TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW APRIL 20, 2007

Tennessee Conference Review April 20, 2007

Ten Important Stories in this edition of THE REVIEW:
1. Church Experiences Resurrection: A Dying Congregation Now Involved in a Building Program—the story of Bell Springs United Methodist Church
2. Seay Hubbard UMC and the TSU Wesley Foundation Co-Sponsor Effort to Curb Infant Death Rate in Davidson County.
3. Rev. Bill Barnes Tells the Dramatic Story of Edgehill United Methodist Church in his new book To Love a City.
4. Residency Conference Goal to Strengthen Probationers as their Ministry Begins
5. United Methodists Called to Pray. Prayer Conference scheduled for Brentwood United Methodist Church, September 21-22, 2007.
6. Our Call to Hospitality, Part III--Fact Sheet: Immigrants, Immigration, Language, Jobs and Taxes. Continuation of series by John Purdue.
7. The Cookeville District Lay Speaking Ministries School at Allgood United Methodist Church Shows a Growing Trend—Couples, Families in Lay Speaking Ministry Together.
8. Thanks to the following congregations from the Vanderbilt Divinity School. The Divinity School thanks individual congregations for financial support and for nurturing students in Field Education placements.
9. Volunteers in Mission Represent Christian Love in Action. Norris Allen shares information about VIM ministries in Guatemala. Forward by Jason Brock.
10. Missouri Conference Website features Columbia District VIM Working at Caruthersville, Missouri.
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Church Experiences Resurrection: A Dying Congregation Now Involved in a Building Program



Children and young people at a recent Bell Springs worship service

The Bell Springs United Methodist Church is in a building program—adding a kitchen area, a fellowship hall, four Sunday School classrooms, and two bathrooms. So WHY have a story about Bell Springs? Many churches, after all, are involved in building programs.

As the new addition is completed Bell Springs is within $37,500 of having the construction paid off, and the congregation has in recent years paid its conference apportionments 100% within the first month, usually within the first few Sundays, of a new year. Rather impressive—particularly for a congregation that fifteen years ago averaged only 10-12 persons at worship.

Church treasurer Marvin C. Stepp is justly proud of his congregation: “In the beginning we established a goal of raising $120,000.00 to pay for the erection of the Fellowship Hall. We have now reached the $82,500.00 mark. No pledges have been sought but our people and friends have responded magnificently.”

Served twelve of the past fourteen years by retired pastor (and former Murfreesboro District Superintendent) Louis A. Johnson*, the congregation, which has never been served by a full-time minister, now averages close to 100 persons at worship, and the membership is 87 persons and growing. In 1992 there was only one person who could be placed in the children/youth category and presently there are forty children and youth. There were not even church school sessions at Bell Springs for years until church school was restarted four years ago and there are presently four classes. The ministry at Bell Springs is definitely a team effort--Johnson’s wife Anna serves as pianist for the congregation.

When Johnson reflects on what is happening, he quickly points to the friendliness of church members as being a factor in the growth and renewal. “Our church is a good example of disciples helping to make other disciples. Our people are filled with God’s love and it has changed their lives. That love flows out and around others in friendship and kindness. I have been in hundreds of churches in my 55 years of ministry and Bell Springs ranks among the top in friendship.”

“Finances: I have always believed that if a church is in financial trouble it is in spiritual trouble. This church puts faith, love, service and discipleship first, and the finances fall in order.”

In Johnson’s words the sanctuary is a “bee hive” on Sunday morning for 15-20 minutes before the service starts—everybody is greeting everyone else. The sanctuary is crowded enough that the request to “scoot over” is common place. The noise and activity cease when Johnson gets up and says good morning. “People,” says Johnson, “are offered Christ continually . . . We take seriously I Corinthians 12:25, ‘that there be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.’”

Johnson refuses to receive praise for the growth of the congregation—“all the praise and honor belongs to God.”

Ray Schaffer, contractor and a member of the church, examines the progress of the building program early in April.

As the addition to Bell Springs is completed sometime in May, the congregation is planning a good old fashioned revival featuring the preaching of Louis and Anna’s grandson Louis Davis. Davis, who will be becoming a Probationary Elder at the 2007 session of the Tennessee Annual Conference, serves Ethridge United Methodist Church. Bell Springs Supported Louis Davis financially while he was a student at college and also seminary.

Johnson invites persons without a church home to visit Bell Springs and to attend the revival. I-24 exit 97. Go left about 500 yards to Highway 41. Turn right towards Manchester and go approximately 5 miles. The church is on the right – Highway 41 in the Noah Community.

Treasurer Marvin C. Stepp continues to be amazed about his congregation. “Something great is happening at Bell Springs UMC and is above and beyond but within us all. The greatest of the fruits of the spirit is love, and God is love and love is within us. ‘Praise God from whom all Blessings flow.’”

*The Tennessee Annual Conference honored Louis Johnson in 2006 with the Denman Evangelism Award.

Seay Hubbard UMC and the TSU Wesley Foundation Co-Sponsor Effort to Curb Infant Death Rate in Davidson County

Kennard Murray, pastor of Seay Hubbard United Methodist Church, admits to being unsettled when he heard the statistics that had been shared with him by Mark Williams from the Metro Health Department. Doreatha Churchwell, Seay Hubbard’s chair of Health Ministries, had invited Williams to Seay Hubbard to address the issue of infant deaths in the African-American community.

The number of deaths among African-American babies was twice that of Caucasian babies per 1000 live births—twice as many African-American infants would die before they were one year old than Caucasian infants. According to statistics compiled in 2005, Tennessee had the third highest number of infant deaths, per 1000 live birth,s and half of those deaths could have been prevented. In regards to these statistics, Murray and Mrs. Churchwell believe there was a relatively easy solution to the problem. The solution? The Community Voice program, which is administered by the Metropolitan Nashville Health Department and funded by a grant from the March of Dimes. A locally placed program of this type can cut the infant mortality rate substantially.

Community Voice focuses on faith based communities as the catalyst for providing change and impacting geographic areas where local churches are located. The Health Ministries group at Seay Hubbard, along with Rev. Sharletta Green, Wesley Foundation Director at Tennessee State, and the Wesley Foundation, decided to address the problem. They have become the official sponsors and the Wesley Foundation will be providing meeting space for Community Voice training. Green was equally unsettled by the statistics and realized the Foundation provided a good site to spread knowledge throughout the Nashville Community.

Left to right: Mark Williams, Carol Hopkins, and Rev. Kennard Murray

The training approach had been proven successful years ago in Lynchburg, Virginia when their infant mortality rate there was 29.5 deaths, per 1000 live births, in the African-American community. After 4 years of implementing the program the rate decreased to 5.5 deaths, per 1000 live births. Though the program was designed to address the disparity in deaths between African-American and Caucasian infants, the knowledge-based approach is appropriate for all races.

Community Voices Lay Health Advisors Training will be held every Saturday beginning April 21, 2007, and running through May 19, 2007. Each session starts at 10:00 a.m. and concludes at 12:00 noon. The cost is free and lunch is included. Even if you miss the first session come and participate.

Decreasing African American Infant death through faith and knowledge Community Voices is a program designed for anyone who cares for or has contact with an infant child; parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, daycares, babysitters, neighbors, etc. The free 5-week training curriculum addresses the risk factors in the African American community which cause the infant mortality rate to be twice as high as the rate in the Caucasian community. Upon completion of the training all participants will graduate as Lay Health Advisor and will take this knowledge to the people in their church, civic groups, clubs, families, etc.

