TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW October 5, 2007

In This Issue:
1. The Quiet Center at Glendale UMC Offers Individuals an opportunity to experience God’s love and healing.
2. New Chapel United Methodist Church has a commitment to Springfield and Robertson County—and it shows. Over 38% of the church membership shows up over three-day weekend to repair houses for persons who couldn’t otherwise afford to have house repair.
3. Berlin United Methodist Church celebrates 150 years in vital ministry. Worship has been held in the same sanctuary since before the American Civil War. This is a small congregation that pays its apportionments at the beginning of the year.
4. East End United Methodist Church Celebrates 100 Years on Holly Street with Homecoming Sept. 30
5. Riverside United Methodist Church Spiritual Weight Management Program.
6. Ordination Service is Long-Distance Family Affair. Nancy Neelley is ordained Deacon while her daughter watches the ceremony on a computer thousands of miles away.
7. Family Wins 58 Ribbons at County Fair. Newman family honored many times at Cheatham County Fair.

The Quiet Center at Glendale UMC Offers Individuals an opportunity to experience God’s love and healing

In characterizing contemporary society the phrases “hectic schedules,” “no time to slow down,” and “multi-tasking” are frequently used. A sense of peace, and of quiet is rare in the midst of endless cell-phone calls, text messaging, incessant e-mails messages, and the six to eight hours of television that bombards the average American each day. Personal contact with friends is a bit disquieting when one notices the audio ear pieces each of the friends is wearing—and it is obvious they are only partially tuned into you at best. A quiet drive in the family auto is likely to be interrupted by a loud banging rock beat in a nearby vehicle, percussion that actually causes your auto to vibrate. In the midst of this constant invasion of noise and activity, persons are reporting that their prayer and devotional life is suffering. Even in the midst of personal crisis it becomes difficult to pray.

The Reverend Jo Bentley Reece stands beside the labyrinth at Glendale United Methodist Church.




Experiencing the societal situation, and facing, in a short period of time, the loss of three family members and a mentor, the Reverend Jo Bentley Reece was overwhelmed with grief and the need for space and quiet to heal. She realized how much noise had entered her world and how few places there were to go for quiet re-creation. As she reflects on this period in her life she says, “I kept hearing God say cut back, keep moving away from the ‘busyness’ you are using to cope, and instead go to a place of quiet and centering to heal. My healing came from prayer, quiet space, companions who were truly present with me in the journey, and a new spiritual companion who offered intercessory prayer using Reiki, an ancient art involving laying on of hands.”

Reece was so moved by her experience with Reiki prayers that over time, with the help of a Spiritual Director, she discerned that God was calling her to learn how to offer this ministry. Her Spiritual Director recommended a Christian teacher under whom she took classes and apprenticed for 18 months to become a Reiki Master Teacher of The Usui Method of Natural Healing. This process was completed in August of 2006.

“I realized in my journey,” Reece says that what was needed was a quiet place for people all around me to come—those who were hurting, stressed, overwhelmed, dealing with loss or illness, etc. We are all good at giving, but we, as individuals and as a church, have lost the art of receiving from God, of sitting in God’s presence alone or with a companion on the journey with nothing to do but receive the amazing experience of God’s love and healing.” She quotes Henri Nouwen ,who in A Spirituality of Waiting, says that the role of the church is to ‘be the body of Christ in the world by using our gifts to love, serve and heal a hurting world while making space to wait together patiently in expectation.’ “The art of waiting together,” Reece claims, “is missing in our world today and that was the call I was responding to as I looked for space for my ministry.”

Several people guided her to a meeting with the Rev. Sandra Griggs at Glendale United Methodist Church in Nashville where space had been made available when Miriam’s Promise moved out. She examined the space, noted the congregation’s welcoming atmosphere, and the fact that there was a strong focus in the church on hospitality and retreat ministry. Everything was a fit with what she was called to do, and so in September of 2006 she began, on the second floor of Glendale UMC, The Quiet Center.

Since then The Quiet Center continues to grow offering personal retreats for 60-90 minutes or more.. Persons that have come include: colleagues, both lay and clergy, who need a quiet place for re-creation; a young mother and her new baby, both enjoying the quiet space; a woman who lost her job and was seeking a place to center and discern major life decisions; men and women dealing with trauma and exhaustion; men and women who have lost close friends or colleagues to death and are grieving and finding their way back to wholeness; a man and a woman with major illnesses who receive comfort from pain; a man whose wife is mentally ill and finds himself needing a space of quiet without demands for a time to refill his cup; a man and a woman wanting prayers for healing as they face surgery; persons who live alone seeking comfort of a companion on the journey--to name only a few.

