TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW JUNE 2, 2006

Tennessee Conference Review June 2, 2006

In this issue --
1. Show you CARE. Show that your congregation CARES. The Care for the Children of Kamina special offering.
2. 2006 Ordination Service Becomes Time of Reflection and Celebration for Niece of Early Female Pastor Helen Toner Morgan
3. Dedication Held for Gallatin’s Salvus Health Care Center
4. July 12-15 is date of the 2006 Mission Education Event focusing on the theme “Harvesting Peace”
5. Four Clergywomen, including our own Katherine Paisley, reflect on their calling in “Memories and Dreams”
6. Doctor reclaims calling to heal 'whole person' -- Interview with Dr. Ted Hill founder of the faith-based Salvus Center in Gallatin, Tennessee. The Salvus Center serves working people who have no health insurance.
7. Cookeville District Holds Leadership Training Day

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Show you CARE. Show that your congregation CARES

Care for the Children of Kamina is the theme of the opening worship service at the 2006 session of the Tennessee Annual Conference. The Conference is attempting to raise $100,000 for food and medical care for children in Kamina, North Katanga Conference of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many of the Kamina children have been orphaned because of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.

Together with the Memphis Conference we have been part of the building of the Carder Bantu Home-School (named after our former bishop Kenneth Carder) and the Mary Morris Orphanage which was named after Mary Morris, wife of Bishop William Morris. Whatever we have done as a Conference in the past there is still a critical and growing need for funds in 2006.

On the opening Sunday, June 11th, children from many congregations throughout the Conference will gather from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., during the clergy and laity sessions, to learn more about the children of Kamina and to help prepare for worship. The children will then lead the opening worship service and assist as the Care for the Children of Kamina offering is taken and brought to the altar.


2006 Ordination Service Becomes Time of Reflection and Celebration for Niece of Early Female Pastor

The Service of Ordination to become an Elder in the United Methodist Church is a time of fulfillment, reflection, dedication, and joyful anticipation of special service to God and the church.

For one of the ordinands participating in the Tennessee Annual Conference Ordination Ceremony, to be held June 11, 2006, it is all of these things plus the continuation of a journey begun many years ago by another woman in ministry. Helen Morgan will be fulfilling not only her own dream, but the vision of a person who died over 50 years ago.

Helen Toner Morgan is the namesake of her aunt, the Rev. Helen L. Toner, who was Ordained Elder by the Southern California-Arizona Annual Conference of the Methodist Church on June 27, 1943.

Rev. Helen Toner was raised in Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania, a village just south of the New York State border in northwestern Pennsylvania. She was licensed to preach at age 17 in 1929, and graduated magna cum laude in 1934 from Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania.

When Toner was a college senior she became seriously ill with rheumatic fever, a disease that affected the way she would live out her life but not alter her determination or dedication. She graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Drew Theological Seminary in 1937 and was awarded the John Heston Willey prize for excellence in pulpit oratory and manner. Over 50 eastern pulpits benefited from her preaching ability as guest preacher between 1931-1937. She also served a year and half as Assistant pastor at St. James Methodist Episcopal Church on Long Island, and continued her studies with post-graduate work at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University.

A biographic sketch by friend Catherine Blanton states what happened next as Toner’s health began to decline. “Since climate has much to do with combating the effects of rheumatic fever she was advised to relocate. In 1939, she moved to Tucson, Arizona. Practically bedfast she began writing. There was such a demand for Christian literature combining theological knowledge and freshness – something to appeal to the thinking, questioning minds of modern young people. She received more assignments than she was physically able to fill.” Before her early death in 1956 Helen Toner wrote five books, and dozens of magazine articles. Her fourth book Discovering the Unshakeable, Through Psalmist’s Eyes so impressed English pastor/writer Dr. Leslie Weatherhead that he wrote the editors suggesting that it be enlarged and a more complete edition be published later.

Photo #3, caption: Helen L. Toner, Gilbert Methodist Church, Gilbert, AZ

The Arizona climate restored Helen’s health and she was appointed to churches in Gilbert and Higley, Arizona. Under her leadership a new building and parsonage were erected at Gilbert and the Higley sanctuary was extensively remodeled. After five years she was appointed to the Methodist church in Chatsworth, California, and again was involved in a building program.

