TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW JUNE 16, 2006
Tennessee Conference Review June 16, 2006
In this Issue—
1. Five Annual Conference Agencies and Offices Move to New United Methodist Center
2. Bishop’s Katrina Recovery Appeal Needs Tennessee Conference Assistance
3. “Hardest boys” from the Nations prize Ms. Nita’s harbor of hope . . . 61st Avenue UMC
4. Commentary: Focus on decline needs to hit real issue by Rev. Jeff Streszoff
5. Pastors feast on more than the word (Diet repenters now seek narrow way)—Includes interviews with Bishop Richard Wills and Rev. R. Clay Hall
6. Divinity classes meet at prison, offer new perspectives on faith. Inmates and Vandebilt University students study religion.
7. Belmont UMC Extending the Table—reaching out to persons who because of illness can not attend church.
8. “What’s On My Mind”—The Rev. John C. Meadors reflects on World War II events that resulted in his call to ministry.
9. Death and Resurrection and Opray—Australian Christian music star/evangelist Mike Rayson reflects on the parable of the lost sheep.
10. Friendship Rekindled after 53 years. Anna Johnson and her childhood friend reunite at Bell Springs UMC after 53 years apart.
11. Silver Ghost Association Gathers at Beersheba Assembly. Philip Geissal tells of Beersheba Assembly hosting the Silver Ghost Association—bringing to the mountains 40 plus 1906 era Rolls Royce autos
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The Bishop’s Katrina Church Recovery Appeal Needs the Assistance of Every Tennessee Conference United Methodist Church
The Katrina Church Recovery Appeal shows the Connectional System of the United Methodist Church at work. Every local Tennessee Conference church is sister and brother to every United Methodist congregation around the world—and when our sisters and brothers suffer we act in every way we can to alleviate the suffering. We, as the Tennessee Conference, have supported, through UMCOR, individuals impacted by Hurricane Katrina. We have provided humanitarian aid to persons no matter their ethnic or racial background, no matter their religious faith. In addition, our Conference has been part of the army of volunteers that have helped families clean damaged homes/property and begin the process of rebuilding. All of these things will continue.
Photo #1, caption: The Rev. Clyde Pressley, head of the disaster recovery ministry for the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference, surveys storm damage at Coden (Ala.) United Methodist Church following Hurricane Katrina. The church’s sanctuary, parsonage, education and fellowship areas were destroyed by the storm. The United Methodist Council of Bishops’ Katrina Church Recovery Appeal is raising money to rebuild churches, re-equip congregations for ministry and pay pastors’ salaries. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
Katrina also destroyed or damaged local churches and parsonages as well as much of the community base that supports the local churches. We now know that 24 churches were totally destroyed and that 67 churches were severely damaged; 12 parsonages were destroyed, and another 13 incurred major damage. The impact is widespread across the region. For example, as of May 1, 2006, 363 insurance claims for churches and parsonages were filed in the Mississippi Conference.
The need for salary and benefit support for pastors—most of whom are involved in relief efforts as well as ministering to the needs of members of the congregation—is huge. In Louisiana’s New Orleans area mission zone the need for salary and benefit support is expected to total $2.1 million for period between June 1, 2006, and May 31, 2007.
Fortunately, we are a Connectional church and we can and will help United Methodist work in the Katrina affected area survive, continue, and even grow. Your congregation, no matter how small or isolated, can make a difference.
Here’s How You Can Help
+Receive a significant offering in your church on August 27, 2006—the Sunday closest to the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Do the same on August 26, 2007, and August 24th or 31st in 2008.
+Partner with a church on the Gulf Coast by contacting one of the Annual Conference Storm Centers listed below.
+Send work teams through the storm centers of the annual conferences. Do NOT send a work team without checking with the annual conference storm centers. When a team is organized/trained and a time and place have been arranged notify Jason Brock so he can get the information on our Emergency Response website. This is particularly crucial if you have openings on the team and would like to invite participation from other churches. Jason Brock, Love and Justice Ministries, Connectional Ministries Office, 304 S. Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 1, Nashville, TN 37211. Email: jbrock@tnumc.org. Phone: 615-695-2753.
Louisiana Conference Storm Center
www.laumcstormrelief.com
Phone: 225-346-5193
Toll Free: 877-345-5193
Email: stormrelief@bellsouth.net
Mississippi Conference Disaster Response Center
1.866.435.7091
Email disastercenter@meridianumc.org
http://www.mississippi-umc.org/page.asp?PKValue=763
The Alabama — West Florida Conference Disaster Recovery Ministry
1.866.340.1956
251.340.7363 — fax
Email disaster@awfumc.org
http://www.awfumc.org/page.asp?PKValue=61
United Methodist Volunteers in Mission
http://www.umvim.org
+Give money. Do not send material contributions.
Give through your congregation. Identify donations through your local church as “Bishops Appeal 818-001.” Send donations to the Conference Administrative Services Office, 304 S. Perimenter Park Drive, Suite 4, Nashville, TN 37211. Phone (615) 327-1162 or 1-800-359-1162. Or you can give online at www.umc.org/churchrecovery.
+Share the special DVD prepared for the Katrina Church Recovery Appeal. There will also be a collection of downloadable bulletin inserts; posters; suggestions of how congregations, church school classes and families can participate; and more. If your pastor has NOT received the DVD then the material is also online at www.umc.org/churchrecovery, or at UMCOM’s toll-free customer service numbr (888) 346-3862.
Head: Five Agencies and Offices Move to New Conference Methodist Center
The Old
Photo #2, caption: For nearly 25 years this building on 1110 19th Avenue South has been home to Tennessee Conference Connectional Ministries and Tennessee Conference Administrative Services. Lack of meeting space and limited parking were serious problems.
The New
Photo #3, caption: The new United Methodist Center at 304 South Perimeter Drive, Nashville TN 37211 will house the Office of Connectional Ministries, Tennessee Conference Administrative Services, the Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation, Office of Ministerial Concerns, and the Nashville District Superintendent. The Center has meeting space for up to 50 persons, a large parking lot, and drive through bays for the storage and loading of UMCOR emergency response
“Hardest boys” from the Nations prize Ms. Nita’s harbor of hope
by Tim Ghianni.
this article appeared as a “Faith in Action” feature in the Faith & Values section, of the Saturday, April 29th edition of THE TENNESSEAN. Copyrighted April 29, 2006 by THE TENNESSEAN and used here with permission.
Nita Haywood holds so tightly to the promise of “hope” that her voice cracks when she utters the word.
Hope saved her from a desperate east Nashville childhood. And it’s what she dispenses to kids—including “the hard boys from the Nations” neighborhood – who escape the streets, at least briefly, to find comfort hugs and promises of peace in the bosom of 61st Avenue United Methodist Church.
“These kids see so much. They know more about sex and drugs than they need to know. And they know hell,” says the church’s children and youth director.
This small, white building isn’t heaven, but clearly there are angels about. And there also are lighthouses. Both are present in some of the crayon drawings, accompanied by “I Love Ms. Nita” scrawls, taped to the walls of her office.
Photo #4, caption: Nita Haywood stands proudly by pictures of the youngsters in the 61st Avenue UMC after school program.
Nita smiles when looking at the lighthouses, beacons of hope along the seashore. “The kids know I love the ocean. It’s my favorite place to go.
“I know where these kids are coming from. I grew up in east Nashville and I had a mentor, a person who changed my life. I met Roxie Jennings through an after-school program at East End United Methodist.
“Because of her, I went on to finish high school. I became a cosmetologist. And then I went back. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. Someday I’ll finish my degree.”
Nita is where she’s needed right now, serving as a mentor—a lighthouse—for these kids.
“Life is full of possibilities. There is something else around the corner. You are not limited by your neighborhood,” says the 38-year-old divorced mother of one
The Nations reminds her of her own childhood home. Kids need to know there is an escape route if they desire it. They also can use the hope she instills to make their lives and this working-class slice of west Nashville better.
“God called me to work with these children. I know there is a way out of the inner-city chains that bind with generational poverty.
