TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW JULY 13, 2007
Articles in this issue:
1. Cedar Crest Hosts Camping Experience for Children with Kidney Disease—the story of Camp O.
2. “One of the doctors associated with Camp O makes a challenge to the Tennessee Conference.” 3. Church supports farmers co-op as act of stewardship.
4. Trip in historic 1932 airplane given to Warmth in Winter contest winners.
5. Mission To Cuba Needs Volunteers, upcoming building project in Cuba still needs volunteers. Contact information.
6. Carolyn’s Story—Conference Director of Lay Speaking Ministries shares a story from one of our Lay Speaking Ministers, Carolyn Parnell.
7. Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation Reports from the Past Year.
8. Did You Know Facts About Our Camps? Jim Strickland shares some facts about the utilization of Beersheba Springs Assembly and Cedar Crest Camp.
9. Edgar Primm is the Sixth Generation of His Family to be an Annual Conference Delegate—Bishop Spain introduces Edgar Primm to the 2007 session of the Tennessee Annual Conference.
10. 2007 Journal is dedicated to Lay persons Norris and Fran Allen—the Allens are recognized for their long-term commitment to VIM.
11. Retiring COCM Director Randall Ganues is honored with the 2007 Journal dedication for clergy.
12. Betty Alexander awarded the 2007 Francis Asbury Award for her work in Higher Education
13. Tennessee Conference Donates United Methodist Publishing House Check to Central Conferences.
Cedar Crest Hosts Camping Experience for Children with Kidney Disease
For the 33rd year in a row Cedar Crest Camp and Spiritual Retreat Center hosted Camp Okawena the first week of June. This year Camp O brought 217 campers and counselors to Cedar Crest. Most of the campers, and some counselors as well, had some level of kidney disease.
Medical equipment on site makes it possible for children with kidney disease to participate in a camping experience.
Camp O brings a one of a kind experience to middle Tennessee that is hard to explain to someone who has normal kidney function. Imagine trying to provide a normal summer to a child who every other day must spend 4-6 hour s connected to a dialysis machine and then several more hours recovering from it. Normally that kind of need would make camp impossible for a child. As the only kidney camp in the country with onsite hemo and peritoneal dialysis this allows even kids with no kidney function at all to experience what every child should . . . camp.
Cedar Crest Summer staffers Amy and Alison Clark can tell you firsthand what it means to get to go to camp when you’re that sick. At age 11 Amy’s kidneys began to fail. Eventually she needed a transplant but as a child she was able to come to Camp Okawena. Amy remembers, “Camp O not only gave me a chance to be a normal kid for a week, but it also gave me the opportunity to connect with kids who had the same problems as me.” Now as an Elementary camp counselor she has the opportunity to give back to not only Camp O but to all the campers that come to Cedar Crest.
Children, even kids with no kidney function at all, experience the joy of camp.
Amy’s older sister Alison has been Youth Camp Director for two years now and knows what it is like to get to go to camp and have to leave her sister behind. “Leaving my sister behind when we were younger was hard for me especially when I didn’t really know about the camp and was scared something would happen to her while she was away. But seeing her face when we picked her up at the end of the week and hearing her talk about all the things she got to do at camp made me see that Camp O really
tries to gives all kids the fun they want to have no matter what difficulties stand in the way” from Alison.
Ballooning is part of the camp experience.
“Camp O tests our staff every year, but it’s worth every long day to see these kids faces and know they can have the kind of experience that we give our kids all summer long”, said James Ralston, executive director of Cedar Crest. There are special dietary needs, the logistics of preparing for a carnival, and a landing zone for the 101st Airborne, on site dialysis and just the reality of hosting that many campers overnight plus roughly 100 day users coming in each day.
One of the doctors associated with Camp O makes a challenge to the Tennessee Conference
Each year, Camp O graciously gifts the camp with a much needed upgrade or improvement to the facility. We can thank them for things that we use all year such as the basketball court and the welcome center.
This year, one doctor, Eileen Brewer has issued a challenge to our conference. She personally has donated $1,000.00 and is willing to match up to $1,000.00 more to help with upgrades and repair at the Birdland Bathhouse at Cedar Crest.
At annual conference this year, both Cedar Crest and Beersheba became Conference Advance Special Accounts. Gifts to Cedar Crest may be made to this account and will be matched to make these much needed upgrades to the bathhouse facility. Volunteer work teams are also welcome to help with this or various other projects at the camp. Group leaders can contact James Ralston at the camp for more information. To help match Dr. Brewer’s challenge gift send checks to Friends of Cedar Crest, Advance Special Fund #109, Suite 4, 304 South Perimeter Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37211.
Church supports farmers co-op as act of stewardship
by Lilla Marigza*
HOHENWALD, Tenn. (UMNS)-Edgehill United Methodist Church has always been involved in feeding ministries for the community. Now members of the Nashville congregation have found a way to feed themselves-and support community-based agriculture that keeps family farms in business.
Three-year-old Gail Brandau enjoys a strawberry from her family's weekly box of produce from Avalon Acres farm cooperative in Hohenwald, Tenn. Members of Edgehill United Methodist Church in nearby Nashville gave initial support to the co-op that now has nearly 400 families as members. UMNS photos by Ronny Perry.
Through a farm cooperative that began with 30 Edgehill families, Avalon Acres in Hohenwald now feeds nearly 400 families from at least a dozen churches and businesses.
The growth is a blessing to the eight full-time workers who run the farm, as well as for people who live miles away and can own shares in a working farm, in addition to reaping the rewards at harvest time.
A typical weekly farm share includes a variety of seasonal produce.
Farm operator Tim Bodnar says families who buy into the program love knowing exactly where their food comes from.
"People are putting their food dollars to work locally, … improving the place where they live instead of some place off in California or Chile," he says.
Bodnar says demand is growing for community supported agriculture (CSA) programs as city-dwelling families seek to become more tied to the natural process of food production.
"I think people go to the store and everything is pre-prepared, TV dinners… and it comes in 'boil in a bag' pouches. I think there is a certain magic that occurs when you stay hooked to the cycle of the earth," he says.
It is also a stewardship matter, helping families to eat biblically from God's natural creation. "Jesus never ate a Ho Ho," says Bodnar. "That stuff is not food anymore; it's a chemistry experiment."
A simpler life
Just a few years earlier, Tim and Jennifer Bodnar gave up corporate jobs to search for a simpler life, hoping to find it through farming. Their initial efforts to organize a community-sponsored farm were unsuccessful but, at a low point, an amazing thing happened.
Members of Edgehill United Methodist Church, some 80 miles away in Nashville, heard a sermon on stewardship of the earth. "One of our church members, Barb Short, raised her hand and said, 'That does it for me. We need to be involved in community supported agriculture. I'm gonna make that happen.' And she did," remembers pastor Judy Hoffman.
