TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW June 25, 2010
Index of articles in this edition of THE REVIEW
1. Nine ordained as Elders at 2010 Annual Conference
2. Three ordained as Deacons,
3. Three honored with J. Richard Allison Social Holiness Awards: Laity, George Bass and Abrahoma McIntyre; clergy, The Rev. Jay Voorhees.
4. A Prayer for My City, May 3, 2010, reflective poem written in the midst of the flooding crisis by the Rev. Jay Voorhees
5. Good Shepherd United Methodist Men build ten Personal Energy Transportation vehicles,
6. Forest Hills United Methodist Church launches Farmer’s Market on the church grounds
7. Ninth Annual “Native Moccasins Rock” Festival and Workshop, Camp Lake Benson, August 13-15, 2010, article with one captioned photo, Photo #12
8. The wedding at 61st Avenue: A love story
9. Youth from other Annual Conferences Help Middle Tennessee Recover
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Nine ordained as Elders at 2010 Annual Conference
(Front row left to right) Rickey Wayne Wade, Marilyn Eileen Thornton, Francis DeSales “De” Hennessy, III; (Second row left to right) Cynthia Annette Talley, Erin Ann Racine, Vona Rose Wilson, and Jodi Ann McCullah; (Third row) John McFatridge Feldhacker and Peter Frederic Ferguson
Three ordained as Deacons
(Left to right) Jackson Wayne Henry, Elizabeth Thompson “Libby” Baxter, and Holley Gaye Potts.
Three honored with J. Richard Allison Social Holiness Awards
This award was established by the 2001 Session of the Tennessee Annual Conference to recognize persons whose lives and ministries are focused on ministries of love and justice. Each year one layperson and one clergy person is selected. Sadly, we had no layperson recommended this year. This award remembers the persons who have answered the call of Christ to feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned, clothe the naked, visit the sick and help to bring about God’s kingdom here on earth. J. Richard Allison, for whom the award is named, was a pastor in the TN Conference, and a missionary, and a social activist in Nashville. Dick Allison was described by one of his peers as “a man of God with a mission of doing what he did best--building bridges between the needs of the community and the resources of the church.” This year, we celebrate the choice of George Bass and Abraham McIntyre (Laity) and Jay Voorhees (Clergy):
Social Holiness Award, Layperson, George Bass
Family, friends, and fellow church members gathered to celebrate the honor received by George Bass. Many in the group were in one of the original Mt. TOP volunteer teams.
George Bass spent more than thirty years training and developing youth and young adults through the Mountain T.O.P. ministry which sensitized these church members to the social, spiritual, economic, emotional, and relational needs of the weak, the least, the last, and the lost of the Cumberland Mountains. Youth and adults on work teams through Mountain T.O.P. learned the benefits of working together as a team, of meeting the needs of persons who are less fortunate, and of relating to people who simply needed a listening ear or a simple touch.
Bass did this for more than thirty years. It began when George was working with the youth at Blakemore United Methodist Church in Nashville. He took his youth to a work camp at Hinton Rural Life Center. He felt the nudge of God which led to the question, “Shouldn’t our Tennessee Annual Conference provide ministry other than simply a spiritual fun camp at Beersheba Springs Assembly? Should we help young people realize the needs of others as well as meet the needs of others?” Thus, George began to develop the Mountain T.O.P. (Tennessee Outreach Project) ministry.
Immediately, the vision ignited the enthusiasm of the youth of not only our Tennessee Conference, but the interest of youth throughout the United States as well as with youth from all other denominations. It became obvious that this ministry was greater than what our Tennessee Conference Youth Council could provide. It needed its own board of directors and trained leaders.
The first Mountain T.O.P. camp was in 1974 at Beersheba Springs United Methodist Assembly. Through the years, George has led this ministry that hired, trained and developed more than 1,050 young adults as summer staff. More than an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 youth and adults from local churches in 28 states participated in the intensive weeklong work camp that had a major spiritual emphasis. They even added a day camp for the children of the Cumberland Mountains who had nothing to do in the summer.
The Rev. Skip Armistead who nominated George Bass for the Richard Allison Social Holiness Award shared his own personal experiences at Mt. T.O.P. “Having been an active participant with Mt. T.O.P. through the years, I got to see lives changed. I saw two elderly widows’ faces light up with new hope when our work team cleared their orchard, an orchard these widows hasn’t seen since they were children. I saw men with green teeth and no teeth moved to tears because some youth cared to take time to listen to them. I’ve seen arrogant spoiled youth from wealthy homes humbled as a result of their contact with people of an entirely different culture. I’ve seen youth who felt like they were nothing and of no value to anyone become aware that they were ‘somebody’ when they helped others. I’ve seen the morale of Grundy County change for the better and the people of Grundy County say it was because of the Mountain T.O.P. ministry.
I’ve also seen the lives of many youth and young adults change in their attitudes towards the weak, the least, the last, and the lost as a result of participating in Mountain T.O.P. – and many have returned home to provide similar ministries in their own community. Many learned to appreciate the difference in cultures. Many have even entered the ministry. George Bass’ work facilitated this social transformation that continues to take place on the Cumberland Mountains even now that he is retired.”
Social Holiness Award, Layperson, Abraham McIntyre
(Some information supplied through the reflections of his father, David McIntyre, others by his sister Ingrid, still other information is quoted from writer Kathy Noble’s article, “Pilots carry people out, bring supplies into Haiti.”)
The second person to win the 2010 Richard Allison Social Holiness Award is Abraham McIntyre who serves as the Executive Director of the Bahamas Methodist Habitat, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
The Social Holiness award was accepted on June 15th by Abraham McIntyre’s parents and sister. Abraham followed the proceedings from the Bahamas using Skype (video, photo communication), and responded thankfully for the award
Bahamas Methodist Habitat is an outreach ministry of the Bahamas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Its mission is to build sustainable communities through partnership. They seek to improve the quality of life for Bahamian families by providing an array of services that build self-reliance and foster personal and community achievement. Abraham McIntyre is the Executive Director of Bahamas Methodist Habitat.