“My father was a construction worker who had long periods of unemployment, and he was a binge alcoholic. My mother died of a heart attack when I was 14. I became the head of the household then. It was a lot of pressure on me. A role I wasn’t sure I wanted.”
Thanks to her mentor, she was able to “break the cycle.” That’s why her own daughter, Brooke, 8, is enjoying a “suburban kid’s existence” in Goodlettsville.
Nita scans the tidy church at the intersection of New York and 61st avenues. “About 12 years ago, they were going to close this church down” from lack of members. Other Methodist churches and donors stepped in to keep that from happening, financially propping up this fortress of hope under siege.
“Police and fire engines are an everyday situation. And there’s a 70% dropout rate here. . . . I’ve seen drug activity on my way to church.
“The kids need somewhere where they can go that’s quiet. And safe.”
That’s what young Juanita needed when she first met Roxie all those years ago at East End. “I went to her because I was missing my mama,” says Nita. “I was a confused teenage girl who had all of a sudden assumed so much responsibility.
“She gave me that hope. She gave me opportunity. She was a mother. She gave me boundaries.”
Roxie’s example taught Nita how to listen to young voices and soothe life’s anger: “Some of the hardest boys come in off the streets to talk to me. They are so angry when they come here.”
Nita reaches across her desk to rescue a chocolate Easter bunny, pledges of love to her written on its box.
“Two hard boys gave me this. They were so proud of it. No matter how angry these kids are, they know genuine kindness.”
She puts the bunny back on her desk. “We want this to be a safe place, a place with the hope I had when I was young. A place where kids can have the ability to dream and hopefully they will be able to make better choices.”
“Sewing seeds of hope” is a part of the church’s mission statement.
Nita is proud to be the church’s farmer. “Without planting these seeds, you never know what flowers and fruits are going to grow from these children who, through the years, have seen so much despair.”
To Learn More
To find out more or to contribute, contact:
Nita Haywood, children and youth director
61st Avenue United Methodist Church
6018 New York Ave.
Nashville, TN 37209
292-7184
About This Feature
In this spot, we will present the stories of people of all ages, denominations and creeds whose faith has led them to exemplary or unusual actions.
If you know someone like this, we would like to hear from you. Please contact Tim Ghianni at 259-8048 or tghianni@tennessean.com
See previous installments of the Faith in Action series by doing a keyword search for FAITH at http://www.Tennessean.com
Reprinted article with one captioned photo, Photo #5.
Photo #5, caption: Jeff Streszoff
Reprinted from national edition of The Reporter May 26, 2006
COMMENTARY: Focus on decline needs to hit real issue
by Jeff Streszoff Special Contributor
Photo #5, caption: Jeff Streszoff
Last week I attended our Pre-Annual Conference District Meeting. One of the hot topics of discussion was insurance.
The conference medical insurance is in a budget crunch. In order to help out, the conference has decided to bill the local congregations the cost of the premium minus the portion it will charge the clergy. Also, all eligible clergy will be required to carry this insurance.
As I sat and listened to the discussion, I could not help but feel that we were talking about a symptom of a much larger problem. Then on Tuesday, I received my copy of the United Methodist Reporter. Two articles caught my attention.
The first was about the continuing drop in membership of the United Methodist Church in the United States. The second discussed the lack of young clergy. Once again, I was struck by the fact that we are concerned about the symptoms rather than the larger issue.
The concern seems to be about the survival of the United Methodist Church. The bigger problem is no one is suggesting we change as the world around us changes.
We need to consider the fact that the church has become an institution rather than a missional movement. We are concerned with the disappearance of persons between the ages of 18-35 in our worship services, yet we continue to plod along as if it is something that is out of our control. We have lost our ability to imagine. We think that since this is the way things have been done in the past that it must be right or the only way.
We still live by the motto echoed in the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” So we try to liven up services by bringing in guitars, showing video clips or putting lyrics on the screen. At some churches, we do nothing at all.
The larger problem I see is that this is not what Jesus called us to do. He did not say, “Establish a church building and try and draw people in.” He said, “Go and make disciples.”
Somewhere along the line we seem to have gotten the church confused with the Kingdom of God. We have come to believe that our purpose is to increase church attendance, but it is not.
Last week I read an interesting illustration in The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. The authors give two examples of how ranchers keep cattle.
The first example is a fence. On smaller ranches, the rancher builds a fence to keep in the cattle. It is clear which cattle are in and which are out.
The second example is a well. In the outback of Australia, the ranches are so large that a rancher cannot possibly fence in the property so they simply drill a well. They trust that the cattle will not stray too far from the well or else they will die.
Our churches currently represent the fence model. We have clear distinctions between who is in and who is out. It is our goal to bring people into the fence.
I suggest we change to the well model. The well is Jesus Christ. Some people are closer to the well and some are farther away. There is no in and out. Our purpose is to bring others closer to the well.
We need to ask ourselves three questions: Do we believe that God is everywhere? Do we believe that God cares? Do we believe that God is active?
If we answer “yes” to all three, we need to get involved where God is already working. We need to become a viable part of building the Kingdom. We need to be relevant. And when we are, others will join in our mission.
We need to be the church where life happens.
As Andrew Thompson wrote in his Gen-X Rising column, “It is time for us to realize that while God will never abandon the Church, he might abandon us.”
Are we living as the Church or are we simply trying to maintain a dying organization?
*Jeff Streszoff is associate minister at First United Methodist Church in Cookeville, Tenn.
Pastors feast on more than the word
Diet repenters now seek narrow way
By Anita WadhwaniStaff writer
Reprinted with permission from The Tennessean, Friday, May 12, 2006.
Two years into the job as a new minister, with too little time to exercise and too many Southern-fried, smothered-in-gravy-style church meals, the Rev. Darrell Drumwright saw his weight jump 65 pounds, to 300.
“I came home from Harvard (Divinity School) and stopped exercising and began to eat all that church food,” said Drumwright, 31, a formerly fit football and basketball player in high school.
“Then I looked in the mirror one day and said, ‘Oh my.’ “
Drumwright isn’t the only minister who has found that pastoral duties weigh heavily around their middles.
About 76 percent of clergy are overweight or obese, compared with 61 percent of the general population, according to a 2002 survey by Duke University’s Pulpit & Pew, which conducts research on pastoral leadership.
Hectic schedules, unhealthy eating habits and a focus on caring for other peoples’ needs but not, necessarily, their own, have all contributed to fuller figures among faith leaders, experts say.
But a number of local efforts have begun to try and turn around that trend.
The Tennessee Department of Health has begun holding conferences to educate pastors about steps they can take to improve their health.
Local denominational leaders such as Bishop Richard Wills, resident bishop of the Nashville Episcopal Area of the United Methodist Church, has asked his seven clergy leaders with church oversight to join a “covenant” pledging to care for themselves better.
And the American Baptist College has a program for about two dozen pastors to incorporate healthy nutrition and exercise habits into their day-to-day lives.
“We’ve seen a lot of pastors who, on the surface, have poor health practices,” said the Rev. Forrest Harris Sr., president of the American Baptist College. “We saw a disconnect between spirituality and health. And we saw spiritual leaders being negatively affected by that disconnect.”
In its third year, the college’s “Vibrant Ministries” program has conducted seminars and workshops for an interdenominational group of clergy.
One participant, the Rev. Judy Cummings, said she joined the five-year program because she wanted to be a role model for members of her church, Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church in north Nashville.
A former cardiac nurse for 25 years before becoming a minister, Cummings said she noticed her habits taking a turn for the worse.
“Ministry is very busy,” said Cummings, 50. “It’s 24-7. You get up with the best intentions, you try to have a good breakfast and then it’s downhill from there. It’s meetings. It’s counseling. It’s administrative duties, it’s sermons to prepare, it’s all kind of crises.
“You go to meetings where the food isn’t always that healthy. But fellowship around the table is very symbolic in church, so you’ll end up spending a lot of time gathering at those tables. Then you’re here until 7 or 8 at night and you go through Mrs. Winner’s drive-through and get chicken wings for dinner.”
The job has packed an extra 20 pounds on her, Cummings said. But inspired, in part, by the American Baptist College training, she completed the Country Music Half-Marathon last month.