It was while in Chatsworth that her health seriously declined and Toner was forced to move back to Tucson where she spent years in a rest home with only brief times of comparative good health. Her brilliant mind, however, was unaffected by the disease that eventually made her a partial invalid and as she was physically able she continued to write, even exploring script writing for films planned by the Board of Education of the Methodist Church.

Helen L. Toner died just prior to the start of the 1956 General Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Frank S. Williams, Executive Secretary of The Board of Missions and Church Extension of the Southern California-Arizona Conference wrote: “It was my privilege to be a delegate again this year to our General Conference and there to vote full clergy rights for women. I was in the committee on the Ministry to which the Memorials on full clergy rights for women came, and in the speech which I made in the committee, I used Helen as an illustration of the contribution which women can make to the ministry.”

Photo #4, caption: Helen Toner Morgan, Martha's Chapel UMC, Clarksville, TN

When Helen Toner Morgan is ordained as an Elder during the 2006 Tennessee Annual Conference she will have the full clergy rights denied to her aunt. Symbolically, Helen Morgan will wear a cross belonging to her aunt as she processes in to the sanctuary, repeats the historic words of the ordination ritual, and kneels to receive the laying on of hands by Bishop Wills and other elders including her husband Rev. Richard Morgan.

Helen Morgan’s creative spirit mirrors that of her aunt in many ways though the Helen Morgan talent extended more in the direction of music. She has both a Bachelor of Music and Masters of Music from the prestigious Eastman School of Music prior to receiving a Masters of Divinity from the Vanderbilt Divinity School. She has prepared film scores for documentaries as well as for educational materials, and she and husband Richard together created three sets of radio spots comprising 13 spots in all for the United Methodist Church. Of particular note is “La Lucha” (The Struggle) a National Council of Churches special on El Salvador which aired on ABC affiliates. She has served the Port Royal Circuit and since 1999 the Antioch Charge. At the “Gathering” on Monday, June 12th at 8:00 a.m., Tommy Vann, accompanied by Helen, will teach the 2006 Annual Conference Rev. Helen Morgan’s composition “Hands of Christ.”

As Helen Toner Morgan officially becomes an Elder in the United Methodist Church, following the historic pathway of her aunt Rev. Helen L. Toner, she and her husband Richard recall one of Helen Toner’s unpublished prayers: “Give me faith, I pray, in the powers within myself. May I not abandon them in panic. For they are Thy life within me. As I battle the forces that would sweep me out into the seas of disappointment and despair, teach me how to approach them wisely. Brace my spirit for the struggle. And Pilot me, Lord, safely through the troubled seas into calmer waters. Amen.”

Photo #5, Helen L. Toner’s Ordination Certificate

Information gathered about the life and ministry of Rev. Helen L. Toner along with pictures, obituaries and some of her writings have been placed on the website http://www.helenltoner.com/

Article with one photo, Photo #6. Make certain end of the article includes information on the interview with Ted Hill and where to find it.
Center to serve the working uninsured
Dedication Held for Gallatin’s Salvus Health Care Center

In Gallatin a new medical clinic for the working uninsured has opened and it is named Salvus. Salvus is a Greek New Testament word that literally means salvation/healing. The center was the brainchild and vision of Dr. Ted Hill its medical director. The goal of the center is to bring salvation through healing to the people of Sumner County. After more than 20 years in private practice, Dr. Hill saw the need for a clinic to serve what has been called the working poor. The Clinic serves, on a sliding fee scale, persons who are employed but who have no health insurance. In its first month of service it has already served more than 100 patients. Dr. Hill said that the budget for the year will be approximately $250,000. Dr. Hill envisions adding more centers in the county in the years to come.

A formal dedication ceremony was held on Sunday, April 23, 2006. The dedication was held at the clinic which is located on Hartsville Pike in Gallatin. The Salvus Center began accepting patients on March 15.

“This center will provide health care for those without a voice,” said Bishop Dick Wills, resident bishop of the Nashville Area of the United Methodist Church. In short remarks before the opening prayer of the dedication of the Center, Bishop Wills stated that he hoped that centers like this might be duplicated across the state of Tennessee.

Dr. Hill, who is a candidate for ordination as a deacon at the coming session of the Tennessee Annual Conference, said in remarks to a crowd of about 100 who gathered for the formal opening of the Center, “God has opened our eyes and made this center a possibility.” Quoting from the Psalms, Dr. Hill said, “Except the Lord build a house they labor in vain. I believe that God is in this place and our work here is a noble thing and not in vain.” Dr. Hill said, “I read recently where too many of us live from the outside in but Christ has called us to live from the inside out. True happiness comes in loving God by loving our neighbor through service.”