McIntyre, a son of the Tennessee Conference and a Preacher’s Kid, has always chosen work that reflects his love for people and concern for social inequities. His spirit is love. When you are around him you feel loved . . . and throughout his life he shows love where ever he is. He lives a life of ministry every day, and he adapts to the environment he is in –be it Appalachia, Belize or the Caribbean. Wherever he is in ministry he figures out a way to make things happen.
McIntyre has worked with Bahamas Methodist Habitat since 2005. The organization is not related to Habitat for Humanity International. Bahamas Methodist Habitat is normally a hurricane relief and sub-standard housing relief effort for the Bahamian islands. Many volunteer teams go there to serve each year ... including several Tennessee Conference congregations such as Fayetteville First, Hendersonville First, Belle Meade, Manchester First and Brentwood. Beyond mission trips, Abraham has spoken to over 20 churches in the Tennessee Conference about his ministry in Eleuthera.
Part of what makes the Bahamas Methodist Habitat ministry possible is the team of volunteers private pilots, recruited and trained by the BMH staff. They come from across the United States and ferry supplies needed by BMH to the Islands of the Bahamas—at a considerable savings of time and money over relying on boat transportation.
In a United Methodist News Service report “Pilots carry people out, bring supplies into Haiti,” writer Kathy Noble tells what happened with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat ministry after the earthquake in Haiti: “Abraham McIntyre was at home in Eleuthera, Bahamas, when he learned that a major earthquake had occurred in Haiti. The concern that a tsunami might flood the Bahamas was among his first thoughts. McIntyre initially expected the quake to have little effect on the mission he directs, Bahamas Methodist Habitat. The organization usually flies volunteers to construction and medical mission sites throughout the islands.
“That changed within hours when he received a call from the organization’s treasurer, Steve Merritt of Cary, N.C., asking, “’How fast can you get to Haiti?’ I went from apathetic to full on, and haven’t stopped since,” he says.
Since Jan. 15, McIntyre and his staff have coordinated flights evacuating missionaries and mission teams and helping relief workers and medical supplies reach Haiti. “
Through Facebook and texting, McIntyre soon told the world that his organization is ready to help evacuate missionaries and others from Haiti. Requests became steady. He learns about supplies needing transport in the same way.
“Between Facebook and texting, we are really making a difference,” he says. “Much as I hated Facebook at first, it’s really saving lives.”
Abe’s father and mother, retired Tennessee Conference minister, the Rev. David and Patty McIntyre, had just arrived in the Bahamas for a visit the day before the quake hit Haiti. David McIntyre reflected on some of the experiences with his son on what turned out to be a very extended stay in the Bahamas: ‘Merci. Merci.’ The beautiful, humble Haitian nurse in a 48 bed, one room hospital in Les Cayes, Haiti, sweetly spoke the sentiment of the poverty- stricken Haitian people. Abraham McIntyre and his team of volunteers from Bahamas Methodist Habitat (BMH) had just delivered two more plane loads of medical supplies donated by caring and generous US and Bahamian citizens. BMH is making an immediate difference in the lives of these precious and hurting Haitian people, their Caribbean neighbors. “
“This effort has been swift and direct service! Multiple plane loads of needed supplies and short-term medical missionaries, flown by BMH volunteer pilots recruited and coordinated by BMH staff and board members, have been delivered day after day since the massive earthquake of January 12 dealt a devastating blow to the people of Haiti. Abraham saw the need immediately after he learned of the disaster and rapidly went into action. He used the Internet, email and face-book to reach volunteers.”
It has been a remarkable experience to meet the scores and scores of doctors, anesthetists, nurses and surgeons who have come to Bahamas Methodist Habitat for transportation into some of the more remote areas of Haiti. Most of the news stories have focused on Port au Prince - - the epicenter of the earthquake. However, as the days moved by more and more of the victims evacuated the devastated city and went to these smaller towns seeking medical care, shelter and food. Delivering supplies and personnel into and out of these more rural areas has been the particular nitch of Bahamas Methodist Habitat.
The elder McIntyre admits he has learned from his son. “Abraham, though fearless in his pursuit of mission goals and support, is essentially a very humble young man. He has taught me a lot about shunning turf battles and seeking recognition. As I have periodically and quietly offered ‘politically motivated’ suggestions that might bring him or his agency a bit of support or recognition, he politely reminds me, ‘you know, Dad, you can get a whole lot more accomplished when you're not concerned about who gets the credit!’ I give thanks that he's learned that lesson so much earlier in his journey than I am learning it in mine.
Social Holiness Award, The Rev. Jay Voorhees, Clergy
The 2010 Richard Allison Social Holiness Award for clergy was awarded to the Rev. Jay Voorhees. The person that nominated him for the award knew Richard Allison personally and sees a great deal of Richard in Jay.
Jay Voorhees and his family
Jay Voorhees has been the pastor of the Antioch United Methodist Church since June of 2003. During his life he has served as a restaurant manager, a television engineer, an event manager, a hospital chaplain, and as a pastor. Prior to his appointment in Antioch, Jay served as the Associate Pastor of the Bellevue United Methodist Church in Nashville. Jay has also served as the chairperson of Tennessee Annual Conference Board of Church and Society, ensuring lots of interesting email. Jay is also involved in much conversation around “the emergent church,” a group of religious professionals who are talking about the impact of postmodernism on church and faith. He writes about these issues (and many other things as well) on his weblog, “Only Wonder Understands.” Jay is married to the Rev. Kay Hereford Voorhees who is the pastor of Cornerstone United Methodist Church in the Murfreesboro District. Kay and Jay have two daughters, Grace and Anna.
Jay left his work at United Methodist Communications to enter pastoral ministry years ago, when he realized that lives are touched more by relationships than by media. He had no idea that loving people would lead him to activism of any kind.
Voorhees became involved in social justice issues when he became chairperson of the Tennessee Conference Church and Society Work Area. His first immediate issue to tackle was the Tennessee Lottery battle. He became a member of the Religious Leaders for a Gambling Free Tennessee and work to defeat the lottery.
In more recent years he has taken a leadership role in the campaign against the Metro Nashville English Only bill and worked diligently on efforts to help save General Hospital.