“I think we need to be better models,” she said. “You see a lot of premature deaths, and you want your congregation members to be healthy, too. The healthier you are, the healthier your message is going to be.”
Many ministers, however, find it hard to devote time to their health, leading to serious consequences for pastors such as the Rev. Clay Hall of Lambuth United Memorial Methodist Church in Gallatin.
Hall’s leg was amputated after developing an infection that was exacerbated by his diabetes. He spent three years on medical leave.
“We clergy do not take care of ourselves until we are in trouble,” said Hall, who is back at work.
Methodist leaders are among national denominations noting the toll that overwork and weight gain are taking on their clergy and their church’s health-care costs.
The United Methodist Church found that it was paying on average 16 percent more than the private sector for health care, even adjusting for the older-than-average age of the clergy.
“You’re talking about churches having to pay ever-increasing premiums for clergy and you’re talking about church funds dwindling. It’s an issue for corporate America. It’s an issue for General Motors. And it’s an issue for a church that has three employees,” said Noreen Orbach, managing director for health and welfare services at the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church.
Wills, the Methodist bishop, has asked local Methodist leaders to present a covenant called a “healthy living plan” outlining their plans for diet, exercise, rest and time for reflection and family life.
For Wills, the issue springs not only from seeing a growing number of overweight pastors but also from Biblical concerns.
“I’ve been saying to our clergy that God has a plan for our lives and if we are to fulfill that plan, then we have to treat our bodies in such a way that we’ll live long enough that we’ll be able to do what God wants us to do, that we’ll have the energy.”
“In Corinthians, it says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and I am encouraging our pastors to reflect on this.”
Wills, 64, says he has entered into the covenant himself with seven supervising clergy and hopes they will enlist all local Methodist pastors in the covenant.
Drumwright, a pastor at The Temple Church, began heading to the gym to exercise daily last year and says he now tries — although he doesn’t always succeed — to stay away from unhealthy foods.
The Rev. Hilda Davis-Carroll, director of the Tennessee Department of Health Office of Faith Initiatives said that she views improving clergy health habits as a key public health strategy.
“People listen to pastors and respect pastors,” she said. “They have more leverage in taking that message of eating right and exercising to all the members of their church, from seniors to children.”
Davis-Carroll said she didn’t expect clergy to completely transform their lives to live healthier.
“I’m not suggesting they bring tofu and carrots for lunch while everyone else is eating fried chicken and greens,” she said. “I’m saying, have more fruits and vegetables, moderate portion sizes and when old Miss Jones brings a cake for the pastor, don’t take it home. Just take a little slice and pass it to the rest of the congregation.”
The department of health held a “Healthier Clergy Leading Healthier Congregations” conference for clergy and lay leaders on May 23 in Nashville.
Article with one photo, Photo #7
Silver Ghost Association Gathers at Beersheba Assembly
by Philip Geissal
During the second week in May, the Assembly provided service for the final two nights of the Silver Ghost Association 2006 two week tour of Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina. Having 40 plus 1906 era Rolls Royce autos on the Assembly grounds for two nights was like turning back the clock, the Hotel was in it’s full glory. The guests from many states across the country, and even from Australia and England, enjoyed their stay. On Wednesday evening they were entertained by special mountain music provided by entertainers from our new mountain dinner theatre, Bear Hollow between Tracy City and Monteagle. Thursday evening a dinner was hosted by Howell Adams at the nearby Wholemeal house. Our staff provided the food service for some 90 people on the first floor of the house, a truly impressive meal and experience for our guests. While there was some rain over their stay, we did send them back to Nashville on a morning full of beautiful sun.
Inmates, VU students study religion
Divinity classes meet at prison, offer new perspectives on faith
This article appeared in the Local News section, of the Monday, May 8th edition of THE TENNESSEAN. Copyrighted May 8, 2006 by THE TENNESSEAN and used here with permission.
By Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press
Most of the divinity students in Vanderbilt University’s Writing About Religion class wear typical college attire—T-shirts and jeans.
The only thing different about some students is that their jeans have “TN Dept of Correction” written in white down each pant leg.
The class is being held at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville, where nearly 700 prisoners are housed and home to Tennessee’s death row.
Five rows of fence topped with razorwire surround the prison, but inside the prison classroom, inmates and Vanderbilt students sit together and immerse themselves in passages from Matthew, discuss the meaning of faith and debate the discovery of the Gospel of Judas.
The class meets once a week in a sparsely equipped classroom with yellowed maps and a dirty blackboard, next to the woodworking shop. Students and prisoners move wooden chairs into a circle, and professor Ray Waddle begins the class by asking them to analyze how the term “jailhouse convert” was used in a reading assignment (Waddle is a part-time columnist for The Tennessean).
“All the great men went to prison, the way I see it – Jesus, Paul and John the Baptist,” said 35-year-old inmate Rahim Buford, who was sentenced to life at age 18. “If you want to find out who you are, you have to be confined in some way.”
The program began three years ago with faculty members volunteering their time to introduce divinity students, many of whom will go on to lead congregations, to the growing number of people who seek religion and spirituality behind bars.
“In our regular classes on campus, we talk a lot in theory about social justice and being concerned with people who are marginalized,” said Leah Payne, a 26-year-old master’s student from Oregon. “But sometimes that tends to make us almost patronizing because we don’t engage people who have their own sense of those issues.”
The students and inmates, about five of each, do the same course-work , read the same assignments and turn in papers on the same topics. Inmates with college degrees can earn credit for the graduate class.
James Hudnut-Beumler, dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, said the program has opened many students’ eyes to prison life beyond what they’ve seen on TV or in movies.
“The thing I hear again and again is that they experience the men at Riverbend as people with intelligent ideas about religion and the things they read together. And they didn’t expect that,” Hudnut-Beumler said.
Prison rights activist and Vanderbilt professor Harmon Wray designed the classes based on a theology program at Sing Sing Prison taught by faculty at New York Theological Seminary. But Wray invited students, not just faculty, to work with the prisoners.
“The difference here is that I don’t think there’s any other place in the country where divinity students are actually sitting in the classroom with the Riverbend students reading the same material, discussing the same material,” Wray said.
“It doesn’t allow one to make a judgment of them as the other, or outcasts,” said Marcus Trammell, 26, a second-year master’s student. “I often ask myself, ‘How did they get here?’ And I’ve found all of them to be very reflective people and very open about looking at themselves and what they’ve done.”
Frederick Sledge, one of the youngest people to be sentenced to death in the state at age 19, told the class that it took him years to understand that prisoners don’t have to feel spiritually disconnected just because they are physically disconnected.
“Here I was, looking for someone on the outside to bring the church inside, when it was inside all along,” Sledge told the class.
Sledge, whose sentence was later reduced to life in prison, admitted to fatally shooting a 64-year-old man in 1991. He and two others followed Johnny Harris to his apartment, demanded money and then shot him in the back.
In past classes, students and prisoners have studied topics such as biblical interpretation in the South, the Book of Revelation and the Gospel according to Matthew, which was taught last semester by renowned New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine.
“They aren’t only interested in classes about prison ministries or the criminal justice system,” Levine said. “They wanted the hard core academic stuff, what the historians are talking about.”
The classes aren’t just a challenge in an intellectually stunted environment. For some inmates who have no expectations of ever living outside of Riverbend’s prison walls, the classes represent a small, precious moment of freedom.
“We’re limited by the fences – we’re closed-off communities,” said inmate Tom Warren, 47, who is serving two consecutive life terms. “It’s an opportunity to deal with the loneliness. These classes have probably saved my life.”
Friendship Rekindled after 53 yearsby Louis A. Johnson
Limitless, all compassing, inclusive, never ending, joyful love was experienced in a hands-on heart tugging and inspiring way at Bell Springs UMC on May 21, 2006. “Open hearts, open minds and open doors” were not just talked about but participated in and became a reality.
When Anna Johnson, pianist at Bell Springs and spouse of Minister Louis A. Johnson, was a small girl she played with another small girl named Annie Rose. This was in her home town of Jasper, Alabama. Anna and Annie spent many hours playing together, crying together and enjoying each other.