Short contacted Avalon Acres and, within two weeks, boxes of tomatoes and green beans began arriving on Sunday mornings.
On a recent Sunday, the week's yield was a colorful mix of green beans, yellow squash, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries and a few vegetables that most people can't even recognize. Fortunately, an accompanying newsletter includes nutritional information on the produce and suggested recipes.
Families excitedly open their packages and dig into the strawberries straight from the carton. Moms like Courtney Johnson say they don't have to worry about washing every bite first. "You feel like you know where it's coming from. It doesn't have a lot of chemicals on it, and you just feel like you're getting it healthier … from the farm," she says.
Belmont United Methodist member Jeanie Rutland, also in Nashville, says owning a stake in the farm has become a way to share family time with her children. She and her daughters shell peas or shuck corn together and recently made strawberry preserves for the first time. Her kids also have grown eager to eat their greens.
"We do a much better job at eating vegetables now because our goal is to eat everything the week that we get it or it goes bad," says Rutland.
A new awareness
Church members gain more than better eating habits. There's a healthy awareness of how their actions as consumers affect mother earth and their farmer friends as well.
"We can tell how things are going for the farmers by looking at the yield that is within the box because, if it's been a particularly good week, there are more things and, when it's been tougher, there are fewer things," says Hoffman. "We share the difficulty and the blessings that the farmer goes through."
Stakeholders say they now notice when it hasn't rained in a while and wonder how farmers are faring. Three years ago, that wasn't the case. "We are so out of touch with the fact that food comes in seasons," says Dorothy Gager, an Edgehill member and farm sponsor.
Avalon Acres owner Jennifer Bodnar packs produce boxes for deliveries twice a week.
The co-op raises chickens, turkeys and sheep on 122 acres south of Nashville where most of the sponsoring families live. Additional produce is grown on 40 to 50 small neighboring farms owned by family farmers. The majority are Amish who farm the old-fashioned way-with no electricity or heavy equipment.
Partnering with farmers is an important element to the ministry. Edgehill members realize that their ongoing support will ensure that struggling farmers stay afloat in hard times. "It really hit me the first winter they did the CSA. Farmers said it was the first time they had ever had any income in the winter. That's pretty amazing," says Gager.
The church-supported enterprise continues to have a positive impact on the community in Hohenwald, population 3,754.
Jeanie Rutland and her daughter pick up their vegetables at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville.
In his horse and buggy, Andy Yoder delivers several boxes of his brother's homegrown, fresh-picked lettuce to Avalon Acres. Andy mostly supplies eggs, as many as his hens will provide. Usually that's about 25 dozen a day. Living his whole life on a farm, Yoder has always eaten what the land provided. "I believe it's a better food," he says.
Yoder says the success of Avalon Acres is a blessing to his family. The income is helping pay off medical bills, and he hopes future earnings will enable him to expand and grow produce as well.
The community-supported farm has grown into just what Tim Bodnar had hoped. Customers benefit from receiving healthy, quality food and farmers in one of the state's poorest counties are finding a market for the fruits of their labor.
"It's a very spiritual thing for me," says Bodnar. "I get up in the morning and it's not just about paying my mortgage, it's about paying everybody else's mortgage too."
*Marigza is a freelance producer in Nashville, Tenn.
Trip in historic 1932 airplane given to Warmth in Winter contest winners
At the 2007 Warmth in Winter (January, 2007) the youth were challenged to raise money for the “Youth Service Fund” ministry*. Paper airplane flying contests were one means used to raise funds and approximately $7,000 was collected from all sources during the weekend event that drew 2,400 youth and adults to the Nashville Convention Center.
The participants in the paper airplane contests had an extra inducement to do well. The winners were to be given a ride in a vintage airplane, a 1932 biplane manufactured by the Great Lakes Aircraft Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio. The single engine plane has room for the pilot and one passenger and was restored to its present excellent condition by its owners, Ted and Beverly Beckwith of Tullahoma, Tennessee.
Photo #8, caption: Shelly Price, a seventh grader this fall, is seen with pilot Ted Beckwith at the flight’s conclusion
The Beckwiths volunteered to provide a plane ride for the persons who could fly a paper airplane the greatest distance, and the one able to fly a paper plane with the greatest degree of accuracy—both contests were won by Shelly Price of Westmoreland with Casey Chouinard of Centerville coming in second for distance, and Baron Cage of Gallatin coming second for flying accuracy.
Photo #9, caption: Baron Cage, an eight grader this fall, is prepared for the plane to take off.
On Tuesday, July 2nd, Shelly Price and Baron Cage were treated to the thrill of a lifetime as each took off from the Lebanon Community Airport in the small historic airplane – enjoying a magnificent air view of the surrounding countryside with pilot and historic airplane enthusiast Ted Beckwith at the controls. The smiles at the end of the trip said it all – THIS was an unforgettable adventure.
* The Youth Service Fund is a missional fund of the United Methodist Church. Money is raised by youth, administered by youth, and given as grants to youth groups for the purpose of missions.
Mission To Cuba Needs Volunteers
Cuba Temple
An exciting new building project in Cuba needs volunteers. After forty four years, the Cuban government has returned a building to the Methodist Church of Cuba. After refurbishing, the building will become a seminary. Two teams from the Tennessee Conference will be going to work on the new seminary this coming year. Larry Burke will lead a team in April of 2008 and Phil Ross will lead a second team in July, 2008. Each team will have twelve members and will stay 12 to 14 days at the Methodist Center in Havana. The total cost for the trip, including construction materials, will be approximately $2,400 (depending on rising airfare costs).
Team members must be United Methodist and international UMVIM experience is preferred. No Federal government employees or commercial pilots are allowed to travel to Cuba. If interested, please contact Larry Burke at 120 Lee Etta Drive, Gallatin, TN 37066, 615-604-4300 (cell) or ljrdburke@comcast.net
or Jason Brock at 304 S. Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 1, Nashville, TN 37211, 615-329-1177 or 800-403-5795, jbrock@tnumc.org
Carolyn’s Story
by Gloria Watts, Tennessee Conference Director of Lay Speaking Ministries
Some years back when I was the Columbia District Director of Lay Speaking Ministries, I held a school for the people in the Linden, Tennessee area. There were ten students for the Basic Course.
As always, I would give a plug for the Lay Speaking Weekend at the SEJ Conference Center in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. Two of my students were very interested in attending. When I heard that they wanted to go, I offered them a ride with my husband, Bob, and myself.
Bob, as District Lay Leader, explained that if they wanted to attend the Lay Speaking Weekend, the Columbia District would help pay expenses for their classes and books. All that they would pay would be for food and lodging.
Carolyn Parnell and Becky Hendrix were given brochures for the event. We started to make plans.