With his pastor colleague at Lighthouse Baptist Church, Jay helped organize an interdenominational group of pastors that meets weekly to pray for the community. This group began to think of their congregations as “the church of Antioch” called to claim the entire community for Jesus. Among the achievements of this group are developing anti-drug campaigns, working with the Hickory Hollow Mall management and businesses on community issues, and working with the Metro Nashville Police Department on similar community issues. Jay even led Antioch United Methodist Church to become involved in the community Easter Egg Hunt, of which he also became a leader. He has also led Antioch UMC to open its gym doors to the community.
Jay pursues both social and personal holiness and depends heavily on God’s grace to make up for his deficiencies. His moderate core is similar to that of our Social Principles, which often reflect more than one “side” of a given issue. Jay is definitely able to see things for a variety of perspectives and respect a variety of opinions while standing firm on his own beliefs.
Editor’s Note: After Voorhees was nominated for the Allison Social Holiness Award, his life took a sudden and dramatic turn. Mill Creek flooded along with other creeks and streams in Southeast Nashville in the historic Tennessee early May flood. Three days after the flood he accepted the role of Relief Volunteer Coordinator for all of SE Nashville—a large geographic area which sustained heavy flood damage, and Antioch United Methodist Church became a volunteer deployment center to send out volunteers into the community.
A Prayer for My City, May 3, 2010
By the Rev. Jay Voorhees*, used with permission
God, what do you think you are doing?
Many times I can write off bad times as the result of a broken humanity;
but rains that seemed never ending?
I think you are on the hot seat for this one.
Yes, I know, nature happens, and we have very little understanding of the stuff of our world,
but there are a lot of people suffering tonight,
a lot of people scared,
a lot of people whose hope is challenged,
a lot of people questioning their belief that you never give more than we can handle.
If I sound a little ticked off, it’s because I am.
A day watching poor people throwing all their ruined belongings in the street will do that to a man.
So does looking at pictures of places I love now destroyed,
destroyed by that which is necessary for life.
This stinks, God.
Sorry, I said it, but it’s true.
It’s true when you fall through the floor of a trailer because the flooring is so saturated with water that it can’t hold you.
It’s true when the flood water subside and everything inside the house is covered with mud.
It’s true when the mold comes — the deep, black fungi that seek to take over the home.
It’s true when you know that a city — my city — is put on the ropes by something that has never happened before.
It’s very true when you read the story of a 21 year old father whose only failing was that he worried so much about the well being of his kids that he challenged the rising waters and lost the battle.
And yet,
you still are God,
and as we find ourselves by the rivers of Babylon weeping,
you take that which stinks and wring out the good things,
things like people from different nationalities and faiths working together to empty a house,
things like inmates and students working cooperatively to sandbag a water plant to keep water going,
things like people opening their homes and their hearts to those in need.
So God, if you will,
take some time off from the water business and get on with the heart transformation business,
leading brother and sister to transcend the mud and mold,
and rebuild something even better.
And God, if you will,
keep an eye on my city,
cause it’s home and I love it.
Dry it out and lead us to new depths of love and care.
Amen.
*Just a few days after this prayer was written, Jay Voorhees was named Relief Volunteer Coordinator for Southeast Nashville.
Good Shepherd United Methodist Men build ten Personal Energy Transportation vehicles
Ten Personal Energy Transportation (PET) vehicles under construction.
On Saturday, May 22, 2010, the men's group of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Hendersonville, assisted by donations and other volunteers from the congregation, participated in an international outreach event for PET International. The group of volunteers built ten (10) Personal Energy Transportation (PET) vehicles which will be shipped to third world countries around the globe. The PET vehicle is a hand cranked wheel chair-cart designed to provide the gift of mobility to persons who have lost their legs or the use of their legs. For detailed information about the PET Project and the recipients of these life-changing vehicles, you can visit the sponsor’s website at www.PETinternational.org
The men's group and other volunteers at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Hendersonville, shown with 2 of the 10 Personal Energy Transportation (PET) vehicles (in forefront) built on May 22nd to be shipped to third world countries around the globe. Photo by Julie Rutledge
Forest Hills United Methodist Church launches Farmer’s Market on the church grounds
When the idea of hosting a Farmer’s Market came up at Forest Hills United Methodist Church, it seem like the right time for such a ministry – and certainly the right place. Forest Hills church is located along busy Old Hickory Blvd close to the intersection with Granny White Pike. Lay person Leigh Ann Pettus became the point person in working with nearby growers to create a weekly Farmer’s Market on the spacious grounds of Forest Hills church.
Forest Hills pastor, the Rev. James Hughes, enthusiastically comments about the new ministry and its value to the church and to the community. “We are very excited about our new Farmer’s Market. The market will bring lots to people to our campus, which will give us a chance to tell our story. It gives a chance to be a vital community partner with the cities of Forest Hills and Brentwood.
We envision a local gathering place – a piazza, if you will. The Market gives us a chance to support local growers, which becomes a stewardship issue for us. And, finally, we will not charge the growers for space, but will ask them to make a donation to the Second Harvest Food Bank. In this way, the Market will support a local hunger mission.
The Market is a joint initiative of our Evangelism and Missions Councils. There will be about ten growers to start with and we expct that number to grow. The market began on Saturday, June 19th and will run each Saturday through mid-September. The hours will be 8:00 a.m. until noon.”
Ninth Annual “Native Moccasins Rock” Festival and Workshop, Camp Lake Benson, August 13-15, 2010
Jamie Russell, a leader at Native Moccasins Rock, sang at the opening of the 2010 Annual Conference.
The 2010 edition of Native Moccasins Rock will be held at Camp Lake Benson in Bon Aqua, Tennessee, August 13, 14, and 15.
You will be able to explore Native American Culture, Traditions, and Spirituality – along with a catching a glimpse of American History often hidden from the text books. In three days you can learn:
• The basics of Pow Wow drumming
• Creation of Medicinal Salves and herbal knowledge
• How to make a Native American flute, and learn the basics of playing the flute
• The basics of cooking with a clay pot and making tempting and delicious frybread
• How to make a gourd rattle, bead in a Native American style, carve soapstone, PLUS attempt a hands-on creation of rivercane and pine needle baskets.