If your congregation is located in zip codes 37206, 37207, or 37013 it is imperative that you have representation at this event. The number of deaths per 1000 live births is high and could go higher. If your congregation is located in Nashville Zip Codes 37115, 37211, 37216, 37208, 37209, 37076, 37203, 37221 your zip code had a high incidence of infant mortality, particularly among African-Americans, for one or more years between 2000 and 2004. You might wish to participate in this event.

Rev. Kennard Murray is firm in his belief that other churches, United Methodist and other denominations as well, have got to become involved. “Seay Hubbard has always been a community outreach congregation and we feel we must not only minister to the spiritual and emotional needs of people in the community, but also their health needs. It’s a holistic approach to ministry so we want to do everything we can, particularly on this issue, because from the information I’ve received the number of infant deaths can decrease just through the sharing of knowledge—and the lack of knowledge is causing a lot of babies not to live until their first birthday. That’s something we’ve got to address as a church because that is not acceptable.”


Rev. Sharletta Green

Murray’s resolve is echoed by Rev. Sharletta Green. "I believe that overall health is important,” Green said recently, “and that information is key to living healthier lives. As a minister who believes in health mind body and spirit, partnering with Seay-Hubbard and Community Voices is a way that the TSU Wesley Foundation can reach out to the community and affect health and the lives of the children in our area by encouraging better health, by informing students who are future professionals and parents and others about the crisis that the African American community faces today. Also, this training provides a means to deal with stewardship because taking care of our lives and the lives of others as well as future generations is part of being good stewards of what God has entrusted us with as humans and Christians."

Instructors for the Lay Advisors Training will be Mark Williams and Carol Hopkins. Williams, Director of the Community Voices Program, and Hopkins are both employed by the Metro Public Health Department. Both have strong feelings that the faith community is essential to correcting the problem of unnecessary infant deaths. Williams comes at his job from a scriptural base. “We’d like the faith based communities to be involved because if you go to Jeremiah Chapter 1 it says, ‘before I formed you in the womb I knew you.’ I believe God has a plan for every baby that is born, and we as individuals, as a community, as a body of believers are going to be held responsible for the plans God has for these little ones that we’ve lost. As a body of believers we are responsible—we’ve been given that charge. Change has to start with us.”

The Trainings will be held at the Wesley Foundation Building on the Campus of Tennessee State University, 3201 John A. Merritt Blvd., Nashville. For registration information contact: Mark F. Williams 615-340-0433, email mark.williams@nashville.gov or Wesley Foundation 615-327-4651.

Rev. Bill Barnes Tells the Dramatic Story of Edgehill United Methodist Church in his new book To Love a City.

Rev. Bill Barnes


Rev. Bill Barnes served Edgehill United Methodist Church from 1966 until his retirement in 1996 and he tells the story of that inner city congregation and its ministry in his recently published book To Love a City.

“The book,” Barnes says, “is about a small and diverse congregation making a go of it in a low income minority inner city neighborhood. There was giving and receiving, loving and fear, anger and reconciliation, tears and laughter, success and failure—all in trying to live out a Christ led vocation in the city. Herein is described a multitude of strategies and approaches, all emerging out of a foundation of love, sure that ‘we love because God first loved us.’”

The first 30 years of Edgehill Methodist Church were navigated through incredibly tumultuous times, an small inner city congregation facing divisive challenge after divisive challenge: the war on poverty which oftentimes became a war on the poor, draft counseling during the Viet Nam war, racism, civil rights, integration of the public schools, the issue of Sexual Orientation, HIV-AIDS, public housing miscues, government decisions and policies that brought an upswing in homelessness. Barnes recalls those in the Edgehill community who made a difference as the church struggled with ministry to and with the poor, the racially and economically disenfranchised. Sometimes the gains were small, sometime ideas that sounded good didn’t work—but the church persevered and sometimes, through community organization and patience, the gains were large.

The imagery of strengthening the weakest link in the chain runs throughout To Love a City—imagery that obviously provided the congregation with a goal statement. Barnes say, “More and more, bit-by-bit, I was coming to love my city and, at the same time, becoming more aware of its warts, its ambiguities, and its lapses into moral paralysis. The enduring task was to strengthen the weak links of the chain for the sake of the strength of the whole chain. The chain can never be stronger than the weakest link. Surely this summarizes God’s redemptive work in Scripture, emphatically if not exclusively. This conviction guided our love of city and neighborhood.”

To Love a City is first a personal faith journey, then it is history—history of a congregation attempting to make a difference in the lives of the poor and marginalized. Barnes starts out the book by sharing stories of the persons and events that made a difference in his own life as he prepared for urban ministry.

At that point, rather than electing to present the story of Edgehill using a static time-line, he moves instead to a series of commentaries on crises faced by the congregation and its members. There are enough issues raised and theology shared that these middle chapters could become a rich discussion focus for an adult Sunday School class, or local church committees on mission or Christian Social Concern.

At the very end Barnes recalls the words of an alcoholic named Mr. Peden, words uttered continuously during one of his Sunday sermons: “Close it out now. Wrap it up now. Save some for next time.” He notes “given the world and its swelling cities, so filled with aspirations and brokenness, surely the church is called to be present and to be an agent of healing”—and in “wrapping up” the book he quickly shares some learnings about the church and the inner city. Inner city congregations will benefit from a discussion of the points that Barnes makes.

The book can be obtained by sending your name, address and a check for $20.00 (for each copy of the book ordered) to:
O.N.E./Barnes Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 128261
Nashville, TN 37212

All income from the sale of the book above actual publishing costs will go to the O.N.E./Barnes Scholarship Fund. The mission of the Organized Neighbors of Edgehill (O.N.E.) /Barnes Scholarship Program is to provide monetary and social support for Edgehill community residents while attending school. Persons who receive scholarships must live in the Edgehill area and must be accepted or presently enrolled in a college or post-high school education program.

There will be a book signing at the Cokesbury Bookstore, 301 8th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203 (615-749-6123) on Friday, April 27, 2007, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Residency Conference Goal to Strengthen Probationers as Their Ministry Begins

From March 26-29, 2007, probationers from twenty annual conferences (Alabama-West Florida, California-Nevada, Central Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Memphis, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New England, North Alabama, North Central New York, South Indiana, Tennessee, the United Kingdom, West Michigan, West Ohio, West Virginia, Western New York) gathered along with five Bishops and several international judicatory leaders at Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tennessee. “Probationers,” who are called “residents” or indicated as “commissioned” in some annual conferences, are involved in the process that leads to ordination and full ministerial membership in an annual conference.

The purpose of the conference was to engage in the distinctively Wesleyan practice of Christian Conferencing with the hope of strengthening the foundation of probationers as they begin their ministry. The week focused mainly on those areas of concern and priorities that often emerge in a pastor’s early years of ministry. Primarily, the focus was on spiritual and pastoral disciplines that lead to a healthy ministry.

John Wesley described such times of conferencing as “conversation seasoned with salt, fit to minister grace to the hearers.” This was carried out through special worship experiences, small group discussions, and six plenary sessions with leadership provided by Dr. David Lowes Watson, Dr. Lovett Weems, and Bishops Ann Sherer, Joe Pennel, Hope Morgan Ward, and Gregory Palmer.

The event was jointly sponsored by the Tennessee Annual Conference and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.