When Anna married in 1952 Annie Rose was present and this was the last time the two communicated for a period of 53 years. In 2005 Annie Rose, by some means, got Ann’s phone number and called her. The two got together and renewed their earlier friendship.
On May 21, 2006 Annie Rose Vine’s son Steven drove her to Manchester, Tennessee and she attended church at Bell Springs UMC. The experience was such a wonderful beautiful experience for all who were present that day. The entire church greeted and welcomed Annie with elongated applause and tears of joy. When the service was ending “Open Arms” became “Full Arms” for many.
I do not believe that anyone in the church even noticed that Annie Rose Vines was African American.
Belmont UMC
Extending the Table
by Linda Johnson
Many United Methodists feel separated from their faith community when they are prevented from attending church services. At a time when they are ill or are drawing closer to God’s promise of eternity, they are cut off from the activities and resources that sustain faith. It is at this important and pivotal point in a person’s life that the church should be present. But with the increasing demands of ministry, pastors can’t be present nearly as often as people need or want.
Belmont Church has a long-standing and vital homebound visitation program, with every local homebound member receiving a monthly visit and gifts at Christmas and Easter. Those who have moved away receive cards. Another ministry called faith companions was recently added, which consists of a group of people who are learning to engage in conversations of faith and to offer spiritual nourishment to church members who are unwillingly absent from worship, but still want to grow in their faith. Through two years of training and on-going continuing education, faith companions are learning to listen deeply and to help people talk about faith issues such as grief, forgiveness, death and resurrection. Seeking still further ways of helping homebound members feel connected to the church and its worship, Belmont decided to “extend the Lord’s table” by taking the consecrated elements and a liturgy to be shared in communion with them.
Following morning worship one communion Sunday, approximately 30 people gathered for lunch in preparation for visiting assigned homebound members. They were given a package that included communion elements consecrated in worship, a large print copy of the Upper Room, a Lenten prayer calendar written by Carmen Lile-Henley, and the liturgy to be used in serving the communion. The liturgy began with the words: “You are an important part of the faith community of Belmont even though you can’t always make it to worship. This is a way of extending the Lord’s Table to you. We want you to feel connected to your church and we want you to stay connected to your faith and to God.”
This was the initial effort of what is hoped to be an ongoing ministry of taking the church to people who aren’t able to attend but who desire to deepen their faith. The elder years are good years to think about God. With a lifetime of experiences to build on, these can be years to deepen faith, to wrestle with old questions or to ask new questions. Homebound members also have much to give in terms of wisdom, insight, and life stories. There is no doubt that the one doing the visiting receives as much as, if not more than, what is given.
“What’s On My Mind”
by John C. Meadors*
From the Bellshire UMC newsletter for April 2006
I was taking the garbage out. That’s right. My ship LST 942 (Landing Ships, Tanks) was docked at Pier 92 in New York City. We were taking on supplies. In less than twenty-four hours, we were headed to the Asiatic Pacific theatre ofwar, Okinawa, specifically. We were all excited. I guess this was kinda normal for a nineteen year old kid who had only been in two states. I was taking the garbage out as I was on the galley crew. I felt a terrible pain in my side. I finished my chores and went to my bunkand laid down. The pain persisted. After a while I got up and went to Sick Bay to see the Doc.
He soon told me, after some probing about which hurt worse than the pain in the side, that he was sending me to the naval hospital across the Hudson River in Brooklyn. I was no longer excited. My toleration for pain is extremely low and I feared surgery. The Sick Bay Doc had hinted at appendicitis. I had no choice but to go. In less than two hours I had surgery. I was in that hospital for five or six days. Naturally, my ship did not wait for me. It was several weeks later, when I did get to Okinawa on another ship, LCS 2 (Landing Craft Support) that I learned that my original ship, LST 942, had been attacked shortly after arriving in Okinawa by Japanese suicide bombers, known as Kamikazes. The 942 went down, taking about 90% of the crew with her.
At the time I was living it up in New York City, dating a cute little nurse from Nebraska while recuperating from surgery. I was also waiting to be assigned to another ship. I did get to Okinawa, but it was in June and I missed the original invasion. I got to see enough action to
last me for a lifetime. Many times I have reflected on that incident of missing the boat that was destroyed. Did God have a plan for me?
Another time we were in the South China Sea. We had just completed the retaking of the Philippines. (This is when General MacArthur made the famous statement, “I said I would return.” A very bad storm came up. You will need to know that we call a “Hurricane” in the western world is a “Typhoon” in the eastern world. Again, I was taking out the garbage. At sea, you could not dispose of garbage during the day . . . it would tell the enemy subs where you were. So I did it at night. I should have known better, but I took a bucket of garbage, during the terrible typhoon, and as I reared back to toss it, a huge wave came down on the side of the ship and literally picked me up and was washing me towards the fantail (the rear of the ship). Any second I would be a goner. It was pitch black, with waves twenty foot high, wind blowing and the hardest rain I had ever seen. I blindly reached out and grabbed . . . The small lifeline that goes around the ship was my savior. I had actually grabbed it! I hung on until help came in the form of a grappling hook and I was pulled to safety. God is good.
Now you know why I said “Yes” in the early morning hours when the Lord called me to preach . . . “Yes, Lord. I will do it.” I owe Him big time. That’s what’s on my mind.
*John C. Meadors is a retired ministerial member of the Tennessee Annual Conference.
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Death and Resurrection and Oprah
by Mike Rayson
Photo #10, caption: Australian Christian musician Mike Rayson tries his hand at good ol’ southern barbequing at a Memorial Day gathering.
April 25th is an important date on my calendar. It is ANZAC day… the Aussie version of Memorial Day. For many down under, it’s the final chance to throw another shrimp on the Barbie and jump into the pool before winter sets in — and to spend time reflecting on the great sacrifices made by Aussie soldiers on behalf of their country.
Larry Knight never made it through ANZAC day this year. He died 3000 feet underground. At 9.30 p.m. a small earth tremor gently shook the gold mining town of Beaconsfield, Tasmania -- not enough to cause alarm on the surface -- but enough to cause a catastrophic cave-in deep underground in the mine. Larry’s body was found two days later.
Also missing were Todd Russell 34, and rant Webb 37 — presumed dead. The little Tasmanian village settled into deep shock. But then someone heard a noise. A distant faint noise. Deep underground, a cry in the darkness. Russell and Webb were alive—entombed ¾ of a mile beneath the surface in a dark and damp dog kennel sized cage.
The world held her breath and awaited news of the rescue . . . and waited . . . and waited. Battling rock five times harder than concrete, day and night the drilling to reach the pair continued.
Finally, an incredible 14 days after their imprisonment, Russell and Webb walked out of the mine, hands punching the air in jubilation! A miraculous tale of survival and resurrection.
In one of his many stories, Jesus told of a man who lost one sheep. And leaving all the others, he went out to find it. Reality tells us that this is perhaps not the best use of the shepherd’s time. Most of the sheep are safe, so why put them at risk to find one?
We have a Shepherd God who risks everything to secure our rescue. A God who continually fights to draw us out of the pit with a never-ending cry of ‘Thou Art Mine.’ This is saving grace at work. More than we could ever ask for . . . more than we could ever hope for . . . more than we can dare imagine.
The Beaconsfield United Church held a continual prayer service for the duration of the miners’ captivity. When Russell and Webb walked from the grave, Rev. Frances Seen rang the church bell—silent since the end of World War II. The sound pealed out in loud and jubilant chorus across Beaconsfield and then abruptly stopped . . . Rev. Seen had run the bell so hard with enthusiasm and joy that it broke in two.
Our God is in the business of lost sheep and broken bells, and rejoices doubly so and more when we turn and head for home. As for Todd Russell and Brant Webb – rumor has it they’re coming soon to an Oprah program near you!
