TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW MAY 4, 2007
Index of ten articles appearing in this issue of THE REVIEW
1. Pelham UMC’s Daniel Janvrin, Has Asperger’s Syndrome, and major singing talent—appears at annual Tennessee Prayer breakfast
2. Ministries leader returns love. Nancy Crutcher runs Edgehill United Methodist Church’s after-school program, known as Brighter Days. As a child, she participated in the program.
3. Methodist Faith Night with the Nashville Sounds, June 3, 2007.
4. Young Adult Council Offers Conference-Wide Training, May 12th. Reaching out to a Generation that is searching
5. Musical Church Basement Ladies Offers Opportunity for church people to laugh at ourselves. Review of musical comedy playing at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
6. Brownie Scouts from Brentwood United Methodist Church Involved in the Community. The Brownie Troop in Brentwood UMC didn't waste any time reaching out to the community after their formation in the autumn of 2006.
7. Homestead United Methodist in Crossville Hosts a Sunday School Training.
8. Family Fellowship Retreat at Beersheba Springs July 20-22, 2007, article with one captioned photo. Dr. Ron Lowery to provide retreat leadership.
9. ‘Spud Day’ distributes 32,000 pounds of potatoes locally and beyond. Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. (Students Engaged in Reviving Volunteer Efforts in Society) effort provides potatoes for a large number of low income families.
10. Letter to the Editor: What happened to the Great Commission? Commentary by Reverend Donald W. Morris, Fellowship United Methodist Church, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Pelham UMC’s Daniel Janvrin, Has Asperger’s Syndrome, and major singing talent
After his performance, Daniel Janvrin stands with Reeda Shelton, and his pastor/accompanist Miriam Seyler.
In 2006 Daniel Janvrin was the Tennessee state winner for the VSA Arts* contest. Janvrin who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, performed at the Ryman Auditorium and in March of this year performed at the state convention of Special Education Teachers.
On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, he was invited to perform at the 33rd Annual Tennessee Prayer Breakfast held at the Nashville Convention Center. This event coincides with the National Day of Prayer and is sponsored by the Citizens Committee, a volunteer group of outstanding Tennesseans who coordinate this event designed to encourage through prayer the governor, general assembly, the judiciary, educators, business and religious leaders, and our dedicated military at home and abroad. Nashville Vice-Mayor Howard Gentry chaired this year’s event and Governor Phil Bredesen was a special guest. Besides Janvrin, performers at the prayer breakfast included multi-platinum Grammy Award Winner CeCe Winans, The Nashville Choir, and Dove Award nominee Tom Howard.
Twenty-two year old Janvrin, who spent a number of years in the Florida Foster Care program before coming to Tennessee two years ago, is a member of the Pelham United Methodist Church in Pelham, Tennessee, and that congregation has taken great interest in his talent as a vocal soloist, providing transportation and music so he can participate in public performances. They also arranged an eye exam and glasses for him.
Daniel volunteers in the Grundy County School System, helping with classes for the disabled and also participating in their music program. A Pelham UMC church member, Megan Benton, drives him to school, and a second church member Reeda Shelton has become his unofficial “manager,” arranging the details of his performances. Pelham minister, Miriam Seyler, feels Reeda is definitely “God’s gift to Daniel.” Seyler herself is also a “gift to Daniel,” serving as his accompanist when he performs.
There is a great deal of irony in Miriam Seyler’s involvement with Daniel. About ten years ago she was a professional musician and was diagnosed with dystonia in her right hand. Sidelined by this disability, God re-issued a childhood call into the ministry. “The rest is history,” notes Seyler, “Now that I am ‘disabled,’ I have these wonderful opportunities to accompany Daniel as he perform at wonderful places like the Ryman Auditorium and the Nashville Convention Center.”
*VSA arts is an international, nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
VSA arts Tennessee promotes arts, education, and creative expression involving people with disabilities thereby improving the quality of life for all people of Tennessee. Activities are designed to create and support avenues of creative expression for people with disabilities; to promote disability awareness of creative endeavors; to help eliminate barriers for people with disabilities through the arts; and to support the efforts of professional artists with disabilities.
Ministries leader returns loveChurch’s program helped her as child; now she directs it
By Tim Ghianni, Staff Writer, The Tennessean
This Article Appeared originally in the Faith and Values section of THE TENNESSEAN, Saturday, April 14, 2007, and is reprinted here by permission.
Nancy Crutcher runs Edgehill United Methodist Church’s after-school program, known as Brighter Days. As a child, she participated in the program.
Nancy Crutcher says God and her mother are responsible for the smile on her face when she watches youngsters wash chicken nuggets down with orange juice.
“I love this community so much,” she says, as children chirp in the after-school program at Edgehill United Methodist Church.
Her mom brought her and her seven older siblings here for spiritual and educational reinforcement when they were growing up in the public housing complex across the street.
“I had a mother who had a strong faith in me,” she says of her late mother, Gloria Crutcher. “I know she sees me now and she shines and she grins.”
Her mom lived long enough to see her baby girl take over as director of the church’s Neighborhood Ministries, a job that includes the responsibility of running, with the assistance of many volunteers, the after-school program.
Crutcher, 47, left Edgehill behind her—physically if not emotionally—for too long. She moved from public housing, finished high school and entered the business world. “I was miserable for a long time,” she admits.
“A miracle of God” brought her from despair and back “home” 12 y ears ago. “I was working at a place where I did a lot of dictation and things like that, but I really wanted to do something to give back to my community.”
What could she do? She found that out when she dropped in at her home church and learned the job as after-school program director was opening up.
She applied and got the job.
‘Children know she loves them’
Crutcher says she’s just returning the love that shaped her when she was a schoolgirl.
“We’d come here and do anything from making birdhouses to learning music, ballet dancing, creative writing,” she recalls. Volunteers then, as now, brought their particular gifts to share with the children.
During its four decades, the after-school program evolved its focus more to helping kids with their homework and tutoring. On this afternoon, kids scramble from their orange juice and nuggets “refueling station” to work on a computer or get tutoring by the volunteers from many churches.
The tutors are here because they love the children. They also love Crutcher and what she has accomplished.
“She’s a wonderful example,” says Sue Smith, a retired teacher. “The love she has for these children is evident.”
Beverly Lovell, another volunteer, says Crutcher is “wonderful with the kids and the parents and the community, the schools and the volunteers.”
Edgehill pastor Judi Hoffman says Crutcher’s impact is heartfelt. “The children know she loves them,” says Hoffman. “She really cares about them.”
Crutcher watches as a group of youngsters huddles around a computer.
“I have tried to make them excited about coming,” says Crutcher. “We have a great program.”
The learning is almost as important as the hope the kids receive at Edgehill’s appropriately named Brighter Days program.
Crutcher doesn’t just hug and teach the kids. Her Neighborhood Ministries job also has her working in other areas of her come community. She runs the “Slow Pokes” program, a luncheon with elderly people who live in the nearby high-rise.
