’s grace gave us Lee for 24 years. That is an irreplaceable blessing we will always cherish. It is also God’s grace that will enable us to carry on with our lives in the true spirit of the word “give.”
Bishop’s Wife Was Part of the Creation of McKendree Village
Louise Short Celebrated Her 100th Birthday on January 17, 2006
by Diane Miles*
Bishop Roy Short was the presiding bishop of the Tennessee Annual Conference between 1952 and 1964. His ministry as a former editor of The Upper Room magazine and as a bishop was remembered in a special memorial communion service at the Upper Room chapel on the morning of January 17th. His wife Louise was honored at McKendree Village on the occasion of her 100th birthday later on the same day.
An early family portrait with Bishop Roy Short, Louise Short and sons Hunter, Murray, and Riley.
Louise Short, an independent living resident at McKendree Village in Hermitage, Tennessee, is a magnificent example of “AGING WELL”. Unless you were told her age, you would never believe that she is celebrating 100 years of life! Active, energetic, and with a keen interest not only about her family, but the world around her, she is an inspiration to all who know her.
Louise grew up in Clarksville, Indiana. Her family pioneered settlement in Kentucky right after the Revolution. She was the oldest of eight children, and her father started a dairy and wholesale ice cream business in Clarksville. All of her siblings are still living. Four of them are in their 90’s and live in the Ft. Meyers, Florida area. Her mother lived to be 105, and her father was 102 when he died. Her parents were able to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary, prior to her father’s death.
Louise attended the University of Louisville and graduated from Louisville Normal Teacher’s College. She met her husband, Roy Hunter Short when she was a freshman in college and he was in his senior year. They married 2 ½ years later.
Roy Short had always wanted to become a minister, and was very active in the Louisville Epworth League. During World War I there was a vast shortage of preachers. A friend asked Roy (who was 17 at the time), if he would take a small church as the pastor. He did, and preached all through his years in the Seminary.
A proud 100 year-old mother with sons Riley (standing) and Hunter (seated)
After attending the seminary, an opportunity arose for Roy to preach at a large church in Louisville. The position also included a parsonage in which the preacher could live, but also stipulated that the person who was hired for the position had to be married. It was at this point that Louise and Roy decided it was time to marry!
During Roy’s life, he was the District Superintendent for the Methodist church in Elizabethtown and Louisville, Kentucky. He was also the 2nd Editor of the Upper Room, a nationally distributed Methodist Daily Devotional Guide. (Currently this publication reaches 3 million people in 106 countries and is written in 44 different languages.) In 1948, he was elected as the Methodist Bishop for the Florida and Cuba region.
Louise kept very busy raising their three sons: Hunter (now an retired attorney); Murray (a retired college professor); and Riley (a retired pastor). She was of course, very active in the Methodist church, and contributed through teaching and volunteer work within the church community. She traveled extensively with her husband in his role as Bishop.
Before the singing of Happy Birthday Louise had to blow out the 100 candles on her birthday cake—she did.
Later, Louise and Roy were transferred to Nashville and lived in the Hillwood area of Nashville. They moved back to Louisville for 8 years, and then later retired in Hillwood.
“Retiring” in Hillwood became, however, the beginning of another “adventure” for Louise and Roy. They began talking with William Weaver of Nashville (Mr. Weaver, who backed the Grand Old Opry) about Mr. Weaver’s idea to start a Methodist retirement home in Nashville. Based on this beginning, the McKendree Manor was opened in 1962. After the Manor was built, construction began on the Health Care Center. Later the original Manor was torn down and the Towers apartment building and a new McKendree Manor for assisted living was built; along with a neighborhood of 40 cottage homes.
It was a hugging occasion when friends and family gathered to celebrate Louise Short’s birthday.
The Shorts moved into an apartment at McKendree Towers in 1985. Louise was 79 years old at the time, and Bishop Short was in his 80’s. He died at age 92, and Louise continues to occupy the apartment they originally occupied.
After living at McKendree Village for more than 20 years, Louise is very proud of all that she and her husband accomplished during their years together; including being instrumental in the creation of McKendree Village.
Two of her sons are married and between them have provided Louise and Roy with 7 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. Many of Louise’s family and friends will be attending a reception at McKendree Village in her honor. The reception is being held in the Towers meeting room of McKendree Village on January 17, 2006 from 2-3:30 pm.
Riley Short spoke to the crowd and pointed out that in the year that his mother was born Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States, and Finland had become the first country to allow women to vote.
In trying to imagine how many people have been touched by Louise Short and her husband Roy during their lifetime, the Bible verse that comes to mind is Matthew 25:23: “Well done, good and faithful servant”….
Happy Birthday Louise, and may you have many more to come!!