The hospitality/retreat ministry of Glendale UMC also continues to grow, including the addition, in November 2006, of The Retreat House next door to the church. In October, Rev. Janet Salyer will be available to offer spiritual direction, counseling, vocational discernment guidance, and career counseling through her program "Callings."

A new network of persons sharing together how the Holy Spirit is moving in traditional and nontraditional ways in their lives and life work throughout Christian traditions meets on the third Monday of the month from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. In just a few months, with advertising only through world of mouth, there are 150 persons on the networking e-list from ten different denominations. Space at Glendale UMC is available for clergy and laity for a day apart, small groups/meetings/retreats/private retreats/walking the labyrinth, and just being in God’s presence.

For information about The Quiet Center or the new networking group, contact the Reverend Jo Bentley Reece at ministermama@juno.com or telephone 615-367-3586, cell 615-943-9092. For information on Glendale UMC’s hospitality and retreat ministry including use of The Retreat House, contact the Reverend Sandra Griggs at sandragriggs@comcast.net or phone 615-297-6233 (Glendale UMC), cell phone 545-8060.


New Chapel United Methodist Church has a commitment to Springfield and Robertson County—and it shows.

A colorful 2007 t-shirt was worn by many of the laborers in “Builders of God’s Kingdom”

Three years ago the congregation started a program called Builders of God’s Kingdom, a mission program which urged members of the congregation to be part of a three-day volunteer effort helping to repair housing owned by persons who could not readily afford to repair their aging homes. Houses selected belonged to the elderly, and those with serious illnesses.

The Reverend Kevin Marston sends the five work teams on their way with a closing prayer at the front entrance to New Chapel UM Church.


Builders of God’s Kingdom started with work on one site and the number of homes repaired has grown each year so that in 2007 the congregation labored on five different work sites. That this is a congregational project rather than the work of a small group within New Chapel is evident from the statistics—38% of the 302 church members, youth through older adult, took part in one or more days of construction/repair during the 2007 Builders of God’s Kingdom weekend. Other persons participated through their prayers, and much of the church contributed financially to the cost of lumber, dry wall, paint, replacement windows, guttering, and other supplies needed to improve living conditions in five homes.

Workers tear down the rear entrance to one of the homes prior to constructing an entrance ramp.


Logistics for the mission project involves careful planning – from determining in advance what repairs will be needed and the supplies that will be required to complete the job, to Miss Linda’s Daycare, which cared for the younger children of construction team members, and the crew that planned for food, refreshingly cold drinks, and snacks at each of five work sites. The food/drink committee was particularly appreciated especially considering that drought conditions existed throughout middle Tennessee, and both indoor and outdoor work would be carried out in oppressive heat. Local businesses also participated in the success of the weekend—some contributed financially, many provided supplies at cost, and the Springfield municipal government arranged for trash pick-up and for the availability of porta potties at each work site. In three days, September 7, 8, and 9th the New Chapel volunteer crews:

.Repaired three bathrooms
.Built three handicapped ramps
.Totally replaced three windows and one door
.Built a porch
.Constructed safety rails at three sites
.Performed major gutter repair on one house
.Scraped old paint, repaired walls, and did some interior painting in four houses
.Replaced rotted lumber, scrapped chipped paint, and did exterior painting on three houses
.Repaired one outside wall
.Helped with house cleanup and the hauling away of discarded items
.Provided assistance with landscaping including trimming plants and hedges
.Outdoor raking and cleanup at nearly all homes.
.Installed kitchen flooring in one home.

Repairs and painting, inside and out, were the order of the day at most of the work sites.

Mission chair Tammy “Nascar” Atkins coordinated the efforts of the work teams, and regularly visited each site to make certain that needed supplies were in place. She accepts no credit for the success of the weekend. “Builders of God’s Kingdom started as a call from God to help repair aging homes. For me, when I am serving God by serving His people, there is no closer connection to God; You can feel His presence.”

Mission chairperson Tammy Atkins moved between the worksites checking on the availability of supplies and any other needs the work teams might have.

“Builders for God’s Kingdom does the same for New Chapel UMC as it does for me,” Atkins adds. “We feel God’s presence and KNOW that He is at the Center of what we are doing. It brings spiritual energy to our church, brings our members closer together, and touches lives in a way like no other.”