Participants and leaders from the Tennessee Conference at the 2007 Bishop’s Residency Conference. Front row: Trey Carey, Miriam Seyler, Karen Barrineau, Aline Wesley, Bob Niles, Pat Freudenthal, Regina Hall, Barbara Garcia, Alex Jackson, David Hesson, Ted Hill, Becky Peeler, Joe Pennel; Back Row: Lea Thornton, Jared Wilson, Michael Wilson, Jacob Armstrong, Susan Padgett, Peter Ferguson, Matt Trussell, Tom Gibson, Andrew Stowell, Heidi Bender, Brian Gilbert, Mark Youngman; Not pictured: David Lowes Watson, Gayle Watson, Bryan Brooks, Bishop Wills

United Methodists Called to Pray
John Wesley understood this truth well and taught his followers, "God does nothing apart from prayer."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. The General Board of Discipleship and Aldersgate Renewal Ministries will sponsor “Becoming a People of Prayer,” September 21-22, 2007 at Brentwood United Methodist Church in Nashville.

The purpose of the prayer conference is to call The United Methodist Church to prayer and to strengthen and empower our ability to pray: as individuals, as families, and as congregations.
A prelude to General Conference 2008, the prayer conference is expected to attract some 300-500 persons.

“The Scripture makes it absolutely clear that at the heart of Jesus’ life and ministry was his relationship to God in prayer. To be effective in the Christian life, we must have a vital prayer life,” says Tom Albin, team leader for Upper Room Program Ministries and dean of The Upper Room Chapel.

“Unfortunately, in this post-modern, post-Christian culture--United Methodist still live with the "modernist" mistake that puts prayer in opposition to "doing something."”

United Methodists believe prayer is doing something and that without prayer; all of our efforts produce little fruit if any. This line of thinking says, "Are you going to sit around and pray; or, are you going to get on your feet and do something?"

Albin calls this “the modernist mistake because we can find no such language in the Bible or in the life of Jesus.”

Albin goes on to say that “the future of the Church is directly related to our life of prayer and understanding that our entire life is our prayer.”

According to Albin, John Wesley understood this truth well and taught his followers, "God does nothing apart from prayer."

Those persons who attend the conference will be introduced to a variety of new ways to pray--as individuals, as families and as congregations.

“I believe those who attend the prayer conference will return home with a greater spiritual life and strength. For those who are willing to go deeper, they will have the opportunity to become a partner in a world wide prayer network where we will continue to share the very best ideas and practices--for the building up of the body of Christ and the transformation of the world, said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive for GBOD.

“This event is a major step forward in the journey of the United Methodist Church ‘becoming a people of prayer,’ ” she said.

The conference design team is hopeful participants will leave with an increased awareness of the importance of prayer in their personal life and in the life of the church; with one goal being to equip persons within the church to establish prayer ministries.

“Becoming a People of Prayer” targets pastors, lay members and leaders in The United Methodist Church and leaders in other denominations.

Participants will hear from a variety of leaders and will have the opportunity to pray together in a rich variety of traditions, including Native American, Euro-American, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian.

The conference includes plenary speakers and interactive workshops on various styles of prayer; times of corporate prayer and praise; and a prayer room, which will provide space for spiritual reflection and private prayer.

Among the plenary speakers are:

Terry Teykl, Becoming a Praying Church. Terry Teykl’s warm humorous style makes him one of the most sought after speakers and seminar leaders in the country. He was a pastor for 28 years and has authored many books on prayer including: Making Room to Pray, Pray the Price, Your Pastor Preyed on or Prayer For, How to Prayer After You’ve Kicked the Dog, Blueprint for the House of Prayer, Praying Grace, Presence Based Church, and more.

Suzette Caldwell, Giving My Heart to God. Pastor Suzette Caldwell strongly believes that any person who is willing to “walk by faith” and trust God will achieve their dreams and desires. Caldwell is a graduate of the University of Houston. Presently, she serves as Associate Pastor for Windsor Village UMC. In addition, Caldwell serves as the Chairman of the Kingdom Builders’ Prayer Institute, an organization that prays for the Houston metropolitan area and teaches people how to pray.


Marjorie Thompson, Seeking the Heart of God. Marjorie Thompson is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church USA. She received her BA in religious studies from Swarthmore College, and her M. Div. Degree from McCormick Theological Seminary. For the first ten years in Nashville, she developed a ministry in spiritual formation comprised of teaching, writing, retreat work, and spiritual guidance. In 1996, Marjorie took a full-time position with The Upper Room as Director of the Pathways Center for Spiritual Leadership, as chief architect of a major new resource in congregational spiritual formation (for small groups) Companions in Christ.

Taylor Burton-Edwards, Giving Prayer and Worship Back to the Congregation. The Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards is an Elder in the North Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, currently serving under appointment as Director of Workshop Resources with the General Board of Discipleship. His academic work has focused heavily on history (BA, Kenyon College 1985), historical theology/liturgy (M. Div. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 1990), and the intersection of peacemaking and liturgical studies (MA in Peace Studies, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, 1997).

For more information and to register contact, Becky Caudill, 1-877-2780, ext. 7059 or e-mail: bcaudill@gbod.org.

Our Call to Hospitality, Part III
Fact Sheet: Immigrants, Immigration, Language, Jobs and Taxes
by John Purdue

Interpretive Statistics
1. According to a NYTimes/CBS poll, 70% of foreign-born Hispanics “identify more with the USA than with their home countries.”

2. According to the Dept. of Defense, 5% of all enlisted personnel on active duty in the armed forces are immigrants.

3. According to a study by Harvard University:
.53% of immigrants are in the USA to work
.28% of immigrants are in the USA to be with their family
.13% of immigrants are in the USA to escape political oppression

4. 60-70% of illegal aliens came into the country legally but have overstayed their Visas.

5. Primary Language among Latinos:

Thus by the third generation, virtually all Hispanics are English speakers, with 78% communicating primarily in English. The speed at which Hispanics are learning English (and forgetting Spanish) shows, for better or worse, the strong desire to assimilate. This is also important because it shows an area where virtually every church can begin Hispanic ministry: providing ESL (English as a Second Language) classes for immigrants along with SSL (Spanish as a Second language) classes for church members.

A U.S. Department of Labor study prepared by the Bush Administration said the following:

The perception that immigrants take jobs away from American workers is "the most persistent fallacy about immigration in popular thought" because it is based on the mistaken assumption that there is only a fixed number of jobs in the economy. While immigrants are blamed for unemployment because Americans can see the jobs immigrants fill but not the jobs they create through productivity, capital formation and demand for goods and services. The present upswing in immigration has coincided with historically low levels of unemployment from 1990 through 2006.

Immigrants pay more than $90 billion in taxes every year. Without their contributions to the public treasury, the economy would suffer enormous losses. The total impact of illegal aliens on state and federal budgets is positive for the government at a rate of four dollars in taxes received for every dollar spent. Illegal aliens pay sales, use, income and social security taxes but are not eligible for any direct benefits, including Social Security. The three main areas of spending on illegal aliens are for education, law enforcement and medical emergencies.

Tennessee Statistics

1. According to the US Census bureau, the immigrant population in TN in 2002 is:

· 6 % African, 32.5% Asian, 20% European/Canadian (58.5%)

· 30% Mexican, 11.5% Other Latino (41.5%)

· Thus, most immigrants into Tennessee are not Hispanic.

· Roughly 22% undocumented. (Many persons feel this number is actually far higher.)

2. The growth of the Hispanic population in TN is at 5 times the level for the USA.

3. Roughly 7% of people currently residing in the Nashville area are foreign-born—a threefold increase from 2% in 1990. The largest increase in the foreign-born population occurred among individuals originating from Central America and Mexico.

The following chart represents various changes in population in Nashville from 1990 to 2000.