Mike and Amy Rayson and their children left Australia for Tennessee in August 2005, where they quickly discovered Wal-Mart and Chucky Cheese! They are missionaries to the local church in the United States of America. To book Mike to speak or sing in your church, please call 931-362-1190, or email mike@mikerayson.net
In this Issue—
1. Five Annual Conference Agencies and Offices Move to New United Methodist Center
2. Bishop’s Katrina Recovery Appeal Needs Tennessee Conference Assistance
3. “Hardest boys” from the Nations prize Ms. Nita’s harbor of hope . . . 61st Avenue UMC
4. Commentary: Focus on decline needs to hit real issue by Rev. Jeff Streszoff
5. Pastors feast on more than the word (Diet repenters now seek narrow way)—Includes interviews with Bishop Richard Wills and Rev. R. Clay Hall
6. Divinity classes meet at prison, offer new perspectives on faith. Inmates and Vandebilt University students study religion.
7. Belmont UMC Extending the Table—reaching out to persons who because of illness can not attend church.
8. “What’s On My Mind”—The Rev. John C. Meadors reflects on World War II events that resulted in his call to ministry.
9. Death and Resurrection and Opray—Australian Christian music star/evangelist Mike Rayson reflects on the parable of the lost sheep.
10. Friendship Rekindled after 53 years. Anna Johnson and her childhood friend reunite at Bell Springs UMC after 53 years apart.
11. Silver Ghost Association Gathers at Beersheba Assembly. Philip Geissal tells of Beersheba Assembly hosting the Silver Ghost Association—bringing to the mountains 40 plus 1906 era Rolls Royce autos
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The Bishop’s Katrina Church Recovery Appeal Needs the Assistance of Every Tennessee Conference United Methodist Church
The Katrina Church Recovery Appeal shows the Connectional System of the United Methodist Church at work. Every local Tennessee Conference church is sister and brother to every United Methodist congregation around the world—and when our sisters and brothers suffer we act in every way we can to alleviate the suffering. We, as the Tennessee Conference, have supported, through UMCOR, individuals impacted by Hurricane Katrina. We have provided humanitarian aid to persons no matter their ethnic or racial background, no matter their religious faith. In addition, our Conference has been part of the army of volunteers that have helped families clean damaged homes/property and begin the process of rebuilding. All of these things will continue.
Photo #1, caption: The Rev. Clyde Pressley, head of the disaster recovery ministry for the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference, surveys storm damage at Coden (Ala.) United Methodist Church following Hurricane Katrina. The church’s sanctuary, parsonage, education and fellowship areas were destroyed by the storm. The United Methodist Council of Bishops’ Katrina Church Recovery Appeal is raising money to rebuild churches, re-equip congregations for ministry and pay pastors’ salaries. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
Katrina also destroyed or damaged local churches and parsonages as well as much of the community base that supports the local churches. We now know that 24 churches were totally destroyed and that 67 churches were severely damaged; 12 parsonages were destroyed, and another 13 incurred major damage. The impact is widespread across the region. For example, as of May 1, 2006, 363 insurance claims for churches and parsonages were filed in the Mississippi Conference.
The need for salary and benefit support for pastors—most of whom are involved in relief efforts as well as ministering to the needs of members of the congregation—is huge. In Louisiana’s New Orleans area mission zone the need for salary and benefit support is expected to total $2.1 million for period between June 1, 2006, and May 31, 2007.
Fortunately, we are a Connectional church and we can and will help United Methodist work in the Katrina affected area survive, continue, and even grow. Your congregation, no matter how small or isolated, can make a difference.
Here’s How You Can Help
+Receive a significant offering in your church on August 27, 2006—the Sunday closest to the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Do the same on August 26, 2007, and August 24th or 31st in 2008.
+Partner with a church on the Gulf Coast by contacting one of the Annual Conference Storm Centers listed below.
+Send work teams through the storm centers of the annual conferences. Do NOT send a work team without checking with the annual conference storm centers. When a team is organized/trained and a time and place have been arranged notify Jason Brock so he can get the information on our Emergency Response website. This is particularly crucial if you have openings on the team and would like to invite participation from other churches. Jason Brock, Love and Justice Ministries, Connectional Ministries Office, 304 S. Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 1, Nashville, TN 37211. Email: jbrock@tnumc.org. Phone: 615-695-2753.
Louisiana Conference Storm Center
www.laumcstormrelief.com
Phone: 225-346-5193
Toll Free: 877-345-5193
Email: stormrelief@bellsouth.net
Mississippi Conference Disaster Response Center
1.866.435.7091
Email disastercenter@meridianumc.org
http://www.mississippi-umc.org/page.asp?PKValue=763
The Alabama — West Florida Conference Disaster Recovery Ministry
1.866.340.1956
251.340.7363 — fax
Email disaster@awfumc.org
http://www.awfumc.org/page.asp?PKValue=61
United Methodist Volunteers in Mission
http://www.umvim.org
+Give money. Do not send material contributions.
Give through your congregation. Identify donations through your local church as “Bishops Appeal 818-001.” Send donations to the Conference Administrative Services Office, 304 S. Perimenter Park Drive, Suite 4, Nashville, TN 37211. Phone (615) 327-1162 or 1-800-359-1162. Or you can give online at www.umc.org/churchrecovery.
+Share the special DVD prepared for the Katrina Church Recovery Appeal. There will also be a collection of downloadable bulletin inserts; posters; suggestions of how congregations, church school classes and families can participate; and more. If your pastor has NOT received the DVD then the material is also online at www.umc.org/churchrecovery, or at UMCOM’s toll-free customer service numbr (888) 346-3862.
Head: Five Agencies and Offices Move to New Conference Methodist Center
The Old
Photo #2, caption: For nearly 25 years this building on 1110 19th Avenue South has been home to Tennessee Conference Connectional Ministries and Tennessee Conference Administrative Services. Lack of meeting space and limited parking were serious problems.
The New
Photo #3, caption: The new United Methodist Center at 304 South Perimeter Drive, Nashville TN 37211 will house the Office of Connectional Ministries, Tennessee Conference Administrative Services, the Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation, Office of Ministerial Concerns, and the Nashville District Superintendent. The Center has meeting space for up to 50 persons, a large parking lot, and drive through bays for the storage and loading of UMCOR emergency response
“Hardest boys” from the Nations prize Ms. Nita’s harbor of hope
by Tim Ghianni.
this article appeared as a “Faith in Action” feature in the Faith & Values section, of the Saturday, April 29th edition of THE TENNESSEAN. Copyrighted April 29, 2006 by THE TENNESSEAN and used here with permission.
Nita Haywood holds so tightly to the promise of “hope” that her voice cracks when she utters the word.
Hope saved her from a desperate east Nashville childhood. And it’s what she dispenses to kids—including “the hard boys from the Nations” neighborhood – who escape the streets, at least briefly, to find comfort hugs and promises of peace in the bosom of 61st Avenue United Methodist Church.
“These kids see so much. They know more about sex and drugs than they need to know. And they know hell,” says the church’s children and youth director.
This small, white building isn’t heaven, but clearly there are angels about. And there also are lighthouses. Both are present in some of the crayon drawings, accompanied by “I Love Ms. Nita” scrawls, taped to the walls of her office.
Photo #4, caption: Nita Haywood stands proudly by pictures of the youngsters in the 61st Avenue UMC after school program.
Nita smiles when looking at the lighthouses, beacons of hope along the seashore. “The kids know I love the ocean. It’s my favorite place to go.
“I know where these kids are coming from. I grew up in east Nashville and I had a mentor, a person who changed my life. I met Roxie Jennings through an after-school program at East End United Methodist.
“Because of her, I went on to finish high school. I became a cosmetologist. And then I went back. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. Someday I’ll finish my degree.”
Nita is where she’s needed right now, serving as a mentor—a lighthouse—for these kids.
“Life is full of possibilities. There is something else around the corner. You are not limited by your neighborhood,” says the 38-year-old divorced mother of one
The Nations reminds her of her own childhood home. Kids need to know there is an escape route if they desire it. They also can use the hope she instills to make their lives and this working-class slice of west Nashville better.
“God called me to work with these children. I know there is a way out of the inner-city chains that bind with generational poverty.
“My father was a construction worker who had long periods of unemployment, and he was a binge alcoholic. My mother died of a heart attack when I was 14. I became the head of the household then. It was a lot of pressure on me. A role I wasn’t sure I wanted.”