“And basically throughout the week, I do whatever as far as working with people in the neighborhood,” she said. “Something greater than me is keeping love strong here. I feel in my heart that this is where God wanted me to be.”
For More Information: Anyone interested in learning about or contributing to the Brighter Days program or other offerings at Edgehill United Methodist Church should call 254-7628. Extension 3 will reach Nancy Crutcher. Extension 1 will get the Rev. Judi Hoffman.
Methodist Faith Night with the Nashville Sounds, June 3, 2007
Methodist Faith Night with the Nashville Sounds sponsored by Martin Methodist College will be June 3rd beginning at 4:00 pm at Greer Stadium.
The night kicks off with a concert by one of the hottest Contemporary Christian artists on the radio. Due to competition clauses, they cannot be promoted by name at this point, but they are headlining a nationwide tour that kicks off this summer. United Methodist sponsored Nothing But Nets will also be on hand as the featured Faith Night Community Partner. Martin Methodist College President Ted Brown will be on hand to speak and throw out the first pitch. Conference youth will gather along with Martin Methodist College alumni and students. The game will begin promptly at 6:00 pm.
For more information related to participation by Conference youth groups contact Beth Morris (615-329-1177, bmorris@tnumc.org), contact Martin Alumni Director Jerry Burlison for all Martin Methodist College alumni and students (931-363-9800), or contact a representative from the Nashville Sounds (http://www.nashvillesounds.com) for all other United Methodist group needs. Come out and enjoy the concert, the game, and the fellowship with other United Methodists from around the Conference.
Young Adult Council Offers Conference-Wide Training, May 12th: focus is on how to Reach a Generation that is searching
Glancing around the church pews one might think Postmoderns and Millennials are missing generations, yet our schools, workplaces, coffeehouses, and retail centers are flowing with young adults. Perhaps these generations aren't "lost", but rather wanting to be met where they are. Could it be that the church is just out of touch? What would it mean for the church to "go there," beyond its walls, to embrace a searching generation?
You are invited to join the Young Adult Council for a conference-wide training event May 12th. The training will be held at the Conference Office from 9:30 - 2:30 with a break for lunch. Participants are invited to have lunch ordered in for them for $10.
The training will explore the mind, personality, and needs of today's young adults in the context of developing stronger young adult ministries. Participants will walk away from this experience with a depth of knowledge about young adult culture, a better understanding of their connection to conference young adult ministries, and a vision for developing young adult ministry in their own local context.
For more information or to register, contact Beth Morris, 329-1177, email bmorris@tnumc.org
Johnson Theater, TPAC, now through July 1st
Musical Church Basement Ladies Offers Opportunity for church people to laugh at ourselves
by Thomas H. Nankervis with excerpts from the plays news release
You Can’t Go Home Again is the title of one of Thomas Wolfe’s best novels (published in 1939). It is also a much-quoted warning – when one returns to one’s roots it isn’t the same as it was. Things change. Persons change.
When I went to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center to see Church Basement Ladies I didn’t expect to see my mother or the dozen or so women who occupied the kitchen in my small home church in northern Minnesota—but there they were, characters in the musical comedy Church Basement Ladies, debating the quality of food, commenting on persons in the community, handling one food crisis after another. The only difference was that the characters in Church Basement Ladies were small town Norwegian Lutherans who felt community pressure to prepare the best lutefisk possible, and share the joys of lefsa. In my mother’s case the scene was the basement of the Eveleth Methodist Church and the concern was over the quality of pasties (Cornish meat pies) and plum pudding; the nearby Catholic Church with a Slovanian constitutency sang the praises of orehova potica; and there was a continuing debate at the Italian Catholic Church about which of its church ladies had the best recipe for lasagna.
The church ladies: Miss Signe Engelson, Karin Engelson, Mavis Gilmerson, and Vivian Snustead offer a smorgasbord of songs, remembrances, and plenty of humor.
Any questions I had about whether non-Minnesotans and/or non-Lutherans would enjoy Church Basement Ladies were quickly answered by the laughter and applause all around me, and I was greeted at Sunday School the next morning by rave reviews of the play from two good ole southern girls who had attended previous performances. This musical offers an excellent opportunity to “laugh at ourselves” as church people, no matter the denominational affiliation.
Based on the best selling book Growing Up Lutheran by authors/humorists Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, the Church Basement Ladies script was written by Jim Stowell, one of Minnesota’s favorite storytellers and Jessica Zuehlke, a performing arts educator. The Stowell/Zehhlke duo, husband and wife, collaborated with composer/songwriter Drew Jansen who is well-known in the upper Midwest for his creation of the music for the homegrown hit musical, How to Talk Minnesotan The Musical.
Church Basement Ladies was directed by Curt Wollan who also was the driving force behind getting the musical written in the first place. Wollan wanted to create a show that celebrates the women who work so hard and with such dedication in the church kitchen whether they be Lutheran, Methodist, Jewish or Catholic. Wollan explained, “I know about these “Steel Magnolias” of the church, because my mother was one of them while I was growing up.” The piece debuted in 2005 at the Plymouth Playhouse in Minneapolis and sold out virtually every performance for more than a year.
Church Basement Ladies, a celebration of the church basement kitchen and the women who work there, features four distinct characters and their relationships as they organize the food and the problems of a rural Minnesota church. From the elderly matriarch of the kitchen to the young bride-to-be learning the proper order of things, the book and music give us a touching, funny look at their lives as we see them handle a record breaking lutefisk Christmas dinner, the funeral of a dear friend, a Hawaiian Easter Fundraiser, and a steaming hot July wedding. They stave off potential disasters, share and debate recipes, instruct the young, and keep the Pastor on due course while thoroughly enjoying, (and tolerating) each other. Funny and down to earth, audiences will recognize these ladies as they begin to see the year unfold from below the House of God. This is most certainly true!
The musical comedy is “farce” in the best sense of the word—lively and engaging with plenty of visual humor, and the choreography by Wendy Short Hays is imaginative, with exceptional use of the confined space of a church kitchen. The cast, displaying fine ensemble acting, even manages to overcome what has become a major systemic problem in the Johnson Theatre, sound—dialogue and lyrics come through loud and clear.
Sara Bartlett as Mrs. Lars (Vivian) Snustad is the quintessential kitchen lady—set in her ways, controlling every step of food preparation and service. Janette Bruce is an unusually athletic Mrs. Gilmer (Mavis) Gilmerson--displaying her dance background as an actress—and is focus of much of the plays visual humor. Dorian Chalmers who recreates her role from the original Plymouth Playhouse cast, plays Mrs. Elroy (Karin) Engleson, the church’s best cook, and sometime free spirit who stands between the two older ladies, Snustad and Gilmerson, and her daughter Signe Engelson played by Stella Fasanello. Signe who is just beginning college at the beginning of the play is “learning the ropes” of church kitchen behavior and lives through almost constant comments about the boys in her life and the fact she is going to college “in the cities” (Referring to Minneapolis and St. Paul). Greg Eiden plays Pastor Gunderson and lives with the fact that he married a girl from out of town—referred to throughout the play as his “new wife” even after months have elapsed. Much of the play’s humor comes from the fact that “new wife” never seems to understand how things work in THIS Lutheran Church. She sent lasagna (definitely NOT a Lutheran food) to the hot dish supper, and was the impetus behind the Hawaii-themed Easter party (grass skirts certainly aren’t Norwegian Lutheran).