*Diane Miles is Director of Marketing and Public Relations, McKendree Village, Hermitage, Tennessee
A vibrant and very active Louise Short remembers fondly her two families—the McKendree Village community, and her biological family (sons, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and persons that married into the family)
A Closing Prayer for Louise Short Presented by Her Son Riley on Behalf of Her Family
Lord, I want to thank you for my mom. I thank you that she’s been such a joy in our lives and given us a lot of laughter and a lot of love. I thank you that she taught us the power of prayer and she pointed to you as our friend and our Savior and our Lord. I thank you for how she and our dad were a team together, not only in the church, but in raising us, and in leading us too.
And on the occasion when we celebrate her 100th birthday, an occasion marking the length of her life, we thank you for the depth of her life, the quality of her life. I pray that you continue to bless her. Help us to live life in a better and greater way because of what she has meant to us.
Thank you for these friends that have come to celebrate with us today. How rich we are because of their friendship and we thank you for that.
Continue to always be our deliverer, our healer, our friend, our savior and our Lord. Keep us in your peace and grace now and forever and forever. For we ask it in the name of Jesus the one who cares about us all. Amen
Bishop Felton E. May Challenges Tennessee United Methodists to Fights against Injustice and Poverty
Worship service planner Susan Groseclose (right) confers with Elijah McGee, Bishop Felton May, and Bishop Richard Wills before the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration began.
Approximately 350 persons attended the Tennessee Annual Conference’s celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Brentwood UMC on Sunday, January 15th. The worshipers reflected the rich diversity of the United Methodist Church—young and old, clergy and laity, individuals from various ethnic and racial groups. Liturgists for the service were Bishop Richard J. Wills, Jr., Rev. Diane Coppock, Rev. SungNam Kim, Rev. Alejandra Hinojosa, Rev. Dr. Ewart Watts, Marie King, and Rev. S. Renee Franklin. Four young people--Orrin Cowley, Jr., Jill Hernando, Carl Brown, Jr. and Breanna McCullough--represented the Tennessee Conference Council on Youth Ministries and presented a dramatic reading from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Liturgists for the King celebration included (front row) Rev. Alejandra Hinojosa, Rev. SungNam Kim, Rev. Diane Coppock, Rev. Dr. Ewart Watts, Marie King (Back row) Elijah McGee and Rev. S. Renee Franklin.
Music was provided by the Martin Methodist College Choir, the Ebenezer Echoes from Ebenezer UMC, and the Sudanese Christian Church Choir in Gallatin, Tennessee. The main speaker, Bishop Felton E. May was introduced by the Rev. Elijah McGee who as a young theology student had served on the staff of a local church with May who was the church’s senior pastor.
The Martin Methodist College lead a music salute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the hymn “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”.
Bishop May is a retired presiding bishop of the Washington D.C. Episcopal Area, and is the first bishop to be placed on special assignment by the Council of Bishops to organize and coordinate the Bishops’ Initiative on Drug and Alcohol Abuse and Violence in the Washington D.C. area. In response to rioting after the Rodney King verdict, May led United Methodist Communities of Shalom Initiative and today more than 380 Shalom Zones have been established. Upon his retirement in 2004, Bishop May became the Dean and Chair of the Harry R. Kendall Science and Health Mission Center at Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Representatives from the Tennessee Conference Youth present a dramatic reading of the “I Have a Dream” speech (From left to right ) Jill Hernando, Lewisburg 1st UMC; Carl Brown, Jr., Clark Memorial UMC; Breanna McCullough, Lewisburg 1st; and Orrin Cowley, Jr, Clark Memorial UMC (and a student at TSU).
In his sermon Bishop May launched a strong criticism of a culture and a church that allows poverty not only to exist but to increase. May used the illustration of Nicodemus who came to visit Christ under cover of darkness—and received words of advice that he didn’t quite comprehend, “You must be born again.” May noted that “The Institutional Church Must be Born Again and both demonstrate and live the proofs of the spirit.” It was a theme he returned to frequently during the sermon.
In his stirring sermon, Bishop Felton E. May stresses that “the institutional church must be born again”
Shortly before Martin Luther King’s assassination Felton May had been a pastor in Chicago, Illinois, and was part of a planning meeting that involved Dr. King. May, soon afterwards, accepted a position in the Delaware Annual Conference and it was there that he learned of Dr. King’s death. “Surely the church would pick up the mantle that that had been snatched from him (King)” but, May noted, “we have just done what was safe.”
He recounted how the first time he heard King speak he was on a balcony looking downward. One thing King said has stuck with May through the years, “Either we will learn to live together as sisters and brothers or we will die together as fools.”