Pastor Kevin Marston agrees. “Builders for God’s Kingdom is one example of the Body of Christ serving as the hands and heart of Christ.” “The main accomplishment,” Marston points out, is that we are meeting new friends in Christ, and are living as the Body of Christ.” Worker Sara J. Weaver summed up the feelings of all the participants: “BGK has shown me how important it is to serve God by helping those less fortunate. Give the glory to God and all things are possible.”



Plumbing repairs were also made

Damaged windows were replaced.

The work teams were inter-generational, and considerable time was spent on landscaping, as well as house repair.

Food service was provided to each one of the work sites during the noon hour.

United Methodist Church celebrates 150 years in vital ministry

On Sunday September 9th Berlin United Methodist Church celebrated 150 years of ministry and did so in a sanctuary that was built before the American Civil War. The congregation that morning included District Superintendent and Mrs. Willie Burchfield, and several former pastors. Rev. Roger Hopson, Assistant to Bishop Richard Wills, preached an uplifting sermon, “The Incredible Journey,” based on 2 Timothy 4: 1-8, and special music was provided by singer, composer, evangelist Cinde Lucas.

Guest preacher, the Reverend Roger Hopson, Assistant to Bishop Richard J. Wills, Jr.


Though the service celebrated a rich history, a genuine “incredible journey,” it was obvious that the congregation is looking forward to works of the Spirit that are yet to come. With 35 members (figures from the end of 2005), Berlin United Methodist is not a mega church—but definitely displays mega spirit.

Singer, song-writer, and Evangelist Cinde Lucas, seen here with her daughter Rachel, provided music during the worship service as well as a special afternoon concert.

Pastor Don Noble is quick to point out that in the last two years the congregation has:
.Received 5 young adults, four of them who made their profession of faith
.Continued to pay 100% of their apportionments in January, taking on faith that if an unexpected expense arose, God would provide the means to meet it.
.Maintained a strong covenant relationship with Beatrice Gbanga, a GBGM missionary in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
.Strongly supported the community through its local mission to Oak Grove Elementary School ($200 has been raised so far for school supplies, and Berlin UMC is also planning to meet some of the needs on a teacher wish list)
.Provided $400 for the local Pregnancy Resource Center as well as gifts of diapers, strollers and other assorted needed items.

Pastor Don S. Noble and his wife Kathy.

And on Sunday, September 9th, as the congregation celebrated 150 years of ministry, a couple came forward to become members of Berlin United Methodist Church—symbolically showing that the congregation is preparing for the next 150 years.

Very little is known of the congregation’s earliest history—except it definitely had to do with water. Water is an essential for life. When scientists look for life on other planets, one of the markers is the presence of water, and when the first pioneers settled the land in and around what is now Berlin United Methodist Church, they looked for an essential to life—water.

They found a source of good “sweet” water in what is now known as Berlin Spring. It was around this spring that people gathered to exchange the news of the community as they watered their horses and mules. Politicians spoke from the rock above the spring, urging people to vote.

With people gathering at Berlin Spring it was natural that Methodist Circuit Riders would discover the area, and in 1856/1857 a Circuit Rider came to the spring. He was a different kind of speaker—one who spoke of life eternal and of life-giving water from a spring that never runs dry. He started “Camp Meetings” and “Brush Arbor” Meetings, and soon a congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church South was formed. The new congregation built a church on 2 acres of land donated by the Allen family. The builders did a good job. The church was well built and the congregation still worships in the sanctuary built nearly 150 years ago.

There was no shortage of remembrances at the 150th Anniversary—the stories flowed.

As the water has continued to flow from the spring, so too has the congregation, never more than 100 souls, and never failing to serve God and community. Life-giving water has flowed from this place; aided by numerous pastors through the years. All administered the water of baptism to seekers whether infants, youth or adults.

As with all congregations, Berlin church has had struggles. Pastors have been paid with food instead of cash. Attendance and membership have fluctuated over the years. Worship services had to be held only two times a month.

There have been celebrations as well. The building has undergone repairs and improvements. A kitchen, Sunday school room, bathrooms, new and comfortable pews, and a PA system have been added through the years. Worship services are now held every Sunday. Marriages have been performed here. Children’s programs have been celebrated as the knowledge of Jesus has been passed from generation to generation. Countless saints have sat in the pews, served on committees, and supported this congregation and the work the Water of Life had lead it to do.

DS Willie Burchfield and wife Sharon brought greetings from the entire Columbia District

The Berlin Volunteer Fire Department helped provide a delicious meal after the worship service.