The songs from Closer to Heaven (In the Church Basement) through Dead Spread (type of foods to be served at a funeral), to The Cities (stereotyped view of what to expect when you leave the rural area and go to the large communities of St. Paul/Minneapolis) are all well written and performed. Mother of the Bride and For Good talk about wedding jitters—with a realization that change is often difficult.
I have to admit that my favorite number was The Pale Food Polka – Drew Jansen poking fun at the Norwegian Lutheran’s predilection to savor food that has no distinctive color.
Discussion after group attendance at the play could focus on recollection of the church ladies remembered by the group—and what it means for the church to change. When is change bad? When is change good?
Tickets can be obtained through the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, 505 Deaderick Street or Davis-Kidd Booksellers in The Mall at Green Hills.
All performance times and dates are listed on-line at http://www.tpac.org/shows/calendar/calendar_event.asp?eventID=5646&viewdate=4/23/2007
Total directions on how to buy tickets including tickets for groups:
http://www.tpac.org/shows/how_buy.asp
Tickets may also be purchased through Ticketmaster in three ways:
· Purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com (up until 4 hours prior to performance time)
· Visit any Ticketmaster outlet (Kroger, Tower Records, and other locations near you); or
· Call Ticketmaster at 615/255-ARTS (2787).
Brownie Scouts from Brentwood United Methodist Church Involved in the Community
BRENTWOOD, Tenn.–– The Brownie Troop in Brentwood UMC didn't waste any time getting involved in their suburban Nashville community. Following their fall 2006 formation, the girls held a “Stock the Pantry” party for a family in a nearby community whose house had burned down. The girls collected and shopped for grocery items and filled six food boxes. They decorated the boxes with snowflakes and made Christmas cards for the family.
Girls from a Brownie troop sponsored by Brentwood United Methodist Church represent Sweden at an international festival. Girls in photo (left to right): Anne Marie Vines, Caitlin VanPatten, Kristina Finley, Elizabeth Graham Pistole and Andie Haslam.
Troop Leader Janie Domico and her 17 year-old daughter, Victoria, were looking for a volunteer project they could do together. When the Brentwood church added Girl Scouts as a ministry, it seemed like a perfect fit. Victoria has been active in Girl Scouts since she was first grade and Janie served as a co-leader for one of her troops. “Leading the Brownie Troop has been a wonderful experience. The girls are just precious and so much fun. We're already making plans for next year.” says Domico.
The girls from three elementary schools visited a local fire department and a county animal control center, and they participated in the Titans Cheerleading Clinic at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.
Brownie Scouts engage in various “Try-It” activities to earn patches. The Brentwood girls have already completed seven “Try-Its” and will complete two more by the end of the school year.
Try-It's expose girls to new hobbies, skills, and fun activities. The emphasis in on trying new experiences, not gaining proficiency. When girls complete any four activities in a Try-It, they receive an award to wear on their sashes or vests.
In early April, the troop represented Sweden in an international festival. Later this month, the troop will attend a “Horse Meet & Greet” at Camp Sycamore Hills and the “Brownie First Nighter” at Camp Holloway.
Thanks to a successful cookie sale, the troop is planning a summer trip to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.
“The Constitution of Girl Scouts of the United States of America states that ‘the motivating force in Girl scouting is spiritual,’” says Roz Thompson, faith partnership manager at the Girl Scout Council of Middle Tennessee. “For many years, the UMC has been a pacesetter for the faith community in partnering with Girl Scouts to inspire girls to live the Girl Scout promise and in doing so, serve God.
The United Methodist Church leads all denominations in the number of sponsored Girl Scout troops. Over 120,000 girls participate in 27,000 troops sponsored by United Methodist congregations.
Homestead United Methodist in Crossville Hosts a Sunday School Training Event
by Jim Young
Homestead United Methodist Church (HUMC) held a special training event for Sunday School teachers and others interested in Christian Education on March 31, 2007 at the church.
Dinah Goodwin, Sunday School superintendent for HUMC, said she was concerned about figures she'd seen that United Methodist Sunday School attendance was dropping and she knew a strong Sunday School program was a key to church growth.
Goodwin explained, “Someone had given me the advice that if you support your teachers and make things available for them, your teachers would continue to want to teach. The workshop was one way to show our teachers that I appreciate them and support them.”
The half-day event included training sessions on classroom management, communication and telling Bible stories to children. Another session broke the attendees into groups by the age of their students for specific tips on keeping Sunday School interesting to the students. Sunday School teachers from several Crossville churches and one church in Monterey attended the workshop.
Speakers at the Homestead UMC Sunday School Workshop included, Front Row L-R: Shirley Ingram Cookeville District Children's Ministry Coord.; Dinah Goodwin, HUMC Sunday School Supt.; Fay Tucker HUMC Pastor; Back row L-R: Monica Mowdy, Pastor of Overton Co. Parish; Loyd Mabry, TN Conference Director of Congregational Development; Rita Young, Executive Dir. of Crossville VORP Mediation Program; Chris Cummings, Crossville First UMC Children's Ministry Coord.; Aleta Sutherland, Dir. of Christian Education at Cookeville First UMC.
The program started out with a video from Cokesbury on the importance of Sunday School and concluded with some very interesting statistics and information from Tennessee Conference Director of Congregation Development Loyd Mabry who discussed how numbers in the Methodist Church were slipping and the importance of doing things differently to reach the un-churched.
Goodwin explained the goal of the workshop was “to add to the excitement and motivation of our teachers and to enhance their teaching with new and fresh ideas.”
Session Leaders included Cookeville District Children's Ministry Coordinator Shirley Ingram, Crossville First United Methodist Youth Director Chris Cummings, Cookeville First United Methodist Education Director Rev. Aleta Sutherland, Executive Director of Crossville's Victim Offender Reconciliation and Mediation Program Rita Young, and Pastor of the Overton Co. Parish Rev. Monica Mowdy.
Family Fellowship Retreat at Beersheba Springs July 20-22, 2007
Dr. Ron Lowery
Mark your calendars to attend a weekend of spiritual, mental and physical renewal. We have adult, youth and children sessions that offer biblical truth and inspiration. Dr. Ron Lowery, District Superintendent for the Cumberland District will be leading the adult study aimed at equipping us with “Tools for Family Work”. Youth and children can enjoy the wonderful activities, music, and crafts that are planned while the adults meet. The retreat is an opportunity for families to leave the busyness of life behind and reconnect with each other and our Savior in an awe inspiring location.