May went on to urge the Tennessee Conference United Methodists to deal forcefully with the crucial issues of our time, to use the power of God’s Spirit to remove poverty completely, and to help solve the problems related to health care. He urged listeners to become a force of love, to remind the power brokers that they are our elected servants. “You can’t have polite conversations with the power brokers,” he warned. “We are in a MESS—MISERY and EVIL SIDE by SIDE.” Earlier he had warned, “There may be a falling away of members if we act like Christians.”
May shared the personal story of an invitation in 1967 received by Martin Luther King, Jr. from then president Lyndon Johnson. King visited with LBJ in the Oval Office only to discover that Johnson was trying to persuade him NOT to bring the poor people’s campaign to Washington. King, noting the devastating effect of poverty not just among African Americans but other ethnic groups as well, indicated that he had no choice but to bring the campaign to Washington. To this day Bishop Felton May feels that King was assassinated because he was about to galvanize the poor into an action force that would sweep out those in power and herald the day when all of God’s children would receive justice and be treated equally. He closed with a quote from the writings of Paul, “If God is for us who can be against us.”
At the end of the service each worshipper was asked to fill out a commitment card—telling what he or she would do to help bring in a day when poverty and injustice could be abolished. Over $1000.00 was raised at the service and the total amount will be credited to the Human Relations Day offering and the causes it supports.
Concluding music was presented by Sudanese Christian Church Choir in Gallatin, Tennessee.
The Story of Bishop Felton May’s Black Robe
Felton May tells the story of the last time he saw Martin Luther King alive. King was speaking to supporters in Chicago and recounted being summoned to the White House by Lyndon Baines Johnson. As they met in the Oval Office Johnson tried to convince King NOT to bring the Poor People’s Campaign to Washington.
Years later May was part of a college observance where black academic gowns were to be worn. Unfortunately, all he had was a white robe. He puzzled about what to do but was urged to try on a robe that had been left at the college years before. It was a good fit, and the robe was incredibly made. “Would you like to keep the robe,” he was asked? May knew a good thing when he saw it and indicated that he would indeed appreciate the gift of the robe.
It wasn’t until after everyone was in robes and ready to process that the question was asked, “Oh, did you have a chance to look at the label?” May flipped his gown off and checked the label—there embroidered in gold were the initials LBJ. May was flabbergasted, he had just been presented with an academic gown that had been ordered by the college for Lyndon Baines Johnson when the president spoke there—but the Secret Service has scurried him away so fast that the gown was left behind. May recalled that Johnson had tried to stop the Poor People’s Campaign and felt uneasy about keeping the gown. Then he thought to himself that the initials “LBJ” aren’t only the initials of a former president but can stand for everything that Martin Luther King, Jr. believed—LOVE BRINGS JUSTICE.
Vacation Bible School Preview and Training, Friday, February 10, 2006
The 2006 Vacation Bible School Preview and Training will be held on Friday, February 10, 2006, 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon, at the Hillcrest United Methodist Church, 5112 Raywood Lane, Nashville, Tennessee.
Vacation Bible School directors and teachers are invited to come explore the 2006 United Methodist Vacation Bible School Curriculum units, "Treasure Seekers" and "Journey Into the Hush Arbor," with the VBS staff from the United Methodist Publishing House.
Participants will get a chance to preview the video, hear the Biblical stories, practice the songs and games, learn how do the crafts, taste a snack, see ways to decorate your classrooms, and much more. Plus, order your VBS curriculum that day from Cokesbury and receive a 20% discount. There is no need to pre-register for this training - just come ready to learn and explore together!
For more information, contact Susan Groseclose at sgroseclose@tnumc.org or 1-800-403-5795 or 615-329-1177, ext. 224.
Tennessee Conference Youth Mission Trip, June 15-21, 2006
The Tennessee Annual Conference youth will be participating a mission trip to the Eleuthera Island of the Bahamas, June 15-21, 2006. This is the fourth Conference Mission Trip. The group will be doing construction type work, rebuilding and repairs resulting from storm damage caused by several hurricanes that have hit the island since 1999.
The cost is $1,000 per person which includes transportation, housing, VIM insurance and all meals. Registrants will need additional money for souvenirs. Deadline for applications is March 31st and attendees will be chosen and notified by April 9th. A $300.00 deposit must be included with the application.
Selection of attendees will be made by the adult participants of the trip. Applications will be dated as they arrive and in the case of equal applicants, the earlier application will prevail. Incomplete applications, or applications with no deposit will not be considered. If you are not selected, your deposit will be refunded. A maximum of 16 participants will be allowed.
Local church pastors and youth directors should have copies of the brochure and application for Mission Team Members. If one is not available to you they may obtained by writing the Tennessee Conference Council, Youth Ministries, 1110 19th Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37212 (615-329-1177). The application can also be downloaded from the Tennessee Annual Conference website http://www.tnumc.org (Click on “Youth”).