Carolyn and I were in the same class at Lake Junaluska. When the teacher asked for stories that helped us know how the Holy Spirit works, Carolyn raised her hand. I had not heard how she got the money to come to
the Lake.
It seems that she had prayed that she would like to go but did not have a way or the money. Even after the ride was available she asked God to help find a way for the extra expenses.
When she came home from work one night, her husband, Bobby, gave her a roll of money from his pocket. In amazement she asked where he got the money. Bobby reported that when he was plowing the fields that day, he looked down and saw what looked like a rock. He got down from his tractor and picked it up. He brushed off the crusted dirt, found an arrowhead inside, and without much thought slipped the arrowhead into his pocket to finish plowing.
Shortly afterward, a complete stranger was riding along this particular country road and stopped at the Parnell home. He asked Bobby if he knew where he could find some arrowheads. Bobby took the arrowhead from his pocket and the man gave him $200 for it. Through that unexpected and unplanned series of events Carolyn had the extra money needed for the trip.
Some time after that happened, I was talking with Ray Buckley, author and illustrator and descendent of the Lakota/Tlingit/Scots nations. He also wrote our Lay Speaking Course: Lay Speaker Tell Stories and Dancing With Words. I shared Carolyn’s story about the arrowhead. He made a wise comment, “Isn’t it wonderful that something made so long ago could be such a wonderful gift for today.”
When I told Carolyn about his remark, she did a little research. Her grandfather was half Cherokee and lived somewhere near where they were living today. Could this be her legacy?
Carolyn has since gone to many Lay Speaking Ministries schools and has just recently completed the first class from Martin Methodist College’s Academy for Church Leadership and Licensing School for Local Pastor. She is a member of the Linden Circuit and preaches on the first and third Sundays.
Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation Reports from the Past Year
by Dr. Vin Walkup
The Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation made its annual report to the Tennessee Annual Conference meeting at Brentwood United Methodist, and Dr. Vin Walkup, President of the Foundation, had a very good report to share. 2006 was an excellent year for the Foundation’s investments with a gain in market value 13.2%, so that funds had a net gain of just over 12%. So far this year through mid-May, the gain is 6.1%.
With some new funds placed with the Foundation and the interest gained, we have set a record in total funds being invested with and managed by the board. As of May 31, the funds from churches and individuals totaled $22,896,223! This is the largest amount ever managed by your Foundation. We have now averaged since the markets turned around in early 2003 a gain of over 14% per year.
We have begun working with extension ministries throughout the Area to lay the foundations for meeting a goal of our ministry – establishing significant endowment funds for each of our extension ministries by the end of 2011. If you would like to be a part of helping this vision to become a reality, please let me know.
For more information about the Foundation, contact Dr. Vin Walkup or Paulette Dowdy at (615) 259-2008 or by email at vwalkup@nashaumf.org.
Did You Know Facts About Our Camps?
by James Strickland*
Of course you know that our conference camps at Beersheba Springs and Cedar Crest offer programs, events and camping experiences throughout the year for local congregations, district and conference-wide events, but did you know that these facilities are also used for family reunions, business and professional meetings, community gatherings and for “Arts and Crafts Fairs”? Here are some interesting statistics about our camps usage during the 2006-2007 year:
Beersheba Springs Assembly
- 51 local UMChurches,
- 12 District and Conference-Wide events, and
- 9 family reunions, business and community groups and “Arts and Crafts Fairs” for a grand total of 96 different groups using Beersheba Springs Assembly during this year.
Cedar Crest Camp
- 24 local UMChurches,
- 3 District and Conference-Wide events,
- 9 family reunions and 6 other denominational church groups for a grand total of 43 different groups using Cedar Crest Camp during this year.
To help you understand the number of persons who have attended events at our two camps, the records indicate that 7,282 persons attended our camps for a total of 342 camp days between the closing of the 2006 Tennessee Annual Conference and the beginning of the 2007 Annual Conference – that’s amazing!
The largest single program for our total camping program is the growing camping program for children and youth held annually at Cedar Crest Camp with an average of 600 campers each summer.
Now it’s time for your local church, your district, and your very own family, business or community group to checkout all that our camps have to offer. For additional information on availability, or questions you may have about our facilities at either camp, call the camp directly. Our Executive Directors and their staff members are ready to assist you and welcome you to Beersheba Springs Assembly Retreat and Conference Center or Cedar Crest Camp and Spiritual Retreat Center.
Beersheba Springs Assembly: 931/692-3669
Dickie Hinton, Executive Director
Cedar Crest Camp: 931/670-3025
James Ralston, Executive Director
*James Strickland is Chairperson of the Tennessee Conference Camping Committee
Edgar Primm is the Sixth Generation of His Family to be an Annual Conference Delegate
Mr. Edgar Primm, a lay delegate to the 2007 Annual Conference from Brentwood United Methodist Church, was honored by the Conference during the opening session. Primm is the sixth generation of his family to be a delegate to Conference.
The Primm family’s involvement with Methodism in Tennessee goes back to when Edgar Primm’s great, great, great grandfather, John Primm, moved to the Brentwood area in 1798. He helped establish a Methodist gathering in 1802 about where Liberty United Methodist Church is now located.
Bishop Robert Spain congratulates Edgar Primm and his family as Bishop Wills applaudes
The Western Conference held its Annual Conference session at the church in 1808. Both Bishop Francis Asbury and Bishop William McKendree were present at that historic meeting. John Primm served as a delegate from his church – and since that time a total of six Primm-family generations have been vitally involved in Tennessee Methodism.
2007 Journal is dedicated to Lay persons Norris and Fran Allen
Submitted by: the Allen’s daughter, Sherry Allen
Little did they know when they met at the Dickson County, Tennessee sub-district UMYF that they were beginning a journey together that would take them to nine countries and territories helping dozens of communities in the name of Christ. Norris and Fran Allen began their relationship within the support of the Methodist Church, and expanded their Christian commitment in a tangible way. They have been involved with Volunteers in Mission of the United Methodist Church since 1978, and have captured their experience in the self-published book, From Dangriga To San Antonio: A VIM Journey.
Norris and Fran Allen both grew up within the Methodist Church, although from two very different early backgrounds. Norris grew up in rural Middle Tennessee in a farming family with a large extended family circle. His mother's family, the Browns, offered many good Christian role models, while the Allen connections added the values of hard work, careful stewardship of resources, and teamwork that cares for those in your community.
Norris and Fran Allen are awarded the 2007 Journal Dedication for their work with VIM
Fran came from an Arkansas "city" family, with two educators as parents. Fran's family moved a great deal, finally settling in Dickson, Tennessee. Through these transitions Fran learned the value of the connectional church which provided community, inclusion, and an avenue for service. Her mother was a teacher and guidance counselor, who modeled the value of education for all and the responsibility to care for those in need. Her father was a church Lay Leader who introduced Norris to the notion of short term missions.