• All this PLUS Native American storytelling, Choctaw Social Dancing and culture, making stories come alive.
You can learn for yourself how to use Native Arts and Crafts techniques and raw materials to create stunning jewelry and musical instruments (Examples of Native crafts often command VERY high price estimates on Antiques Roadshow).
This is a workshop but it is also a festival of great traditional music and dance. It is one of the few festivals in America where the whole family is welcome and can participate – children, youth and adults. Come and see for yourself why performers in the past as well as participants have called this one of America’s great festivals.
Download a brochure with information about housing, meals, description of individuals workshops, and price options. http://nativeamerican.tnumc.com%20or%20moccasinfootprints.org/
The wedding at 61st Avenue: A love story
A UMNS Commentary by David Briggs*
On the 22nd of May, there was a wedding on 61st Avenue in Nashville, Tenn.
The servants of the bride and groom had long ago gone out into the streets and invited everyone to the wedding banquet.
The homeless, those with mental and physical disabilities, and all of the other people who were members of the mission congregation were in their seats as family and friends walked up the street of small, closely packed houses, past young men playing basketball in the road and older residents keeping a watchful eye from their stoops, and into the white brick sanctuary.
Nancy Neelley and Robby Hicks exchange vows before the Rev. Joe Shelton
There, they sat next to men and women in plain dresses and white shirts and dark pants, some with wedding robes as casual as a T-shirt or a vest with a cowboy hat. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
The bride, dressed in a cream-colored dress crocheted by a woman in Zimbabwe, walked around the room, greeting each person with a hug. None was humbled. All were exalted.
The Rev. Nancy Neelley, a deacon at the church, and Robby Hicks had both been married before. They understood what it means to fall short, to seek forgiveness, and to find Christ’s love in one another and those gathered around them.
There were no limousines or tuxedos or wedding gifts or lavish receptions. A bare cross provided the only backdrop on the empty raised stage behind the couple.
Yet on that night, the kingdom of the heavens became like a deacon and a songwriter-construction worker who made a wedding feast out of a Saturday night service at Sixty-First Avenue United Methodist Church.
Enduring gifts
Even in these fearful times of recession and high unemployment, our culture celebrates wealth and ostentation and personal excess. Or perhaps it is because these are fearful times that we place so much value on outward signs of financial security. The lavishness of a wedding is seen as an indicator of self-worth and one’s standing in the community.
So it is important when we can look beyond the expected and see Christ-like acts of love and forgiveness that transcend the glorification of self.
As a nation, we saw that in a young pitcher who thought he had pitched a perfect game when he caught the ball at first base for what should have been the final out of the game. When the umpire made the wrong call, the Detroit Tigers’ Armando Galarraga merely smiled, and went back to the mound to get the next guy out and win the game.
When he realized he made the wrong call after the game, the umpire, Jim Joyce, admitted his mistake and went directly to Galarraga to apologize. Galarraga, deprived of one of baseball’s rare milestones, acknowledged how bad the other man felt, and said everyone makes mistakes.
How many incidents like that have played out with screaming ballplayers uttering obscenities at umpires who yell right back in their own manner of self-righteousness?
So the tears of Joyce the next day when Garralaga – and not the Tigers’ manager - brought him the pregame lineup card in an act of forgiveness were mixed with our own at this shining example of reconciliation.
So, too, on a personal level, were the guests at the Neelley-Hicks wedding brought back to a place where love exceeded expectations.
This was not the wedding on a private island covered by helicopters for entertainment news shows. Nor was this the match of power brokers featured in the Style section of The New York Times.
This was a covenant of love before God, witnessed and celebrated by their brothers and sisters in Christ.
The wedding
A homeless woman led the congregation in the responsive reading.
Karen Andreasen, a formerly homeless woman aided by Neelley, sang the song, “There Is Love” before the vows were exchanged.
The Scripture passage was taken from the third chapter of Colossians, instructing all to “Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”
Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce put on garments of forgiveness, and shared an example of peace with the nation. And for a couple of hours, the wedding guests in Nashville were able to put on love. We were rich in spirit because the poor were always with us.
There was no alcohol at the wedding. Coffee and homemade cake made up the wedding feast.
Yet for so many people there, who may have gotten drunk on the inferior wine of devotion to wealth and status and power, there was a refreshing new wine.
For Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
(Bible study teachers, or just people who enjoy Scripture, may find in this story a fun exercise in searching for wedding references from the Gospels.)
*Briggs is news editor of United Methodist News Service.
Youth from other Annual Conferences Help Middle Tennessee Recover
The PRIORITY singers from South Carolina were one of several youth groups from outside the Tennessee Conference who came as volunteers to the “Volunteer State.” Here is the youth volunteer group from Pittman Park UMC in Statesboro, Georgia.
Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church, located in Lexington, South Carolina, has grown in the past 16 years from a little country church with 80 in worship to over 1600 in worship over the weekend and about 2600 members—it is also a congregation that reaches out where there is need. So, in early June the churches teen-age choral group, PRIORITY, eighteen strong plus adult counselors, responded to the Tennessee Conference flood victims by offering volunteer service while in Middle Tennessee to perform.
In one day PRIORITY crafted over five dozen “Prayer Bears” to give out to children affected by the flood. The bears were created at the Tennessee Conference Headquarters as Brad Fiscus, conference Youth and Young Adult Coordinator, helped them understand the magnitude of the storm. Brandon Hulette, who is helping with Conference relief efforts, also addressed the group.
The PRIORITY singers from Mt. Horeb UMC, Lexington, South Carolina. What has fueled the growth of Mt. Horeb church leaders say is “The absolute commitment to Prayer, continually seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, strong biblically-centered teaching, and effective leadership.” The transformational power of the Holy Spirit was exhibited by the singing group’s tour concert, “Rise &Sing.”