You will need to bring work clothes, comfortable shorts and shirts for after work hours, church clothing and personal tools. A complete list will be furnished to you at our group preparation session.
Note: A passport is desired, but not necessary. You will need an original birth certificate and a picture ID if no passport is available. No special shots are required. Attendance at the group preparation session is mandatory.
Limited scholarships will be available after all local and district possibilities are exhausted.
The Common Table: Focusing God’s Declared Love for the World
by Randall Ganues*
(left to right) Bishop Richard Wills, CCOM Chairperson Cathie Leimenstoll, Conference United Methodist Youth representative Kate Phelps; and Assistant to the Bishop Barbara Garcia.The Common Table composed of Lay Leaders from our seven districts, our Bishop, a District Superintendent, Conference Lay Leader, designated members by position from various entities of the Annual Conference and the Directors of Administrative Services, Communications and Connectional Ministries held a meeting on November 14, 2005 at Blakemore United Methodist Church.
(left to right) Velma Bradley, Steve Angus, Joyce Clark and Ken Edmondson.
The concept of the Common Table was approved by the 1998 Session of the Tennessee Annual Conference. As stated in the adopted proposal ‘the purpose of the Common Table is to provide a forum for constructive communication and mutual counsel and support among representatives from all bodies of the conference (program, leadership, and administrative ministries). The results would be clarification of issues, reduction of fragmentation, and increased mutual support by a common understanding of current reality through prayerful discernment of God’s will. As a Conference we accepted this challenge for better communication and mutual support which requires work and will result in change.
In the various ministries of the church we are often so focused on our assigned responsibility we forget that others are working just as diligently to fulfill God’s mission to the world. As we work together in our witness for Jesus Christ, His body-the Church, becomes alive and a powerful force in this world.
The goal of the Common Table is to focus on our mission as a local church, a district, an Annual or General Conference to proclaim God’s declared love for the world through Jesus Christ.
(left to right) Harriet Bryan, Jeremy Squires, Joe Williams, Jim Austin, Hap Hewgley, L.C. Troutt. The Common Table brings representatives of all aspects of Tennessee Conference’s life and ministry together+to discuss common issues
+and to determine how various boards and agencies can most productively work together
Give!
Alan Griggs shares the story of the suicide of his son Lee, the loving compassion of friends, and his commitment to helping others understand the disease of depression, a condition he likens to a description from John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Griggs, a Nashville broadcast writer and producer, is a member of Calvary United Methodist Church. His wife, Lee’s mom, is the Rev. Sandra Griggs, pastor of Glendale United Methodist Church. You can reach him through his email address: agriggs@comcast.net. Much of this article appeared in the Nashville Eye section of The Tennessean, January 1, 2006.
The piercing disturbance of our ugly-sounding doorbell brought our family small talk to an abrupt halt on the evening of December 7th. I hadn’t been home long so my wife, Sandra, and daughter, Elizabeth, were joining me in the usual mixture of catching up, listening to the television, and minding our three dogs. For us as parents, life was good: we were blessed with health, the warmth of love, and three beautiful children, each wondrously different creations of the God we know and love. The Christmas season held the promise of joy and homecoming for each of us, but perhaps more so for our 24-year old son, Lee, whose child-like eagerness for Santa’s arrival seemed to grow every year.
Lee was always the child who crawled under our tree and shook the presents, eyeing them with barely-controlled anticipation, surreptitiously lifting them to his ear, and listening closely for any hint of what they held. Eventually, Lee outgrew his need to shake the presents but the magical thrill of Christmas never left his heart. Just this year, he cheerfully told others about how this Christmas was going to be the best ever. He was going to get “new eyes” through laser surgery which would finally allow him to shed the unwanted glasses and contacts he was forced to wear since his early teens.
The doorbell, that terrible sound we still feel, demanded a response on that fateful night. Not expecting anyone, I asked who was beyond the door. The response boomed out: “Metro police!” and, while puzzled, I still didn’t worry. As far as I knew, everyone in my family was safe: Elizabeth and Sandra were with me, William, our 20 year old, was at Emory and Henry College, and Lee was busy preparing for finals at Belmont University. When I finally opened the front door I encountered a man who surely must have the toughest job under the sun. And then I heard the words that no parent should ever have to hear: “Mr. Griggs, I’m afraid I have some bad news about your son.” Bad news? Bad news for us lately had been an unexpected flat tire, maybe the nuisance of a car breakdown, or a bill we forgot to pay. The closest we had had come to truly bad news was William’s hospitalization for ten days in March, 2004, due to a serious, mysterious ailment no medical specialist could ever identify. William’s illness had traumatized us but through the grace of God William survived. This time would be different.