Norris and Fran were both educators in their early marriage, and Norris later established a construction company. They were very dedicated parents to their two children and as the children grew older, Norris found himself confronted with the age old search for meaning in his life. This search led Norris to accept the challenge of his father-in-law to go on his first mission trip, a trip that would change his life, and the lives of his family.
VIM endeavors were always a partnership between Norris and Fran. For many years, Norris traveled without Fran, participating first as a team member, and soon after as a team leader. Norris has the unusual combination of construction skills, organizational skills, strong faith, love for people and his own brand of team building. Fran supported him by maintaining their home and business, by assisting with the pre-team planning and by encouragement.
Later, when she retired from teaching, Fran joined the VIM teams to ensure the health and well being of the teams by providing the food and laundry services.
Their two children, now adults with families of their own, freely admit that the Allen family's life was much richer because of VIM. Not only did it give the construction company father an outlet during dreary winter months, but it helped him find greater meaning and a deeper faith. Because of their parents' modeling and encouragement, both children and their families have also been involved in VIM.
Retiring COCM Director Randall Ganues is honored with the 2007 Journal dedication for clergy
Nominated by co-worker Mary T Newman
A poem written on the back of an offering envelope reads:
“Not every man who says, "I can",
Continues to do his best,
But success is known to him alone
Who meets the final test.
And so I ask, whatever task
Is waiting for me to do,
Give me the might to win the fight
And the power to see it through.
This poem is framed and hangs in the office of our clergy recipient of the 2007 Tennessee Conference Journal dedication.
I met him when I began to serve on conference committees and have since worked with him in various capacities within the conference and the jurisdiction. I was full of questions then (and still am). I have truly appreciated his knowledge and his willingness to share knowledge gleaned from the Bible and the workings of the church. Wherever a discussion led he always came back to focus with, “Is this for the good of the Kingdom”?
He has the gift of recognizing the big picture and how individual decisions need to take into account the best for the church and the Kingdom. He constantly challenges the staff and committees to work together with other entities.
During his tenure, the Tennessee Annual Conference has had challenges that remind me of this poem. Calling upon God for guidance he has strived to “keep the main thing—the main thing.” I have never heard him preach a sermon, but I have seen him living his sermons and know him to be a man who believes in the power of prayer. I cannot be the judge of anyone’s success but I would have to say I believe he has been a faithful servant for the past 43½ years and the Tennessee Conference has been blessed because of his leadership and caring.
Randall Ganues’ wife, children and grandchildren stand with him as the Journal dedication is announced
Traveling from Reinhardt College in the hills of north Georgia, he came to Scarritt College to complete his B.A. and then complete his Masters of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School. He was pastor at several churches in the conference from 1964 until he became District Superintendent for the Murfreesboro District in 1994. He became the Director of the Conference Council of Connectional Ministries in 1997. Throughout his pastoral journey, Randall has shown personal dedication to the work before him for the Kingdom. He has been truly dedicated to “seeing the task at hand through” and is retiring this year.
He is married to the former Brenda Nall. They have three children: Leigh Anne, Randy and Brad; and 5 grandchildren, who lovingly call him “A-Da.” They are the greatest joys in his life.
The Journal Committee and the members of the Tennessee Conference proudly announce the selection of Reverend Randall C. Ganues as the recipient of the 2007 Journal Clergy Dedication.
Betty Alexander awarded the 2007 Francis Asbury Award
Betty Alexander, who was selected to receive the Francis Asbury award this year, has proved herself to be committed to the life and ministry of the United Methodist Church. She has served with distinction the church universal, the United Methodist Church, the Annual Conference, her local congregation, and the ministry of Higher Education and Campus Ministry.
The Francis Asbury Award is given for outstanding leadership in supporting, strengthening, and promoting the Church’s Higher Education Ministries. Francis Asbury urged the growing Methodist movement on September 16, 1791 to “….give the key of knowledge in a general way to your children and those of the poor in the vicinity of your small towns and villages.”
The Methodist movement has from the days of John Wesley been involved in higher education. The educating of the person with Christ’s values is significant. So we have been involved in establishing universities such as Southern Methodist University and colleges including our own conference’s Martin Methodist. In addition we have been and continue to be involved in state and private universities through Wesley Foundations and campus ministry.
Betty Alexander was influenced by her parents and has been a member of the United Methodist Church almost all of her life.
Betty Alexander, seen here with husband Ben, is winner of the 2007 Francis Asbury Award
On the Conference level, Betty Alexander has been Lay Leader of the Annual Conference, and represented the Conference as delegate to the General Conference and the Jurisdictional Conference many times. In the general church she has been a member of the Interjurisdiction Episcopacy Committee and a member of the General Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry. She has been a delegate to the World Methodist Conference in Brazil and in England.
For ten years Betty Alexander was the Director of College/Church Relations at Martin Methodist College. Weekly she would take drama students from the college to the churches of the Annual Conference interpreting Martin Methodist College and Christian higher education. From that day to this her interest in Christian Higher Education has never wavered. She served nationally on the Board of Christian Higher Education and Campus Ministry of the United Methodist Church eight years, and is presently on the Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church.
Betty Alexander’s personal statement of faith tells us a great deal about the way she orientates her life: “My prayerful commitment is to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. My resolve is to be a loving servant wherever needed. I believe as members of the Body of Christ, we are called to nurture others in the faith by example. I believe that we, the church, are to stand courageously and caringly as we speak and live out our faith that is based on Biblical teachings and on the Doctrine and Discipline of our United Methodist Church. I believe that each of us is accountable and that we are to hold one another in prayer and hold one another accountable as we answer God’s call and earnestly seek to be faithful to God’s will. Our challenge is to obey our Lord’s command “to love God with all we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves.” Thus, we are to be faithful in our mission: “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.”
Tennessee Conference Donates United Methodist Publishing House Check to Central Conferences
A check for $7772.72 was presented to the Tennessee Annual Conference by the Methodist Publishing House. Since the 1700s, the Publishing House has provided a portion of its earnings to Annual Conferences across the United States to augment clergy pensions. This carries on a tradition with spiritual roots reaching back to Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, who emphasized the need to care for retired pastors and their dependents.
By action of the Tennessee Annual Conference the check was forwarded to the General Board of Pension to be used for ministerial pension support in the Central Conferences (Central Conference: One of seven geographic areas outside the territorial United States, each composed of annual conferences as determined by the General Conference. Central Conferences have responsibilities similar to those of Jurisdictional Conferences. The seven central conferences are in Europe, Africa and the Philippines.)
Even though it is hoped that a long-term pension support plan will become a reality, currently emergency grants are being made to those identified as having extreme needs. For more information about the Central Conference Pension Initiative you can go to http://www.gbophb.org/
In 2006, annual conferences shared over $817,000 for central conference pensions. A pilot project fund for Liberia was begun in 2006.
