TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW March 7, 2008
Articles in this edition of the REVIEW
1 .The First Tennessee Conference Hispanic Women’s Spiritual Retreat
2. Pastor, family killed in crash following storms
3. “The Holy Spirit is very powerful in God’s little house – a very small church builds a strong youth ministry
4. Diversified groups of young people come together and friendships emerge, A local church UMYF program invites group from the Magness Potter Center to be their guests at Warmth in Winter
5. Congratulations to the first graduating class of the Academy for Congregational Leaders , Center for Church Leadership, Martin Methodist College, sponsors innovative program
6. A mother and daughter from Tennessee grow closer by becoming Red Cross volunteers, mother and daughter from Bon Aqua United Methodist Church serve as Red Cross volunteers
7. The Sean Mevis Story, small United Methodist Church raises funds for Handicapped Accessible van to accommodate eight year old
8. Singer/Songwriter Sarah Hart Hosts Daughters Day of Reflection, a Women’s Retreat to benefit Jacob’s Ladder Preschool at Nolensville First UMC
9. 5th Annual Overflow Women’s Conference, March 29th: I Am the Vine
and --
10. Foundation Board Sets New Interest Rates for Development Fund, article with no graphics or photos.
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The First Tennessee Conference Hispanic Women’s Spiritual Retreat
The bus from Crossville carried a large number of passengers.
She didn't realize it at the moment, but she was laying out the framework for the very first Hispanic Women's Retreat in the Tennessee Conference!.
Francisca Martinez, a member of the Hispanic/Latino Congregation in Chapel Hill UMC, had a wonderful experience at the Lay Speaking Course in Spanish on November 2 -3, 2007, and asked, "Is the Academy going to offer an event where women are able to gather to praise God, learn more about the Bible, and have Christian fellowship?"
Soon a planning committee was formed with women representing the Hispanic faith communities and congregations, sponsored by the Hispanic/Latino Academy. The purpose of the Women’s Spiritual Retreat was for renewal and spiritual growth. In November of last year Scarritt-Bennett Center was contacted to see if they were able to make a contribution to make this dream a reality, and they responded, offering twenty five rooms. The group of participants grew from twenty five to thirty, and then to thirty seven women and twenty seven children and youth!
Minister Eliud Martinez is seen with retreat leader the Rev. Rosita Mayorga
Laura Hernandez, Francisca Martinez, Mirna Merida and Janeth Martinez met through conference calls with the Director of the Academy to plan the retreat.
There was a great deal of excitement as the Retreat was set to begin! Participants began to arrive in groups, including the group from Crossville, the farthest distance in the conference, which arrived in a church bus.
Joyce Clark, the President of the Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women, shared bread with the participants and brought a greeting, inviting the participants to”reach for the stars and to open their hearts to receive the word of God, and to grow in their faith”.
The crowd of women and children at the Spiritual Retreat filled a large Scarritt-Bennett stairway.
Rev. Rosita Mayorga, a Hispanic pastor serving in Waukesha UMC in the Wisconsin Conference, was the Bible study leader and facilitator. She led the participants in a reflection of women in the Bible—persons like Ruth and Naomi whose faith, devotion and mutual support gave them the strength to overcome the tragedy in their lives in a strange land. The women at the retreat could identify with them; and with the Samaritan woman as well—a woman who came to understand God’s plan for her life in spite of the religious, cultural, social and racial barriers that stood in her way.
Twenty five, the original estimate of attendance grew to 37 women and 27 children and youth.
Motherly duties were sometimes handled simultaneously with retreat projects.
. “It was a great experience to study and reflect on the stories of the women in the Bible and how God provides the strength to deal with all kinds of situations. And it was a great opportunity to get acquainted with the sisters from other Hispanic faith communities and congregations.”
. “It was a great time and I was affirmed that I am not by myself in a strange land, but the Lord Jesus will always be with me”.
Based on the results of the first retreat the Hispanic/ Latino Academy is planning for a Fall 2008 Hispanic Women’s Spiritual Retreat.
Pastor, family killed in crash following storms
By Tom Gillem*
Photographs of the pastor's family adorn the altar of Lafayette (Tenn.) United Methodist Church during the Sunday worship service following the traffic deaths of the Rev. Michael Welch and his family. A UMNS photo by Tom Gillem.
LAFAYETTE, Tenn. (UNMS)--After a ferocious tornado pummeled their rural Tennessee county with death and destruction, members of Lafayette United Methodist Church thought their first Sunday worship service together would be a time to give thanks for survival and to seek divine guidance to minister to their battered community.
With no deaths or significant property damage among its membership, the church had been transformed into a family crisis center, and its pastor, the Rev. Michael Welch, quickly became the United Methodist denomination's go-to person to organize relief work in a county that had lost at least 13 lives and more than 400 homes.
Instead, worshipers who gathered on Feb. 10 grieved an unimaginable loss--the death of Welch and his family in a traffic accident on Feb. 7, two days after the storm hit.
Welch, 51, died, along with his wife, Julie, 45, and their children Jesse, 14, and Hannah, 11, when a tractor-trailer carrying relief supplies slammed into their van on Highway 52, a traffic-choked two-lane highway just west of Lafayette. An adult son, Garrison, was not in the accident and survives the family.
Instead of seeing their pastor of almost four years in the pulpit, members heard a message of encouragement from their immediate past minister, the Rev. Amanda Diamond. She said God had transformed the congregation through the ministry of Welch and his wife--preparing the church for just such a moment as this.
This recent family photo shows the Rev. Michael Welch, his wife, Julie, and children Jesse (14) and Hannah (11)
"God has prospered you and brought you into a new day, and He's telling you that you are the light," said Diamond. "You are his vessels. This community is devastated, and I know in the midst of a physical devastation they are looking at you all. … They are being amazed that you can continue to reach out, that you are concerned about your neighbors because the light of Christ is in place in you."
Bishop Dick Wills of the Tennessee and Memphis Areas and local District Superintendent Ron Lowery attended the Sunday service to express the grief and concern of the entire United Methodist Church.
"I wanted just to come and worship with your precious congregation today," Wills said. "You had one of the most special pastors and families ever. Our hearts and prayers surround you. As United Methodists, we are never alone. When one of our congregations suffers, we all suffer."
A memorial service for the family was held Feb. 12 at the Lafayette church.
'Fierce integrity'
Welch, who had a master's degree in social work, was studying to be an elder in The United Methodist Church. He was an ordained minister in the Christian Church Disciples of Christ and served several United Methodist congregations before making the decision to become a United Methodist minister. From 1994-1997, he was on the pastoral staff of Stephen Ministries, a nonprofit organization in St. Louis that equips lay people to provide one-on-one ministry to people in crisis.
Since arriving in Lafayette, Julie taught Bible studies in the church and supported other mothers in the community who, like her, home-schooled their children.
"The first day I was here (after the storm), every single person said these words to me: 'Julie taught us that we are to praise God in all circumstances,'" said Diamond, who now serves at First United Methodist Church in nearby Hendersonville, Tenn. "And every single person who said that to me emphasized the word all."
The Rev. Jeff Wilson, Welch's longtime friend from their seminary days at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, told the worshipers that Welch was a country boy from Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., who "had a tremendous heart for the Lord" and a "tremendous head for the Lord."