Some useful e-mail addresses:

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/newamericans/
http://www.tnimmigrant.org/NewPhotos/NewLatinoSouth.pdf
http://www.fairus.org/

The Cookeville District Lay Speaking Ministries School at Allgood United Methodist Church Shows a Growing Trend—Couples, Families in Lay Speaking Ministry Together
Graduates of the 2007 Cookeville District Lay Speaking Ministries School

Conference Lay Leader Joe Williams noticed four couples graduating from the Cookeville District Lay Ministries School and enquired to find out if that was unusual. There was a quick response from Holly Neal: “Shane & Christy Qualls went through the basic course together; Joy White went through the Basic and her husband Hank went through an Advanced Course; Barbara Wood went through the Basic and her husband Luther was in an Advanced Class; Jerry & Teresa Graham both completed the advanced course Next Church Now.

Holly also reported that a number of additional couples had already gone through the Lay Ministry training: Josh & Joanna Newberry, Gene & Katharine Reese, Larry and Jackie Elliott, Richard & Faye Curry, Jeff & Julie Wallace, Ray & Jean Bruce, Erik & Shannon Auguston, John & Toynia Dietz, and last but not least, Randy and Holly Neal.”

Not only that, reports Holly, “but the district has 12 minister’s spouses who have gone through the Lay Speaking Ministry process: Robin Carrigan, Sandy Cotterman, Vivian Martin, Tammy Halliburton, Luanna Tollett, Gail & Jerry (SY) Young, Jamie Wallace, Sandy Gruber, Joe Mowdy, Nellie Lyon, and Jeana Taylor.”

The family connections do not end—Holly did a little research and points out that the District has a few parents and their children involved in Lay Speaking Ministry: “John Short & daughter Karen Short (freshman in college), Jim & Jenny Simpson (she is a senior in high school), Jeff Wallace and his father Dr. Joe Wallace, Joanna Neal Newberry (daughter of Randy & Holly Neal), Stan St. Clair and son-in-law Chris Keele, Faye Qualls and son Shane and his wife Christy, Judy Auguston and son Erik and his wife Shannon.”

*Holly Neal is Cookesville Director of Lay Speaking Ministries

Thanks to the following congregations from the Vanderbilt Divinity School

The Vanderbilt Divinity School would like to thank the following congregations for their financial support. Without the generosity of alumni, friends, and congregations, many of our students would not be able to pursue their call to ministry. Please know of our gratitude.

Belmont United Methodist Church

Brentwood United Methodist Church

Calvary United Methodist Church

West End United Methodist Church

The Vanderbilt Divinity School also extends its gratitude to the following congregations and agencies mentoring and nurturing our students in Field Education placements.
61st Avenue United Methodist Church
Antioch United Methodist Church
Belle Meade United Methodist Church
Belmont United Methodist Church
Edgehill United Methodist Church
Hobson United Methodist Church
Liberty/Rehoboth United Methodist Church
McKendree Village
Saint Andrew Memorial United Methodist Church
Scarritt-Bennett Center
Summitville United Methodist Church
Weavings Journal @ Upper Room
Wesley Canterbury Campus Ministry
West End United Methodist Church

Volunteers in Mission Represent Christian Love in Action

by Norris Allen, Dickson First United Methodist Church

Note from Jason Brock, Conference Director of Love and Justice Ministries: “Throughout the year we share stories from various teams who participate in VIM. First, we want to be able to celebrate what each other are doing, but also encourage others to participate as individuals, congregations, or by several by being ‘Partners in Mission.’ Consider this group as one you or your church might like to partner with as plans begin for 2008. Below is a preliminary report by Norris Allen on this year’s project and a few suggestions on ways you might be a ‘Partner,’ in addition to considering sending some volunteers along with them next year. Please contact me if you or your church might like to be a Partner in Mission with this group, another groupr, or consider working cooperatively with others in planning your own. Rev. Jason Brock, JBrock@tnumc.org, 615-329-1177.”

Jason Brock (Tennessee Conference Director of Love and Justice Ministries), Norris Allen (Team Leader), Carla Gonzalez (Guatemala VIM Coordinator), Juan Pablo Ajanel (Vice-President, National Methodist Church of Guatemala), Monica Moreno (VIM Assistant). Photo #12

I am very pleased with all the activities that we participated in as we shared our faith with our friends in Guatemala. I believe that our work has made, and will continue to make, a big difference in the lives of many people. This year we are constructing more classrooms at the La Toma School as well as providing eye, dental, and general medical care. We continue to help the John Wesley School, constructed by VIM Teams in 2004, with their needs for classroom supplies.

La Toma, a community primary school, addition to two buildings.


In addition to the construction, medical and other activities of our four teams this year, our ongoing projects are:

1. $100 per month pastoral support for Manuel, Felix, and Cruz (Pastors of Methodist Guatemalan churches)

2. $100 per month support of John Wesley and La Toma Schools to pay electricity, water, and misc. bills

3. $100 per month support of the VIM office in Guatemala for extra work required for our activities.
4. Student scholarship for student Eric Lopez to continue secondary school.
5. John Wesley and La Toma student scholarships. ($7 per year will buy books, paper, pencils and classroom needs for one student.)
6. Student and teacher desks
7. Jose Nicolas Tol - 8 year old eye patient who will likely have complete eyesight lost without treatment.

Children and Faculty of La Toma School present gifts and special program as a “thank you.”

How can you help?

Promote the following special givings in your church, Sunday School classes and as an individual:
1. More secondary student scholarships at $300 per year.
2. More elementary student scholarships at $7 per year for one student's school supplies.
3. John Wesley Medical Clinic support. $200 per month will provide a nurse to open the clinic daily and receive teams. $50 will provide a local doctor to work one day.

I believe that VIM is a model for Christian living and is certainly "Christian Love in Action".

Missouri Conference Website features Columbia District VIM Working at Caruthersville, Missouri

“Usually when we have shown pictures of Caruthersville, where tornados destroyed so many homes this time last year, we have shown pictures of the destruction and the rebuilding of property. This picture is different. No destruction is shown here; just a demonstration of love and good will.

A VIM team from the Columbia District of Tennessee worked on the homes of three different families. At the end of the week, they cooked a meal at the Eastwood Memorial United Methodist Church and invited the 22 members of the three families to dinner. Dwight Chapman, pastor of the Eastwood Memorial UMC in Caruthersville, reported to us that it was a very special evening of love, caring and support. Volunteers in Mission is all about relationships and the Picture of the Week shows this so very well.

Photo of the Week

Tennessee VIM team members serve dinner to the families living in the three home they helped to rebuild in Caruthersville.

Message from VIM Team
The Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Team from the Columbia District of the Tennessee, United Methodist Conference would like to thank Caruthersville, MO for allowing us to be a part of the rebuilding efforts from the April 2, 2006 tornadoes. The families from the three homes for whom we worked supported us most graciously, and we especially enjoyed their company for dinner on Thursday, March 22.