Bad news. Two words that change lives forever. Two words that, uttered in mere seconds, altered everything about our existence. Then the words, “Your son, Alan, is dead.” Disbelieving, recoiling from the police chaplain, my knees grew weak and I threw myself on the floor, yelling “No! No! No!” Over and over I loudly proclaimed my refusal to absorb such gut-wrenching news. I had always heard and read how the death of a child was the most profound grief a human could experience. But I shielded any thought of that by thinking what all of us think: that could only happen to other poor souls, not me. On that cold, hard floor I was beginning to grasp just how deep the hurt was.
Lee Griggs---the little boy who loved Christmas, the kind, considerate, quiet little boy who held a special place in his heart for those less fortunate, the Eagle Scout, the young man who searched for his passion and found it in the environment, the budding scientist whose textbooks I couldn’t begin to understand, who eagerly anticipated grad school and a career making our world a little safer and cleaner---was no longer with us. No more Monday night dinners with me, no more sharing life’s experiences, no more of anything that made him part of our family. The grief is beyond description, beyond even the strongest words, and is known only to fellow survivors of suicide.
To Lee, as to the apostle Paul, the true meaning of the word “give” was important. In 2 Corinthians 9-10, Paul tells how giving actually enriches and benefits the giver while serving as an act of worship to God and inspiring other people’s faith. Lee wore the word “give” tattooed to his forearm and was always open to people’s different interpretations of its significance. Some say he had it indelibly marked on his body after being influenced by the sights of so many street people during his travels through Europe. In truth, I believe giving was a crucial part of Lee’s emotional makeup. He knew how to give. He just didn’t know how to receive.
I don’t pretend to know much about depression. I know it is an evil disease and I know I hate it more than anything I have disliked in my life. Psychiatrists tell us that depression can originate in the very genetic makeup of a human and then flourish through environmental factors such as major disappointments and other bad experiences. I liken it to a description from John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” From an early age, Lee fought the insidious bad feelings he had about himself but, in the truest form of such a terrible affliction, used almost every set back, be it the disparaging words of unthinking others, the disappointing results of a crucial test, and, eventually, the crushing blow of a broken relationship to convince himself that he was not quite up to what he thought were society’s expectations. Those feelings caused Lee, within the span of just a few minutes, to do something he would never do in his rational mind. The decision to hang himself was an impulse, abetted by what I describe as a demonic force that overwhelmed him, a crippling, mind-controlling darkness so powerful beyond our comprehension that it compelled him to perform life’s most irrational act. The gut-wrenching irony is that, in his right mind, he would never do anything to hurt us.
What a waste, what a terrible, awful loss for us as a family and for our world. But I am a firm believer that out of anything bad, no matter how awful, good things happen. Already, Lee’s legacy has been to bring people who had drifted apart closer together. Old friendships once fractured have begun to heal. We have been overwhelmed with the blessings of love, prayers, and support from friends everywhere. I am here to let everyone know that there is genuine goodness in our world, no matter what you see or hear to the contrary. True compassion not only survives, it thrives. For me, I will probably spend the rest of my life helping society realize that depression must be discussed openly and candidly. Away with the social stigma, the embarrassment, and all the other needless baggage that has dictated we place it out of sight and out of mind. Depression is widespread, it is far more prevalent than most think, and it needs to be addressed forthrightly.
Lee’s memorial service was a blessing beyond belief. As I joined other members of the family walking to our pews, I looked up and saw a church filled to overflowing with people giving of their time to mourn but also to celebrate the life of such a fine young man. My knees wobbled and I shed yet more tears. For here was the true reflection of a person’s life and the blunt, disturbing irony of depression. The disease prevented Lee from believing that so many people cared for him, yet there they were, turned out in force to worship God, thanking Him for the abbreviated life of one of God’s beloved creations.
Lee Griggs---the little boy who shook the Christmas presents, loved he outdoor world and its inhabitants, but who eventually succumbed to depression’s darkness---was celebrated through beautiful music, the testimony of a close friend, and God’s comforting word. And celebrated in solidarity as well. No long after his death, friends gathered to receive their own tattoos with the word “give” prominently placed on their bodies.
Isaiah 9:2 states: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Today, Lee has emerged from the shadows and walks in the light, runs with the wind, and is no doubt swapping high-fives with those friends and family who passed before him, free of pain while still cheering his beloved Chicago Cubs. God’s grace gave us Lee for 24 years. That is an irreplaceable blessing we will always cherish. It is also God’s grace that will enable us to carry on with our lives in the true spirit of the word “give.”