1. Cedar Crest Hosts Camping Experience for Children with Kidney Disease—the story of Camp O.
2. “One of the doctors associated with Camp O makes a challenge to the Tennessee Conference.” 3. Church supports farmers co-op as act of stewardship.
4. Trip in historic 1932 airplane given to Warmth in Winter contest winners.
5. Mission To Cuba Needs Volunteers, upcoming building project in Cuba still needs volunteers. Contact information.
6. Carolyn’s Story—Conference Director of Lay Speaking Ministries shares a story from one of our Lay Speaking Ministers, Carolyn Parnell.
7. Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation Reports from the Past Year.
8. Did You Know Facts About Our Camps? Jim Strickland shares some facts about the utilization of Beersheba Springs Assembly and Cedar Crest Camp.
9. Edgar Primm is the Sixth Generation of His Family to be an Annual Conference Delegate—Bishop Spain introduces Edgar Primm to the 2007 session of the Tennessee Annual Conference.
10. 2007 Journal is dedicated to Lay persons Norris and Fran Allen—the Allens are recognized for their long-term commitment to VIM.
11. Retiring COCM Director Randall Ganues is honored with the 2007 Journal dedication for clergy.
12. Betty Alexander awarded the 2007 Francis Asbury Award for her work in Higher Education
13. Tennessee Conference Donates United Methodist Publishing House Check to Central Conferences.
Cedar Crest Hosts Camping Experience for Children with Kidney Disease
For the 33rd year in a row Cedar Crest Camp and Spiritual Retreat Center hosted Camp Okawena the first week of June. This year Camp O brought 217 campers and counselors to Cedar Crest. Most of the campers, and some counselors as well, had some level of kidney disease.
Medical equipment on site makes it possible for children with kidney disease to participate in a camping experience.
Camp O brings a one of a kind experience to middle Tennessee that is hard to explain to someone who has normal kidney function. Imagine trying to provide a normal summer to a child who every other day must spend 4-6 hour s connected to a dialysis machine and then several more hours recovering from it. Normally that kind of need would make camp impossible for a child. As the only kidney camp in the country with onsite hemo and peritoneal dialysis this allows even kids with no kidney function at all to experience what every child should . . . camp.
Cedar Crest Summer staffers Amy and Alison Clark can tell you firsthand what it means to get to go to camp when you’re that sick. At age 11 Amy’s kidneys began to fail. Eventually she needed a transplant but as a child she was able to come to Camp Okawena. Amy remembers, “Camp O not only gave me a chance to be a normal kid for a week, but it also gave me the opportunity to connect with kids who had the same problems as me.” Now as an Elementary camp counselor she has the opportunity to give back to not only Camp O but to all the campers that come to Cedar Crest.Children, even kids with no kidney function at all, experience the joy of camp.
Amy’s older sister Alison has been Youth Camp Director for two years now and knows what it is like to get to go to camp and have to leave her sister behind. “Leaving my sister behind when we were younger was hard for me especially when I didn’t really know about the camp and was scared something would happen to her while she was away. But seeing her face when we picked her up at the end of the week and hearing her talk about all the things she got to do at camp made me see that Camp O really
tries to gives all kids the fun they want to have no matter what difficulties stand in the way” from Alison.Ballooning is part of the camp experience.
“Camp O tests our staff every year, but it’s worth every long day to see these kids faces and know they can have the kind of experience that we give our kids all summer long”, said James Ralston, executive director of Cedar Crest. There are special dietary needs, the logistics of preparing for a carnival, and a landing zone for the 101st Airborne, on site dialysis and just the reality of hosting that many campers overnight plus roughly 100 day users coming in each day.
One of the doctors associated with Camp O makes a challenge to the Tennessee Conference
Each year, Camp O graciously gifts the camp with a much needed upgrade or improvement to the facility. We can thank them for things that we use all year such as the basketball court and the welcome center.
This year, one doctor, Eileen Brewer has issued a challenge to our conference. She personally has donated $1,000.00 and is willing to match up to $1,000.00 more to help with upgrades and repair at the Birdland Bathhouse at Cedar Crest.
At annual conference this year, both Cedar Crest and Beersheba became Conference Advance Special Accounts. Gifts to Cedar Crest may be made to this account and will be matched to make these much needed upgrades to the bathhouse facility. Volunteer work teams are also welcome to help with this or various other projects at the camp. Group leaders can contact James Ralston at the camp for more information. To help match Dr. Brewer’s challenge gift send checks to Friends of Cedar Crest, Advance Special Fund #109, Suite 4, 304 South Perimeter Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37211.
Church supports farmers co-op as act of stewardship
by Lilla Marigza*
HOHENWALD, Tenn. (UMNS)-Edgehill United Methodist Church has always been involved in feeding ministries for the community. Now members of the Nashville congregation have found a way to feed themselves-and support community-based agriculture that keeps family farms in business.
Three-year-old Gail Brandau enjoys a strawberry from her family's weekly box of produce from Avalon Acres farm cooperative in Hohenwald, Tenn. Members of Edgehill United Methodist Church in nearby Nashville gave initial support to the co-op that now has nearly 400 families as members. UMNS photos by Ronny Perry.Through a farm cooperative that began with 30 Edgehill families, Avalon Acres in Hohenwald now feeds nearly 400 families from at least a dozen churches and businesses.
The growth is a blessing to the eight full-time workers who run the farm, as well as for people who live miles away and can own shares in a working farm, in addition to reaping the rewards at harvest time.
A typical weekly farm share includes a variety of seasonal produce.Farm operator Tim Bodnar says families who buy into the program love knowing exactly where their food comes from.
"People are putting their food dollars to work locally, … improving the place where they live instead of some place off in California or Chile," he says.
Bodnar says demand is growing for community supported agriculture (CSA) programs as city-dwelling families seek to become more tied to the natural process of food production.
"I think people go to the store and everything is pre-prepared, TV dinners… and it comes in 'boil in a bag' pouches. I think there is a certain magic that occurs when you stay hooked to the cycle of the earth," he says.
It is also a stewardship matter, helping families to eat biblically from God's natural creation. "Jesus never ate a Ho Ho," says Bodnar. "That stuff is not food anymore; it's a chemistry experiment."
A simpler life
Just a few years earlier, Tim and Jennifer Bodnar gave up corporate jobs to search for a simpler life, hoping to find it through farming. Their initial efforts to organize a community-sponsored farm were unsuccessful but, at a low point, an amazing thing happened.
Members of Edgehill United Methodist Church, some 80 miles away in Nashville, heard a sermon on stewardship of the earth. "One of our church members, Barb Short, raised her hand and said, 'That does it for me. We need to be involved in community supported agriculture. I'm gonna make that happen.' And she did," remembers pastor Judy Hoffman.