It was our pleasure and reward to utilize the skills and talents we have received through Christ to provide this service to your community. We will continue to pray for Caruthersville’s total recovery and safety in the future. Our thanks also go to the Eastwood United Methodist Church for the use of their facilities to house us during our stay.
With the Love of Jesus Christ!
Columbia District VIM Team

TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW APRIL 6, 2007

Stories You’ll Find in this Issue
1. Rev. John H. Collett, Jr. Appointed Nashville District Superintendent
2. The Lillian Story by Norris Allen – Three photographs dramatically show the impact of Volunteers in Mission
3. 61st Avenue United Methodist Church Gallery Show on April 14th demonstrates the photographic skills of children – kids turned loose with cameras create art pieces for gallery show
4. Channel Five News Broadcast Features Glendale United Methodist Church’s Prayer Shawl Ministry—other United Methodist Churches came to the rescue when Glendale’s supply of prayer shawls ran low.
5. Memorial Service for Dr. W.C. Link, former President of McKendreee Village
6. Tennessee United Methodist Association of Preschools Getting Underway!
7. Martin Methodist College Choir has life-changing experience in concert tour of Germany
8, Photo of the “Murfreesboro District Retired Ministers and Spouses” group
9. VBS Kids are “Truckin’ to End Hunger”, Order of St. Andrew offers resources for summer VBS units.
10. No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus, article by Lucy Neeley Adams. Lucy reflects on a hymn that has been especially meaningful in her life.


“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

(photo credit, Mt. Zion United Methodist Church presentation “Three Crosses.”)

Rev. John H. Collett, Jr. Appointed Nashville District Superintendent

Bishop Richard J. Wills, Jr. has announced the appointment of the Rev. John H. Collett, Jr. to become the Superintendent of the Nashville District. He replaces Dr. Garry Speich who will be retiring at the 2007 Annual Conference.

In his 35-year ministerial career Collett has served in a variety of ministerial settings and the last 15 years at Belmont United Methodist Church, a large congregation in a Nashville neighborhood that has changed radically since the early 1960s. From upscale residential housing in the early 1900s to major decline, Belmont’s neighborhood has experienced resurgence in recent years, reflected in the church’s present growth and vigor. At Belmont Collett has taken part in making the congregation a church with major ties to all parts of the surrounding community including the two neighboring universities. The church’s motto became “The Church in the Village (Hillsboro Village) Serving God’s Global Village.” The congregation also partners with Edgehill United Methodist Church on many matters. Edgehill, a nearby church located close to one of Nashville’s Public Housing developments, has been active through the years in promoting neighborhood life and social justice.

The experience at Belmont has made Collett unusually aware of problems, challenges, and opportunities present in Metro Nashville. As Nashville District Superintendent Collett will relate to 58 congregations, 88 elders and deacons appointed to congregations, and more than 50 elders and deacons appointed to extension services. He will also relate to three Wesley Foundations, Community Care Fellowship, Bethlehem Center, Miriam’s Promise, and other boards and agencies within the Nashville District. “I am grateful to Bishop Wills,” says Collett, “for giving me this opportunity to serve the ministries of Jesus Christ with the pastors and congregations of the Nashville District and the work of the Tennessee Conference. I am deeply committed to supporting pastors and congregations in their mutual work of building up the body of Christ and reaching out to the world through the love of God.”

Collett received a B.A. degree from Carson-Newman College and his M.Div. degree from The Divinity School of Vanderbilt University. He was admitted to the Tennessee Conference as a deacon in 1972 and an elder in 1974. Besides Belmont, Collett has served Madison Street in Clarksville (1988-92), Donelson Heights (1983-88), West Nashville (1976-1983), Belmont Associate (1974-76) and the Bell Buckle Circuit (1972-1974).

Collett has provided a great deal of leadership on the Annual Conference level. He has been a member of the Tennessee Conference Episcopacy Committee 2000-2004 and has been Chairperson of that Committee from 2004 to the present. He has served two full terms of 8 years each on the Martin Methodist College Board of Trustees. In addition, he is presently Chairperson of the McKendree Village Foundation Board.

Since 1984 Collett has been elected delegate to each Jurisdictional Conference and is a member of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Council on Finance and Administration. He was also a delegate to the General Conference in 2004.

John is married to Rita Bennett Collett who is the Managing Editor of Upper Room Books. They have three children: Justin, Lauren, and Lisa.

Does VIM Make a Difference?
The Lillian Story
by Norris Allen

Over the many years that I have worked with our conference VIM teams, I have been asked many times if we really make a difference in the lives of the people with whom we serve and share our faith. My answer is always yes. I'll always remember when we were boarding the plane to Belize in 1981, Rev. Bob Spain, who at the time was District Superintendent and later became Bishop, challenged us to "make a difference".

We help build churches, schools, parsonages, Christian life centers, Sunday school rooms, and clinics. We have provided money to dig a well for water supply at a school, provided typewriters for typing classes, provided student and teacher desks two schools (a total of 650 students), provided religious materials for churches, conducted Bible schools, taught students how to sew, provided medical and dental services as well as many eye glasses. We have brought medical patients to Tennessee for heart, brain, clef pallet and eye surgeries. Medical teams including surgeons have provided untold numbers of services in the Caribbean Islands and Central America. We are providing monthly financial support for pastors, schools, conference office personnel. We sponsor promising students to secondary schools. We have put roofs on homes damaged by hurricanes and have provided food for the hungry.

I am proud of all our teams that have worked on these tasks; knowing full well that our purpose or mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Meriem Swift, a VIM team member to Belize in 1981 writes: "Did this mission trip make a difference?" I agree with her when she says, "The tangible things we have already mentioned we can measure. The intangible, the effect we may have made on lives, is, at this time immeasurable. We may never know the good that was accomplished, nor is it necessary that we do. Fully believing that each of us is important to God, if we have stopped one heart from breaking, or eased one life the aching, or cooled one pain, then our efforts were not in vain."

Lillian in 2004, before surgery

Little Lillian, an 8 year old child in Guatemala can testify that our efforts were not in vain. We met Lillian in 2004 while we were building the John Wesley School. She was born with a black birth mark that covered a large part of her face. A doctor described it as a black, hairy nevi with risk of becoming melanoma. Jim Sowell from Dickson First United Methodist Church became very interested in her and was able to arrange for Lillian to see a surgical team from California.

Lillian in 2006, after some surgery.

Lillian has undergone five surgical procedures of cutting away small sections in the middle of the nevi each time, until it had been removed. What a difference has been made in her life and what a joy for us to see her beauty and her smile. This is but one example of the many that could be cited where VIM has made a difference.

Lillian in 2007 following five surgical procedures.

61st Avenue United Methodist Church Gallery Show on April 14th demonstrates the photographic skills of children
61st Avenue United Methodist Church invites all persons interested in children and the arts to a special gallery showing of photographs made by children on Saturday, April 14, 2007, from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.



Cory and Kristopher, a photograph taken by a girl in first grade.

Most churches in the Nashville District know 61st Avenue for the Last Minute Toy Store it has hosted for more than twelve years. This outreach ministry to the poor and working poor provides Christmas gifts for families not covered by other agencies, families that would have a bleak Christmas without the efforts of 61st Avenue UMC. Many area churches provide volunteer help during the time the Last Minute Toy Store is being set up, is in full operation, and being dismantled until the next year.

Sixth-First Avenue United Methodist Church is located in a changing neighborhood and is much more than a Christmas shopping center as it works throughout the year with neighborhood children in a special after-school ministry. Through that program, Children and Youth Director Nita Haywood points out, “we have been introducing the children to the arts for several years. We are thrilled with the results as the children are able to explore and visualize through the arts.”

Even Haywood was somewhat shocked with the results when the after school volunteers determined that they would attempt to let the children visualize their world through photography. “In our photography initiative,” Haywood says, “each child was given a digital camera and encouraged to capture the world around them. Discovery through the images they captured was magical as they found beauty all around.”

“One seven-year-old boy found a calming presence and exhibited a gentle smile when he held the camera for the first time. His angry face softened and his demeanor changed when he was allowed to express himself through his camera, and his pictures are simply amazing. We encourage everyone to attend this special event as the children of 61st Avenue UMC let their ‘light shine’ in photographs made with love.”