"He was a man of fierce integrity. His journey in faith and his ecclesiastical journey through churches and into the Stephen Ministries and now in The United Methodist Church … is a testament of that faith and his unwillingness to subjugate that faith and the convictions that he knew to any outside force of this world or any other place," said Wilson, who is on staff at Brentwood United Methodist Church in suburban Nashville.
Recalling a conversation with his friend after the Welch family moved to Lafayette, Wilson told the church that the Welches "not only loved you and loved the community, but they came home again."
"This country boy with a big heart for the Lord and a big head for wanting the knowledge of God came home again because, once again, he was in the roots of who he was, in the presence of the power and the spirit and the love of people who loved God, and that moved to the very essence of his soul. You were a blessing for him, and I know that he was a blessing for you, as he was for so many of us," Wilson said.
Memorials may be sent to the Welch Family Disaster Relief Fund at either the Macon Bank & Trust or Citizens Bank, both in Lafayette. Donations for survivors of the Welch family may be sent to the Welch Memorial Fund, Lafayette United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 122, Lafayette, Tenn. 37083.
*Gillem is a freelance journalist based in Brentwood, Tenn.
“The Holy Spirit is very powerful in God’s little house”
Simpkins United Methodist Church is part of a three-point circuit. It is a church with a very small membership—under 40 persons. You can count the number of youth in the congregation on one hand.
But of all the congregations in the United Methodist Church, Simpkins may have one of the most astonishing and vibrant youth ministries in the country. Five youth? Under 35 members? A vibrant and alive youth program? “Certainly,” you think to yourself, “that statement has got to be some kind of joke.” Though small in number, the youth at Simpkins and their adult leader, Linda Hatcher, have received a vision of what discipleship is all about. Devoid of a large church budget with a line item for youth ministry, the youth group has to earn its own way if it is to exist.
Linda Hatcher and the Simpkins United Methodist Youth Group with Warmth in Winter featured speaker Bob Stromberg
In January of 2008, five young people and one adult from Simpkins attended the premier youth program in the Tennessee Annual Conference, Warmth in Winter. The youth group had to earn its own way by doing janitorial duty at the church—clean the entire church twice per month at $25.00 per cleaning. “I wasn’t sure how THAT was going to work out,” notes Hatcher, “but they really labor hard – even suggesting that perhaps they needed to clean more often.
In the past year the group has cared for a hive of bees, collected the honey, and will be selling it this summer. With the assistance of talented adult members of the church they have helped make homemade soup and sold it, and even created a potted meat product which they jokingly labeled as “Possum killed on Little Marrow Bone Road by a 1950 red Buick.” Oh, and there are car washes, the sale of homemade soap (yes SOAP, the stuff you bathe with), and so forth.”
With its labors the youth of the church spent a week at Camp Cedar Crest, had a spiritual life retreat built around the theme “Light the fire of my soul,” and participated in Warmth in Winter. They are about ready to start feeding the bees again – the hive has grown from a queen bee and 10,000 bees, to 20,000 bees—and the group is preparing to harvest honey and create honey sticks and lip balm to sell as well as continuing other projects.
Of course this is the ME GENERATION, correct? Teens and young adults that care only about SELF and benefiting “me”. Everyone in the Simpkins group at Warmth in Winter was given $10.00 to buy a special t-shirt, but two group members gave the money to the Nothing but Nets campaign—saving children in Africa from Malaria. Early on the group also decided to give away half the money it makes through fund raising projects—that money goes to support an African child through Compassion International. Just ask, you’ll be told about Michael Rurwangwa from Rwanda.
Not only that but for the late summer of 2008 the youth are planning a Mission Trip to Cherokee, North Carolina, to work among the tribal people there. The young people will be involved in leading Vacation Bible School, and in cleaning. The one young man in the group, together with Linda Hatcher’s husband, will be doing construction of a handicapped ramp to help someone confined to a wheelchair. On this mission trip Simpkins Church will be working with Boe Harris and Ragghi Calentine, national Native American leaders, who have provided leadership in the past to Tennessee Conference Native American Workshops and Retreats. This is part of the group’s ministry of service that has included serving communion, and presenting an old time foot washing on Palm Sunday.
Linda Hatcher reflects on the way Simpkins church members have contributed to the strengthening of the youth program. “Ms Sherry our Simpkins UMC Native American representative and her mom Holly helped me with the retreat. They taught the girls bead work and we made Beggar Beads. We started the girls on journaling. I found little journals at the dollar store for one dollar each. We had prayer stations with candles and balloons to let our prayers and care go up to God. I could write and write about the girls and the sweet spirit that abounds at little Simpkins Chapel. We only have a part time pastor Ron Anderson. If Freddie Miler, our church lay leader, and any one wants something done, we do it. Bro. Ron last summer gave up his big paycheck for the month to pay for our girls to go to Camp Cedar Crest. The girls then did a car wash to help pay for another little girl that wanted to join them at camp. What ever we are lacking in size,” Hatcher notes, “we made up for it with love . The Holy Spirit is very powerful in God’s little house!”
Diversified groups of young people come together and friendships emerge
They call themselves the BlakeVille family—young people from two United Methodist churches who have been joined into a single United Methodist Youth Fellowship program directed by a youth worker who is on the staff of both churches—Blakemore United Methodist Church and West Nashville.
Like other youth groups, as it was getting well along into January of 2008, the youth were looking forward to the Tennessee Annual Conference’s biggest event--children, youth or adult—Warmth in Winter. As it turned out Warmth in Winter 2008 would be the most memorable ever—not just because of a great program but because the group would help twelve young people attend who would not ordinary have a chance to participate. With some scholarship help from the Annual Conference and funds they had raised during the preceding 12 months, the BlakeVille group invited twelve persons from the Magness Potter Center’s After School program in East Nashville to be part of Warmth in Winter. The Magness Potter Center is sponsored by the Salvation Army but houses urban programs sponsored by the Downtown YMCA. The group invited by BlakeVille goes by the acronym YWOLF which stands for Youth Working on Leadership Fitness.
There was a strong feeling that God had a great deal to do with bringing the BlakeVille Youth Group and the Magness Potter Center’s Youth Working on Leadership Fitness Group together
“It was an amazing weekend!” notes youth worker Nate Sawyer. “After a couple of sleepless nights, a crazy hyped-up speaker, lots of caffeine and soda, and some goofy dances, it was great to see what God is doing in the lives of our students and others. The highlight for this weekend was a small glimpse of what heaven will be like.”
Sawyer explains with delight how the BlakeVille youth group provided funding for a group of young people—complete strangers—to join them in the Warmth and Winter experience “We were able to sponsor at Warmth and Winter about 12 students from the Magness Potter Center After School Program in East Nashville. The three days together would be the first time we had done anything together with this group—but you know what? It felt like they had been a part of our BlakeVille family for a good while. It was as if the few differences we had didn’t matter because we were all there for the common purposes of making friends and worshipping God together.”
"We were worried that the Magness Potter students were not going to like the experience, but they enjoyed the speaker, the wild dancing, the workshops—and getting to make a new bunch of friends. Fit in? By Saturday one of the girls was invited up on the stage to give the scripture reading; and later in the day three of the girls participated in a liturgical dance.”