Bishop’s Wife Was Part of the Creation of McKendree Village
Louise Short Celebrated Her 100th Birthday on January 17, 2006
by Diane Miles*
Bishop Roy Short was the presiding bishop of the Tennessee Annual Conference between 1952 and 1964. His ministry as a former editor of The Upper Room magazine and as a bishop was remembered in a special memorial communion service at the Upper Room chapel on the morning of January 17th. His wife Louise was honored at McKendree Village on the occasion of her 100th birthday later on the same day.
An early family portrait with Bishop Roy Short, Louise Short and sons Hunter, Murray, and Riley.
Louise Short, an independent living resident at McKendree Village in Hermitage, Tennessee, is a magnificent example of “AGING WELL”. Unless you were told her age, you would never believe that she is celebrating 100 years of life! Active, energetic, and with a keen interest not only about her family, but the world around her, she is an inspiration to all who know her.
Louise grew up in Clarksville, Indiana. Her family pioneered settlement in Kentucky right after the Revolution. She was the oldest of eight children, and her father started a dairy and wholesale ice cream business in Clarksville. All of her siblings are still living. Four of them are in their 90’s and live in the Ft. Meyers, Florida area. Her mother lived to be 105, and her father was 102 when he died. Her parents were able to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary, prior to her father’s death.
Louise attended the University of Louisville and graduated from Louisville Normal Teacher’s College. She met her husband, Roy Hunter Short when she was a freshman in college and he was in his senior year. They married 2 ½ years later.
Roy Short had always wanted to become a minister, and was very active in the Louisville Epworth League. During World War I there was a vast shortage of preachers. A friend asked Roy (who was 17 at the time), if he would take a small church as the pastor. He did, and preached all through his years in the Seminary.
A proud 100 year-old mother with sons Riley (standing) and Hunter (seated)
After attending the seminary, an opportunity arose for Roy to preach at a large church in Louisville. The position also included a parsonage in which the preacher could live, but also stipulated that the person who was hired for the position had to be married. It was at this point that Louise and Roy decided it was time to marry!
During Roy’s life, he was the District Superintendent for the Methodist church in Elizabethtown and Louisville, Kentucky. He was also the 2nd Editor of the Upper Room, a nationally distributed Methodist Daily Devotional Guide. (Currently this publication reaches 3 million people in 106 countries and is written in 44 different languages.) In 1948, he was elected as the Methodist Bishop for the Florida and Cuba region.
Louise kept very busy raising their three sons: Hunter (now an retired attorney); Murray (a retired college professor); and Riley (a retired pastor). She was of course, very active in the Methodist church, and contributed through teaching and volunteer work within the church community. She traveled extensively with her husband in his role as Bishop.
Before the singing of Happy Birthday Louise had to blow out the 100 candles on her birthday cake—she did.
Later, Louise and Roy were transferred to Nashville and lived in the Hillwood area of Nashville. They moved back to Louisville for 8 years, and then later retired in Hillwood.
“Retiring” in Hillwood became, however, the beginning of another “adventure” for Louise and Roy. They began talking with William Weaver of Nashville (Mr. Weaver, who backed the Grand Old Opry) about Mr. Weaver’s idea to start a Methodist retirement home in Nashville. Based on this beginning, the McKendree Manor was opened in 1962. After the Manor was built, construction began on the Health Care Center. Later the original Manor was torn down and the Towers apartment building and a new McKendree Manor for assisted living was built; along with a neighborhood of 40 cottage homes.
It was a hugging occasion when friends and family gathered to celebrate Louise Short’s birthday.
The Shorts moved into an apartment at McKendree Towers in 1985. Louise was 79 years old at the time, and Bishop Short was in his 80’s. He died at age 92, and Louise continues to occupy the apartment they originally occupied.
After living at McKendree Village for more than 20 years, Louise is very proud of all that she and her husband accomplished during their years together; including being instrumental in the creation of McKendree Village.
Two of her sons are married and between them have provided Louise and Roy with 7 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. Many of Louise’s family and friends will be attending a reception at McKendree Village in her honor. The reception is being held in the Towers meeting room of McKendree Village on January 17, 2006 from 2-3:30 pm.
Riley Short spoke to the crowd and pointed out that in the year that his mother was born Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States, and Finland had become the first country to allow women to vote.In trying to imagine how many people have been touched by Louise Short and her husband Roy during their lifetime, the Bible verse that comes to mind is Matthew 25:23: “Well done, good and faithful servant”….
Happy Birthday Louise, and may you have many more to come!!
*Diane Miles is Director of Marketing and Public Relations, McKendree Village, Hermitage, Tennessee
A vibrant and very active Louise Short remembers fondly her two families—the McKendree Village community, and her biological family (sons, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and persons that married into the family)A Closing Prayer for Louise Short Presented by Her Son Riley on Behalf of Her Family
Lord, I want to thank you for my mom. I thank you that she’s been such a joy in our lives and given us a lot of laughter and a lot of love. I thank you that she taught us the power of prayer and she pointed to you as our friend and our Savior and our Lord. I thank you for how she and our dad were a team together, not only in the church, but in raising us, and in leading us too.