Short contacted Avalon Acres and, within two weeks, boxes of tomatoes and green beans began arriving on Sunday mornings.
On a recent Sunday, the week's yield was a colorful mix of green beans, yellow squash, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries and a few vegetables that most people can't even recognize. Fortunately, an accompanying newsletter includes nutritional information on the produce and suggested recipes.
Families excitedly open their packages and dig into the strawberries straight from the carton. Moms like Courtney Johnson say they don't have to worry about washing every bite first. "You feel like you know where it's coming from. It doesn't have a lot of chemicals on it, and you just feel like you're getting it healthier … from the farm," she says.
Belmont United Methodist member Jeanie Rutland, also in Nashville, says owning a stake in the farm has become a way to share family time with her children. She and her daughters shell peas or shuck corn together and recently made strawberry preserves for the first time. Her kids also have grown eager to eat their greens.
"We do a much better job at eating vegetables now because our goal is to eat everything the week that we get it or it goes bad," says Rutland.
A new awareness
Church members gain more than better eating habits. There's a healthy awareness of how their actions as consumers affect mother earth and their farmer friends as well.
"We can tell how things are going for the farmers by looking at the yield that is within the box because, if it's been a particularly good week, there are more things and, when it's been tougher, there are fewer things," says Hoffman. "We share the difficulty and the blessings that the farmer goes through."
Stakeholders say they now notice when it hasn't rained in a while and wonder how farmers are faring. Three years ago, that wasn't the case. "We are so out of touch with the fact that food comes in seasons," says Dorothy Gager, an Edgehill member and farm sponsor.
Avalon Acres owner Jennifer Bodnar packs produce boxes for deliveries twice a week.The co-op raises chickens, turkeys and sheep on 122 acres south of Nashville where most of the sponsoring families live. Additional produce is grown on 40 to 50 small neighboring farms owned by family farmers. The majority are Amish who farm the old-fashioned way-with no electricity or heavy equipment.
Partnering with farmers is an important element to the ministry. Edgehill members realize that their ongoing support will ensure that struggling farmers stay afloat in hard times. "It really hit me the first winter they did the CSA. Farmers said it was the first time they had ever had any income in the winter. That's pretty amazing," says Gager.
The church-supported enterprise continues to have a positive impact on the community in Hohenwald, population 3,754.
Jeanie Rutland and her daughter pick up their vegetables at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville.In his horse and buggy, Andy Yoder delivers several boxes of his brother's homegrown, fresh-picked lettuce to Avalon Acres. Andy mostly supplies eggs, as many as his hens will provide. Usually that's about 25 dozen a day. Living his whole life on a farm, Yoder has always eaten what the land provided. "I believe it's a better food," he says.
Yoder says the success of Avalon Acres is a blessing to his family. The income is helping pay off medical bills, and he hopes future earnings will enable him to expand and grow produce as well.
The community-supported farm has grown into just what Tim Bodnar had hoped. Customers benefit from receiving healthy, quality food and farmers in one of the state's poorest counties are finding a market for the fruits of their labor.
"It's a very spiritual thing for me," says Bodnar. "I get up in the morning and it's not just about paying my mortgage, it's about paying everybody else's mortgage too."
*Marigza is a freelance producer in Nashville, Tenn.
Trip in historic 1932 airplane given to Warmth in Winter contest winners
At the 2007 Warmth in Winter (January, 2007) the youth were challenged to raise money for the “Youth Service Fund” ministry*. Paper airplane flying contests were one means used to raise funds and approximately $7,000 was collected from all sources during the weekend event that drew 2,400 youth and adults to the Nashville Convention Center.
The participants in the paper airplane contests had an extra inducement to do well. The winners were to be given a ride in a vintage airplane, a 1932 biplane manufactured by the Great Lakes Aircraft Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio. The single engine plane has room for the pilot and one passenger and was restored to its present excellent condition by its owners, Ted and Beverly Beckwith of Tullahoma, Tennessee.
Photo #8, caption: Shelly Price, a seventh grader this fall, is seen with pilot Ted Beckwith at the flight’s conclusion
The Beckwiths volunteered to provide a plane ride for the persons who could fly a paper airplane the greatest distance, and the one able to fly a paper plane with the greatest degree of accuracy—both contests were won by Shelly Price of Westmoreland with Casey Chouinard of Centerville coming in second for distance, and Baron Cage of Gallatin coming second for flying accuracy.
Photo #9, caption: Baron Cage, an eight grader this fall, is prepared for the plane to take off.On Tuesday, July 2nd, Shelly Price and Baron Cage were treated to the thrill of a lifetime as each took off from the Lebanon Community Airport in the small historic airplane – enjoying a magnificent air view of the surrounding countryside with pilot and historic airplane enthusiast Ted Beckwith at the controls. The smiles at the end of the trip said it all – THIS was an unforgettable adventure.
* The Youth Service Fund is a missional fund of the United Methodist Church. Money is raised by youth, administered by youth, and given as grants to youth groups for the purpose of missions.
Mission To Cuba Needs Volunteers
Cuba Temple
An exciting new building project in Cuba needs volunteers. After forty four years, the Cuban government has returned a building to the Methodist Church of Cuba. After refurbishing, the building will become a seminary. Two teams from the Tennessee Conference will be going to work on the new seminary this coming year. Larry Burke will lead a team in April of 2008 and Phil Ross will lead a second team in July, 2008. Each team will have twelve members and will stay 12 to 14 days at the Methodist Center in Havana. The total cost for the trip, including construction materials, will be approximately $2,400 (depending on rising airfare costs).
Team members must be United Methodist and international UMVIM experience is preferred. No Federal government employees or commercial pilots are allowed to travel to Cuba. If interested, please contact Larry Burke at 120 Lee Etta Drive, Gallatin, TN 37066, 615-604-4300 (cell) or ljrdburke@comcast.net
or Jason Brock at 304 S. Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 1, Nashville, TN 37211, 615-329-1177 or 800-403-5795, jbrock@tnumc.org
Carolyn’s Story
by Gloria Watts, Tennessee Conference Director of Lay Speaking Ministries
Some years back when I was the Columbia District Director of Lay Speaking Ministries, I held a school for the people in the Linden, Tennessee area. There were ten students for the Basic Course.
As always, I would give a plug for the Lay Speaking Weekend at the SEJ Conference Center in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. Two of my students were very interested in attending. When I heard that they wanted to go, I offered them a ride with my husband, Bob, and myself.
Bob, as District Lay Leader, explained that if they wanted to attend the Lay Speaking Weekend, the Columbia District would help pay expenses for their classes and books. All that they would pay would be for food and lodging.
Carolyn Parnell and Becky Hendrix were given brochures for the event. We started to make plans.
Carolyn and I were in the same class at Lake Junaluska. When the teacher asked for stories that helped us know how the Holy Spirit works, Carolyn raised her hand. I had not heard how she got the money to come to
the Lake.