“Such a bond developed between the two groups that we are continuing the partnership,” says Sawyer, “and are planning activities for the future. First off—in March—we are all going bowling. The glimpse of heaven I mentioned? Heaven is going to be all different kinds of people accepting each other, loving each other. We weren’t the BlakeVille Youth and the Magness Potter youth -- we were one big youth group by the time Warmth in Winter had its concluding worship service on Sunday. We didn’t care who was from where—they were already our friends.”
Rena Knight, the Program Director of Urban Services for the Downtown YMCA, had a great deal to do with the two groups coming together. “It was just huge,” she says, “putting diversified young people together to both explore ourselves as individuals and to get to know others as friends beyond all the differences. “Do you know what I’m asked EVERY time I show up at the Magness Potter Center? When are we going to do this again?” That question is mirrored by the BlakeVille Youth. GR Pulley spoke for the rest the BlakeVille group when he indicated that the two groups came together as one almost instantly. “It’s just like I had always known them. They were friends.”
Congratulations to the first graduating class of the Academy for Congregational Leaders
By Dominec Nigrelli, Ph.D.
The first graduating class of the Academy for Congregational Leaders.
After a year of study, prayer, research and discernment, fourteen congregational leaders successfully completed the six core courses in Bible, theology, worship, spiritual growth, Methodist studies, and leadership. In addition to the learning component, the participants presented their Personal Ministry Action Plan. It was an exciting and uplifting experience to receive the participant’s vision, mission and action plans for their new ministry projects. One student, drawing from her own personal experience, devised a ministry action plan for the awareness and prevention of suicide. Another person, recognizing the need for more biblical literacy among children and youth, proposed a ministry program for teaching the Bible. A third participant, moved by the needs of the homeless in his community, will initiate a program for providing food and shelter in the name of Christ. A fourth student laid out her plans for an older adult ministry. (You can read the entire Personal Ministry Action Plan from one of our participants on Martin Methodist College’s website www.martinmethodist.edu/ccl/education.) Finally, as a last example, one of our participants announced that she discerned God’s calling upon her life to serve the Church as a local pastor. Thanks be to God for all of God’s gifts.
Are there lay people in your congregation who desire practical theological education? Do you wish there was a better way to equip and educate your congregational leaders? Are you searching for a way to empower your lay people, not only to greater service in the church, but also to service in the world? Join the Academy for Congregational Leaders and Martin Methodist College.
The goal of the Academy is simply to empower people to discern their spiritual gifts, transform dreams into strengths and action, and ready them to lead and serve the congregation and the community. We are accepting application for the 2008-09 sessions. The deadline is April 4; classes begin April 27.
We hope that you consider joining us in this new ministry. For detailed information about the research conducted, the program, downloadable brochure and application forms of the Academy please visit us at www.martinmethodist.edu/ccl, and/or send an e-mail at tmcgill@martinmethodist.edu or call us at 931.363.9898.
*The Rev. Dr. Domenic Nigrelli is Director, Center for Church Leadership, Martin Methodist College
Like Daughter, Like Mother
A mother and daughter from Tennessee grow closer by becoming Red Cross volunteers
By Michelle Lemieux*
From the national website of the American Red Cross. Reprinted with permission from the American Red Cross.
(Editor’s Note: Both Jeanne Beasley and Jeanetta Hitt are members of the Bon Aqua United Methodist Church in the Columbia District, The Rev. Tom Barger, pastor. Jeanne Beasley is the Bon Aqua Lay Leader and her daughter Jeannetta Hitt has been in charge of the congregation’s new Christian Life Center project)
Friday, February 15, 2008 — Daughters sometimes follow in their mother’s footsteps. In Hickman County, Tennessee, one mother is following in her daughter’s.
When Jeannetta Hitt read a Red Cross pamphlet on emergency preparedness from her local church, it made her realize how ill-prepared she would be if disaster struck. She immediately decided to become more prepared, but not without getting her mother involved first.
Mother-Daughter Team Jeanne Beasley (standing) and Jeannetta Hitt (seated) at a Red Cross Service Center in Centerville, Tennessee. (Photo: Sandi Loftis/ American Red Cross)
“I wasn’t sure I was prepared and I thought I could help others,” said Hitt. “I managed people at my job and I had to be prepared to help them, too.”
Jeannetta encouraged her mother, Jeanne Beasley, to take Red Cross training with her at the Hickman County Chapter. Since taking the training, the two have been responding to local disasters for the past six years.
“My favorite part is all the wonderful people we get to work with,” said Beasley.
Responding Together
Jeanne is the captain of the Disaster Action Team (DAT) for her chapter, and Jeannetta is a team member. DAT teams respond to emergencies of all sizes to help keep communities safe. In Hickman County, Jeannetta and Jeanne’s chapter averages about 25 local disasters a year, including home fires and straight-line winds. That number will likely increase as the community continues to grow.
The work of this mother-daughter team doesn’t end with disaster relief and response. They both also teach Red Cross babysitting courses in Hickman, Davidson, Dickman and Murray counties.
“We love working together,” said Hitt. “We know what the other is thinking and what the other likes, which makes it so enjoyable.”
The Tennessee tornadoes are the first major national disaster the two have worked on so far.
“We are learning so much just by being here every day,” said Hitt.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross provides relief to victims of disasters at home and abroad, collects and distributes nearly half of the nation's blood supply, teaches lifesaving skills, and supports military members and families. The American Red Cross, a charity and not a government agency, depends on voluntary contributions of time, money and blood to perform its humanitarian mission.
*Michelle Lemieux is Director of Communications and Government Relations, American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey.
The Sean Mevis Story
By Karla Moffitt
My family and I are members of Pegram United Methodist Church in Pegram, Tennessee. Pegram is approximately 15 minutes west of Bellevue off of Highway 70. Our church is a small growing church, which serves families in the South Cheatham area, which consist of Kingston Springs and Pegram.
We have a delightful young member in our congregation by the name of Sean Mevis. He is an eight year old little boy who is in the 2nd grade at Kingston Springs Elementary. Sean was born with severe physical disabilities. He is confined to a wheelchair. Sean is always in a joyous mood. He speaks to everyone on Sunday mornings and Wednesday night dinners. He always greets them with a bright smile and good morning or good evening. He knows all of our children and youth by first name. He always tries to be in our children’s program and participate in what his abilities allow him to. Sean will go all over the church in his wheel chair, which he calls “Big Red”. This is a power wheelchair with hand controls. This wheelchair affords Sean independence and the positioning and special support he needs. As Sean grows and develops, lifting him in and out of a car or regular van have become very difficult.
A few months ago his family’s wheelchair accessible van broke down. Sean and his family are in desperate need of a new/used wheel chair accessible van, which will allow him to continue to go places in “Big Red”. In order to transport Sean with “Big Red” you have to have the wheelchair accessible van.
Our small but growing church has been working on purchasing a new/used van for Sean. A good used van will cost somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000. Our small church has raised over $11,000 to go towards this purchase. Our youth which consist of approximately four faithful senior youth and seven faithful junior youth are currently working on projects so that they may raise money for this wonderful cause. We have set up a tax deductible fund which is the Mevis Van Fund – Friends of Sean, C/O Pegram United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 321, Pegram, TN 37143-0321. If you would like to support this project, your gifts would be greatly appreciated.