Dr. Hill thanked the Board of Directors, community of churches of all denominations in Sumner County, and donors for helping to make the center a reality. “The vision for this center is that it allows us to serve God by serving our neighbors and is truly a team effort,” said Dr. Hill. He also thanked Sumner Regional Health System, Hendersonville Medical Center and Tennessee Christian Medical Center in Portland for their assistance in helping get the center off the ground. “It is heartening to see the response of the medical community to this clinic.”

Bishop William Morris, retired area bishop, said in remarks before the closing prayer, that he appreciated the fact that this dream has become reality. “This is a gift from God and as with all gifts from God the best is yet to come,” said Bishop Morris.

Also see extended interview with Dr. Ted Hill later in this paper, “Doctor reclaims calling to heal.”



"Harvesting Peace"
Mission Education Event

Though the yearly Mission Education Events have been largely promoted among United Methodist Women, they are open to men as well—in fact men are specifically invited to attend. The themes this year are particularly appropriate for general study in Sunday School, UMW Circles, United Methodist Men’s groups or in youth groups. You can obtain a copy of the registration form for the event by contacting the Dean of the School of Christian Missions, Robbie Hooper, 1611 Greenway Drive, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37129. email: robbie@ptsllc.com

The Theme of the 2006 Mission Education Event to be held July 12-15 at the Scarritt-Bennett Center is “Harvesting Peace.” In this age of conflict and violence, the peace of Christ is greatly needed. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” These are the words Jesus communicated to us through the Gospel of John. How have we used the gift of peace that Jesus gave to us? At a time when most of the world is involved in war or conflict, it is imperative that we, as followers of Jesus, find every opportunity to share and promote peace.

Is peace an anti-war movement? Not exclusively. The studies for this year Shalom-Salaam-Peace: Peace in the Bible and in Our Time; India-Pakistan; and Globalization and Its Impact in People’s Lives will all challenge us to look at what peace means for each of us as members of the global community, as people of India and Pakistan, and as members of different religious groups. We come in peace to explore our role as Christian members of society and to be God’s witness to the end of the earth.

Spiritual Growth Mission Study: Shalom-Salaam-Peace.

Shalom, Salaam and Peace are three words which mean “peace” from the three “Abrahamic” religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These words provide the foundation for the 2006 spiritual growth study. The author, Alison Stokes, and study guide author, Pat Patterson, accompany us as we think about these three traditions, each of which seeks peace. Each tradition has a history of neighbors living at peace with neighbors and urges its followers to seek inner peace. Each tradition has a history of violence which cries out for explanation. In the name of “Truth” wars have started.

Questions abound. Why does religion foment such violence? Why is God portrayed as violent in sacred scripture? Do we worship the same God as Abraham? Has God “Divided” since then? What is the path to peace? Must we ignore the world and seek inner peace, or does God call us to embody peace in this world? What is the price of peace? Is there peace when there is force? We will find no decisive answers in this book, but, as Christians living elbow to elbow with Jews and Muslims in the United States and around the world, we cannot ignore these questions.

Four different persons will provide leadership for this course: Bishop William Wesley Morris , The Rev. Sue Hicks-Caskey, and Celinda J. Hughes will lead daytime sections. Nashville attorney Shirley F. Corry will be leading the evening class.

Photo #7, caption: Bishop William W. Morris is part of a nationally respected teaching staff for the 2006 Mission Education Event.

Dr. Morris was consecrated as a Bishop in the United Methodist Church on July 18, 1992, and served as Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Episcopal Area before returning to serve as Bishop of the Tennessee Conference. During his lifetime of work evangelism, missions and Christian stewardship have been areas of emphasis.

Rev. Sue Hicks-Caskey had 13 years of teaching in West Virginia, Japan, North Carolina and Virginia, before answering God’s call to ministry. After theological studies at Emory and Henry College, Scarritt College, and Candler School of Theology she was consecrated a diaconal minister in the Holston Conference and ordained permanent deacon in the same conference. She brings 26 years of Christian Education experience teaching at churches in Virginia and Tennessee. After early retirement from the Holston Conference in 2001 Sue moved to Murfreesboro to be near her son and granddaughter.