It seems that she had prayed that she would like to go but did not have a way or the money. Even after the ride was available she asked God to help find a way for the extra expenses.
When she came home from work one night, her husband, Bobby, gave her a roll of money from his pocket. In amazement she asked where he got the money. Bobby reported that when he was plowing the fields that day, he looked down and saw what looked like a rock. He got down from his tractor and picked it up. He brushed off the crusted dirt, found an arrowhead inside, and without much thought slipped the arrowhead into his pocket to finish plowing.
Shortly afterward, a complete stranger was riding along this particular country road and stopped at the Parnell home. He asked Bobby if he knew where he could find some arrowheads. Bobby took the arrowhead from his pocket and the man gave him $200 for it. Through that unexpected and unplanned series of events Carolyn had the extra money needed for the trip.
Some time after that happened, I was talking with Ray Buckley, author and illustrator and descendent of the Lakota/Tlingit/Scots nations. He also wrote our Lay Speaking Course: Lay Speaker Tell Stories and Dancing With Words. I shared Carolyn’s story about the arrowhead. He made a wise comment, “Isn’t it wonderful that something made so long ago could be such a wonderful gift for today.”
When I told Carolyn about his remark, she did a little research. Her grandfather was half Cherokee and lived somewhere near where they were living today. Could this be her legacy?
Carolyn has since gone to many Lay Speaking Ministries schools and has just recently completed the first class from Martin Methodist College’s Academy for Church Leadership and Licensing School for Local Pastor. She is a member of the Linden Circuit and preaches on the first and third Sundays.
Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation Reports from the Past Year
by Dr. Vin Walkup
The Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation made its annual report to the Tennessee Annual Conference meeting at Brentwood United Methodist, and Dr. Vin Walkup, President of the Foundation, had a very good report to share. 2006 was an excellent year for the Foundation’s investments with a gain in market value 13.2%, so that funds had a net gain of just over 12%. So far this year through mid-May, the gain is 6.1%.
With some new funds placed with the Foundation and the interest gained, we have set a record in total funds being invested with and managed by the board. As of May 31, the funds from churches and individuals totaled $22,896,223! This is the largest amount ever managed by your Foundation. We have now averaged since the markets turned around in early 2003 a gain of over 14% per year.
We have begun working with extension ministries throughout the Area to lay the foundations for meeting a goal of our ministry – establishing significant endowment funds for each of our extension ministries by the end of 2011. If you would like to be a part of helping this vision to become a reality, please let me know.
For more information about the Foundation, contact Dr. Vin Walkup or Paulette Dowdy at (615) 259-2008 or by email at vwalkup@nashaumf.org.
Did You Know Facts About Our Camps?
by James Strickland*
Of course you know that our conference camps at Beersheba Springs and Cedar Crest offer programs, events and camping experiences throughout the year for local congregations, district and conference-wide events, but did you know that these facilities are also used for family reunions, business and professional meetings, community gatherings and for “Arts and Crafts Fairs”? Here are some interesting statistics about our camps usage during the 2006-2007 year:
Beersheba Springs Assembly
- 51 local UMChurches,
- 12 District and Conference-Wide events, and
- 9 family reunions, business and community groups and “Arts and Crafts Fairs” for a grand total of 96 different groups using Beersheba Springs Assembly during this year.
Cedar Crest Camp
- 24 local UMChurches,
- 3 District and Conference-Wide events,
- 9 family reunions and 6 other denominational church groups for a grand total of 43 different groups using Cedar Crest Camp during this year.
To help you understand the number of persons who have attended events at our two camps, the records indicate that 7,282 persons attended our camps for a total of 342 camp days between the closing of the 2006 Tennessee Annual Conference and the beginning of the 2007 Annual Conference – that’s amazing!
The largest single program for our total camping program is the growing camping program for children and youth held annually at Cedar Crest Camp with an average of 600 campers each summer.
Now it’s time for your local church, your district, and your very own family, business or community group to checkout all that our camps have to offer. For additional information on availability, or questions you may have about our facilities at either camp, call the camp directly. Our Executive Directors and their staff members are ready to assist you and welcome you to Beersheba Springs Assembly Retreat and Conference Center or Cedar Crest Camp and Spiritual Retreat Center.
Beersheba Springs Assembly: 931/692-3669
Dickie Hinton, Executive Director
Cedar Crest Camp: 931/670-3025
James Ralston, Executive Director
*James Strickland is Chairperson of the Tennessee Conference Camping Committee
Edgar Primm is the Sixth Generation of His Family to be an Annual Conference Delegate
Mr. Edgar Primm, a lay delegate to the 2007 Annual Conference from Brentwood United Methodist Church, was honored by the Conference during the opening session. Primm is the sixth generation of his family to be a delegate to Conference.
The Primm family’s involvement with Methodism in Tennessee goes back to when Edgar Primm’s great, great, great grandfather, John Primm, moved to the Brentwood area in 1798. He helped establish a Methodist gathering in 1802 about where Liberty United Methodist Church is now located.
Bishop Robert Spain congratulates Edgar Primm and his family as Bishop Wills applaudes
The Western Conference held its Annual Conference session at the church in 1808. Both Bishop Francis Asbury and Bishop William McKendree were present at that historic meeting. John Primm served as a delegate from his church – and since that time a total of six Primm-family generations have been vitally involved in Tennessee Methodism.
2007 Journal is dedicated to Lay persons Norris and Fran Allen
Submitted by: the Allen’s daughter, Sherry Allen
Little did they know when they met at the Dickson County, Tennessee sub-district UMYF that they were beginning a journey together that would take them to nine countries and territories helping dozens of communities in the name of Christ. Norris and Fran Allen began their relationship within the support of the Methodist Church, and expanded their Christian commitment in a tangible way. They have been involved with Volunteers in Mission of the United Methodist Church since 1978, and have captured their experience in the self-published book, From Dangriga To San Antonio: A VIM Journey.
Norris and Fran Allen both grew up within the Methodist Church, although from two very different early backgrounds. Norris grew up in rural Middle Tennessee in a farming family with a large extended family circle. His mother's family, the Browns, offered many good Christian role models, while the Allen connections added the values of hard work, careful stewardship of resources, and teamwork that cares for those in your community.
Norris and Fran Allen are awarded the 2007 Journal Dedication for their work with VIMFran came from an Arkansas "city" family, with two educators as parents. Fran's family moved a great deal, finally settling in Dickson, Tennessee. Through these transitions Fran learned the value of the connectional church which provided community, inclusion, and an avenue for service. Her mother was a teacher and guidance counselor, who modeled the value of education for all and the responsibility to care for those in need. Her father was a church Lay Leader who introduced Norris to the notion of short term missions.