After lunch, and an impromptu performance for the Conference staff, PRIORITY helped load a trailer with relief supplies and then headed for Community Care Fellowship to learn about that agencies unique ministry with the poor and the marginalized. They were met by Toi King who explained how Community Care is organized to serve homeless individuals plus a growing number of families with children, families adversely effected by the economic downturn and loss of employment. After loading the Conference pick-up truck with equipment and other items to be taken to recycling. PRIORITY moved on to McKendree Village and a 5:30 p.m. performance of their mission tour concert, “Rise & Sing.” The Mt. Horeb Minister of Music, Jack T. Warren, says of the PRIORITY 40 minute concert of Praise and Worship, “when we sing our concerts, or are involved in a service projects, God opens doors and some of the greatest ministry happens following the concert when meaningful conversations and unforced opportunities to share our faith and love for Jesus happen.”
Young people from Mt. Horeb UMC created “Prayer Bears” to give comfort to children and young people who were affected by flooding -- and they also helped clear garbage and unneeded equipment from Community Care Fellowship.
God certainly opened doors at McKendree as the teenagers and the “old timers” chatted amiably, lovingly, and enthusiastically after the conference.
The young people in the group were excited to find out that Eddie Fox, Executive Director of the Foundation for Evangelism, and his wife were present for the concert. Fox, in fact was asked to give a final prayer after the concert, and persuaded Jack T. Warren to sing a solo before the benediction. Much to the delight of the PRIORITY youngsters Warren said “Yes” to the request.
In years past tours have take PRIORITY to Washington, D.C., The Gulf Coast (after Katrina), Niagara Falls and Upstate New York, and the coast of South Carolina.
1. Nine ordained as Elders at 2010 Annual Conference
2. Three ordained as Deacons,
3. Three honored with J. Richard Allison Social Holiness Awards: Laity, George Bass and Abrahoma McIntyre; clergy, The Rev. Jay Voorhees.
4. A Prayer for My City, May 3, 2010, reflective poem written in the midst of the flooding crisis by the Rev. Jay Voorhees
5. Good Shepherd United Methodist Men build ten Personal Energy Transportation vehicles,
6. Forest Hills United Methodist Church launches Farmer’s Market on the church grounds
7. Ninth Annual “Native Moccasins Rock” Festival and Workshop, Camp Lake Benson, August 13-15, 2010, article with one captioned photo, Photo #12
8. The wedding at 61st Avenue: A love story
9. Youth from other Annual Conferences Help Middle Tennessee Recover
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Nine ordained as Elders at 2010 Annual Conference
Three ordained as Deacons
Three honored with J. Richard Allison Social Holiness Awards
This award was established by the 2001 Session of the Tennessee Annual Conference to recognize persons whose lives and ministries are focused on ministries of love and justice. Each year one layperson and one clergy person is selected. Sadly, we had no layperson recommended this year. This award remembers the persons who have answered the call of Christ to feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned, clothe the naked, visit the sick and help to bring about God’s kingdom here on earth. J. Richard Allison, for whom the award is named, was a pastor in the TN Conference, and a missionary, and a social activist in Nashville. Dick Allison was described by one of his peers as “a man of God with a mission of doing what he did best--building bridges between the needs of the community and the resources of the church.” This year, we celebrate the choice of George Bass and Abraham McIntyre (Laity) and Jay Voorhees (Clergy):
Social Holiness Award, Layperson, George Bass
George Bass spent more than thirty years training and developing youth and young adults through the Mountain T.O.P. ministry which sensitized these church members to the social, spiritual, economic, emotional, and relational needs of the weak, the least, the last, and the lost of the Cumberland Mountains. Youth and adults on work teams through Mountain T.O.P. learned the benefits of working together as a team, of meeting the needs of persons who are less fortunate, and of relating to people who simply needed a listening ear or a simple touch.
Bass did this for more than thirty years. It began when George was working with the youth at Blakemore United Methodist Church in Nashville. He took his youth to a work camp at Hinton Rural Life Center. He felt the nudge of God which led to the question, “Shouldn’t our Tennessee Annual Conference provide ministry other than simply a spiritual fun camp at Beersheba Springs Assembly? Should we help young people realize the needs of others as well as meet the needs of others?” Thus, George began to develop the Mountain T.O.P. (Tennessee Outreach Project) ministry.
Immediately, the vision ignited the enthusiasm of the youth of not only our Tennessee Conference, but the interest of youth throughout the United States as well as with youth from all other denominations. It became obvious that this ministry was greater than what our Tennessee Conference Youth Council could provide. It needed its own board of directors and trained leaders.
The first Mountain T.O.P. camp was in 1974 at Beersheba Springs United Methodist Assembly. Through the years, George has led this ministry that hired, trained and developed more than 1,050 young adults as summer staff. More than an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 youth and adults from local churches in 28 states participated in the intensive weeklong work camp that had a major spiritual emphasis. They even added a day camp for the children of the Cumberland Mountains who had nothing to do in the summer.
The Rev. Skip Armistead who nominated George Bass for the Richard Allison Social Holiness Award shared his own personal experiences at Mt. T.O.P. “Having been an active participant with Mt. T.O.P. through the years, I got to see lives changed. I saw two elderly widows’ faces light up with new hope when our work team cleared their orchard, an orchard these widows hasn’t seen since they were children. I saw men with green teeth and no teeth moved to tears because some youth cared to take time to listen to them. I’ve seen arrogant spoiled youth from wealthy homes humbled as a result of their contact with people of an entirely different culture. I’ve seen youth who felt like they were nothing and of no value to anyone become aware that they were ‘somebody’ when they helped others. I’ve seen the morale of Grundy County change for the better and the people of Grundy County say it was because of the Mountain T.O.P. ministry.
I’ve also seen the lives of many youth and young adults change in their attitudes towards the weak, the least, the last, and the lost as a result of participating in Mountain T.O.P. – and many have returned home to provide similar ministries in their own community. Many learned to appreciate the difference in cultures. Many have even entered the ministry. George Bass’ work facilitated this social transformation that continues to take place on the Cumberland Mountains even now that he is retired.”
Social Holiness Award, Layperson, Abraham McIntyre
(Some information supplied through the reflections of his father, David McIntyre, others by his sister Ingrid, still other information is quoted from writer Kathy Noble’s article, “Pilots carry people out, bring supplies into Haiti.”)