Shirley F. Corry is an active member of Patterson Memorial United Methodist Church in Nashville, and is a member of the Tennessee Conference Council on Finance and Administration.. She received the Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from Lane College, and the Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Nashville School of Law. She currently serves as General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Health.

Photo #8, caption: Celinda Hughes uses her gifts as a writer, dancer, worship visual artist, speaker, teacher and photographer to tell the story of God's love.

Celinda Hughes has been a member of the connectional giving team of United Methodist Communications since 1997. She was responsible for the marketing and promotion of the Bishops' appeal on "Hope for the Children of Africa," including print, video and electronic resources. In 2001 she was selected and served for eight months as the interim director of information at Africa University, Zimbabwe, Africa. She serves as children’s ministry coordinator and coordinator of liturgical dance ministry at Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church. Celinda uses her gifts as a writer, dancer, worship visual artist, speaker, teacher and photographer to tell the story of God's love and share the message of salvation in as many ways as possible.

General Interest Mission Study for 2006 and 2007. Globalization Its Impact on People’s Lives

Throughout the history of the Schools of Christian Missions, United Methodists have turned their attention to issues of the economy, thus continuing the church’s public witness for economic justice. Today, in this time of globalization—when what occurs in one part of the world, whether it concerns wealth, poverty, abundance, and scarcity, affects people in many other parts – it is appropriate that as United Methodists, we once again focus on this issue.

Where and how do the economic policies of globalization touch the lives of ordinary people? If United Methodists are to “manifest the gospel values in the economic order,” As a General Conference Resolution maintains, then we need a better understanding of how and where contemporary issues of economic justice touch our lives, and of how and where our decisions for responsible actions can be made.

The leaders for this class are Carol Ackley and Sue C. Johnson.

Carol Riley Ackely was born and reared in Covington, Kentucky, and now lives in Florence. Her academic work has been in biology and chemistry, and she taught in the public schools, mainly in Boone County (KY) for over 30 years. Since retirement Carol has worked as part-time instructor and supervisor for Northern Kentucky University in both the Biology Department and the College of Education. She has been active in the United Methodist Women for over 25 years and is presently serving as the Kentucky Conference UMW President.

Sue Johnson has been a member of the Women’s Division executive staff for 18 years and is presently Executive Secretary for Mission Team Training. Her primary task is working with conference mission teams. One of her main foci at this time is the “Rekindle the Gift” program. Prior to starting work with the Women’s Division she spent most of her time in public education, teaching ninth through twelfth grades in social sciences. She has done consulting work for educational TV and worked as a photographer and reporter on both a county and local papers.
Geographic Mission Study: India and Pakistan

The mission study on India and Pakistan presents the richness and diversity of the cultures of India and Pakistan. It also explores selected current key issues affecting both countries, including gender issues, poverty, child labor, population, caste, illiteracy, religious extremism, and globalization. The study examines the complexities of the border conflict over Kashmir between the two countries. Interspersed with interviews, under-girded with selected readings, the study helps the readers understand the diversity of missional engagement in this geographic area. The on-going witness of the church in the area, its growth and vitality, in the midst of adversity and odds, struggles and changes, is a gift and a challenge to those of us in the U.S. A further challenge of faith communities, whether they be majority or minority religions, is to be promoters of peace and justice.

Leader for the Indian and Pakistan study is Rev. Sam Rathod. Pastor Sam, as he is known to his parishioners, is currently the Senior pastor at Faith United Methodist church in Kearney, Nebraska. He and his wife are natives of India but have been in the States since 1970 when they came to Wheaton College near Chicago. Pastor Sam has been a District Superintendent and three times a delegate to General Conference. He has been teaching in schools of mission for the last 25 years, having taught in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas East, Kansas West, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Note: There are also classes for children and youth on India and Pakistan. The children’s study leaders are Linda Furtado and Caroline Harris. Claudia Hunter and Margaret Boyd will be the youth study leaders.


4 Clergywomen Reflect on Their Calling
Memories and Dreams

by Erik Alsgaard*

Reprinted with permission from the May-June, 2006, issue of Circuit Rider, a professional journal for United Methodist clergy published by the United Methodist Publishing House.

As the fiftieth anniversary of full clergy rights for women is celebrated this year, Circuit Rider magazine asked four clergywomen for insights on the ongoing challenges of being both clergy and female today. We also wanted to know what advice, hopes, dreams, and fears they had for clergywomen today, and for those who will celebrate the one hundred anniversary in 2056.