Average cost for room (with A/C), 6 meals and registration is $90 per adult based on double occupancy. Hurry and don’t forget to register by June 15, 2007. All registrations postmarked after June 15, 2007 will require an additional $5.00 late fee. Final registration deadline is July 11, 2007. Please see our brochure for additional information and a registration form or contact Melissa Meyer at (615) 230-5738 to have one sent to you. You can also stop by our table at Annual Conference June 10-13, 2007.
Brochures were included in the March coordinated mailing and are in need if a correction on the registration form. Please note that all registration forms and payments must be sent to: Tennessee Conference Center 304 South Perimeter Park Drive Suite 1, Nashville, TN 37211.
‘Spud Day’ distributes 32,000 pounds of potatoes locally and beyond
Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. coordinates potato drop in partnership with Feed America First
Pat Ford, director of the Martin Annual Fund, oversees the loading of potatoes onto his pickup truck for delivery to a Giles County agency.
PULASKI, Tenn. – If you ever wanted to know what 32,000 pounds of white potatoes looked like, the place to find out was the Martin Methodist College campus on Tuesday morning. (17th)
It was “Spud Day ’07,” a potato drop to feed the hungry in Giles County and beyond. Some 170 volunteers – students, faculty, staff, and members of the community – gathered to distribute 10-pound bags of white potatoes, gleaned from fields in North Carolina by the Society of St. Andrew and delivered to the MMC campus. From there, Martin Methodist College volunteers distributed the potatoes to agencies and locations throughout Giles County, while Feed America First, an organization in Murfreesboro, Tenn., handled the out-of-county distribution throughout Tennessee, northern Alabama, and northern Mississippi.
Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. (Students Engaged in Reviving Volunteer Efforts in Society), the service program that is in its first year, coordinated the local potato drop through the Society of St. Andrew, a national ministry founded in 1979 that works in the area of hunger relief.
In less than three hours, MMC distributed 14,000 pounds of potatoes to people and organizations in Giles County. The remainder went on trucks bound for 40 counties throughout the region.
“Amazing! I never dreamed we could move so many spuds so quickly,” said the Rev. Laura Kirkpatrick, MMC’s campus minister who led the effort.
Originally, the plan was for the college to receive individual sweet potatoes, and the volunteers would be putting those potatoes in 10-pound bags, but the shipment took on a different look as the week began, arriving as already-bagged white potatoes.
“Blessed are the flexible!” Kirkpatrick said with a grin. “I am so thankful for everyone’s willingness to pitch in and help deliver the potatoes, especially when they thought they were going to be bagging. We had students and staff in four vehicles delivering to 11 locations. There were a dozen students and staff standing at the corner of 4th and Madison Streets handing bags to those who were driving by – ‘Martin Methodist Drive-thru Spuds!’ An extra special blessing for the day was having several Giles County Impact Center clients serving along side our students. We appreciated ISS’s willingness to assist; we moved so fast we didn’t have any more spud work for them to do, but we most certainly appreciate their willingness.”
Another important participant was Tom Henry, executive director of Feed America First, an organization that he and a partner founded seven years ago, leaving jobs in the corporate world to find a solution to hunger in rural America. What he witnessed on Tuesday morning in Pulaski put a big smile on his face.
“If you think of how many families will get help out of this, it’s really wonderful,” he said. “This was a great effort, especially the deliveries that were made across Giles County.”
He pointed out that in rural parts of the country, the issue of hunger does not have the appearance that it does in metropolitan areas. Because there is not the cluster of population, it makes getting food to deserving people a different challenge. Feed America First works with food pantries, church organizations, and regional agencies to distribute food to those far reaches.
“When people see something like a potato drop, they just see 32,000 pounds (of potatoes) arrive as they did here this morning,” Henry said, looking out at the pallets of white potatoes being divvied up for distribution. “From here, though, the potatoes (not delivered in Giles County) have got to go somewhere. That’s our part. Feed America First spreads that food far and wide, working with 140 agencies in the region every month.”
Henry said that shipments were going to Florence, Ala., to Russellville, Ala., to northern Mississippi, to west Tennessee, and throughout the region of the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church, which covers the central portion of the state.
“If we can increase their food supply,” he said of the recipients in these rural areas, “then we can improve their lives. Almost all the agencies we work with are faith-based, because that’s who is doing the work in the small towns.
“Feed America First distributed 2.5 million pounds of food in 2006,” Henry said, “and that’s with a staff of three and hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. Keep in mind that every dollar donated provides enough food for 15 meals. You figure a family of four spends about $20 or so for a dinner out at a fast food restaurant. If they chose, instead of eating out once a month, to donate that money, and then other families were to do the same, you see that the results would be stunning.”
Among the recipients of potatoes in Giles County were the Help Center, Hope House, Child Development Center, Ivy Crest, Meadowbrook Nursing Home, the Giles County Jail, Southside Elementary School, New Canaan Ranch, Boys and Girls Clubs, Head Start, Hewitt House, Richland Elementary School, and Elkton School. Especially rewarding for Kirkpatrick as the college’s campus minister were the local residents throughout the community who, after hearing an invitation on the radio Tuesday morning, came to the campus.
“It was unbelievable how many needy families heard about the spuds on the radio, and they came by to receive a bag,” she said. “That was wonderful.”
All in all, she said, it was a triumphant way to conclude the first year of Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. In fact, an evaluation meeting had just been held on Friday, bringing participating agencies to campus to review the service projects that Martin Methodist students, faculty, and staff had conducted since the program began in August.
“This school year, we have often used a song by Casting Crowns, ‘If We Are the Body,’ in worship services,” Kirkpatrick said. “The lyrics say, ‘If we are the body [of Christ], why aren’t His hands reaching and His feet going?’ Today, I feel that the Martin Methodist College community truly lived out our call in being the body of Christ serving our sisters and brothers, and I look forward to the further development of Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. as we grow in our compassion and service to and with all people.”
Letter to the Editor: What happened to the Great Commission?
United Methodists across the world are forming their battle plans. Just like Generals of every major war. Strategies are looked at, decisions made on whom we can count on as our allies. Studies of what went right at the last battle and what went wrong. It’s the four year ritual called General Conference.
Once again the major topic that dominates almost all the decisions is our stance on Homosexuality. Each side holds top secret meetings only inviting those who believe like they do. “Can we elect so in so? Make a list, check it twice, make sure your friends are on board but be careful. Maybe just maybe this year we can win.
Gone are the old fashioned ideas of the great commission of Christ. When was the last time we spent hours asking our possible delegates question about church growth, or how to share the Salvation of Jesus.
I don’t know about you but this battle is getting old. During an ethics class in seminary we discussed the “Just War Theory.” One of the main points was: “Is the war winnable?” I’m tired of spending so much energy on this topic.
Solution: Split. Looking at church history in a casual glance splits have always happened: Christianity from Judaism; Protestantism from Catholicism; Methodist from Anglican Church.
Only history will decide if these splits were good.
Oh yes, one other minor point. Every four years we lose hundreds if not thousands of Methodist who are tired of the fight.