And on the occasion when we celebrate her 100th birthday, an occasion marking the length of her life, we thank you for the depth of her life, the quality of her life. I pray that you continue to bless her. Help us to live life in a better and greater way because of what she has meant to us.
Thank you for these friends that have come to celebrate with us today. How rich we are because of their friendship and we thank you for that.
Continue to always be our deliverer, our healer, our friend, our savior and our Lord. Keep us in your peace and grace now and forever and forever. For we ask it in the name of Jesus the one who cares about us all. Amen
Bishop Felton E. May Challenges Tennessee United Methodists to Fights against Injustice and Poverty
Worship service planner Susan Groseclose (right) confers with Elijah McGee, Bishop Felton May, and Bishop Richard Wills before the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration began.
Approximately 350 persons attended the Tennessee Annual Conference’s celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Brentwood UMC on Sunday, January 15th. The worshipers reflected the rich diversity of the United Methodist Church—young and old, clergy and laity, individuals from various ethnic and racial groups. Liturgists for the service were Bishop Richard J. Wills, Jr., Rev. Diane Coppock, Rev. SungNam Kim, Rev. Alejandra Hinojosa, Rev. Dr. Ewart Watts, Marie King, and Rev. S. Renee Franklin. Four young people--Orrin Cowley, Jr., Jill Hernando, Carl Brown, Jr. and Breanna McCullough--represented the Tennessee Conference Council on Youth Ministries and presented a dramatic reading from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Liturgists for the King celebration included (front row) Rev. Alejandra Hinojosa, Rev. SungNam Kim, Rev. Diane Coppock, Rev. Dr. Ewart Watts, Marie King (Back row) Elijah McGee and Rev. S. Renee Franklin.Music was provided by the Martin Methodist College Choir, the Ebenezer Echoes from Ebenezer UMC, and the Sudanese Christian Church Choir in Gallatin, Tennessee. The main speaker, Bishop Felton E. May was introduced by the Rev. Elijah McGee who as a young theology student had served on the staff of a local church with May who was the church’s senior pastor.
The Martin Methodist College lead a music salute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the hymn “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”. Bishop May is a retired presiding bishop of the Washington D.C. Episcopal Area, and is the first bishop to be placed on special assignment by the Council of Bishops to organize and coordinate the Bishops’ Initiative on Drug and Alcohol Abuse and Violence in the Washington D.C. area. In response to rioting after the Rodney King verdict, May led United Methodist Communities of Shalom Initiative and today more than 380 Shalom Zones have been established. Upon his retirement in 2004, Bishop May became the Dean and Chair of the Harry R. Kendall Science and Health Mission Center at Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Representatives from the Tennessee Conference Youth present a dramatic reading of the “I Have a Dream” speech (From left to right ) Jill Hernando, Lewisburg 1st UMC; Carl Brown, Jr., Clark Memorial UMC; Breanna McCullough, Lewisburg 1st; and Orrin Cowley, Jr, Clark Memorial UMC (and a student at TSU).In his sermon Bishop May launched a strong criticism of a culture and a church that allows poverty not only to exist but to increase. May used the illustration of Nicodemus who came to visit Christ under cover of darkness—and received words of advice that he didn’t quite comprehend, “You must be born again.” May noted that “The Institutional Church Must be Born Again and both demonstrate and live the proofs of the spirit.” It was a theme he returned to frequently during the sermon.
In his stirring sermon, Bishop Felton E. May stresses that “the institutional church must be born again”
Shortly before Martin Luther King’s assassination Felton May had been a pastor in Chicago, Illinois, and was part of a planning meeting that involved Dr. King. May, soon afterwards, accepted a position in the Delaware Annual Conference and it was there that he learned of Dr. King’s death. “Surely the church would pick up the mantle that that had been snatched from him (King)” but, May noted, “we have just done what was safe.”
He recounted how the first time he heard King speak he was on a balcony looking downward. One thing King said has stuck with May through the years, “Either we will learn to live together as sisters and brothers or we will die together as fools.”
May went on to urge the Tennessee Conference United Methodists to deal forcefully with the crucial issues of our time, to use the power of God’s Spirit to remove poverty completely, and to help solve the problems related to health care. He urged listeners to become a force of love, to remind the power brokers that they are our elected servants. “You can’t have polite conversations with the power brokers,” he warned. “We are in a MESS—MISERY and EVIL SIDE by SIDE.” Earlier he had warned, “There may be a falling away of members if we act like Christians.”