Thanks to her mentor, she was able to “break the cycle.” That’s why her own daughter, Brooke, 8, is enjoying a “suburban kid’s existence” in Goodlettsville.
Nita scans the tidy church at the intersection of New York and 61st avenues. “About 12 years ago, they were going to close this church down” from lack of members. Other Methodist churches and donors stepped in to keep that from happening, financially propping up this fortress of hope under siege.
“Police and fire engines are an everyday situation. And there’s a 70% dropout rate here. . . . I’ve seen drug activity on my way to church.
“The kids need somewhere where they can go that’s quiet. And safe.”
That’s what young Juanita needed when she first met Roxie all those years ago at East End. “I went to her because I was missing my mama,” says Nita. “I was a confused teenage girl who had all of a sudden assumed so much responsibility.
“She gave me that hope. She gave me opportunity. She was a mother. She gave me boundaries.”
Roxie’s example taught Nita how to listen to young voices and soothe life’s anger: “Some of the hardest boys come in off the streets to talk to me. They are so angry when they come here.”
Nita reaches across her desk to rescue a chocolate Easter bunny, pledges of love to her written on its box.
“Two hard boys gave me this. They were so proud of it. No matter how angry these kids are, they know genuine kindness.”
She puts the bunny back on her desk. “We want this to be a safe place, a place with the hope I had when I was young. A place where kids can have the ability to dream and hopefully they will be able to make better choices.”
“Sewing seeds of hope” is a part of the church’s mission statement.
Nita is proud to be the church’s farmer. “Without planting these seeds, you never know what flowers and fruits are going to grow from these children who, through the years, have seen so much despair.”
To Learn More
To find out more or to contribute, contact:
Nita Haywood, children and youth director
61st Avenue United Methodist Church
6018 New York Ave.
Nashville, TN 37209
292-7184
About This Feature
In this spot, we will present the stories of people of all ages, denominations and creeds whose faith has led them to exemplary or unusual actions.
If you know someone like this, we would like to hear from you. Please contact Tim Ghianni at 259-8048 or tghianni@tennessean.com
See previous installments of the Faith in Action series by doing a keyword search for FAITH at http://www.Tennessean.com
Reprinted article with one captioned photo, Photo #5.
Photo #5, caption: Jeff Streszoff
Reprinted from national edition of The Reporter May 26, 2006
COMMENTARY: Focus on decline needs to hit real issue
by Jeff Streszoff Special Contributor
Photo #5, caption: Jeff Streszoff
Last week I attended our Pre-Annual Conference District Meeting. One of the hot topics of discussion was insurance.
The conference medical insurance is in a budget crunch. In order to help out, the conference has decided to bill the local congregations the cost of the premium minus the portion it will charge the clergy. Also, all eligible clergy will be required to carry this insurance.
As I sat and listened to the discussion, I could not help but feel that we were talking about a symptom of a much larger problem. Then on Tuesday, I received my copy of the United Methodist Reporter. Two articles caught my attention.
The first was about the continuing drop in membership of the United Methodist Church in the United States. The second discussed the lack of young clergy. Once again, I was struck by the fact that we are concerned about the symptoms rather than the larger issue.
The concern seems to be about the survival of the United Methodist Church. The bigger problem is no one is suggesting we change as the world around us changes.
We need to consider the fact that the church has become an institution rather than a missional movement. We are concerned with the disappearance of persons between the ages of 18-35 in our worship services, yet we continue to plod along as if it is something that is out of our control. We have lost our ability to imagine. We think that since this is the way things have been done in the past that it must be right or the only way.
We still live by the motto echoed in the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” So we try to liven up services by bringing in guitars, showing video clips or putting lyrics on the screen. At some churches, we do nothing at all.
The larger problem I see is that this is not what Jesus called us to do. He did not say, “Establish a church building and try and draw people in.” He said, “Go and make disciples.”
Somewhere along the line we seem to have gotten the church confused with the Kingdom of God. We have come to believe that our purpose is to increase church attendance, but it is not.
Last week I read an interesting illustration in The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. The authors give two examples of how ranchers keep cattle.
The first example is a fence. On smaller ranches, the rancher builds a fence to keep in the cattle. It is clear which cattle are in and which are out.
The second example is a well. In the outback of Australia, the ranches are so large that a rancher cannot possibly fence in the property so they simply drill a well. They trust that the cattle will not stray too far from the well or else they will die.
Our churches currently represent the fence model. We have clear distinctions between who is in and who is out. It is our goal to bring people into the fence.
I suggest we change to the well model. The well is Jesus Christ. Some people are closer to the well and some are farther away. There is no in and out. Our purpose is to bring others closer to the well.
We need to ask ourselves three questions: Do we believe that God is everywhere? Do we believe that God cares? Do we believe that God is active?
If we answer “yes” to all three, we need to get involved where God is already working. We need to become a viable part of building the Kingdom. We need to be relevant. And when we are, others will join in our mission.
We need to be the church where life happens.
As Andrew Thompson wrote in his Gen-X Rising column, “It is time for us to realize that while God will never abandon the Church, he might abandon us.”
Are we living as the Church or are we simply trying to maintain a dying organization?
*Jeff Streszoff is associate minister at First United Methodist Church in Cookeville, Tenn.
Pastors feast on more than the word
Diet repenters now seek narrow way
By Anita WadhwaniStaff writer
Reprinted with permission from The Tennessean, Friday, May 12, 2006.
Two years into the job as a new minister, with too little time to exercise and too many Southern-fried, smothered-in-gravy-style church meals, the Rev. Darrell Drumwright saw his weight jump 65 pounds, to 300.
“I came home from Harvard (Divinity School) and stopped exercising and began to eat all that church food,” said Drumwright, 31, a formerly fit football and basketball player in high school.
“Then I looked in the mirror one day and said, ‘Oh my.’ “
Drumwright isn’t the only minister who has found that pastoral duties weigh heavily around their middles.
About 76 percent of clergy are overweight or obese, compared with 61 percent of the general population, according to a 2002 survey by Duke University’s Pulpit & Pew, which conducts research on pastoral leadership.
Hectic schedules, unhealthy eating habits and a focus on caring for other peoples’ needs but not, necessarily, their own, have all contributed to fuller figures among faith leaders, experts say.
But a number of local efforts have begun to try and turn around that trend.
The Tennessee Department of Health has begun holding conferences to educate pastors about steps they can take to improve their health.
Local denominational leaders such as Bishop Richard Wills, resident bishop of the Nashville Episcopal Area of the United Methodist Church, has asked his seven clergy leaders with church oversight to join a “covenant” pledging to care for themselves better.
And the American Baptist College has a program for about two dozen pastors to incorporate healthy nutrition and exercise habits into their day-to-day lives.
“We’ve seen a lot of pastors who, on the surface, have poor health practices,” said the Rev. Forrest Harris Sr., president of the American Baptist College. “We saw a disconnect between spirituality and health. And we saw spiritual leaders being negatively affected by that disconnect.”
In its third year, the college’s “Vibrant Ministries” program has conducted seminars and workshops for an interdenominational group of clergy.
One participant, the Rev. Judy Cummings, said she joined the five-year program because she wanted to be a role model for members of her church, Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church in north Nashville.
A former cardiac nurse for 25 years before becoming a minister, Cummings said she noticed her habits taking a turn for the worse.
“Ministry is very busy,” said Cummings, 50. “It’s 24-7. You get up with the best intentions, you try to have a good breakfast and then it’s downhill from there. It’s meetings. It’s counseling. It’s administrative duties, it’s sermons to prepare, it’s all kind of crises.
“You go to meetings where the food isn’t always that healthy. But fellowship around the table is very symbolic in church, so you’ll end up spending a lot of time gathering at those tables. Then you’re here until 7 or 8 at night and you go through Mrs. Winner’s drive-through and get chicken wings for dinner.”
The job has packed an extra 20 pounds on her, Cummings said. But inspired, in part, by the American Baptist College training, she completed the Country Music Half-Marathon last month.