Reverend Donald W. Morris
Fellowship United Methodist Church
Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37128
1. Pelham UMC’s Daniel Janvrin, Has Asperger’s Syndrome, and major singing talent—appears at annual Tennessee Prayer breakfast
2. Ministries leader returns love. Nancy Crutcher runs Edgehill United Methodist Church’s after-school program, known as Brighter Days. As a child, she participated in the program.
3. Methodist Faith Night with the Nashville Sounds, June 3, 2007.
4. Young Adult Council Offers Conference-Wide Training, May 12th. Reaching out to a Generation that is searching
5. Musical Church Basement Ladies Offers Opportunity for church people to laugh at ourselves. Review of musical comedy playing at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
6. Brownie Scouts from Brentwood United Methodist Church Involved in the Community. The Brownie Troop in Brentwood UMC didn't waste any time reaching out to the community after their formation in the autumn of 2006.
7. Homestead United Methodist in Crossville Hosts a Sunday School Training.
8. Family Fellowship Retreat at Beersheba Springs July 20-22, 2007, article with one captioned photo. Dr. Ron Lowery to provide retreat leadership.
9. ‘Spud Day’ distributes 32,000 pounds of potatoes locally and beyond. Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. (Students Engaged in Reviving Volunteer Efforts in Society) effort provides potatoes for a large number of low income families.
10. Letter to the Editor: What happened to the Great Commission? Commentary by Reverend Donald W. Morris, Fellowship United Methodist Church, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Pelham UMC’s Daniel Janvrin, Has Asperger’s Syndrome, and major singing talent
After his performance, Daniel Janvrin stands with Reeda Shelton, and his pastor/accompanist Miriam Seyler.
In 2006 Daniel Janvrin was the Tennessee state winner for the VSA Arts* contest. Janvrin who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, performed at the Ryman Auditorium and in March of this year performed at the state convention of Special Education Teachers.
On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, he was invited to perform at the 33rd Annual Tennessee Prayer Breakfast held at the Nashville Convention Center. This event coincides with the National Day of Prayer and is sponsored by the Citizens Committee, a volunteer group of outstanding Tennesseans who coordinate this event designed to encourage through prayer the governor, general assembly, the judiciary, educators, business and religious leaders, and our dedicated military at home and abroad. Nashville Vice-Mayor Howard Gentry chaired this year’s event and Governor Phil Bredesen was a special guest. Besides Janvrin, performers at the prayer breakfast included multi-platinum Grammy Award Winner CeCe Winans, The Nashville Choir, and Dove Award nominee Tom Howard.
Twenty-two year old Janvrin, who spent a number of years in the Florida Foster Care program before coming to Tennessee two years ago, is a member of the Pelham United Methodist Church in Pelham, Tennessee, and that congregation has taken great interest in his talent as a vocal soloist, providing transportation and music so he can participate in public performances. They also arranged an eye exam and glasses for him.
Daniel volunteers in the Grundy County School System, helping with classes for the disabled and also participating in their music program. A Pelham UMC church member, Megan Benton, drives him to school, and a second church member Reeda Shelton has become his unofficial “manager,” arranging the details of his performances. Pelham minister, Miriam Seyler, feels Reeda is definitely “God’s gift to Daniel.” Seyler herself is also a “gift to Daniel,” serving as his accompanist when he performs.
There is a great deal of irony in Miriam Seyler’s involvement with Daniel. About ten years ago she was a professional musician and was diagnosed with dystonia in her right hand. Sidelined by this disability, God re-issued a childhood call into the ministry. “The rest is history,” notes Seyler, “Now that I am ‘disabled,’ I have these wonderful opportunities to accompany Daniel as he perform at wonderful places like the Ryman Auditorium and the Nashville Convention Center.”
*VSA arts is an international, nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
VSA arts Tennessee promotes arts, education, and creative expression involving people with disabilities thereby improving the quality of life for all people of Tennessee. Activities are designed to create and support avenues of creative expression for people with disabilities; to promote disability awareness of creative endeavors; to help eliminate barriers for people with disabilities through the arts; and to support the efforts of professional artists with disabilities.
Ministries leader returns loveChurch’s program helped her as child; now she directs it
By Tim Ghianni, Staff Writer, The Tennessean
This Article Appeared originally in the Faith and Values section of THE TENNESSEAN, Saturday, April 14, 2007, and is reprinted here by permission.
Nancy Crutcher runs Edgehill United Methodist Church’s after-school program, known as Brighter Days. As a child, she participated in the program.Nancy Crutcher says God and her mother are responsible for the smile on her face when she watches youngsters wash chicken nuggets down with orange juice.
“I love this community so much,” she says, as children chirp in the after-school program at Edgehill United Methodist Church.
Her mom brought her and her seven older siblings here for spiritual and educational reinforcement when they were growing up in the public housing complex across the street.
“I had a mother who had a strong faith in me,” she says of her late mother, Gloria Crutcher. “I know she sees me now and she shines and she grins.”
Her mom lived long enough to see her baby girl take over as director of the church’s Neighborhood Ministries, a job that includes the responsibility of running, with the assistance of many volunteers, the after-school program.
Crutcher, 47, left Edgehill behind her—physically if not emotionally—for too long. She moved from public housing, finished high school and entered the business world. “I was miserable for a long time,” she admits.
“A miracle of God” brought her from despair and back “home” 12 y ears ago. “I was working at a place where I did a lot of dictation and things like that, but I really wanted to do something to give back to my community.”
What could she do? She found that out when she dropped in at her home church and learned the job as after-school program director was opening up.
She applied and got the job.
‘Children know she loves them’
Crutcher says she’s just returning the love that shaped her when she was a schoolgirl.
“We’d come here and do anything from making birdhouses to learning music, ballet dancing, creative writing,” she recalls. Volunteers then, as now, brought their particular gifts to share with the children.
During its four decades, the after-school program evolved its focus more to helping kids with their homework and tutoring. On this afternoon, kids scramble from their orange juice and nuggets “refueling station” to work on a computer or get tutoring by the volunteers from many churches.
The tutors are here because they love the children. They also love Crutcher and what she has accomplished.
“She’s a wonderful example,” says Sue Smith, a retired teacher. “The love she has for these children is evident.”
Beverly Lovell, another volunteer, says Crutcher is “wonderful with the kids and the parents and the community, the schools and the volunteers.”
Edgehill pastor Judi Hoffman says Crutcher’s impact is heartfelt. “The children know she loves them,” says Hoffman. “She really cares about them.”
Crutcher watches as a group of youngsters huddles around a computer.
“I have tried to make them excited about coming,” says Crutcher. “We have a great program.”
The learning is almost as important as the hope the kids receive at Edgehill’s appropriately named Brighter Days program.
Crutcher doesn’t just hug and teach the kids. Her Neighborhood Ministries job also has her working in other areas of her come community. She runs the “Slow Pokes” program, a luncheon with elderly people who live in the nearby high-rise.
“And basically throughout the week, I do whatever as far as working with people in the neighborhood,” she said. “Something greater than me is keeping love strong here. I feel in my heart that this is where God wanted me to be.”