East End United Methodist Church Celebrates 100 Years on Holly Street with Homecoming Sept. 30

On a fall afternoon in 1907, the members of East End United Methodist Church, 1212 Holly Street, gathered on the front lawn to dedicate the completion of the brand new sanctuary. It was a bustling time in Nashville and in the nation, then comprising 45 states. Teddy Roosevelt was president, electric trolleys were Nashville’s mode of public transportation, and magician Harry Houdini was all the rage. On Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, the East End congregation will celebrate the sanctuary’s 100th anniversary with a homecoming event featuring special music, speakers from several generations of East Enders, and a luncheon.

Photo #17, caption: East End UMC's pipe organ shortly after it was installed in 1912. It is still used today in East End's services

East End Methodist Church was established in 1889, but it soon outgrew the first building it constructed at 1100 Fatherland. In 1905, the congregation purchased the land on Holly Street, in Nashville’s historic East End neighborhood, for $2,500 and funded the $14,000 needed to start basic construction. On October 27, 1907, the sanctuary was complete and a capacity crowd attended worship service and laid the cornerstone.

East End UMC's men's Sunday school class seated on the front steps of the sanctuary in the early years.

For 100 years, generations have lovingly cared for the sanctuary, striving to honor its purpose as a house of worship and maintain its historic and architectural integrity. The building combines a Victorian style Romanesque Revival exterior with a Colonial Revival interior. The tower design is taken directly from medieval fortification, including the tower’s arrow slits.

The main stained glass window at the north end of the sanctuary pictures Christ as the Good Shepherd. The window has been attributed by some to the Tiffany Studios. The sanctuary’s pipe organ was purchased in 1912, with philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donating one-half of the needed funds. The unique pipe organ is still used today in all of East End’s services.

Over the last century the church campus has grown to include the construction of Sunday school classrooms and playground (1921), parsonage (1923), annex and park (1946), and an additional wing (1950s).

East End UMC's Vacation Bible School participants in 1941 posed for a group picture on the church’s front steps.

The church buildings remained virtually untouched by three major disasters which struck the neighborhood over the last century. In 1916, more than 700 homes were destroyed or damaged by a fire which left 3,000 neighbors homeless. Then in 1933, a tornado ripped through the neighborhood killing 37 persons and causing mass destruction. East End Methodist welcomed Eastland Christian Church to hold services in the sanctuary until Eastland’s own tornado damage could be repaired. Sixty-five years later in 1998, another tornado followed a nearly identical path through East Nashville. The only physical change to the main building occurred when the huge wooden doors of the sanctuary were pulled open by the tornado, despite being dead-bolt locked. East End once again shared the sanctuary with another congregation, the Power of Deliverance, whose own church building was destroyed. Through all three of these disasters, East End United Methodist Church played a pivotal role in providing aide and assistance to thousands of victims.

To further commemorate the sanctuary’s first 100 years, the church is collecting 100 Prayers of Thanksgiving and 100 Prayers of Hope. Prayers may be sent by email to office@eastendumc.org; mail to 1212 Holly Street, Nashville TN, 37206; or phone 615-227-3272.

Riverside United Methodist Church Spiritual Weight Management Program
Shared by the Rev. Gary Wedgewood

The Spiritual Weight Management group pictured from left to right: George Wilcox, Gary Wedgewood, Diana Wedgewood, Juanita Wilcox, Sharon Martin, Gerald Martin, Lois Azar, Aubrey Nelson, Linda Baker, Bob Murrell, Helen Petty, Janie Shouse, Charles Sanders, Ann Murrell, Jeff Cox, and Cheryl Church

Riverside United Methodist Church, Columbia, has a Spiritual Weight Management group that meets weekly on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. for 15 to 30 minutes depending on how long our weighing in, devotional, sharing, and discussion time goes. Twenty-eight church members have participated since we began and we have corporately lost 357 pounds. On Sunday August 19th we kicked off the Fall season with a pot-luck dinner after worship. Yes, we have pot-luck dinners, but with a twist. We bring healthy dishes we have found and used in our diet and we bring copies of the recipes to share.

We have been using the On the Move in Congregations: Walking with Jesus devotional and journaling booklets and the pedometers from the Church Health Center in Memphis. Each group member is welcome to bring information or share ideas. We have found some other sources for devotional material related to weight management. When we meet we simply share our corporate wisdom about what has worked for each of us, we hold one another accountable, and we support each other in trying to live spiritual and healthy Christian lifestyles and manage our weight. We pray together and for each other.