Jackie Shields, who has volunteered with the after school program for eleven years, is equally as enthusiastic about the gallery showing of the children’s photographs. “We have been blessed to have two artists provide onsite teaching as well as guidance in this venture and they have surely been placed in our path by God. One, Nancy, is from St. Louis, and is returning to Nashville for the gallery showing. Suellen Parker from Georgia is providing 54 gallery prints, done professionally, and we’ll mat them here in Nashville. We are showing the prints to other agencies that could have local art showings—the Frist, the library, the school the kids attend. We are not limiting our vision at all—whatever confirms these children, gives them a sense of value and shows God’s love for them is what we want. Their photos are wonderful.”

61st Avenue United Methodist Church is located at 6018 New York Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37209. The phone number there is 615-292-7184.

The photographers to be featured in an April 14th gallery show.

Channel Five News Broadcast Features Glendale United Methodist Church’s Prayer Shawl Ministry

Late in February Channel Five news presented a dramatic story about a group of women at Glendale United Methodist Church. Channel Five Reporter Barry Simmons began the story with these words, “A group of women in Nashville has found a unique way to comfort the suffering. It’s good old-fashioned prayer, with a twist. When the women at Glendale United Methodist offer to cover you in prayer, they mean this quite literally.”

Simmons went on to describe the work of the Glendale knitters as they knit and pray over shawls that are presented to the sick and hospitalized, individuals who are about to undergo surgery--in short, any individual, who needs to feel strong love and support during a time of crisis. After interviews with persons in the knitting group Channel Five accompanied one of the knitters, Carolyn Nash, as she delivered a shawl she had knitted to a woman who was about to have surgery to remove a kidney. Nash delivered both a shawl and words of comfort to the 84-year-old who was worried about the surgery. Channel Five also interviewed the person who initiated the idea of a prayer shawl group at Glendale Church, the Rev. Sandra Griggs.

Since the Channel Five broadcast Griggs shared the story of Glendale’s Shawl Ministry birth--a story of God using a most personal and painful loss to birth something new. After the suicide death of Sandra’s 24 year old son Lee, Reverend Lisa Gwock (Belmont UMC) knitted a prayer shawl for Sandra’s birthday gift last April. Lisa took the shawl to a gathering of the United Methodist Student Association from Vanderbilt Divinity School where the shawl was blessed by Professor Doug Meeks and his students. This shawl and the accompanying prayers continue to support Sandra in her grief work. She described her initial experience of receiving the shawl in the Channel Five story: “For me, whenever I was feeling really grief sick and stuck, I would just go grab it, put it around me, and just think of all the people who have supported me in this loss.”

Griggs brought the shawl to church as a joy and challenged some of the knitters in her congregation to start a prayer shawl ministry. Glendale member and busy Vanderbilt Graduate Nursing Student, Lindsey Hill, took the challenge, researched knitting ministries, talked with other knitters, and the ministry began in earnest about a year ago. In the local congregation it has created a deeper sense of community and love--an important small group ministry gathering knitters from various churches as they prepare to welcome new knitters to the fellowship. Some Sundays there are rows of prayer shawls on the altar waiting to be blessed and given as expressions of God and human love.

The small cluster of women shown at work on the news story had no idea what would happen after the story broadcast late one Wednesday night. Immediately, the church phone began to ring and the voice mail box was full--persons throughout the viewing area thought of loved ones who were sick and would benefit from prayer and the gift of a prayer shawl. The Glendale knitters had no stockpile to turn to when the requests came so quickly. Reporter Barry Simmons failed to tell them he was putting their church phone number at the end of the story with an invitation to call if you had someone in need.

Days after the story ran Glendale had received requests for over 50 shawls. A quick plea on the conference list-serve made everyone aware of the importance of a connectional church. Sister churches with prayer shawl ministries heard about the situation and shawls began to arrive. Glendale has received shawls from West End, Blakemore, Crievewood, Franklin First, Columbia First, Hillcrest, and Brentwood United Methodist Churches--even a Methodist Church in Iowa sent 10 shawls allowing Glendale to send out over 70 shawls with requests still coming in. A true multiplication miracle!

In a recent sermon Griggs spoke to the heart of the prayer shawl ministry:

“I’ve realized it’s not just about sending out shawls. It’s about connecting people, wrapping one another in God’s love. We’ve received calls from churches wanting help in starting their own shawl ministries, we’ve had neighbors who would like to knit with us, we’ve been given the opportunity to pray with folks on the phone for loved ones--this is a connecting ministry, it is greater that the sum of it’s parts. That’s the way things are in the Kingdom of God. It started here when someone wrapped me in love as I grieved for love lost. It continues because things are not what they seem. God knows the bigger picture. It continues because the right people come together at the right time for God’s purposes.”

“This is much bigger than knitting for those we know . . . we are knitting for those that God knows. We are part of a bigger picture . . . we are an important part of a bigger picture—we are connected with Abram, we trust where we cannot see. We will never know where these shawls will go or how they will touch lives, grow other ministries, turn people’s eyes and hearts toward God, or lead us in being open to other ministry possibilities.”


Memorial Service for Dr. W.C. Link, former President of McKendreee Village

Dr. Winfrey Clay “W.C.” Link

Hermitage, TN – McKendree Village held a Memorial Service for Rev. W.C. Link on Saturday, March 17, 2007 in the Willard Blue Chapel of the W.C. Link Building on the McKendree campus. The service was followed immediately by a reception. Family members received Dr. Link’s friends and colleagues at that time .

W.C. Link was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1927. He grew up in the Inglewood area of Nashville and was a member of Inglewood Methodist Church and graduated from Isaac Litton High School. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Emory and Henry College and his Bachelor of Divinity Degree from Vanderbilt Divinity School. He did additional graduate studies at the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee.

Link was licensed to preach in the Tennessee Conference in 1947, ordained a Deacon in 1950 and received his Elder’s Orders in 1952. He served the following appointments in the United Methodist Church: 1948 Barren Plains Circuit; 1950 Thompson Station Circuit; 1952 St. John’s; 1955 Glendale; 1960 Winchester; 1963 Manchester; 1967 Director of the Four-Fold Challenge Campaign; 1968 President of McKendree Village; 1990 Retired.

He was appointed to the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography by President Lyndon Johnson. During his time as pastor of Glendale Methodist Church, one of his flock was Buford Ellington. When Mr. Ellington became Governor of Tennessee, he would often call W.C. to come over to the Governors mansion and pray with him over the issues of the day.

As President of McKendree Village, W.C. Link guided the institution through an amazing 22 years of growth and development. All the buildings that are now located on the McKendree campus were built during his tenure. The number of residents increased to the 650-700 person range to make it the largest private, non-profit retirement community in the State of Tennessee. During the years of uncertainty following the Pacific Homes case in California, W.C. led the McKendree Village in developing a Covenant Agreement with the Tennessee Conference and was one of the founders of the United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministries. As a part of the UMA leadership he was a pioneer in the area of accreditation for retirement communities and helped write the stands for the EAGLE Accreditation, which also became the basis of the CCAC Accreditation. McKendree Village is one of only 7% of retirement communities in the country that are recognized for excellence through these accreditations. W.C. Link’s legacy of quality loving care for senior adults is continuing at McKendree Village and across the nation.

During the service David Link, on the right, spoke of his dad as a family man who bent his schedule to fit family requirements. David, heavily involved in athletics while he was in school, pointed out that no matter what sport he was playing, his dad showed up to show support, missing only one game in all the years he played. In one instance, W.C. was virtually the only person in the stands.