“We’ve come a long way in fifty years,” said Katherine Paisley, pastor of Bellshire United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and a doctoral candidate in homiletics at Vanderbilt Divinity School. “But there is a long way to go.”

Rev. Katherine Paisley

She knows what she’s talking about.

Her grandfathers were both ministers, and their spouses did a lot of the ministerial work, she said. Paisley’s “Mema” both preached and did visitation; her “Nana” did “anything she set her mind to, and did it with finesse. Her husband applauded.”

Her mother was in high school when famed evangelist Dr. Harry Denman, invited her to go on a mission trip to Cuba. But when she fell in love with Paisley’s dad, who wasn’t going into the mission field, she redirected her call to serving as a traditional minister’s wife for many years, she said.

Paisley’s youngest daughter, Carol, is currently in seminary, so her hopes, dreams, and fears are specifically for her.

“I was able to go to seminary in my generation, but I have been the first woman in every appointment I have served,” said Paisley. “I hope our Carol will face less prejudice and struggle than I have.”

One example of that struggle, she recalled, was the time she was up for ordination. “One of the issues under discussion was how many women ministers the conference could really place,” she said. “I hope the next generation will be seen and valued for who they are and for their gifts in ministry, not by their gender.”

That kind of gender-neutrality was evidenced for Barbara E. Welbaum, pastor of Newburg United Methodist Church in Livonia, Michigan. She told a story of a young son of a clergy colleague who was once asked what he’s like to do when he grew up, and whether he might consider becoming a pastor. “To which he replied, ‘No way. That’s for girls.’ Of course, the ministry is for all people and the boundaries and roadblocks extend well beyond the questions of gender, but what a wonderful turn of events, hearts and minds, to imagine a world in which ordained ministry for women is as acceptable as it is for men,” Welbaum said.

“My great hope for clergywomen today is that we will find our voice,” said Mamie A. Williams, executive director of the Northeastern Jurisdiction Multi-Ethnic Center, located in Columbia, Maryland.

By “voice,” Williams means many things: “A voice that does not mimic men nor think in the competitive ways that have colored their paths; a voice that truly represents men, women and children of every hue at the table and speaks of the ‘beloved community’ because of the assurance that it can and will exist; a voice that speaks the truth in love and respects one another instead of attempting to tear down and covertly destroy; a voice that sees and understands the world as God’s handiwork of which we are stewards; a voice that loves in spite of whatever is occurring; a voice that is calm in the midst of storms; a voice that speaks to issues and is sometimes quietly reflecting; a voice that is ‘in tune’ with God’s Word.”

Patricia Farris is senior minister at Santa Monica First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica, California. She said her greatest hope for clergywomen today is that they would continue to utilize the gifts God has given them. “My hope is that we will continue to offer women’s ways of knowing,” she said, “women’s ways of relating and working, women’s ways of being the Body of Christ—all as gifts in God’s church.”

And while these clergywomen outlined many hopes, they also addressed many fears for themselves and their sisters in the faith.

“I fear that we will set our sights too low and content ourselves with too little,” said Farris. “I fear that we will focus too much on the inward things and on self, rather than on the mission of the church and the imperative of the gospel for justice and peace.”

The issue of respect or, more specifically, a lack of respect, was mentioned in many ways.

Welbaum recalled a time in her ministry, years ago, when she was talking with a member of her community. The resident asked her what she did for a living, and Welbaum responded. “She then asked where the church was and I told her,” Welbaum said. “And her response was, ‘Oh yes, I heard they had one of those there.’ To my face, no less!”

Respect, she said, is a rare commodity, even to the point where qualifying the word “pastor” with the modifier “woman” suggests this dichotomy.

“I fear most that lack of respect will continue to disempower and discourage sisters from following their hearts and God’s calling,” Welbaum said, “and that they will miss out on meaning and wholeness for their lives because of norms and expectations that conflict with the Spirit’s sweet call.”

Williams, who served as a superintendent in the Baltimore-Washington Conference from 1998 to 2005, said that her biggest fear is that clergywomen would become their own worst enemy “by the unreasoned choices that we make in the moment.

“I fear,” she continued, “that we will not test experience and genuine leadership, but jump onto popularity trains that lead nowhere. I fear that as gifts and graces are measure for leadership, we will tend to lay them aside for the politics of the day.”