The idea originated with a group that met at Westview UMC while I was Pastor there. It started at Riverside when one of our members had knee surgery and approached me about covenanting with him to support one another in managing our weight. We decided to invite whoever wanted to join us to a weekly meeting and about twenty people showed up.

Recently Donna Higginbotham started a group at one of her churches on the Williamsport Circuit so the idea may be catching on. She recently shared with me that they have had several meetings and good attendance.


Ordination Service is Long-Distance Family AffairBy Marta W. Aldrich*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Nancy Neelley recalls vividly the moment she told her daughter - then age 6 - that she believed she was being called into ordained ministry.

"We were talking in our car on our way home from church, and Marissa got so excited that she started jumping up and down on the back seat," Neelley remembers with a laugh.

What mom knew - and daughter eventually would learn, however - is that answering the call to ministry would mean much sacrifice for the entire family: like Neelley leaving her job as a vice president of an advertising agency in Jackson, Miss., completing her undergraduate degree, picking up and moving the family to Nashville to go to seminary, and long days and evenings of classes and homework.

The Rev. Nancy Neelley and daughter, Marissa, revisit the campus of Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn., where Neelley graduated in 2003. Marissa, 17, was a partner in Neelley's 10-year journey into ordained ministry, culminating in a June ordination service that the two shared across the Atlantic Ocean via the Internet. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

Throughout the next decade, the family persevered. Neelley says Marissa never complained - until learning that her much-anticipated international studies trip to Europe would conflict with the long-anticipated moment of seeing her mom ordained as a deacon in The United Methodist Church. The service was scheduled to take place during the June gathering of the Tennessee Annual Conference when Marissa, now 17 and about to enter her senior year in high school, was to be in Germany.

"Marissa had been looking forward to this trip since the eighth grade and was really devastated at first, thinking she wouldn't get to be part of this special moment for me," said Neelley. "Ordination was the culmination of these last 10 years. It was the coming together of everything I had worked for and also the starting line for my future ministry."

Family ties
Neelley is a single mom, and Marissa Emrich is her only child. The two always have been close, and their sense of family partnership only grew in 2000 when Marissa, then a fifth-grader, moved to Nashville so her mom could attend Vanderbilt Divinity School. Many evenings, both mom and daughter hit the books together - Marissa studying math or social studies and Neelley prepping for classes in New Testament or pastoral care.

By the time Neelley's ordination service was imminent, they'd been through too much together for mom to give up on finding a solution to the miles that would separate them. "I had worked with interactive media through the ad agency and later with United Methodist Communications," said Neelley, who in April became a project coordinator for the United Methodist global health initiative. "I knew possibilities existed for live video streaming."

During her school trip to Germany, 17-year-old Marissa Emrich watches her mother's ordination service over the Internet, thanks to a live video feed. A UMNS photo courtesy of the Rev. Nancy Neelley.

She approached the Rev. Tom Nankervis, communications director for the Tennessee Conference, who conferred with information technology gurus Bill Freeman with the conference and Sean McAtee with United Methodist Communications.

When the Sunday evening of Neelley's ordination service arrived, it was 2 a.m. in Germany, where Marissa and three school friends gathered around a personal computer in her host family's home. Via the Internet, Marissa saw clear images of her mother placing her hands on a Bible as Bishop Dick Wills said the words: "Nancy, take authority as a deacon in the church to proclaim the word of God and to lead God's people to serve in the world in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

For his part, Freeman is still shaking his head. "The camera was hooked up to my wireless Mac, which transmitted the signal to the router at Brentwood United Methodist Church. The router then used an Internet connection provided by United Methodist Communications for streaming video," he said.

When she got home, Neelley found an e-mail waiting from Marissa. "I saw it! And I saw you and it was amazing!!!" Marissa wrote. "… You amaze me, momma, and I'm proud, proud, proud, proud, proud, proud (times infinity)."

Neelley said the experience made the world a little smaller for her. "I thank God that Marissa could participate," she said. "We were still connected even though Marissa wasn't standing there beside me and wasn't able to hug me. She was able to take part in something that was rightfully her celebration, too, because I couldn't have done it without her."

*Aldrich is news editor of United Methodist News Service.

Family Wins 58 Ribbons at County Fair

United Methodists in the News. Drought stricken but dedicated farmers, the Newman family, members of Jordonia United Methodist Church, won 58 ribbons at the Cheatham County fair. The Newmans competed in six general categories: country hams, vegetables, canned goods, fresh eggs, plants and flowers.