“I think we need to be better models,” she said. “You see a lot of premature deaths, and you want your congregation members to be healthy, too. The healthier you are, the healthier your message is going to be.”
Many ministers, however, find it hard to devote time to their health, leading to serious consequences for pastors such as the Rev. Clay Hall of Lambuth United Memorial Methodist Church in Gallatin.
Hall’s leg was amputated after developing an infection that was exacerbated by his diabetes. He spent three years on medical leave.
“We clergy do not take care of ourselves until we are in trouble,” said Hall, who is back at work.
Methodist leaders are among national denominations noting the toll that overwork and weight gain are taking on their clergy and their church’s health-care costs.
The United Methodist Church found that it was paying on average 16 percent more than the private sector for health care, even adjusting for the older-than-average age of the clergy.
“You’re talking about churches having to pay ever-increasing premiums for clergy and you’re talking about church funds dwindling. It’s an issue for corporate America. It’s an issue for General Motors. And it’s an issue for a church that has three employees,” said Noreen Orbach, managing director for health and welfare services at the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church.
Wills, the Methodist bishop, has asked local Methodist leaders to present a covenant called a “healthy living plan” outlining their plans for diet, exercise, rest and time for reflection and family life.
For Wills, the issue springs not only from seeing a growing number of overweight pastors but also from Biblical concerns.
“I’ve been saying to our clergy that God has a plan for our lives and if we are to fulfill that plan, then we have to treat our bodies in such a way that we’ll live long enough that we’ll be able to do what God wants us to do, that we’ll have the energy.”
“In Corinthians, it says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and I am encouraging our pastors to reflect on this.”
Wills, 64, says he has entered into the covenant himself with seven supervising clergy and hopes they will enlist all local Methodist pastors in the covenant.
Drumwright, a pastor at The Temple Church, began heading to the gym to exercise daily last year and says he now tries — although he doesn’t always succeed — to stay away from unhealthy foods.
The Rev. Hilda Davis-Carroll, director of the Tennessee Department of Health Office of Faith Initiatives said that she views improving clergy health habits as a key public health strategy.
“People listen to pastors and respect pastors,” she said. “They have more leverage in taking that message of eating right and exercising to all the members of their church, from seniors to children.”
Davis-Carroll said she didn’t expect clergy to completely transform their lives to live healthier.
“I’m not suggesting they bring tofu and carrots for lunch while everyone else is eating fried chicken and greens,” she said. “I’m saying, have more fruits and vegetables, moderate portion sizes and when old Miss Jones brings a cake for the pastor, don’t take it home. Just take a little slice and pass it to the rest of the congregation.”
The department of health held a “Healthier Clergy Leading Healthier Congregations” conference for clergy and lay leaders on May 23 in Nashville.
Article with one photo, Photo #7
Silver Ghost Association Gathers at Beersheba Assembly
by Philip Geissal
During the second week in May, the Assembly provided service for the final two nights of the Silver Ghost Association 2006 two week tour of Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina. Having 40 plus 1906 era Rolls Royce autos on the Assembly grounds for two nights was like turning back the clock, the Hotel was in it’s full glory. The guests from many states across the country, and even from Australia and England, enjoyed their stay. On Wednesday evening they were entertained by special mountain music provided by entertainers from our new mountain dinner theatre, Bear Hollow between Tracy City and Monteagle. Thursday evening a dinner was hosted by Howell Adams at the nearby Wholemeal house. Our staff provided the food service for some 90 people on the first floor of the house, a truly impressive meal and experience for our guests. While there was some rain over their stay, we did send them back to Nashville on a morning full of beautiful sun.
Inmates, VU students study religion
Divinity classes meet at prison, offer new perspectives on faith
This article appeared in the Local News section, of the Monday, May 8th edition of THE TENNESSEAN. Copyrighted May 8, 2006 by THE TENNESSEAN and used here with permission.
By Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press
Most of the divinity students in Vanderbilt University’s Writing About Religion class wear typical college attire—T-shirts and jeans.
The only thing different about some students is that their jeans have “TN Dept of Correction” written in white down each pant leg.
The class is being held at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville, where nearly 700 prisoners are housed and home to Tennessee’s death row.
Five rows of fence topped with razorwire surround the prison, but inside the prison classroom, inmates and Vanderbilt students sit together and immerse themselves in passages from Matthew, discuss the meaning of faith and debate the discovery of the Gospel of Judas.
The class meets once a week in a sparsely equipped classroom with yellowed maps and a dirty blackboard, next to the woodworking shop. Students and prisoners move wooden chairs into a circle, and professor Ray Waddle begins the class by asking them to analyze how the term “jailhouse convert” was used in a reading assignment (Waddle is a part-time columnist for The Tennessean).
“All the great men went to prison, the way I see it – Jesus, Paul and John the Baptist,” said 35-year-old inmate Rahim Buford, who was sentenced to life at age 18. “If you want to find out who you are, you have to be confined in some way.”
The program began three years ago with faculty members volunteering their time to introduce divinity students, many of whom will go on to lead congregations, to the growing number of people who seek religion and spirituality behind bars.
“In our regular classes on campus, we talk a lot in theory about social justice and being concerned with people who are marginalized,” said Leah Payne, a 26-year-old master’s student from Oregon. “But sometimes that tends to make us almost patronizing because we don’t engage people who have their own sense of those issues.”
The students and inmates, about five of each, do the same course-work , read the same assignments and turn in papers on the same topics. Inmates with college degrees can earn credit for the graduate class.
James Hudnut-Beumler, dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, said the program has opened many students’ eyes to prison life beyond what they’ve seen on TV or in movies.
“The thing I hear again and again is that they experience the men at Riverbend as people with intelligent ideas about religion and the things they read together. And they didn’t expect that,” Hudnut-Beumler said.
Prison rights activist and Vanderbilt professor Harmon Wray designed the classes based on a theology program at Sing Sing Prison taught by faculty at New York Theological Seminary. But Wray invited students, not just faculty, to work with the prisoners.
“The difference here is that I don’t think there’s any other place in the country where divinity students are actually sitting in the classroom with the Riverbend students reading the same material, discussing the same material,” Wray said.
“It doesn’t allow one to make a judgment of them as the other, or outcasts,” said Marcus Trammell, 26, a second-year master’s student. “I often ask myself, ‘How did they get here?’ And I’ve found all of them to be very reflective people and very open about looking at themselves and what they’ve done.”
Frederick Sledge, one of the youngest people to be sentenced to death in the state at age 19, told the class that it took him years to understand that prisoners don’t have to feel spiritually disconnected just because they are physically disconnected.
“Here I was, looking for someone on the outside to bring the church inside, when it was inside all along,” Sledge told the class.
Sledge, whose sentence was later reduced to life in prison, admitted to fatally shooting a 64-year-old man in 1991. He and two others followed Johnny Harris to his apartment, demanded money and then shot him in the back.
In past classes, students and prisoners have studied topics such as biblical interpretation in the South, the Book of Revelation and the Gospel according to Matthew, which was taught last semester by renowned New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine.
“They aren’t only interested in classes about prison ministries or the criminal justice system,” Levine said. “They wanted the hard core academic stuff, what the historians are talking about.”
The classes aren’t just a challenge in an intellectually stunted environment. For some inmates who have no expectations of ever living outside of Riverbend’s prison walls, the classes represent a small, precious moment of freedom.
“We’re limited by the fences – we’re closed-off communities,” said inmate Tom Warren, 47, who is serving two consecutive life terms. “It’s an opportunity to deal with the loneliness. These classes have probably saved my life.”
Friendship Rekindled after 53 yearsby Louis A. Johnson
Limitless, all compassing, inclusive, never ending, joyful love was experienced in a hands-on heart tugging and inspiring way at Bell Springs UMC on May 21, 2006. “Open hearts, open minds and open doors” were not just talked about but participated in and became a reality.
When Anna Johnson, pianist at Bell Springs and spouse of Minister Louis A. Johnson, was a small girl she played with another small girl named Annie Rose. This was in her home town of Jasper, Alabama. Anna and Annie spent many hours playing together, crying together and enjoying each other.