Our congregation is small but we are like one big family and it shows me that GOD is present in our lives with us all working on this wonderful cause.
We can’t wait to see Sean going all over the church again in “Big Red”.
Singer/Songwriter Sarah Hart Hosts Daughters Day of Reflection, a Women’s Retreat to benefit Jacob’s Ladder Preschool
(NASHVILLE, TN)—Though her career as a singer, songwriter and speaker leads her to travel all over the globe, it is Sarah Hart’s role as mom that has led her to Nolensville, Tennessee. On Saturday, April 19, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., this noted artist and speaker will lead women in a one-day retreat dubbed ‘Daughters Day of Reflection,’ held at Nolensville First United Methodist Church.
‘Daughters Day of Reflection’ will allow women the opportunity to see what makes them unique and yet connected to one another, through reflection on the women of scripture. The day includes extensive study of prominent women of the Bible, snack, lunch and music by Sarah Hart.
Tickets for the event are $25 and are available by contacting Jacob’s Ladder Preschool at 776-7362. All proceeds go to benefit Jacob’s Ladder Preschool at Nolensville First United Methodist Church. The preschool is a non-denominational Bible-based early childhood development center in the community for children ages three to five.
“This is my daughter’s third, and sadly, last year at Jacob’s Ladder,” says Hart. “We have been so blessed to be a part of this program. What Terri and her staff have accomplished with the children and families at Jacob’s Ladder is a gift to our community; this day is just a little ‘thank you’ from my own family!”
“There will be lots of singing, storytelling, and sharing during the Day of Reflection,” she continues. “And every woman who attends should feel refreshed and re-energized after our time together!”
Sarah is currently at work on her latest project, Road to Ohio, slated for a spring release on Centricity Records. A folk recording, described by Hart as “sparse and acoustic”, it is co-produced by Sarah and friend Mitch Dane, known for his work with Grammy Award-winning band Jars of Clay. She also begins a new recording in March of 2008 entitled SaintSong, which will feature the writings of some of the greatest religious thinkers of history set to contemporary music.
Sarah has toured with such contemporary Christian artists as Wes King and Kathy Troccoli, and has performed with numerous other artists such as Newsboys and Randy Stonehill. Her music has appeared on radio everywhere and has been featured on such television shows as Joan of Arcadia and Strong Medicine. Sarah has received six Unity Awards from the United Catholic Music and Video Association for her work, including the 2005 awards for Producer of the Year, Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year for her third solo project, Into These Rooms.
Hart is the mother of two girls, and makes her home in Nolensville with husband Kevin. In addition to recording three solo albums and numerous compilation projects, she is an award-winning record producer, a founder of the popular all-women singing group Daughters of God, and has been a staff songwriter for major Christian music publishers. She also works with the Tom Tichener Children’s Theater at the Nashville Public Library as a songwriter and performer. To learn more about Sarah Hart, go to http://www.sarahhartmusic.com/.
Jacob’s Ladder Preschool is headed by Terri Anderson, and is a ministry of Nolensville United Methodist Church. The Church is pastored by Rev. Sandy Shawhan, and is located at 7316 Nolensville Road in Nolensville, Tenn. To find out more about Jacob’s Ladder Preschool or Nolensville United Methodist Church, go to http://www.nolensvilleumc.org/ or call 615/776-2815.
5th Annual Overflow Women’s Conference, March 29th: I Am the Vine
Ladies of all ages and all faiths are invited to the 5th Annual Overflow Women’s Conference. This year’s event will be held on March 29, 2008 in Lawrenceburg, TN at the WLX Radio station, beside Wendy’s from 9:00 to 1:00. Our theme this year is I AM THE VINE (John 15).
Cinde Lucas
For the past several years Cinde Lucas, who is an Associate Evangelist with the United Methodist church, has been hosting these events. Coming from a background of emotional and physical abuse, Cinde seeks to reach out to women who are struggling to find their purpose in life and to let them know that God loves them. Juggling the role of housewife, mother, daughter, friend, employee, cook, taxi driver, and coworker can be frustrating at times, to say the least.
Women have so many demands placed upon them and they sometimes lose sight of who God created them to be. It’s important for women to take time out and just sit in an atmosphere of peace where the only thing that is expected of them is to just receive God’s love and blessing!
Worship leader Heather Wallace
Heather Wallace will be leading worship for this year’s conference. Heather is currently the youth minister and worship leader at First Assembly of God in Lawrenceburg. Heather has an anointing that is truly a gift from God. You will be blessed by her special gift of worship.
As always, registration for the conference is FREE and will begin at 8:45. We will be serving a continental breakfast this year. We hope you will come and enjoy a day designed to refill, restore and renew your life. For more information, please visit http://www.cindelucas.com/ or call 931-766-2536. Early registration is not necessary, but it is helpful. A love offering will be taken.
1 .The First Tennessee Conference Hispanic Women’s Spiritual Retreat
2. Pastor, family killed in crash following storms
3. “The Holy Spirit is very powerful in God’s little house – a very small church builds a strong youth ministry
4. Diversified groups of young people come together and friendships emerge, A local church UMYF program invites group from the Magness Potter Center to be their guests at Warmth in Winter
5. Congratulations to the first graduating class of the Academy for Congregational Leaders , Center for Church Leadership, Martin Methodist College, sponsors innovative program
6. A mother and daughter from Tennessee grow closer by becoming Red Cross volunteers, mother and daughter from Bon Aqua United Methodist Church serve as Red Cross volunteers
7. The Sean Mevis Story, small United Methodist Church raises funds for Handicapped Accessible van to accommodate eight year old
8. Singer/Songwriter Sarah Hart Hosts Daughters Day of Reflection, a Women’s Retreat to benefit Jacob’s Ladder Preschool at Nolensville First UMC
9. 5th Annual Overflow Women’s Conference, March 29th: I Am the Vine
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10. Foundation Board Sets New Interest Rates for Development Fund, article with no graphics or photos.
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The First Tennessee Conference Hispanic Women’s Spiritual Retreat
The bus from Crossville carried a large number of passengers.She didn't realize it at the moment, but she was laying out the framework for the very first Hispanic Women's Retreat in the Tennessee Conference!.
Francisca Martinez, a member of the Hispanic/Latino Congregation in Chapel Hill UMC, had a wonderful experience at the Lay Speaking Course in Spanish on November 2 -3, 2007, and asked, "Is the Academy going to offer an event where women are able to gather to praise God, learn more about the Bible, and have Christian fellowship?"
Soon a planning committee was formed with women representing the Hispanic faith communities and congregations, sponsored by the Hispanic/Latino Academy. The purpose of the Women’s Spiritual Retreat was for renewal and spiritual growth. In November of last year Scarritt-Bennett Center was contacted to see if they were able to make a contribution to make this dream a reality, and they responded, offering twenty five rooms. The group of participants grew from twenty five to thirty, and then to thirty seven women and twenty seven children and youth!
Minister Eliud Martinez is seen with retreat leader the Rev. Rosita Mayorga
Laura Hernandez, Francisca Martinez, Mirna Merida and Janeth Martinez met through conference calls with the Director of the Academy to plan the retreat.