For More Information: Anyone interested in learning about or contributing to the Brighter Days program or other offerings at Edgehill United Methodist Church should call 254-7628. Extension 3 will reach Nancy Crutcher. Extension 1 will get the Rev. Judi Hoffman.
Methodist Faith Night with the Nashville Sounds, June 3, 2007
Methodist Faith Night with the Nashville Sounds sponsored by Martin Methodist College will be June 3rd beginning at 4:00 pm at Greer Stadium.
The night kicks off with a concert by one of the hottest Contemporary Christian artists on the radio. Due to competition clauses, they cannot be promoted by name at this point, but they are headlining a nationwide tour that kicks off this summer. United Methodist sponsored Nothing But Nets will also be on hand as the featured Faith Night Community Partner. Martin Methodist College President Ted Brown will be on hand to speak and throw out the first pitch. Conference youth will gather along with Martin Methodist College alumni and students. The game will begin promptly at 6:00 pm.
For more information related to participation by Conference youth groups contact Beth Morris (615-329-1177, bmorris@tnumc.org), contact Martin Alumni Director Jerry Burlison for all Martin Methodist College alumni and students (931-363-9800), or contact a representative from the Nashville Sounds (http://www.nashvillesounds.com) for all other United Methodist group needs. Come out and enjoy the concert, the game, and the fellowship with other United Methodists from around the Conference.
Young Adult Council Offers Conference-Wide Training, May 12th: focus is on how to Reach a Generation that is searching
Glancing around the church pews one might think Postmoderns and Millennials are missing generations, yet our schools, workplaces, coffeehouses, and retail centers are flowing with young adults. Perhaps these generations aren't "lost", but rather wanting to be met where they are. Could it be that the church is just out of touch? What would it mean for the church to "go there," beyond its walls, to embrace a searching generation?
You are invited to join the Young Adult Council for a conference-wide training event May 12th. The training will be held at the Conference Office from 9:30 - 2:30 with a break for lunch. Participants are invited to have lunch ordered in for them for $10.
The training will explore the mind, personality, and needs of today's young adults in the context of developing stronger young adult ministries. Participants will walk away from this experience with a depth of knowledge about young adult culture, a better understanding of their connection to conference young adult ministries, and a vision for developing young adult ministry in their own local context.
For more information or to register, contact Beth Morris, 329-1177, email bmorris@tnumc.org
Johnson Theater, TPAC, now through July 1st
Musical Church Basement Ladies Offers Opportunity for church people to laugh at ourselves
by Thomas H. Nankervis with excerpts from the plays news release
You Can’t Go Home Again is the title of one of Thomas Wolfe’s best novels (published in 1939). It is also a much-quoted warning – when one returns to one’s roots it isn’t the same as it was. Things change. Persons change.
When I went to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center to see Church Basement Ladies I didn’t expect to see my mother or the dozen or so women who occupied the kitchen in my small home church in northern Minnesota—but there they were, characters in the musical comedy Church Basement Ladies, debating the quality of food, commenting on persons in the community, handling one food crisis after another. The only difference was that the characters in Church Basement Ladies were small town Norwegian Lutherans who felt community pressure to prepare the best lutefisk possible, and share the joys of lefsa. In my mother’s case the scene was the basement of the Eveleth Methodist Church and the concern was over the quality of pasties (Cornish meat pies) and plum pudding; the nearby Catholic Church with a Slovanian constitutency sang the praises of orehova potica; and there was a continuing debate at the Italian Catholic Church about which of its church ladies had the best recipe for lasagna.
The church ladies: Miss Signe Engelson, Karin Engelson, Mavis Gilmerson, and Vivian Snustead offer a smorgasbord of songs, remembrances, and plenty of humor.
Any questions I had about whether non-Minnesotans and/or non-Lutherans would enjoy Church Basement Ladies were quickly answered by the laughter and applause all around me, and I was greeted at Sunday School the next morning by rave reviews of the play from two good ole southern girls who had attended previous performances. This musical offers an excellent opportunity to “laugh at ourselves” as church people, no matter the denominational affiliation.
Based on the best selling book Growing Up Lutheran by authors/humorists Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, the Church Basement Ladies script was written by Jim Stowell, one of Minnesota’s favorite storytellers and Jessica Zuehlke, a performing arts educator. The Stowell/Zehhlke duo, husband and wife, collaborated with composer/songwriter Drew Jansen who is well-known in the upper Midwest for his creation of the music for the homegrown hit musical, How to Talk Minnesotan The Musical.
Church Basement Ladies was directed by Curt Wollan who also was the driving force behind getting the musical written in the first place. Wollan wanted to create a show that celebrates the women who work so hard and with such dedication in the church kitchen whether they be Lutheran, Methodist, Jewish or Catholic. Wollan explained, “I know about these “Steel Magnolias” of the church, because my mother was one of them while I was growing up.” The piece debuted in 2005 at the Plymouth Playhouse in Minneapolis and sold out virtually every performance for more than a year.
Church Basement Ladies, a celebration of the church basement kitchen and the women who work there, features four distinct characters and their relationships as they organize the food and the problems of a rural Minnesota church. From the elderly matriarch of the kitchen to the young bride-to-be learning the proper order of things, the book and music give us a touching, funny look at their lives as we see them handle a record breaking lutefisk Christmas dinner, the funeral of a dear friend, a Hawaiian Easter Fundraiser, and a steaming hot July wedding. They stave off potential disasters, share and debate recipes, instruct the young, and keep the Pastor on due course while thoroughly enjoying, (and tolerating) each other. Funny and down to earth, audiences will recognize these ladies as they begin to see the year unfold from below the House of God. This is most certainly true!
The musical comedy is “farce” in the best sense of the word—lively and engaging with plenty of visual humor, and the choreography by Wendy Short Hays is imaginative, with exceptional use of the confined space of a church kitchen. The cast, displaying fine ensemble acting, even manages to overcome what has become a major systemic problem in the Johnson Theatre, sound—dialogue and lyrics come through loud and clear.
Sara Bartlett as Mrs. Lars (Vivian) Snustad is the quintessential kitchen lady—set in her ways, controlling every step of food preparation and service. Janette Bruce is an unusually athletic Mrs. Gilmer (Mavis) Gilmerson--displaying her dance background as an actress—and is focus of much of the plays visual humor. Dorian Chalmers who recreates her role from the original Plymouth Playhouse cast, plays Mrs. Elroy (Karin) Engleson, the church’s best cook, and sometime free spirit who stands between the two older ladies, Snustad and Gilmerson, and her daughter Signe Engelson played by Stella Fasanello. Signe who is just beginning college at the beginning of the play is “learning the ropes” of church kitchen behavior and lives through almost constant comments about the boys in her life and the fact she is going to college “in the cities” (Referring to Minneapolis and St. Paul). Greg Eiden plays Pastor Gunderson and lives with the fact that he married a girl from out of town—referred to throughout the play as his “new wife” even after months have elapsed. Much of the play’s humor comes from the fact that “new wife” never seems to understand how things work in THIS Lutheran Church. She sent lasagna (definitely NOT a Lutheran food) to the hot dish supper, and was the impetus behind the Hawaii-themed Easter party (grass skirts certainly aren’t Norwegian Lutheran).