When Anna married in 1952 Annie Rose was present and this was the last time the two communicated for a period of 53 years. In 2005 Annie Rose, by some means, got Ann’s phone number and called her. The two got together and renewed their earlier friendship.
On May 21, 2006 Annie Rose Vine’s son Steven drove her to Manchester, Tennessee and she attended church at Bell Springs UMC. The experience was such a wonderful beautiful experience for all who were present that day. The entire church greeted and welcomed Annie with elongated applause and tears of joy. When the service was ending “Open Arms” became “Full Arms” for many.
I do not believe that anyone in the church even noticed that Annie Rose Vines was African American.
Belmont UMC
Extending the Table
by Linda Johnson
Many United Methodists feel separated from their faith community when they are prevented from attending church services. At a time when they are ill or are drawing closer to God’s promise of eternity, they are cut off from the activities and resources that sustain faith. It is at this important and pivotal point in a person’s life that the church should be present. But with the increasing demands of ministry, pastors can’t be present nearly as often as people need or want.
Belmont Church has a long-standing and vital homebound visitation program, with every local homebound member receiving a monthly visit and gifts at Christmas and Easter. Those who have moved away receive cards. Another ministry called faith companions was recently added, which consists of a group of people who are learning to engage in conversations of faith and to offer spiritual nourishment to church members who are unwillingly absent from worship, but still want to grow in their faith. Through two years of training and on-going continuing education, faith companions are learning to listen deeply and to help people talk about faith issues such as grief, forgiveness, death and resurrection. Seeking still further ways of helping homebound members feel connected to the church and its worship, Belmont decided to “extend the Lord’s table” by taking the consecrated elements and a liturgy to be shared in communion with them.
Following morning worship one communion Sunday, approximately 30 people gathered for lunch in preparation for visiting assigned homebound members. They were given a package that included communion elements consecrated in worship, a large print copy of the Upper Room, a Lenten prayer calendar written by Carmen Lile-Henley, and the liturgy to be used in serving the communion. The liturgy began with the words: “You are an important part of the faith community of Belmont even though you can’t always make it to worship. This is a way of extending the Lord’s Table to you. We want you to feel connected to your church and we want you to stay connected to your faith and to God.”
This was the initial effort of what is hoped to be an ongoing ministry of taking the church to people who aren’t able to attend but who desire to deepen their faith. The elder years are good years to think about God. With a lifetime of experiences to build on, these can be years to deepen faith, to wrestle with old questions or to ask new questions. Homebound members also have much to give in terms of wisdom, insight, and life stories. There is no doubt that the one doing the visiting receives as much as, if not more than, what is given.
“What’s On My Mind”
by John C. Meadors*
From the Bellshire UMC newsletter for April 2006
I was taking the garbage out. That’s right. My ship LST 942 (Landing Ships, Tanks) was docked at Pier 92 in New York City. We were taking on supplies. In less than twenty-four hours, we were headed to the Asiatic Pacific theatre ofwar, Okinawa, specifically. We were all excited. I guess this was kinda normal for a nineteen year old kid who had only been in two states. I was taking the garbage out as I was on the galley crew. I felt a terrible pain in my side. I finished my chores and went to my bunkand laid down. The pain persisted. After a while I got up and went to Sick Bay to see the Doc.
He soon told me, after some probing about which hurt worse than the pain in the side, that he was sending me to the naval hospital across the Hudson River in Brooklyn. I was no longer excited. My toleration for pain is extremely low and I feared surgery. The Sick Bay Doc had hinted at appendicitis. I had no choice but to go. In less than two hours I had surgery. I was in that hospital for five or six days. Naturally, my ship did not wait for me. It was several weeks later, when I did get to Okinawa on another ship, LCS 2 (Landing Craft Support) that I learned that my original ship, LST 942, had been attacked shortly after arriving in Okinawa by Japanese suicide bombers, known as Kamikazes. The 942 went down, taking about 90% of the crew with her.
At the time I was living it up in New York City, dating a cute little nurse from Nebraska while recuperating from surgery. I was also waiting to be assigned to another ship. I did get to Okinawa, but it was in June and I missed the original invasion. I got to see enough action to
last me for a lifetime. Many times I have reflected on that incident of missing the boat that was destroyed. Did God have a plan for me?
Another time we were in the South China Sea. We had just completed the retaking of the Philippines. (This is when General MacArthur made the famous statement, “I said I would return.” A very bad storm came up. You will need to know that we call a “Hurricane” in the western world is a “Typhoon” in the eastern world. Again, I was taking out the garbage. At sea, you could not dispose of garbage during the day . . . it would tell the enemy subs where you were. So I did it at night. I should have known better, but I took a bucket of garbage, during the terrible typhoon, and as I reared back to toss it, a huge wave came down on the side of the ship and literally picked me up and was washing me towards the fantail (the rear of the ship). Any second I would be a goner. It was pitch black, with waves twenty foot high, wind blowing and the hardest rain I had ever seen. I blindly reached out and grabbed . . . The small lifeline that goes around the ship was my savior. I had actually grabbed it! I hung on until help came in the form of a grappling hook and I was pulled to safety. God is good.
Now you know why I said “Yes” in the early morning hours when the Lord called me to preach . . . “Yes, Lord. I will do it.” I owe Him big time. That’s what’s on my mind.
*John C. Meadors is a retired ministerial member of the Tennessee Annual Conference.
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Death and Resurrection and Oprah
by Mike Rayson
Photo #10, caption: Australian Christian musician Mike Rayson tries his hand at good ol’ southern barbequing at a Memorial Day gathering.
April 25th is an important date on my calendar. It is ANZAC day… the Aussie version of Memorial Day. For many down under, it’s the final chance to throw another shrimp on the Barbie and jump into the pool before winter sets in — and to spend time reflecting on the great sacrifices made by Aussie soldiers on behalf of their country.
Larry Knight never made it through ANZAC day this year. He died 3000 feet underground. At 9.30 p.m. a small earth tremor gently shook the gold mining town of Beaconsfield, Tasmania -- not enough to cause alarm on the surface -- but enough to cause a catastrophic cave-in deep underground in the mine. Larry’s body was found two days later.
Also missing were Todd Russell 34, and rant Webb 37 — presumed dead. The little Tasmanian village settled into deep shock. But then someone heard a noise. A distant faint noise. Deep underground, a cry in the darkness. Russell and Webb were alive—entombed ¾ of a mile beneath the surface in a dark and damp dog kennel sized cage.
The world held her breath and awaited news of the rescue . . . and waited . . . and waited. Battling rock five times harder than concrete, day and night the drilling to reach the pair continued.
Finally, an incredible 14 days after their imprisonment, Russell and Webb walked out of the mine, hands punching the air in jubilation! A miraculous tale of survival and resurrection.
In one of his many stories, Jesus told of a man who lost one sheep. And leaving all the others, he went out to find it. Reality tells us that this is perhaps not the best use of the shepherd’s time. Most of the sheep are safe, so why put them at risk to find one?
We have a Shepherd God who risks everything to secure our rescue. A God who continually fights to draw us out of the pit with a never-ending cry of ‘Thou Art Mine.’ This is saving grace at work. More than we could ever ask for . . . more than we could ever hope for . . . more than we can dare imagine.
The Beaconsfield United Church held a continual prayer service for the duration of the miners’ captivity. When Russell and Webb walked from the grave, Rev. Frances Seen rang the church bell—silent since the end of World War II. The sound pealed out in loud and jubilant chorus across Beaconsfield and then abruptly stopped . . . Rev. Seen had run the bell so hard with enthusiasm and joy that it broke in two.
Our God is in the business of lost sheep and broken bells, and rejoices doubly so and more when we turn and head for home. As for Todd Russell and Brant Webb – rumor has it they’re coming soon to an Oprah program near you!
Mike and Amy Rayson and their children left Australia for Tennessee in August 2005, where they quickly discovered Wal-Mart and Chucky Cheese! They are missionaries to the local church in the United States of America. To book Mike to speak or sing in your church, please call 931-362-1190, or email mike@mikerayson.net
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 11:42 AM
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