Paisley outlined two fears, both touching on respect, both touching on dependence on God.

“I guess my greatest fear is that as the church becomes more accepting, that (clergywomen) not lose the dependence on God that comes with hard times,” she said. Paisley told the story of her first appointment in rural Tennessee. People were “suspicious of education” and one church was without running water.

“I was told on my arrival that they couldn’t decide what was the worst thing, ‘that you are a woman, a Yankee, or that you had been to Vanderbilt.’ My very existence was confrontational to their understandings of life and the church. I didn’t actually have to do anything to be confrontational, just showing up on Sunday morning to preach did it.”

Paisley said this culture shock for her caused her to rely on God and God alone.

“Those two years were the closest thing in my experience to literal prayer without ceasing,” she said. That experience was priceless, she said, and it shaped her. And while she wouldn’t want anyone to duplicate that experience, the dependence on God was foundational.

Another fear for clergywomen today, Paisley said, goes in another direction: retaining women for ministry.

“I’m afraid that if ministry remains a hard road, particularly for young women who want to have families, a number of women may just give up,” she said. “We are seeing a large number of women who leave the pastoral ministry as our churches become more demanding” and the pressures of family life add to the mix.

And what would this group of clergy say to women who are clergy in 2056?

“Fear not,” said Welbaum. “Be a contagious carrier of the good news. No one else can do it like you can do it.”

“Be bold,” said Farris. “Be true to your calling and your vision. Who knows that God will need the church to be by then? You have the gifts to discern how to serve and how to lead. Go for it!”

A sentiment echoed by the others.
“Hold on to your joy in Christ,” responded Williams. “Let nothing or no one take that day of revelation regarding your call and the joy you experienced when you fully surrendered to God’s will away from your presence. You may need to tap into that reality often, so keep it close to your heart.”

“The one thing I am certain about fifty years from now is that people will still need to hear that God is acting to bring about healing and redemption,” said Paisley. “Keep preaching the kingdom.”

And one more thing probably won’t change between now and then, she noted.

“You can be in ministry, do graduate school, and have children, but you may not be able to do everything at once. Timing is crucial.”

*Erik Alsgaard is director of News and Information of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.



Doctor reclaims calling to heal 'whole person'

by Kathy L. Gilbert*

GALLATIN, Tenn. (UMNS) - The Salvus Center looks like most doctor offices: magazines on coffee tables, paper sheets on examining beds, medical equipment tucked in corners and a well-stocked medical supply room.

But a closer look reveals things you don't usually see - crosses in the treatment rooms and Bibles in the lobby.

In a clinic full of Christian symbols, Dr. Ted Hill is a United Methodist physician who has "reclaimed his call from God" and opened a faith-based health clinic in Sumner County for working people who have no health insurance coverage.

Photo #10, caption: Nurse Kimberly Tuggle unpacks supplies donated to the Salvus Center. A UMNS photo by Kathy Gilbert

The clinic operates just like any other doctor's office, but patients only pay a portion of the fees they would normally be charged.

According to some of the latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005 the poverty level was $10,160 for a single adult under 65 years old and $20,144 for a four-person household. More than half of the U.S. population lives below 200 percent of the poverty level.

Fees at the Salvus Center range from $5 to $30, depending on a person's income. For people who are 200 percent or more below the poverty level, prescription drugs are issued on a sliding scale from $1 (generic) to $3. For those 100 percent below the poverty level, drugs are $5 (generic) to $10.

Salvation and healing
"Salvus" is Greek for "salvation" and "healing." The center has seen more than 130 patients since opening March 20. Hill is hoping word of mouth will draw more people who need the services. "We have to develop some trust in the community," he says.

Patients who come through the doors are from 25 to 55, which is typical for clinics like the Salvus Center, he says. The younger patients are people who no longer qualify for their parents' insurance plans and aren't making enough money to afford health coverage.

Many middle-aged people work for companies that don't offer insurance and can't afford to buy coverage, he says. Others are "uninsurable" or have been kicked out of insurance plans.

"We do see some immigrants, and as the trust factor builds, we hope to see more," he says.

"There are 1,800 clinics in the United States that do this kind of work," Hill says. The Salvus Center is modeled on the Church Health Center in Memphis, which has been in operation for 17 years, sees 40,000 patients a year and has an annual budget of $10 million.