The songs from Closer to Heaven (In the Church Basement) through Dead Spread (type of foods to be served at a funeral), to The Cities (stereotyped view of what to expect when you leave the rural area and go to the large communities of St. Paul/Minneapolis) are all well written and performed. Mother of the Bride and For Good talk about wedding jitters—with a realization that change is often difficult.
I have to admit that my favorite number was The Pale Food Polka – Drew Jansen poking fun at the Norwegian Lutheran’s predilection to savor food that has no distinctive color.
Discussion after group attendance at the play could focus on recollection of the church ladies remembered by the group—and what it means for the church to change. When is change bad? When is change good?
Tickets can be obtained through the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, 505 Deaderick Street or Davis-Kidd Booksellers in The Mall at Green Hills.
All performance times and dates are listed on-line at http://www.tpac.org/shows/calendar/calendar_event.asp?eventID=5646&viewdate=4/23/2007
Total directions on how to buy tickets including tickets for groups:
http://www.tpac.org/shows/how_buy.asp
Tickets may also be purchased through Ticketmaster in three ways:
· Purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com (up until 4 hours prior to performance time)
· Visit any Ticketmaster outlet (Kroger, Tower Records, and other locations near you); or
· Call Ticketmaster at 615/255-ARTS (2787).
Brownie Scouts from Brentwood United Methodist Church Involved in the Community
BRENTWOOD, Tenn.–– The Brownie Troop in Brentwood UMC didn't waste any time getting involved in their suburban Nashville community. Following their fall 2006 formation, the girls held a “Stock the Pantry” party for a family in a nearby community whose house had burned down. The girls collected and shopped for grocery items and filled six food boxes. They decorated the boxes with snowflakes and made Christmas cards for the family.
Girls from a Brownie troop sponsored by Brentwood United Methodist Church represent Sweden at an international festival. Girls in photo (left to right): Anne Marie Vines, Caitlin VanPatten, Kristina Finley, Elizabeth Graham Pistole and Andie Haslam.Troop Leader Janie Domico and her 17 year-old daughter, Victoria, were looking for a volunteer project they could do together. When the Brentwood church added Girl Scouts as a ministry, it seemed like a perfect fit. Victoria has been active in Girl Scouts since she was first grade and Janie served as a co-leader for one of her troops. “Leading the Brownie Troop has been a wonderful experience. The girls are just precious and so much fun. We're already making plans for next year.” says Domico.
The girls from three elementary schools visited a local fire department and a county animal control center, and they participated in the Titans Cheerleading Clinic at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.
Brownie Scouts engage in various “Try-It” activities to earn patches. The Brentwood girls have already completed seven “Try-Its” and will complete two more by the end of the school year.
Try-It's expose girls to new hobbies, skills, and fun activities. The emphasis in on trying new experiences, not gaining proficiency. When girls complete any four activities in a Try-It, they receive an award to wear on their sashes or vests.
In early April, the troop represented Sweden in an international festival. Later this month, the troop will attend a “Horse Meet & Greet” at Camp Sycamore Hills and the “Brownie First Nighter” at Camp Holloway.
Thanks to a successful cookie sale, the troop is planning a summer trip to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.
“The Constitution of Girl Scouts of the United States of America states that ‘the motivating force in Girl scouting is spiritual,’” says Roz Thompson, faith partnership manager at the Girl Scout Council of Middle Tennessee. “For many years, the UMC has been a pacesetter for the faith community in partnering with Girl Scouts to inspire girls to live the Girl Scout promise and in doing so, serve God.
The United Methodist Church leads all denominations in the number of sponsored Girl Scout troops. Over 120,000 girls participate in 27,000 troops sponsored by United Methodist congregations.
Homestead United Methodist in Crossville Hosts a Sunday School Training Event
by Jim Young
Homestead United Methodist Church (HUMC) held a special training event for Sunday School teachers and others interested in Christian Education on March 31, 2007 at the church.
Dinah Goodwin, Sunday School superintendent for HUMC, said she was concerned about figures she'd seen that United Methodist Sunday School attendance was dropping and she knew a strong Sunday School program was a key to church growth.
Goodwin explained, “Someone had given me the advice that if you support your teachers and make things available for them, your teachers would continue to want to teach. The workshop was one way to show our teachers that I appreciate them and support them.”
The half-day event included training sessions on classroom management, communication and telling Bible stories to children. Another session broke the attendees into groups by the age of their students for specific tips on keeping Sunday School interesting to the students. Sunday School teachers from several Crossville churches and one church in Monterey attended the workshop.
Speakers at the Homestead UMC Sunday School Workshop included, Front Row L-R: Shirley Ingram Cookeville District Children's Ministry Coord.; Dinah Goodwin, HUMC Sunday School Supt.; Fay Tucker HUMC Pastor; Back row L-R: Monica Mowdy, Pastor of Overton Co. Parish; Loyd Mabry, TN Conference Director of Congregational Development; Rita Young, Executive Dir. of Crossville VORP Mediation Program; Chris Cummings, Crossville First UMC Children's Ministry Coord.; Aleta Sutherland, Dir. of Christian Education at Cookeville First UMC.
The program started out with a video from Cokesbury on the importance of Sunday School and concluded with some very interesting statistics and information from Tennessee Conference Director of Congregation Development Loyd Mabry who discussed how numbers in the Methodist Church were slipping and the importance of doing things differently to reach the un-churched.
Goodwin explained the goal of the workshop was “to add to the excitement and motivation of our teachers and to enhance their teaching with new and fresh ideas.”
Session Leaders included Cookeville District Children's Ministry Coordinator Shirley Ingram, Crossville First United Methodist Youth Director Chris Cummings, Cookeville First United Methodist Education Director Rev. Aleta Sutherland, Executive Director of Crossville's Victim Offender Reconciliation and Mediation Program Rita Young, and Pastor of the Overton Co. Parish Rev. Monica Mowdy.
Family Fellowship Retreat at Beersheba Springs July 20-22, 2007
Dr. Ron LoweryMark your calendars to attend a weekend of spiritual, mental and physical renewal. We have adult, youth and children sessions that offer biblical truth and inspiration. Dr. Ron Lowery, District Superintendent for the Cumberland District will be leading the adult study aimed at equipping us with “Tools for Family Work”. Youth and children can enjoy the wonderful activities, music, and crafts that are planned while the adults meet. The retreat is an opportunity for families to leave the busyness of life behind and reconnect with each other and our Savior in an awe inspiring location.