The second person to win the 2010 Richard Allison Social Holiness Award is Abraham McIntyre who serves as the Executive Director of the Bahamas Methodist Habitat, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Bahamas Methodist Habitat is an outreach ministry of the Bahamas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Its mission is to build sustainable communities through partnership. They seek to improve the quality of life for Bahamian families by providing an array of services that build self-reliance and foster personal and community achievement. Abraham McIntyre is the Executive Director of Bahamas Methodist Habitat.
McIntyre, a son of the Tennessee Conference and a Preacher’s Kid, has always chosen work that reflects his love for people and concern for social inequities. His spirit is love. When you are around him you feel loved . . . and throughout his life he shows love where ever he is. He lives a life of ministry every day, and he adapts to the environment he is in –be it Appalachia, Belize or the Caribbean. Wherever he is in ministry he figures out a way to make things happen.
McIntyre has worked with Bahamas Methodist Habitat since 2005. The organization is not related to Habitat for Humanity International. Bahamas Methodist Habitat is normally a hurricane relief and sub-standard housing relief effort for the Bahamian islands. Many volunteer teams go there to serve each year ... including several Tennessee Conference congregations such as Fayetteville First, Hendersonville First, Belle Meade, Manchester First and Brentwood. Beyond mission trips, Abraham has spoken to over 20 churches in the Tennessee Conference about his ministry in Eleuthera.
Part of what makes the Bahamas Methodist Habitat ministry possible is the team of volunteers private pilots, recruited and trained by the BMH staff. They come from across the United States and ferry supplies needed by BMH to the Islands of the Bahamas—at a considerable savings of time and money over relying on boat transportation.
In a United Methodist News Service report “Pilots carry people out, bring supplies into Haiti,” writer Kathy Noble tells what happened with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat ministry after the earthquake in Haiti: “Abraham McIntyre was at home in Eleuthera, Bahamas, when he learned that a major earthquake had occurred in Haiti. The concern that a tsunami might flood the Bahamas was among his first thoughts. McIntyre initially expected the quake to have little effect on the mission he directs, Bahamas Methodist Habitat. The organization usually flies volunteers to construction and medical mission sites throughout the islands.
“That changed within hours when he received a call from the organization’s treasurer, Steve Merritt of Cary, N.C., asking, “’How fast can you get to Haiti?’ I went from apathetic to full on, and haven’t stopped since,” he says.
Since Jan. 15, McIntyre and his staff have coordinated flights evacuating missionaries and mission teams and helping relief workers and medical supplies reach Haiti. “
Through Facebook and texting, McIntyre soon told the world that his organization is ready to help evacuate missionaries and others from Haiti. Requests became steady. He learns about supplies needing transport in the same way.
“Between Facebook and texting, we are really making a difference,” he says. “Much as I hated Facebook at first, it’s really saving lives.”
Abe’s father and mother, retired Tennessee Conference minister, the Rev. David and Patty McIntyre, had just arrived in the Bahamas for a visit the day before the quake hit Haiti. David McIntyre reflected on some of the experiences with his son on what turned out to be a very extended stay in the Bahamas: ‘Merci. Merci.’ The beautiful, humble Haitian nurse in a 48 bed, one room hospital in Les Cayes, Haiti, sweetly spoke the sentiment of the poverty- stricken Haitian people. Abraham McIntyre and his team of volunteers from Bahamas Methodist Habitat (BMH) had just delivered two more plane loads of medical supplies donated by caring and generous US and Bahamian citizens. BMH is making an immediate difference in the lives of these precious and hurting Haitian people, their Caribbean neighbors. “
“This effort has been swift and direct service! Multiple plane loads of needed supplies and short-term medical missionaries, flown by BMH volunteer pilots recruited and coordinated by BMH staff and board members, have been delivered day after day since the massive earthquake of January 12 dealt a devastating blow to the people of Haiti. Abraham saw the need immediately after he learned of the disaster and rapidly went into action. He used the Internet, email and face-book to reach volunteers.”
It has been a remarkable experience to meet the scores and scores of doctors, anesthetists, nurses and surgeons who have come to Bahamas Methodist Habitat for transportation into some of the more remote areas of Haiti. Most of the news stories have focused on Port au Prince - - the epicenter of the earthquake. However, as the days moved by more and more of the victims evacuated the devastated city and went to these smaller towns seeking medical care, shelter and food. Delivering supplies and personnel into and out of these more rural areas has been the particular nitch of Bahamas Methodist Habitat.
The elder McIntyre admits he has learned from his son. “Abraham, though fearless in his pursuit of mission goals and support, is essentially a very humble young man. He has taught me a lot about shunning turf battles and seeking recognition. As I have periodically and quietly offered ‘politically motivated’ suggestions that might bring him or his agency a bit of support or recognition, he politely reminds me, ‘you know, Dad, you can get a whole lot more accomplished when you're not concerned about who gets the credit!’ I give thanks that he's learned that lesson so much earlier in his journey than I am learning it in mine.
Social Holiness Award, The Rev. Jay Voorhees, Clergy
The 2010 Richard Allison Social Holiness Award for clergy was awarded to the Rev. Jay Voorhees. The person that nominated him for the award knew Richard Allison personally and sees a great deal of Richard in Jay.
Jay Voorhees has been the pastor of the Antioch United Methodist Church since June of 2003. During his life he has served as a restaurant manager, a television engineer, an event manager, a hospital chaplain, and as a pastor. Prior to his appointment in Antioch, Jay served as the Associate Pastor of the Bellevue United Methodist Church in Nashville. Jay has also served as the chairperson of Tennessee Annual Conference Board of Church and Society, ensuring lots of interesting email. Jay is also involved in much conversation around “the emergent church,” a group of religious professionals who are talking about the impact of postmodernism on church and faith. He writes about these issues (and many other things as well) on his weblog, “Only Wonder Understands.” Jay is married to the Rev. Kay Hereford Voorhees who is the pastor of Cornerstone United Methodist Church in the Murfreesboro District. Kay and Jay have two daughters, Grace and Anna.
Jay left his work at United Methodist Communications to enter pastoral ministry years ago, when he realized that lives are touched more by relationships than by media. He had no idea that loving people would lead him to activism of any kind.