During the memorial service Dr. Mearle Griffith read a resolution in honor of W.C. Link from the UM Association of Health and Welfare Ministries that recently completed its 67th Annual Convention. The proclamation was presented to the family after Dr. Griffith finished sharing the Association’s appreciation for W.C. Link’s national leadership.

Bishop Robert Spain in his eulogy quoted the brief notation that Mel Blanc (1908-1989) requested for his tombstone. Blanc, the man “of 1000 voices” provided the cartoon voices of Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny, and his tombstone reads simply, “That’s all Folks.”

Spain pointed out that in Link’s case the notation “That’s all Folks” would not be true. “The legacy and importance of W.C’s lifes work outlived him . . . the ministry of W.C. Link has not ended—is not even close to ending. It outlived him, and will out live all of us here.”

Dr. Link died on January 12, 2007, in Florida where he and his wife Francis lived since his retirement from active ministry in the Tennessee United Methodist Conference. He served as President of McKendree Village from 1968 to 1990. He is survived by his wife Francis, sons David and Dan, and several grandchildren.

Many persons that lovingly greeted Francis Link after the service were former parishioners in congregations served by W.C. Link before he became president of McKendree Village.



Tennessee United Methodist Association of Preschools Getting Underway!
by Starr Strickland

Susan Groseclose welcomes directors of weekday children’s ministries to the Tennessee Conference Center

The organizational committee for the Tennessee United Methodist Association of Preschools (UMAP) hosted a lunch on Monday, February 5, for directors of weekday children’s ministries in all United Methodist churches within the TN Conference. Twenty-six people attended, coming from Clarksville, Dickson, the Franklin area, the Hendersonville area, LaVergne, Murfreesboro, the Nashville area, Nolensville, Pulaski, and one from Memphis.

The purpose of this gathering was to provide an opportunity for directors of United Methodist weekday children’s ministries to network and become acquainted with TN-UMAP and what it has to offer them, their staffs, and the churches they represent.

Networking was important at the UMAP meeting.

UMAP is an organization of Christian early childhood professionals that encourages, supports, and seeks to enable the increase of quality care and Christian education in United Methodist early childhood program ministries. TN-UMAP plans to offer training events and spiritual retreats for weekday ministry directors and staff, to foster covenant relationships between churches and their early childhood program ministries, to maintain cooperative relations among other educational institutions and state agencies, and to advocate for legislation that protects children and develops high standards for quality childcare programs. The overall policy and direction of TN-UMAP is the responsibility of the Board of Directors who will be elected at the association’s annual meetings.

A nutritious and tasty salad bar kicked off the important meeting.

As of March 8, 2007, TN-UMAP had a total of twenty-five members --- seven individual and eighteen organizational (school) members. An official kick-off celebration will be held 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the Tennessee United Methodist Conference Center, 304 South Perimeter Park in Nashville. For further information please contact Susan Groseclose at (615) 329-1177, 800-403-5795, or sgroseclose@tnumc.org


Martin Methodist College Choir has life-changing experience
Students perform six concerts during 10-day spring break tour through Germany

PULASKI, Tenn. – For the concert-goers who were in the audience for each of the performances, the experience was uplifting, but for the performers themselves – the Martin Methodist College Concert Choir members who toured Germany for 10 days during their recent spring break – it was life-changing.

“Everybody should travel out of the country,” said Melissa Stewart, a junior from Hendersonville, Tenn., and a member of First United Methodist Church of Hendersonville. “When you dive right into another culture, you get the ultimate educational experience. It’s truly life-changing, because you literally change lives – you eat different food, you say different things, you meet different people. I was there only 10 days, but I could have been there for 10 months and still not learned everything about their culture.”


Pictured is Scott Solomon, a senior from Goodlettsville and a member of Connell Memorial UMC, and Velvet Waits, a junior from Pleasantville, Tenn., enjoying some of the centuries-old architecture in Wurzburg, Germany.

The 50-member choir performed six times during its four-city tour. It marked the second time in four years that Martin Methodist College’s choir has traveled abroad during spring break; in 2004, the students sang at locations throughout England.

“It was a very successful and educational tour of four major cities of Germany,” said Dr. Albert Hughes, professor of music and director of choral programs at Martin Methodist. “We spent two days in Frankfurt am Main, two days in Wurzburg, two days in Nuremburg, and two days in Berlin. We also made day trips to neighboring towns and historic sites. It was truly a trip that none of us will ever forget.”

The choir sang at Methodist churches and other venues in each city, with much of the coordination done between Dr. Roger Ireson, a member of the college faculty who served as General Secretary of the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Higher Education and Ministry for 13 years, and Dr. Heinrich Meinhardt, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church Lindenkirche Berlin-Wittenau and the founding pastor of the Oranienburg Mission. Meinhardt received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Martin Methodist College in the fall of 2003.

One of the most memorable visits, in fact, occurred at the Oranienburg Mission, established by Meinhardt in an impoverished section of the city of Oranienburg. The students were so inspired by the story of this church – which holds its services in a large, portable storage container – that they donated to the mission all the “love offering” funds received from the six performances.

“It’s an area with a 30-plus percent unemployment rate,” said Annie McClanahan, a senior who first suggested the donation, “and this mission is bringing Christianity to people who, in some cases, have never heard the Gospel. Dr. Meinhardt told us about one experience where he was reading the Christmas story, and one little boy didn’t know what Bethlehem was and had never heard of Jesus. I just thought it would be neat to support what is happening there.”

The cultural element was a significant part of this trip as well. Along with the centuries-old cathedrals in which they performed, the students visited such historic sites as the stadium in Nuremburg where Hitler began his rise to power in the 1930s and the church in Wittenberg where Martin Luther nailed his famous “Ninety-Five Theses” to the church door on Oct. 31, 1517.

Stewart and other students also took a train excursion to Dachau, site of one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps of World War II.

“For the first time in my life,” she said, “I was able to visualize 600,000 (the number of Jews reportedly put to death at that particular location) by seeing the buildings and touching the bunks. I had never been able to actually visualize a real number like that until going there. Germans are so sensitive to that history; I’ve never seen that kind of pain about a culture’s history.”

Matthew Johnson, a sophomore from Clarksville, Tenn., and a member of Olivet United Methodist Church in Pulaski, was so moved by what he saw on the trip that he plans to return to Germany, perhaps for a summer-long cultural immersion experience before his senior year.

“I’m very much into architecture, and I thought the grandeur of the cathedrals was just breathtaking,” he said. “Being outside of the American culture was refreshing. Germany is so rich in cultural diversity; everything has a history, a story behind it, and they take great pride in that.”


Murfreesboro District Retired Ministers and Spouses
by Lynda Phillips
The Retired Ministers and Spouses of the Murfreesboro District is a very active group. They meet once a month in different locales throughout the District. Recently, they met at Christ United Methodist Church in McMinnville for a delightful luncheon. Those attending were:

(Front row: left to right) Starr McVey, Wayne and Janet Simmons, Charlotte and Billy Ray Panter, Bobbie Spencer, Valera Jones, Lynda Phillips.
(2nd row: left to right) Eunice Norris, Bettie Spiva, Boofie Newman, Lou DeRamus, Faye Layne, Anna Johnson, George Jones, Gene Cunningham.
(3rd row: left to right) Ed Spiva, Shelby Newman, Tom DeRamus, Maurice Moore, Larry Layne, Louis Johnson, J.D. Spencer, Bob Case.