Norris and Fran were both educators in their early marriage, and Norris later established a construction company. They were very dedicated parents to their two children and as the children grew older, Norris found himself confronted with the age old search for meaning in his life. This search led Norris to accept the challenge of his father-in-law to go on his first mission trip, a trip that would change his life, and the lives of his family.
VIM endeavors were always a partnership between Norris and Fran. For many years, Norris traveled without Fran, participating first as a team member, and soon after as a team leader. Norris has the unusual combination of construction skills, organizational skills, strong faith, love for people and his own brand of team building. Fran supported him by maintaining their home and business, by assisting with the pre-team planning and by encouragement.
Later, when she retired from teaching, Fran joined the VIM teams to ensure the health and well being of the teams by providing the food and laundry services.
Their two children, now adults with families of their own, freely admit that the Allen family's life was much richer because of VIM. Not only did it give the construction company father an outlet during dreary winter months, but it helped him find greater meaning and a deeper faith. Because of their parents' modeling and encouragement, both children and their families have also been involved in VIM.
Retiring COCM Director Randall Ganues is honored with the 2007 Journal dedication for clergy
Nominated by co-worker Mary T Newman
A poem written on the back of an offering envelope reads:
“Not every man who says, "I can",
Continues to do his best,
But success is known to him alone
Who meets the final test.
And so I ask, whatever task
Is waiting for me to do,
Give me the might to win the fight
And the power to see it through.
This poem is framed and hangs in the office of our clergy recipient of the 2007 Tennessee Conference Journal dedication.
I met him when I began to serve on conference committees and have since worked with him in various capacities within the conference and the jurisdiction. I was full of questions then (and still am). I have truly appreciated his knowledge and his willingness to share knowledge gleaned from the Bible and the workings of the church. Wherever a discussion led he always came back to focus with, “Is this for the good of the Kingdom”?
He has the gift of recognizing the big picture and how individual decisions need to take into account the best for the church and the Kingdom. He constantly challenges the staff and committees to work together with other entities.
During his tenure, the Tennessee Annual Conference has had challenges that remind me of this poem. Calling upon God for guidance he has strived to “keep the main thing—the main thing.” I have never heard him preach a sermon, but I have seen him living his sermons and know him to be a man who believes in the power of prayer. I cannot be the judge of anyone’s success but I would have to say I believe he has been a faithful servant for the past 43½ years and the Tennessee Conference has been blessed because of his leadership and caring.
Randall Ganues’ wife, children and grandchildren stand with him as the Journal dedication is announcedTraveling from Reinhardt College in the hills of north Georgia, he came to Scarritt College to complete his B.A. and then complete his Masters of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School. He was pastor at several churches in the conference from 1964 until he became District Superintendent for the Murfreesboro District in 1994. He became the Director of the Conference Council of Connectional Ministries in 1997. Throughout his pastoral journey, Randall has shown personal dedication to the work before him for the Kingdom. He has been truly dedicated to “seeing the task at hand through” and is retiring this year.
He is married to the former Brenda Nall. They have three children: Leigh Anne, Randy and Brad; and 5 grandchildren, who lovingly call him “A-Da.” They are the greatest joys in his life.
The Journal Committee and the members of the Tennessee Conference proudly announce the selection of Reverend Randall C. Ganues as the recipient of the 2007 Journal Clergy Dedication.
Betty Alexander awarded the 2007 Francis Asbury Award
Betty Alexander, who was selected to receive the Francis Asbury award this year, has proved herself to be committed to the life and ministry of the United Methodist Church. She has served with distinction the church universal, the United Methodist Church, the Annual Conference, her local congregation, and the ministry of Higher Education and Campus Ministry.
The Francis Asbury Award is given for outstanding leadership in supporting, strengthening, and promoting the Church’s Higher Education Ministries. Francis Asbury urged the growing Methodist movement on September 16, 1791 to “….give the key of knowledge in a general way to your children and those of the poor in the vicinity of your small towns and villages.”
The Methodist movement has from the days of John Wesley been involved in higher education. The educating of the person with Christ’s values is significant. So we have been involved in establishing universities such as Southern Methodist University and colleges including our own conference’s Martin Methodist. In addition we have been and continue to be involved in state and private universities through Wesley Foundations and campus ministry.
Betty Alexander was influenced by her parents and has been a member of the United Methodist Church almost all of her life.
Betty Alexander, seen here with husband Ben, is winner of the 2007 Francis Asbury AwardOn the Conference level, Betty Alexander has been Lay Leader of the Annual Conference, and represented the Conference as delegate to the General Conference and the Jurisdictional Conference many times. In the general church she has been a member of the Interjurisdiction Episcopacy Committee and a member of the General Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry. She has been a delegate to the World Methodist Conference in Brazil and in England.
For ten years Betty Alexander was the Director of College/Church Relations at Martin Methodist College. Weekly she would take drama students from the college to the churches of the Annual Conference interpreting Martin Methodist College and Christian higher education. From that day to this her interest in Christian Higher Education has never wavered. She served nationally on the Board of Christian Higher Education and Campus Ministry of the United Methodist Church eight years, and is presently on the Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church.
Betty Alexander’s personal statement of faith tells us a great deal about the way she orientates her life: “My prayerful commitment is to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. My resolve is to be a loving servant wherever needed. I believe as members of the Body of Christ, we are called to nurture others in the faith by example. I believe that we, the church, are to stand courageously and caringly as we speak and live out our faith that is based on Biblical teachings and on the Doctrine and Discipline of our United Methodist Church. I believe that each of us is accountable and that we are to hold one another in prayer and hold one another accountable as we answer God’s call and earnestly seek to be faithful to God’s will. Our challenge is to obey our Lord’s command “to love God with all we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves.” Thus, we are to be faithful in our mission: “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.”
Tennessee Conference Donates United Methodist Publishing House Check to Central Conferences
A check for $7772.72 was presented to the Tennessee Annual Conference by the Methodist Publishing House. Since the 1700s, the Publishing House has provided a portion of its earnings to Annual Conferences across the United States to augment clergy pensions. This carries on a tradition with spiritual roots reaching back to Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, who emphasized the need to care for retired pastors and their dependents.
By action of the Tennessee Annual Conference the check was forwarded to the General Board of Pension to be used for ministerial pension support in the Central Conferences (Central Conference: One of seven geographic areas outside the territorial United States, each composed of annual conferences as determined by the General Conference. Central Conferences have responsibilities similar to those of Jurisdictional Conferences. The seven central conferences are in Europe, Africa and the Philippines.)
Even though it is hoped that a long-term pension support plan will become a reality, currently emergency grants are being made to those identified as having extreme needs. For more information about the Central Conference Pension Initiative you can go to http://www.gbophb.org/
In 2006, annual conferences shared over $817,000 for central conference pensions. A pilot project fund for Liberia was begun in 2006.
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 11:01 AM
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