Voorhees became involved in social justice issues when he became chairperson of the Tennessee Conference Church and Society Work Area. His first immediate issue to tackle was the Tennessee Lottery battle. He became a member of the Religious Leaders for a Gambling Free Tennessee and work to defeat the lottery.
In more recent years he has taken a leadership role in the campaign against the Metro Nashville English Only bill and worked diligently on efforts to help save General Hospital.
With his pastor colleague at Lighthouse Baptist Church, Jay helped organize an interdenominational group of pastors that meets weekly to pray for the community. This group began to think of their congregations as “the church of Antioch” called to claim the entire community for Jesus. Among the achievements of this group are developing anti-drug campaigns, working with the Hickory Hollow Mall management and businesses on community issues, and working with the Metro Nashville Police Department on similar community issues. Jay even led Antioch United Methodist Church to become involved in the community Easter Egg Hunt, of which he also became a leader. He has also led Antioch UMC to open its gym doors to the community.
Jay pursues both social and personal holiness and depends heavily on God’s grace to make up for his deficiencies. His moderate core is similar to that of our Social Principles, which often reflect more than one “side” of a given issue. Jay is definitely able to see things for a variety of perspectives and respect a variety of opinions while standing firm on his own beliefs.
Editor’s Note: After Voorhees was nominated for the Allison Social Holiness Award, his life took a sudden and dramatic turn. Mill Creek flooded along with other creeks and streams in Southeast Nashville in the historic Tennessee early May flood. Three days after the flood he accepted the role of Relief Volunteer Coordinator for all of SE Nashville—a large geographic area which sustained heavy flood damage, and Antioch United Methodist Church became a volunteer deployment center to send out volunteers into the community.
A Prayer for My City, May 3, 2010
By the Rev. Jay Voorhees*, used with permission
God, what do you think you are doing?
Many times I can write off bad times as the result of a broken humanity;
but rains that seemed never ending?
I think you are on the hot seat for this one.
Yes, I know, nature happens, and we have very little understanding of the stuff of our world,
but there are a lot of people suffering tonight,
a lot of people scared,
a lot of people whose hope is challenged,
a lot of people questioning their belief that you never give more than we can handle.
If I sound a little ticked off, it’s because I am.
A day watching poor people throwing all their ruined belongings in the street will do that to a man.
So does looking at pictures of places I love now destroyed,
destroyed by that which is necessary for life.
This stinks, God.
Sorry, I said it, but it’s true.
It’s true when you fall through the floor of a trailer because the flooring is so saturated with water that it can’t hold you.
It’s true when the flood water subside and everything inside the house is covered with mud.
It’s true when the mold comes — the deep, black fungi that seek to take over the home.
It’s true when you know that a city — my city — is put on the ropes by something that has never happened before.
It’s very true when you read the story of a 21 year old father whose only failing was that he worried so much about the well being of his kids that he challenged the rising waters and lost the battle.
And yet,
you still are God,
and as we find ourselves by the rivers of Babylon weeping,
you take that which stinks and wring out the good things,
things like people from different nationalities and faiths working together to empty a house,
things like inmates and students working cooperatively to sandbag a water plant to keep water going,
things like people opening their homes and their hearts to those in need.
So God, if you will,
take some time off from the water business and get on with the heart transformation business,
leading brother and sister to transcend the mud and mold,
and rebuild something even better.
And God, if you will,
keep an eye on my city,
cause it’s home and I love it.
Dry it out and lead us to new depths of love and care.
Amen.
*Just a few days after this prayer was written, Jay Voorhees was named Relief Volunteer Coordinator for Southeast Nashville.
Good Shepherd United Methodist Men build ten Personal Energy Transportation vehicles
On Saturday, May 22, 2010, the men's group of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Hendersonville, assisted by donations and other volunteers from the congregation, participated in an international outreach event for PET International. The group of volunteers built ten (10) Personal Energy Transportation (PET) vehicles which will be shipped to third world countries around the globe. The PET vehicle is a hand cranked wheel chair-cart designed to provide the gift of mobility to persons who have lost their legs or the use of their legs. For detailed information about the PET Project and the recipients of these life-changing vehicles, you can visit the sponsor’s website at www.PETinternational.org
Forest Hills United Methodist Church launches Farmer’s Market on the church grounds
Forest Hills pastor, the Rev. James Hughes, enthusiastically comments about the new ministry and its value to the church and to the community. “We are very excited about our new Farmer’s Market. The market will bring lots to people to our campus, which will give us a chance to tell our story. It gives a chance to be a vital community partner with the cities of Forest Hills and Brentwood.
We envision a local gathering place – a piazza, if you will. The Market gives us a chance to support local growers, which becomes a stewardship issue for us. And, finally, we will not charge the growers for space, but will ask them to make a donation to the Second Harvest Food Bank. In this way, the Market will support a local hunger mission.
The Market is a joint initiative of our Evangelism and Missions Councils. There will be about ten growers to start with and we expct that number to grow. The market began on Saturday, June 19th and will run each Saturday through mid-September. The hours will be 8:00 a.m. until noon.”
Ninth Annual “Native Moccasins Rock” Festival and Workshop, Camp Lake Benson, August 13-15, 2010
The 2010 edition of Native Moccasins Rock will be held at Camp Lake Benson in Bon Aqua, Tennessee, August 13, 14, and 15.
You will be able to explore Native American Culture, Traditions, and Spirituality – along with a catching a glimpse of American History often hidden from the text books. In three days you can learn:
• The basics of Pow Wow drumming
• Creation of Medicinal Salves and herbal knowledge
• How to make a Native American flute, and learn the basics of playing the flute
• The basics of cooking with a clay pot and making tempting and delicious frybread
• How to make a gourd rattle, bead in a Native American style, carve soapstone, PLUS attempt a hands-on creation of rivercane and pine needle baskets.
• All this PLUS Native American storytelling, Choctaw Social Dancing and culture, making stories come alive.
You can learn for yourself how to use Native Arts and Crafts techniques and raw materials to create stunning jewelry and musical instruments (Examples of Native crafts often command VERY high price estimates on Antiques Roadshow).
This is a workshop but it is also a festival of great traditional music and dance. It is one of the few festivals in America where the whole family is welcome and can participate – children, youth and adults. Come and see for yourself why performers in the past as well as participants have called this one of America’s great festivals.