There was a great deal of excitement as the Retreat was set to begin! Participants began to arrive in groups, including the group from Crossville, the farthest distance in the conference, which arrived in a church bus.
Joyce Clark, the President of the Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women, shared bread with the participants and brought a greeting, inviting the participants to”reach for the stars and to open their hearts to receive the word of God, and to grow in their faith”.
The crowd of women and children at the Spiritual Retreat filled a large Scarritt-Bennett stairway.Rev. Rosita Mayorga, a Hispanic pastor serving in Waukesha UMC in the Wisconsin Conference, was the Bible study leader and facilitator. She led the participants in a reflection of women in the Bible—persons like Ruth and Naomi whose faith, devotion and mutual support gave them the strength to overcome the tragedy in their lives in a strange land. The women at the retreat could identify with them; and with the Samaritan woman as well—a woman who came to understand God’s plan for her life in spite of the religious, cultural, social and racial barriers that stood in her way.
Twenty five, the original estimate of attendance grew to 37 women and 27 children and youth.Participant response:
.‘The retreat has been a great blessing! It has given us the opportunity to
re-charge our souls and experience God’s blessings.”
. “It has been a great spiritual experience to deepen our faith in God and be able
to deal with our daily experiences. I hope this is not the only time we come together to learn, grow, and worship God. I hope we will have regular spiritual retreats”.
.‘The retreat has been a great blessing! It has given us the opportunity to
re-charge our souls and experience God’s blessings.”
. “It has been a great spiritual experience to deepen our faith in God and be able
to deal with our daily experiences. I hope this is not the only time we come together to learn, grow, and worship God. I hope we will have regular spiritual retreats”.
Motherly duties were sometimes handled simultaneously with retreat projects.. “It was a great experience to study and reflect on the stories of the women in the Bible and how God provides the strength to deal with all kinds of situations. And it was a great opportunity to get acquainted with the sisters from other Hispanic faith communities and congregations.”
. “It was a great time and I was affirmed that I am not by myself in a strange land, but the Lord Jesus will always be with me”.
Based on the results of the first retreat the Hispanic/ Latino Academy is planning for a Fall 2008 Hispanic Women’s Spiritual Retreat.
Pastor, family killed in crash following storms
By Tom Gillem*
Photographs of the pastor's family adorn the altar of Lafayette (Tenn.) United Methodist Church during the Sunday worship service following the traffic deaths of the Rev. Michael Welch and his family. A UMNS photo by Tom Gillem.LAFAYETTE, Tenn. (UNMS)--After a ferocious tornado pummeled their rural Tennessee county with death and destruction, members of Lafayette United Methodist Church thought their first Sunday worship service together would be a time to give thanks for survival and to seek divine guidance to minister to their battered community.
With no deaths or significant property damage among its membership, the church had been transformed into a family crisis center, and its pastor, the Rev. Michael Welch, quickly became the United Methodist denomination's go-to person to organize relief work in a county that had lost at least 13 lives and more than 400 homes.
Instead, worshipers who gathered on Feb. 10 grieved an unimaginable loss--the death of Welch and his family in a traffic accident on Feb. 7, two days after the storm hit.
Welch, 51, died, along with his wife, Julie, 45, and their children Jesse, 14, and Hannah, 11, when a tractor-trailer carrying relief supplies slammed into their van on Highway 52, a traffic-choked two-lane highway just west of Lafayette. An adult son, Garrison, was not in the accident and survives the family.
Instead of seeing their pastor of almost four years in the pulpit, members heard a message of encouragement from their immediate past minister, the Rev. Amanda Diamond. She said God had transformed the congregation through the ministry of Welch and his wife--preparing the church for just such a moment as this.
This recent family photo shows the Rev. Michael Welch, his wife, Julie, and children Jesse (14) and Hannah (11)"God has prospered you and brought you into a new day, and He's telling you that you are the light," said Diamond. "You are his vessels. This community is devastated, and I know in the midst of a physical devastation they are looking at you all. … They are being amazed that you can continue to reach out, that you are concerned about your neighbors because the light of Christ is in place in you."
Bishop Dick Wills of the Tennessee and Memphis Areas and local District Superintendent Ron Lowery attended the Sunday service to express the grief and concern of the entire United Methodist Church.
"I wanted just to come and worship with your precious congregation today," Wills said. "You had one of the most special pastors and families ever. Our hearts and prayers surround you. As United Methodists, we are never alone. When one of our congregations suffers, we all suffer."
A memorial service for the family was held Feb. 12 at the Lafayette church.
'Fierce integrity'
Welch, who had a master's degree in social work, was studying to be an elder in The United Methodist Church. He was an ordained minister in the Christian Church Disciples of Christ and served several United Methodist congregations before making the decision to become a United Methodist minister. From 1994-1997, he was on the pastoral staff of Stephen Ministries, a nonprofit organization in St. Louis that equips lay people to provide one-on-one ministry to people in crisis.
Since arriving in Lafayette, Julie taught Bible studies in the church and supported other mothers in the community who, like her, home-schooled their children.
"The first day I was here (after the storm), every single person said these words to me: 'Julie taught us that we are to praise God in all circumstances,'" said Diamond, who now serves at First United Methodist Church in nearby Hendersonville, Tenn. "And every single person who said that to me emphasized the word all."
The Rev. Jeff Wilson, Welch's longtime friend from their seminary days at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, told the worshipers that Welch was a country boy from Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., who "had a tremendous heart for the Lord" and a "tremendous head for the Lord."
"He was a man of fierce integrity. His journey in faith and his ecclesiastical journey through churches and into the Stephen Ministries and now in The United Methodist Church … is a testament of that faith and his unwillingness to subjugate that faith and the convictions that he knew to any outside force of this world or any other place," said Wilson, who is on staff at Brentwood United Methodist Church in suburban Nashville.
Recalling a conversation with his friend after the Welch family moved to Lafayette, Wilson told the church that the Welches "not only loved you and loved the community, but they came home again."
"This country boy with a big heart for the Lord and a big head for wanting the knowledge of God came home again because, once again, he was in the roots of who he was, in the presence of the power and the spirit and the love of people who loved God, and that moved to the very essence of his soul. You were a blessing for him, and I know that he was a blessing for you, as he was for so many of us," Wilson said.
Memorials may be sent to the Welch Family Disaster Relief Fund at either the Macon Bank & Trust or Citizens Bank, both in Lafayette. Donations for survivors of the Welch family may be sent to the Welch Memorial Fund, Lafayette United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 122, Lafayette, Tenn. 37083.
*Gillem is a freelance journalist based in Brentwood, Tenn.
“The Holy Spirit is very powerful in God’s little house”
Simpkins United Methodist Church is part of a three-point circuit. It is a church with a very small membership—under 40 persons. You can count the number of youth in the congregation on one hand.
But of all the congregations in the United Methodist Church, Simpkins may have one of the most astonishing and vibrant youth ministries in the country. Five youth? Under 35 members? A vibrant and alive youth program? “Certainly,” you think to yourself, “that statement has got to be some kind of joke.” Though small in number, the youth at Simpkins and their adult leader, Linda Hatcher, have received a vision of what discipleship is all about. Devoid of a large church budget with a line item for youth ministry, the youth group has to earn its own way if it is to exist.