Regular members who were unable to attend are: Bill and Rosemary Starnes, Elmo Birkhead, Nancy Moore, Luke and Ann Dunn, Melvin and Dot Collins, Lewis and Betty England, Mitchell Sawyer, J.C. and Robbie Stewart, L.C. and Ann Troutt, Nicky Medley and Leon Norris.

VBS Kids are “Truckin’ to End Hunger”
Mission project to feed the hungry adapts to any VBS theme and curriculum

Each year thousands of children attending Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) around the nation learn what Jesus meant when he said, “You give them something to eat.” Through Bible stories and activities found in the Society of St. Andrew's mission project package, the children learn that there are people who go hungry, even in their own town, and they are given the opportunity to actually help feed their hungry neighbors through donations of their nickels and dimes.

The Society of St. Andrew’s (Advance #801600) very popular, effective, and free annual VBS mission project package is now available. This year’s program, “Truckin’ to End Hunger,” is a fun way to involve VBS in feeding the hungry right here in America. “Truckin’ to End Hunger” is designed to supplement any VBS program and help students learn about hunger in America and how Jesus wants us to help. Student sheets, containing a short scripture story, facts about hunger and the Society of St. Andrew’s hunger-relief ministry, potato trivia, and a pencil activity, are included for each day.

The mission project title relates to the Society of St. Andrew’s (SoSA) national hunger-relief program, the Potato Project, which salvages potatoes that are perfectly good and nutritious, but can’t be sold because of market factors. The spuds are either too big, too small, or there are simply too many of them. Instead of letting them go to waste, SoSA ships these donated white and sweet potatoes in tractor-trailer loads to agencies feeding the hungry throughout the nation, and at a cost of just over five cents a pound! It’s a simple and effective way to obey Jesus’ commands to feed the hungry, while also being good stewards of our nation’s abundance.

Along with teaching children about hunger and helping those in need, the goal is for each VBS to raise enough through offerings for 1,000 pounds of potatoes that will end up on the plates of hungry people right here in America. At a nickel a pound, that’s a goal of $50.

Last year 175 churches used the Society of St. Andrew’s VBS program. The children attending VBS enthusiastically answered Jesus’ call to feed the hungry by donating $40,123 – enough to provide more than two million servings of food to hungry men, women and children! On average, each participating VBS raised four and half times the goal of $50.

“Truckin’ to End Hunger” is free and there is no obligation. Order a free sample kit today. Call Susan Allen at the Society of St. Andrew, 800-333-4597; email church@endhunger.org; fax your request to 434-299-5949; or order on line at www.endhunger.org/order_material.htm. Materials should arrive within two weeks of ordering.

More information about the Society of St. Andrew and its hunger relief ministry, including the Potato Project, Gleaning Network, Harvest of Hope, and Hunger Relief Advocate programs, is available at www.endhunger.org

No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus
by Lucy Neeley Adams*

It is simple to spell l-o-v-e, not always so simple to experience it. But just as a baby wrapped in the arms of a loving parent is fed even if he is not drinking milk, so God's love can flow through the loving arms of a mom or dad, and give that baby strength for a lifetime.

With each new stage of growth there is that same basic need for love that fills the heart and soul of every child. After talking with a judge of a family court, one statement in our discussion has stayed with me. He said, "Most of the children I try to help are those who see but do not say." There are many children who see much at home but have nowhere to discuss it. My friend Joe Ann knows it is true.

As I walked by her house one day, I saw her in the rocking chair on her front porch. "Hi, Joe Ann," I called, not wanting to disturb her beyond a simple greeting, but she invited me to visit with her. I sensed she wanted to say many things about her childhood. Memories overflowed as she clutched her baby book. "You see this blue baby book? My parents were surprised when I was a girl. I was to be their little boy, Joe. But in my baby book, it is written as Joe Ann. Only my name is here, and that is how I felt, like there was nothing else to say. And I never said very much."

Then with a stifled sob, she mumbled, "No one ever cared, no one ever cared." I patted her hand in understanding since I too had often felt that way. My older sister seemed to be the blessing to my parents and there were times when I felt like an appendage.

We talked at length about the failure of parents to nurture their children in a perfectly loving home. "Since none of us are perfect in our ability to express love, the children in our homes might suffer," I said. "We must teach them that God's love is the only sustaining and perfect love there is."

I then shared with her a scripture that blesses my heart each time I read it. "Warm me, your servant, with a smile; save me because you love me" (Psalm 31:16, The Message). We ended our visit with happiness because we had shared our pain. We rejoiced that we knew the love of God through our Savior, Jesus Christ, who always cares. His perfect love and caring never end.

Jesus is sufficient for our needs whatever age or stage we are in life. One of my favorite hymns of the Christian faith is "No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus." The composer, Charles Weigle, was born in 1871 in Lafayette, Indiana. As a young boy, he heard of God's love and asked Jesus to come into his heart. At the age of twelve he felt a definite call to preach. His life of ministry is descriptive of the scripture, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

However, during Weigle's early years of ministry he experienced a heartbreaking moment that he describes this way: "A mantel of grief covered me, but God's grace sustained me."

These sentiments are echoed by many great composers. Their music gives us renewed hope and an assurance that if tragedy comes, disciples of Jesus Christ can overcome.

Weigle was an evangelist who spent much time away from home conducting preaching missions. One day he returned to find a note from his wife that she had left him and taken their small daughter.

Historian Kenneth W. Osbeck, author of the book Amazing Grace, writes more about Weigle: "He became so despondent during the next several years that there were even times when he contemplated suicide. There was the terrible despair that no one really cared for him anymore. Gradually his spiritual faith was restored and he once again became active in the Christian ministry. Soon he felt compelled to write a song that would be a summary of his past tragic experience."

The first verse begins: "I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus, since I found in Him a friend so strong and true."

In our lives there are times when we feel all alone, whether it's due to a broken marriage, the betrayal of a good friend, the death of a loved one, a lonely childhood, or just the everyday trials of relationships at the workplace. This loneliness is a sure sign of a need for deepening one's faith in Jesus, who said, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:18).

The chorus following each of the three stanzas of this hymn makes one feel secure in the loving relationship with our living Lord:

"No one ever cared for me like Jesus,

there's no other friend so kind as He.

No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,

Oh how much he cared for me."

Composer Charles Weigle died at age 95. The world may not remember the sermons he preached. However, his ministry lives on as we sing his hymn of assurance. Our best friend is Jesus, whose love is perfect and everlasting.

God of all love, I humbly bow in Your presence as you reach out to touch me and assure me of your presence. I acknowledge my desperate need for you. I have no fear because you are sufficient for any need. Thank you for sending Your son Jesus who spoke these words of promise: "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). I pray in His name, Amen

*Lucy Neeley Adams has always loved music. She began telling the story of hymns on Christian radio WWGM in Nashville, TN, in the '80s. She then wrote a newspaper column titled "Song Stories" for five years. During that time Lucy's book, “52 Hymn Story Devotions”, was published by Abingdon Press in Nashville. Each of the 52 stories contained in the book is written in a devotional format, with the words of the hymn concluding each devotion.

Lucy, dubbed "The hymn lady," can be heard on the first Thursday of each month when she discusses hymn stories during a telephone interview with Michelle Mendoza of "Living Christian." The program is aired on station KCIS in Seattle, WA.Lucy lives at Lake Junaluska, NC, with her minister husband, Woody who retired from the Tennessee Conference. They have four children and fourteen grandchildren. She may be reached for comment at lucya424@aol.com. Visit her at 52hymns.com