"The point is it can be done if you do it right," he says. "We have been working very hard to do it right."

Acts of mercy
Before becoming medical director for the Salvus Center, Hill had a private practice in Gallatin for 26 years. He made a lot of contacts over the years and is "calling in the favors now," he says.

Photo #11, caption: The faith-based Salvus Center, founded by United Methodist Dr. Ted Hill, serves working people who have no health insurance. A UMNS photo by Kathy Gilbert

"I don't work for free," he says, smiling. "I do get a salary for working here, but it is a significant reduction from what I had before."

After attending the Academy for Spiritual Formation sponsored by the United Methodist Upper Room, Hill says he began to understand that a Christians' role involves acts of mercy in the world.

"I began to see at the end of the day my efforts were translated into money," he says. "There is nothing wrong with making a living, but when you realize your life speaks, the question was, 'What is my life saying? What is my witness?' And the witness was I was making a good living - more than I needed - and I began to look at other avenues to reclaim my calling, which is to minister to people in a whole way."

'Amazing and mysterious ways'
Hill began talking about issues of health care and the number of people "who fall through the cracks" with other colleagues in the medical and faith communities.

Then, about a year ago, he approached the chief executive of a local hospital with the question: "If the Lord opened the doors and I decided to do this in Gallatin, would the hospital be supportive?" As it happened, the executive was having similar conversations with others in the community and had planned a meeting for the next day. All he lacked was the name of a doctor who would be willing to provide medical care.

"I showed up the day before the meeting," Hill says. "I felt like it was providential. God has really opened doors ever since then in amazing and mysterious ways."

In June, Hill is hoping to be commissioned as an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church during the Tennessee Annual Conference. "I have been working on a seminary degree in my spare time for the last few years," he says.

"Part of what I want to do as a deacon is to say to the church we need to reclaim the issues of healing within the church," he says. When his father started his ministry 60 years ago, ministers were the healthiest part of the population, he says. "Now they are the sickest."

The issues of clergy health and how Christians take care of themselves are issues of healing, he says.

"I feel like Jesus' ministry was not only teaching and preaching but it was healing, and healing was just as important as the other two," he says. "I think that from the scientific revolution on, we have given that over to other disciplines. Healing really started in the church."

Enough for everyone
Hill is passionate about caring for those in need.

"There is enough for everybody in the world," he says. "The problem is some of us have more than we need and some of us are starving. There is an epidemic of obesity in the United States and an epidemic of starvation in the rest of the world. Something is not right here."

Support for the center has come from many sources, including area hospitals, foundations, grants and organizations such as United Way.

"Because I am a deacon and a church person, I have gone to many different faith groups," Hill says. "We have been supported by a cross section of the faith community. We really are very ecumenically supported, and we are very grateful for that."

Faith groups understand the issue of calling, mission and ministry, he says.

"We are not about any particular faith persuasion," he says. "We have Christian symbols and we talk about our faith, but we are not exclusive in handing out a cup of water to anyone in need."

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Cookeville District Holds Leadership Training Day

Photo #14, caption: The leadership team for the Cookeville District Training Day included left to right: Keith Long, Gerald Taylor, Mark Pafford, Jeff Streszoff, Kimberly White, Susan Groseclose, Loren Pedigo, Shirley Ingram, Harold Martin. Not pictured, Kathy Evans.
Cookeville District Holds Leadership Training Day

By J. Keith Long

The Cookeville District Leadership Training Day was held April 30, 2006, at Cookeville First United Methodist Church. Workshop topics during this year’s program included youth ministry, senior adult ministry, finance, evangelism, music ministry, Volunteers in Mission (VIM) and Pastor Parish Relations (PPR). The event was well attended with approximately 75 in attendance and the hospitality offered by the people of Cookeville First was outstanding. We were blessed to have several churches who attended with a van load. Our day was opened and led by Shirley Ingram, chairperson of the Cookeville district education committee, planners of the event.

This year the training was held in Cookeville and the last two years we have met in Smithville. The education committee is busy looking into the possibility of a fall training event which will be a first as we have met previously only in the spring. We will also be planning another spring event in 2007 but neither event has enough solid details to give specific details about date and place. The Cookeville District remains committed to continuing the provision of edifying opportunities for local church leaders to meet for purposes of learning, fellowship, and uplifting each other in Christian community.