Linda Hatcher and the Simpkins United Methodist Youth Group with Warmth in Winter featured speaker Bob StrombergIn January of 2008, five young people and one adult from Simpkins attended the premier youth program in the Tennessee Annual Conference, Warmth in Winter. The youth group had to earn its own way by doing janitorial duty at the church—clean the entire church twice per month at $25.00 per cleaning. “I wasn’t sure how THAT was going to work out,” notes Hatcher, “but they really labor hard – even suggesting that perhaps they needed to clean more often.
In the past year the group has cared for a hive of bees, collected the honey, and will be selling it this summer. With the assistance of talented adult members of the church they have helped make homemade soup and sold it, and even created a potted meat product which they jokingly labeled as “Possum killed on Little Marrow Bone Road by a 1950 red Buick.” Oh, and there are car washes, the sale of homemade soap (yes SOAP, the stuff you bathe with), and so forth.”
With its labors the youth of the church spent a week at Camp Cedar Crest, had a spiritual life retreat built around the theme “Light the fire of my soul,” and participated in Warmth in Winter. They are about ready to start feeding the bees again – the hive has grown from a queen bee and 10,000 bees, to 20,000 bees—and the group is preparing to harvest honey and create honey sticks and lip balm to sell as well as continuing other projects.
Of course this is the ME GENERATION, correct? Teens and young adults that care only about SELF and benefiting “me”. Everyone in the Simpkins group at Warmth in Winter was given $10.00 to buy a special t-shirt, but two group members gave the money to the Nothing but Nets campaign—saving children in Africa from Malaria. Early on the group also decided to give away half the money it makes through fund raising projects—that money goes to support an African child through Compassion International. Just ask, you’ll be told about Michael Rurwangwa from Rwanda.
Not only that but for the late summer of 2008 the youth are planning a Mission Trip to Cherokee, North Carolina, to work among the tribal people there. The young people will be involved in leading Vacation Bible School, and in cleaning. The one young man in the group, together with Linda Hatcher’s husband, will be doing construction of a handicapped ramp to help someone confined to a wheelchair. On this mission trip Simpkins Church will be working with Boe Harris and Ragghi Calentine, national Native American leaders, who have provided leadership in the past to Tennessee Conference Native American Workshops and Retreats. This is part of the group’s ministry of service that has included serving communion, and presenting an old time foot washing on Palm Sunday.
Linda Hatcher reflects on the way Simpkins church members have contributed to the strengthening of the youth program. “Ms Sherry our Simpkins UMC Native American representative and her mom Holly helped me with the retreat. They taught the girls bead work and we made Beggar Beads. We started the girls on journaling. I found little journals at the dollar store for one dollar each. We had prayer stations with candles and balloons to let our prayers and care go up to God. I could write and write about the girls and the sweet spirit that abounds at little Simpkins Chapel. We only have a part time pastor Ron Anderson. If Freddie Miler, our church lay leader, and any one wants something done, we do it. Bro. Ron last summer gave up his big paycheck for the month to pay for our girls to go to Camp Cedar Crest. The girls then did a car wash to help pay for another little girl that wanted to join them at camp. What ever we are lacking in size,” Hatcher notes, “we made up for it with love . The Holy Spirit is very powerful in God’s little house!”
Diversified groups of young people come together and friendships emerge
They call themselves the BlakeVille family—young people from two United Methodist churches who have been joined into a single United Methodist Youth Fellowship program directed by a youth worker who is on the staff of both churches—Blakemore United Methodist Church and West Nashville.
Like other youth groups, as it was getting well along into January of 2008, the youth were looking forward to the Tennessee Annual Conference’s biggest event--children, youth or adult—Warmth in Winter. As it turned out Warmth in Winter 2008 would be the most memorable ever—not just because of a great program but because the group would help twelve young people attend who would not ordinary have a chance to participate. With some scholarship help from the Annual Conference and funds they had raised during the preceding 12 months, the BlakeVille group invited twelve persons from the Magness Potter Center’s After School program in East Nashville to be part of Warmth in Winter. The Magness Potter Center is sponsored by the Salvation Army but houses urban programs sponsored by the Downtown YMCA. The group invited by BlakeVille goes by the acronym YWOLF which stands for Youth Working on Leadership Fitness.
There was a strong feeling that God had a great deal to do with bringing the BlakeVille Youth Group and the Magness Potter Center’s Youth Working on Leadership Fitness Group together“It was an amazing weekend!” notes youth worker Nate Sawyer. “After a couple of sleepless nights, a crazy hyped-up speaker, lots of caffeine and soda, and some goofy dances, it was great to see what God is doing in the lives of our students and others. The highlight for this weekend was a small glimpse of what heaven will be like.”
Sawyer explains with delight how the BlakeVille youth group provided funding for a group of young people—complete strangers—to join them in the Warmth and Winter experience “We were able to sponsor at Warmth and Winter about 12 students from the Magness Potter Center After School Program in East Nashville. The three days together would be the first time we had done anything together with this group—but you know what? It felt like they had been a part of our BlakeVille family for a good while. It was as if the few differences we had didn’t matter because we were all there for the common purposes of making friends and worshipping God together.”
"We were worried that the Magness Potter students were not going to like the experience, but they enjoyed the speaker, the wild dancing, the workshops—and getting to make a new bunch of friends. Fit in? By Saturday one of the girls was invited up on the stage to give the scripture reading; and later in the day three of the girls participated in a liturgical dance.”
“Such a bond developed between the two groups that we are continuing the partnership,” says Sawyer, “and are planning activities for the future. First off—in March—we are all going bowling. The glimpse of heaven I mentioned? Heaven is going to be all different kinds of people accepting each other, loving each other. We weren’t the BlakeVille Youth and the Magness Potter youth -- we were one big youth group by the time Warmth in Winter had its concluding worship service on Sunday. We didn’t care who was from where—they were already our friends.”
Rena Knight, the Program Director of Urban Services for the Downtown YMCA, had a great deal to do with the two groups coming together. “It was just huge,” she says, “putting diversified young people together to both explore ourselves as individuals and to get to know others as friends beyond all the differences. “Do you know what I’m asked EVERY time I show up at the Magness Potter Center? When are we going to do this again?” That question is mirrored by the BlakeVille Youth. GR Pulley spoke for the rest the BlakeVille group when he indicated that the two groups came together as one almost instantly. “It’s just like I had always known them. They were friends.”
Congratulations to the first graduating class of the Academy for Congregational Leaders
By Dominec Nigrelli, Ph.D.
The first graduating class of the Academy for Congregational Leaders.After a year of study, prayer, research and discernment, fourteen congregational leaders successfully completed the six core courses in Bible, theology, worship, spiritual growth, Methodist studies, and leadership. In addition to the learning component, the participants presented their Personal Ministry Action Plan. It was an exciting and uplifting experience to receive the participant’s vision, mission and action plans for their new ministry projects. One student, drawing from her own personal experience, devised a ministry action plan for the awareness and prevention of suicide. Another person, recognizing the need for more biblical literacy among children and youth, proposed a ministry program for teaching the Bible. A third participant, moved by the needs of the homeless in his community, will initiate a program for providing food and shelter in the name of Christ. A fourth student laid out her plans for an older adult ministry. (You can read the entire Personal Ministry Action Plan from one of our participants on Martin Methodist College’s website www.martinmethodist.edu/ccl/education.) Finally, as a last example, one of our participants announced that she discerned God’s calling upon her life to serve the Church as a local pastor. Thanks be to God for all of God’s gifts.