May shared the personal story of an invitation in 1967 received by Martin Luther King, Jr. from then president Lyndon Johnson. King visited with LBJ in the Oval Office only to discover that Johnson was trying to persuade him NOT to bring the poor people’s campaign to Washington. King, noting the devastating effect of poverty not just among African Americans but other ethnic groups as well, indicated that he had no choice but to bring the campaign to Washington. To this day Bishop Felton May feels that King was assassinated because he was about to galvanize the poor into an action force that would sweep out those in power and herald the day when all of God’s children would receive justice and be treated equally. He closed with a quote from the writings of Paul, “If God is for us who can be against us.”
At the end of the service each worshipper was asked to fill out a commitment card—telling what he or she would do to help bring in a day when poverty and injustice could be abolished. Over $1000.00 was raised at the service and the total amount will be credited to the Human Relations Day offering and the causes it supports.
Concluding music was presented by Sudanese Christian Church Choir in Gallatin, Tennessee.
The Story of Bishop Felton May’s Black Robe
Felton May tells the story of the last time he saw Martin Luther King alive. King was speaking to supporters in Chicago and recounted being summoned to the White House by Lyndon Baines Johnson. As they met in the Oval Office Johnson tried to convince King NOT to bring the Poor People’s Campaign to Washington.
Years later May was part of a college observance where black academic gowns were to be worn. Unfortunately, all he had was a white robe. He puzzled about what to do but was urged to try on a robe that had been left at the college years before. It was a good fit, and the robe was incredibly made. “Would you like to keep the robe,” he was asked? May knew a good thing when he saw it and indicated that he would indeed appreciate the gift of the robe.
It wasn’t until after everyone was in robes and ready to process that the question was asked, “Oh, did you have a chance to look at the label?” May flipped his gown off and checked the label—there embroidered in gold were the initials LBJ. May was flabbergasted, he had just been presented with an academic gown that had been ordered by the college for Lyndon Baines Johnson when the president spoke there—but the Secret Service has scurried him away so fast that the gown was left behind. May recalled that Johnson had tried to stop the Poor People’s Campaign and felt uneasy about keeping the gown. Then he thought to himself that the initials “LBJ” aren’t only the initials of a former president but can stand for everything that Martin Luther King, Jr. believed—LOVE BRINGS JUSTICE.
Vacation Bible School Preview and Training, Friday, February 10, 2006
The 2006 Vacation Bible School Preview and Training will be held on Friday, February 10, 2006, 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon, at the Hillcrest United Methodist Church, 5112 Raywood Lane, Nashville, Tennessee.
Vacation Bible School directors and teachers are invited to come explore the 2006 United Methodist Vacation Bible School Curriculum units, "Treasure Seekers" and "Journey Into the Hush Arbor," with the VBS staff from the United Methodist Publishing House.
Participants will get a chance to preview the video, hear the Biblical stories, practice the songs and games, learn how do the crafts, taste a snack, see ways to decorate your classrooms, and much more. Plus, order your VBS curriculum that day from Cokesbury and receive a 20% discount. There is no need to pre-register for this training - just come ready to learn and explore together!
For more information, contact Susan Groseclose at sgroseclose@tnumc.org or 1-800-403-5795 or 615-329-1177, ext. 224.
Tennessee Conference Youth Mission Trip, June 15-21, 2006
The Tennessee Annual Conference youth will be participating a mission trip to the Eleuthera Island of the Bahamas, June 15-21, 2006. This is the fourth Conference Mission Trip. The group will be doing construction type work, rebuilding and repairs resulting from storm damage caused by several hurricanes that have hit the island since 1999.
The cost is $1,000 per person which includes transportation, housing, VIM insurance and all meals. Registrants will need additional money for souvenirs. Deadline for applications is March 31st and attendees will be chosen and notified by April 9th. A $300.00 deposit must be included with the application.
Selection of attendees will be made by the adult participants of the trip. Applications will be dated as they arrive and in the case of equal applicants, the earlier application will prevail. Incomplete applications, or applications with no deposit will not be considered. If you are not selected, your deposit will be refunded. A maximum of 16 participants will be allowed.
Local church pastors and youth directors should have copies of the brochure and application for Mission Team Members. If one is not available to you they may obtained by writing the Tennessee Conference Council, Youth Ministries, 1110 19th Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37212 (615-329-1177). The application can also be downloaded from the Tennessee Annual Conference website http://www.tnumc.org (Click on “Youth”).
You will need to bring work clothes, comfortable shorts and shirts for after work hours, church clothing and personal tools. A complete list will be furnished to you at our group preparation session.
Note: A passport is desired, but not necessary. You will need an original birth certificate and a picture ID if no passport is available. No special shots are required. Attendance at the group preparation session is mandatory.
Limited scholarships will be available after all local and district possibilities are exhausted.
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 8:09 AM