Average cost for room (with A/C), 6 meals and registration is $90 per adult based on double occupancy. Hurry and don’t forget to register by June 15, 2007. All registrations postmarked after June 15, 2007 will require an additional $5.00 late fee. Final registration deadline is July 11, 2007. Please see our brochure for additional information and a registration form or contact Melissa Meyer at (615) 230-5738 to have one sent to you. You can also stop by our table at Annual Conference June 10-13, 2007.
Brochures were included in the March coordinated mailing and are in need if a correction on the registration form. Please note that all registration forms and payments must be sent to: Tennessee Conference Center 304 South Perimeter Park Drive Suite 1, Nashville, TN 37211.
‘Spud Day’ distributes 32,000 pounds of potatoes locally and beyond
Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. coordinates potato drop in partnership with Feed America First
Pat Ford, director of the Martin Annual Fund, oversees the loading of potatoes onto his pickup truck for delivery to a Giles County agency.PULASKI, Tenn. – If you ever wanted to know what 32,000 pounds of white potatoes looked like, the place to find out was the Martin Methodist College campus on Tuesday morning. (17th)
It was “Spud Day ’07,” a potato drop to feed the hungry in Giles County and beyond. Some 170 volunteers – students, faculty, staff, and members of the community – gathered to distribute 10-pound bags of white potatoes, gleaned from fields in North Carolina by the Society of St. Andrew and delivered to the MMC campus. From there, Martin Methodist College volunteers distributed the potatoes to agencies and locations throughout Giles County, while Feed America First, an organization in Murfreesboro, Tenn., handled the out-of-county distribution throughout Tennessee, northern Alabama, and northern Mississippi.
Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. (Students Engaged in Reviving Volunteer Efforts in Society), the service program that is in its first year, coordinated the local potato drop through the Society of St. Andrew, a national ministry founded in 1979 that works in the area of hunger relief.
In less than three hours, MMC distributed 14,000 pounds of potatoes to people and organizations in Giles County. The remainder went on trucks bound for 40 counties throughout the region.
“Amazing! I never dreamed we could move so many spuds so quickly,” said the Rev. Laura Kirkpatrick, MMC’s campus minister who led the effort.
Originally, the plan was for the college to receive individual sweet potatoes, and the volunteers would be putting those potatoes in 10-pound bags, but the shipment took on a different look as the week began, arriving as already-bagged white potatoes.
“Blessed are the flexible!” Kirkpatrick said with a grin. “I am so thankful for everyone’s willingness to pitch in and help deliver the potatoes, especially when they thought they were going to be bagging. We had students and staff in four vehicles delivering to 11 locations. There were a dozen students and staff standing at the corner of 4th and Madison Streets handing bags to those who were driving by – ‘Martin Methodist Drive-thru Spuds!’ An extra special blessing for the day was having several Giles County Impact Center clients serving along side our students. We appreciated ISS’s willingness to assist; we moved so fast we didn’t have any more spud work for them to do, but we most certainly appreciate their willingness.”
Another important participant was Tom Henry, executive director of Feed America First, an organization that he and a partner founded seven years ago, leaving jobs in the corporate world to find a solution to hunger in rural America. What he witnessed on Tuesday morning in Pulaski put a big smile on his face.
“If you think of how many families will get help out of this, it’s really wonderful,” he said. “This was a great effort, especially the deliveries that were made across Giles County.”
He pointed out that in rural parts of the country, the issue of hunger does not have the appearance that it does in metropolitan areas. Because there is not the cluster of population, it makes getting food to deserving people a different challenge. Feed America First works with food pantries, church organizations, and regional agencies to distribute food to those far reaches.
“When people see something like a potato drop, they just see 32,000 pounds (of potatoes) arrive as they did here this morning,” Henry said, looking out at the pallets of white potatoes being divvied up for distribution. “From here, though, the potatoes (not delivered in Giles County) have got to go somewhere. That’s our part. Feed America First spreads that food far and wide, working with 140 agencies in the region every month.”
Henry said that shipments were going to Florence, Ala., to Russellville, Ala., to northern Mississippi, to west Tennessee, and throughout the region of the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church, which covers the central portion of the state.
“If we can increase their food supply,” he said of the recipients in these rural areas, “then we can improve their lives. Almost all the agencies we work with are faith-based, because that’s who is doing the work in the small towns.
“Feed America First distributed 2.5 million pounds of food in 2006,” Henry said, “and that’s with a staff of three and hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. Keep in mind that every dollar donated provides enough food for 15 meals. You figure a family of four spends about $20 or so for a dinner out at a fast food restaurant. If they chose, instead of eating out once a month, to donate that money, and then other families were to do the same, you see that the results would be stunning.”
Among the recipients of potatoes in Giles County were the Help Center, Hope House, Child Development Center, Ivy Crest, Meadowbrook Nursing Home, the Giles County Jail, Southside Elementary School, New Canaan Ranch, Boys and Girls Clubs, Head Start, Hewitt House, Richland Elementary School, and Elkton School. Especially rewarding for Kirkpatrick as the college’s campus minister were the local residents throughout the community who, after hearing an invitation on the radio Tuesday morning, came to the campus.
“It was unbelievable how many needy families heard about the spuds on the radio, and they came by to receive a bag,” she said. “That was wonderful.”
All in all, she said, it was a triumphant way to conclude the first year of Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. In fact, an evaluation meeting had just been held on Friday, bringing participating agencies to campus to review the service projects that Martin Methodist students, faculty, and staff had conducted since the program began in August.
“This school year, we have often used a song by Casting Crowns, ‘If We Are the Body,’ in worship services,” Kirkpatrick said. “The lyrics say, ‘If we are the body [of Christ], why aren’t His hands reaching and His feet going?’ Today, I feel that the Martin Methodist College community truly lived out our call in being the body of Christ serving our sisters and brothers, and I look forward to the further development of Martin S.E.R.V.E.S. as we grow in our compassion and service to and with all people.”
Letter to the Editor: What happened to the Great Commission?
United Methodists across the world are forming their battle plans. Just like Generals of every major war. Strategies are looked at, decisions made on whom we can count on as our allies. Studies of what went right at the last battle and what went wrong. It’s the four year ritual called General Conference.
Once again the major topic that dominates almost all the decisions is our stance on Homosexuality. Each side holds top secret meetings only inviting those who believe like they do. “Can we elect so in so? Make a list, check it twice, make sure your friends are on board but be careful. Maybe just maybe this year we can win.
Gone are the old fashioned ideas of the great commission of Christ. When was the last time we spent hours asking our possible delegates question about church growth, or how to share the Salvation of Jesus.
I don’t know about you but this battle is getting old. During an ethics class in seminary we discussed the “Just War Theory.” One of the main points was: “Is the war winnable?” I’m tired of spending so much energy on this topic.
Solution: Split. Looking at church history in a casual glance splits have always happened: Christianity from Judaism; Protestantism from Catholicism; Methodist from Anglican Church.
Only history will decide if these splits were good.
Oh yes, one other minor point. Every four years we lose hundreds if not thousands of Methodist who are tired of the fight.
Reverend Donald W. Morris
Fellowship United Methodist Church
Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37128
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 3:42 PM
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