Are there lay people in your congregation who desire practical theological education? Do you wish there was a better way to equip and educate your congregational leaders? Are you searching for a way to empower your lay people, not only to greater service in the church, but also to service in the world? Join the Academy for Congregational Leaders and Martin Methodist College.
The goal of the Academy is simply to empower people to discern their spiritual gifts, transform dreams into strengths and action, and ready them to lead and serve the congregation and the community. We are accepting application for the 2008-09 sessions. The deadline is April 4; classes begin April 27.
We hope that you consider joining us in this new ministry. For detailed information about the research conducted, the program, downloadable brochure and application forms of the Academy please visit us at www.martinmethodist.edu/ccl, and/or send an e-mail at tmcgill@martinmethodist.edu or call us at 931.363.9898.
*The Rev. Dr. Domenic Nigrelli is Director, Center for Church Leadership, Martin Methodist College
Like Daughter, Like Mother
A mother and daughter from Tennessee grow closer by becoming Red Cross volunteers
By Michelle Lemieux*
From the national website of the American Red Cross. Reprinted with permission from the American Red Cross.
(Editor’s Note: Both Jeanne Beasley and Jeanetta Hitt are members of the Bon Aqua United Methodist Church in the Columbia District, The Rev. Tom Barger, pastor. Jeanne Beasley is the Bon Aqua Lay Leader and her daughter Jeannetta Hitt has been in charge of the congregation’s new Christian Life Center project)
Friday, February 15, 2008 — Daughters sometimes follow in their mother’s footsteps. In Hickman County, Tennessee, one mother is following in her daughter’s.
When Jeannetta Hitt read a Red Cross pamphlet on emergency preparedness from her local church, it made her realize how ill-prepared she would be if disaster struck. She immediately decided to become more prepared, but not without getting her mother involved first.
Mother-Daughter Team Jeanne Beasley (standing) and Jeannetta Hitt (seated) at a Red Cross Service Center in Centerville, Tennessee. (Photo: Sandi Loftis/ American Red Cross)“I wasn’t sure I was prepared and I thought I could help others,” said Hitt. “I managed people at my job and I had to be prepared to help them, too.”
Jeannetta encouraged her mother, Jeanne Beasley, to take Red Cross training with her at the Hickman County Chapter. Since taking the training, the two have been responding to local disasters for the past six years.
“My favorite part is all the wonderful people we get to work with,” said Beasley.
Responding Together
Jeanne is the captain of the Disaster Action Team (DAT) for her chapter, and Jeannetta is a team member. DAT teams respond to emergencies of all sizes to help keep communities safe. In Hickman County, Jeannetta and Jeanne’s chapter averages about 25 local disasters a year, including home fires and straight-line winds. That number will likely increase as the community continues to grow.
The work of this mother-daughter team doesn’t end with disaster relief and response. They both also teach Red Cross babysitting courses in Hickman, Davidson, Dickman and Murray counties.
“We love working together,” said Hitt. “We know what the other is thinking and what the other likes, which makes it so enjoyable.”
The Tennessee tornadoes are the first major national disaster the two have worked on so far.
“We are learning so much just by being here every day,” said Hitt.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross provides relief to victims of disasters at home and abroad, collects and distributes nearly half of the nation's blood supply, teaches lifesaving skills, and supports military members and families. The American Red Cross, a charity and not a government agency, depends on voluntary contributions of time, money and blood to perform its humanitarian mission.
*Michelle Lemieux is Director of Communications and Government Relations, American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey.
The Sean Mevis Story
By Karla Moffitt
My family and I are members of Pegram United Methodist Church in Pegram, Tennessee. Pegram is approximately 15 minutes west of Bellevue off of Highway 70. Our church is a small growing church, which serves families in the South Cheatham area, which consist of Kingston Springs and Pegram.We have a delightful young member in our congregation by the name of Sean Mevis. He is an eight year old little boy who is in the 2nd grade at Kingston Springs Elementary. Sean was born with severe physical disabilities. He is confined to a wheelchair. Sean is always in a joyous mood. He speaks to everyone on Sunday mornings and Wednesday night dinners. He always greets them with a bright smile and good morning or good evening. He knows all of our children and youth by first name. He always tries to be in our children’s program and participate in what his abilities allow him to. Sean will go all over the church in his wheel chair, which he calls “Big Red”. This is a power wheelchair with hand controls. This wheelchair affords Sean independence and the positioning and special support he needs. As Sean grows and develops, lifting him in and out of a car or regular van have become very difficult.
A few months ago his family’s wheelchair accessible van broke down. Sean and his family are in desperate need of a new/used wheel chair accessible van, which will allow him to continue to go places in “Big Red”. In order to transport Sean with “Big Red” you have to have the wheelchair accessible van.
Our small but growing church has been working on purchasing a new/used van for Sean. A good used van will cost somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000. Our small church has raised over $11,000 to go towards this purchase. Our youth which consist of approximately four faithful senior youth and seven faithful junior youth are currently working on projects so that they may raise money for this wonderful cause. We have set up a tax deductible fund which is the Mevis Van Fund – Friends of Sean, C/O Pegram United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 321, Pegram, TN 37143-0321. If you would like to support this project, your gifts would be greatly appreciated.
Our congregation is small but we are like one big family and it shows me that GOD is present in our lives with us all working on this wonderful cause.
We can’t wait to see Sean going all over the church again in “Big Red”.
Singer/Songwriter Sarah Hart Hosts Daughters Day of Reflection, a Women’s Retreat to benefit Jacob’s Ladder Preschool
(NASHVILLE, TN)—Though her career as a singer, songwriter and speaker leads her to travel all over the globe, it is Sarah Hart’s role as mom that has led her to Nolensville, Tennessee. On Saturday, April 19, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., this noted artist and speaker will lead women in a one-day retreat dubbed ‘Daughters Day of Reflection,’ held at Nolensville First United Methodist Church.
‘Daughters Day of Reflection’ will allow women the opportunity to see what makes them unique and yet connected to one another, through reflection on the women of scripture. The day includes extensive study of prominent women of the Bible, snack, lunch and music by Sarah Hart.
Tickets for the event are $25 and are available by contacting Jacob’s Ladder Preschool at 776-7362. All proceeds go to benefit Jacob’s Ladder Preschool at Nolensville First United Methodist Church. The preschool is a non-denominational Bible-based early childhood development center in the community for children ages three to five.
“This is my daughter’s third, and sadly, last year at Jacob’s Ladder,” says Hart. “We have been so blessed to be a part of this program. What Terri and her staff have accomplished with the children and families at Jacob’s Ladder is a gift to our community; this day is just a little ‘thank you’ from my own family!”
“There will be lots of singing, storytelling, and sharing during the Day of Reflection,” she continues. “And every woman who attends should feel refreshed and re-energized after our time together!”