Download a brochure with information about housing, meals, description of individuals workshops, and price options. http://nativeamerican.tnumc.com%20or%20moccasinfootprints.org/
The wedding at 61st Avenue: A love story
A UMNS Commentary by David Briggs*
On the 22nd of May, there was a wedding on 61st Avenue in Nashville, Tenn.
The servants of the bride and groom had long ago gone out into the streets and invited everyone to the wedding banquet.
The homeless, those with mental and physical disabilities, and all of the other people who were members of the mission congregation were in their seats as family and friends walked up the street of small, closely packed houses, past young men playing basketball in the road and older residents keeping a watchful eye from their stoops, and into the white brick sanctuary.
There, they sat next to men and women in plain dresses and white shirts and dark pants, some with wedding robes as casual as a T-shirt or a vest with a cowboy hat. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
The bride, dressed in a cream-colored dress crocheted by a woman in Zimbabwe, walked around the room, greeting each person with a hug. None was humbled. All were exalted.
The Rev. Nancy Neelley, a deacon at the church, and Robby Hicks had both been married before. They understood what it means to fall short, to seek forgiveness, and to find Christ’s love in one another and those gathered around them.
There were no limousines or tuxedos or wedding gifts or lavish receptions. A bare cross provided the only backdrop on the empty raised stage behind the couple.
Yet on that night, the kingdom of the heavens became like a deacon and a songwriter-construction worker who made a wedding feast out of a Saturday night service at Sixty-First Avenue United Methodist Church.
Enduring gifts
Even in these fearful times of recession and high unemployment, our culture celebrates wealth and ostentation and personal excess. Or perhaps it is because these are fearful times that we place so much value on outward signs of financial security. The lavishness of a wedding is seen as an indicator of self-worth and one’s standing in the community.
So it is important when we can look beyond the expected and see Christ-like acts of love and forgiveness that transcend the glorification of self.
As a nation, we saw that in a young pitcher who thought he had pitched a perfect game when he caught the ball at first base for what should have been the final out of the game. When the umpire made the wrong call, the Detroit Tigers’ Armando Galarraga merely smiled, and went back to the mound to get the next guy out and win the game.
When he realized he made the wrong call after the game, the umpire, Jim Joyce, admitted his mistake and went directly to Galarraga to apologize. Galarraga, deprived of one of baseball’s rare milestones, acknowledged how bad the other man felt, and said everyone makes mistakes.
How many incidents like that have played out with screaming ballplayers uttering obscenities at umpires who yell right back in their own manner of self-righteousness?
So the tears of Joyce the next day when Garralaga – and not the Tigers’ manager - brought him the pregame lineup card in an act of forgiveness were mixed with our own at this shining example of reconciliation.
So, too, on a personal level, were the guests at the Neelley-Hicks wedding brought back to a place where love exceeded expectations.
This was not the wedding on a private island covered by helicopters for entertainment news shows. Nor was this the match of power brokers featured in the Style section of The New York Times.
This was a covenant of love before God, witnessed and celebrated by their brothers and sisters in Christ.
The wedding
A homeless woman led the congregation in the responsive reading.
Karen Andreasen, a formerly homeless woman aided by Neelley, sang the song, “There Is Love” before the vows were exchanged.
The Scripture passage was taken from the third chapter of Colossians, instructing all to “Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”
Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce put on garments of forgiveness, and shared an example of peace with the nation. And for a couple of hours, the wedding guests in Nashville were able to put on love. We were rich in spirit because the poor were always with us.
There was no alcohol at the wedding. Coffee and homemade cake made up the wedding feast.
Yet for so many people there, who may have gotten drunk on the inferior wine of devotion to wealth and status and power, there was a refreshing new wine.
For Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
(Bible study teachers, or just people who enjoy Scripture, may find in this story a fun exercise in searching for wedding references from the Gospels.)
*Briggs is news editor of United Methodist News Service.
Youth from other Annual Conferences Help Middle Tennessee Recover
Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church, located in Lexington, South Carolina, has grown in the past 16 years from a little country church with 80 in worship to over 1600 in worship over the weekend and about 2600 members—it is also a congregation that reaches out where there is need. So, in early June the churches teen-age choral group, PRIORITY, eighteen strong plus adult counselors, responded to the Tennessee Conference flood victims by offering volunteer service while in Middle Tennessee to perform.
In one day PRIORITY crafted over five dozen “Prayer Bears” to give out to children affected by the flood. The bears were created at the Tennessee Conference Headquarters as Brad Fiscus, conference Youth and Young Adult Coordinator, helped them understand the magnitude of the storm. Brandon Hulette, who is helping with Conference relief efforts, also addressed the group.
After lunch, and an impromptu performance for the Conference staff, PRIORITY helped load a trailer with relief supplies and then headed for Community Care Fellowship to learn about that agencies unique ministry with the poor and the marginalized. They were met by Toi King who explained how Community Care is organized to serve homeless individuals plus a growing number of families with children, families adversely effected by the economic downturn and loss of employment. After loading the Conference pick-up truck with equipment and other items to be taken to recycling. PRIORITY moved on to McKendree Village and a 5:30 p.m. performance of their mission tour concert, “Rise & Sing.” The Mt. Horeb Minister of Music, Jack T. Warren, says of the PRIORITY 40 minute concert of Praise and Worship, “when we sing our concerts, or are involved in a service projects, God opens doors and some of the greatest ministry happens following the concert when meaningful conversations and unforced opportunities to share our faith and love for Jesus happen.”
God certainly opened doors at McKendree as the teenagers and the “old timers” chatted amiably, lovingly, and enthusiastically after the conference.
The young people in the group were excited to find out that Eddie Fox, Executive Director of the Foundation for Evangelism, and his wife were present for the concert. Fox, in fact was asked to give a final prayer after the concert, and persuaded Jack T. Warren to sing a solo before the benediction. Much to the delight of the PRIORITY youngsters Warren said “Yes” to the request.
In years past tours have take PRIORITY to Washington, D.C., The Gulf Coast (after Katrina), Niagara Falls and Upstate New York, and the coast of South Carolina.
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 10:46 AM
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