Sarah is currently at work on her latest project, Road to Ohio, slated for a spring release on Centricity Records. A folk recording, described by Hart as “sparse and acoustic”, it is co-produced by Sarah and friend Mitch Dane, known for his work with Grammy Award-winning band Jars of Clay. She also begins a new recording in March of 2008 entitled SaintSong, which will feature the writings of some of the greatest religious thinkers of history set to contemporary music.
Sarah has toured with such contemporary Christian artists as Wes King and Kathy Troccoli, and has performed with numerous other artists such as Newsboys and Randy Stonehill. Her music has appeared on radio everywhere and has been featured on such television shows as Joan of Arcadia and Strong Medicine. Sarah has received six Unity Awards from the United Catholic Music and Video Association for her work, including the 2005 awards for Producer of the Year, Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year for her third solo project, Into These Rooms.
Hart is the mother of two girls, and makes her home in Nolensville with husband Kevin. In addition to recording three solo albums and numerous compilation projects, she is an award-winning record producer, a founder of the popular all-women singing group Daughters of God, and has been a staff songwriter for major Christian music publishers. She also works with the Tom Tichener Children’s Theater at the Nashville Public Library as a songwriter and performer. To learn more about Sarah Hart, go to http://www.sarahhartmusic.com/.
Jacob’s Ladder Preschool is headed by Terri Anderson, and is a ministry of Nolensville United Methodist Church. The Church is pastored by Rev. Sandy Shawhan, and is located at 7316 Nolensville Road in Nolensville, Tenn. To find out more about Jacob’s Ladder Preschool or Nolensville United Methodist Church, go to http://www.nolensvilleumc.org/ or call 615/776-2815.
5th Annual Overflow Women’s Conference, March 29th: I Am the Vine
Ladies of all ages and all faiths are invited to the 5th Annual Overflow Women’s Conference. This year’s event will be held on March 29, 2008 in Lawrenceburg, TN at the WLX Radio station, beside Wendy’s from 9:00 to 1:00. Our theme this year is I AM THE VINE (John 15).Cinde Lucas
For the past several years Cinde Lucas, who is an Associate Evangelist with the United Methodist church, has been hosting these events. Coming from a background of emotional and physical abuse, Cinde seeks to reach out to women who are struggling to find their purpose in life and to let them know that God loves them. Juggling the role of housewife, mother, daughter, friend, employee, cook, taxi driver, and coworker can be frustrating at times, to say the least.
Women have so many demands placed upon them and they sometimes lose sight of who God created them to be. It’s important for women to take time out and just sit in an atmosphere of peace where the only thing that is expected of them is to just receive God’s love and blessing!
Guest speaker Patsy Morgan
This year’s guest speaker, Patsy Morgan, is no stranger to the balancing act that life demands of women. Having raised 6 children of her own and being a foster parent for many others, Patsy has a heart for women and children. She has served alongside her husband, Tony Morgan (pastor of 1st Assembly of God), in full time ministry for almost 30 years. Her love for Jesus and her compassion for others won her the HEART OF THE CITY AWARD in 2007.
This year’s guest speaker, Patsy Morgan, is no stranger to the balancing act that life demands of women. Having raised 6 children of her own and being a foster parent for many others, Patsy has a heart for women and children. She has served alongside her husband, Tony Morgan (pastor of 1st Assembly of God), in full time ministry for almost 30 years. Her love for Jesus and her compassion for others won her the HEART OF THE CITY AWARD in 2007.
Worship leader Heather WallaceHeather Wallace will be leading worship for this year’s conference. Heather is currently the youth minister and worship leader at First Assembly of God in Lawrenceburg. Heather has an anointing that is truly a gift from God. You will be blessed by her special gift of worship.
As always, registration for the conference is FREE and will begin at 8:45. We will be serving a continental breakfast this year. We hope you will come and enjoy a day designed to refill, restore and renew your life. For more information, please visit http://www.cindelucas.com/ or call 931-766-2536. Early registration is not necessary, but it is helpful. A love offering will be taken.
Foundation Board Sets New Interest Rates for Development Fund
By Vin Walkup
The Board of Directors of the Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation met on February 19, 2008, at First United Methodist Church in Jackson. During that meeting, the board set new interest rates for The United Methodist Development Fund of TN/KY, Inc. Effective April 1, the United Methodist Development Fund will pay 3.5% on participants’ deposits. The new loan rate is 6.25%, which is effective immediately, amortized for fifteen years with a two-year balloon/renewal. These rates are reviewed and set by the board at its quarterly meetings, and reflect the desire to be in ministry with one another.
The United Methodist Development Fund of TN/KY, Inc., is a means by which United Methodists help United Methodists. Participants (individuals, churches, classes, or groups) may open an account with a minimum deposit of $2,500 and may add to or withdraw from the account at anytime with no fees charged. Loan requests from churches and ministries in the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences are reviewed by the Credit Committee of the Board of Directors of The Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation, which then makes a recommendation to the board.
At this time, the Development Fund has thirty-four active loans, with a loan balance of $4.5 million. The Fund has almost $9.1 million in deposits. You and your church can assist other United Methodist Churches and ministries in our conferences by investing in the Development Fund. In turn, your investments grow.
If you would like to open an account with the Development Fund or learn more about the Fund or other ministries of your Foundation, contact Vin Walkup, Tiffany Raines or Paulette Dowdy in the Foundation office (615-259-2008 or 259-2066). To receive a circular for opening an account or a loan application, call one of the numbers above or write Tiffany Raines at 304 S. Perimeter Park Drive, Nashville, TN, 37211. You may also reach Dr. Walkup by email at vwalkup@nashaumf.org.
By Vin Walkup
The Board of Directors of the Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation met on February 19, 2008, at First United Methodist Church in Jackson. During that meeting, the board set new interest rates for The United Methodist Development Fund of TN/KY, Inc. Effective April 1, the United Methodist Development Fund will pay 3.5% on participants’ deposits. The new loan rate is 6.25%, which is effective immediately, amortized for fifteen years with a two-year balloon/renewal. These rates are reviewed and set by the board at its quarterly meetings, and reflect the desire to be in ministry with one another.
The United Methodist Development Fund of TN/KY, Inc., is a means by which United Methodists help United Methodists. Participants (individuals, churches, classes, or groups) may open an account with a minimum deposit of $2,500 and may add to or withdraw from the account at anytime with no fees charged. Loan requests from churches and ministries in the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences are reviewed by the Credit Committee of the Board of Directors of The Nashville Area United Methodist Foundation, which then makes a recommendation to the board.
At this time, the Development Fund has thirty-four active loans, with a loan balance of $4.5 million. The Fund has almost $9.1 million in deposits. You and your church can assist other United Methodist Churches and ministries in our conferences by investing in the Development Fund. In turn, your investments grow.
If you would like to open an account with the Development Fund or learn more about the Fund or other ministries of your Foundation, contact Vin Walkup, Tiffany Raines or Paulette Dowdy in the Foundation office (615-259-2008 or 259-2066). To receive a circular for opening an account or a loan application, call one of the numbers above or write Tiffany Raines at 304 S. Perimeter Park Drive, Nashville, TN, 37211. You may also reach Dr. Walkup by email at vwalkup@nashaumf.org.
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 7:07 AM
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