McKENDREE MINISTRIES!

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES  are regularly at 9am and 11am.  (On Fifth Sundays we have one combined worship service at 10am.)  Our Lenten sermon series is “Restored: Finding Redemption in Our Mess!”

How many times do we find ourselves as humans in a royal mess?  Do we ever wonder if there is any hope of redemption?  The good news is simply this, whenever God is involved there is always an opportunity for redemption and ultimately restoration.  What in your life needs some restoring?  During this Lenten Season, let’s journey with Jesus to the cross and discover how and where God is redeeming our mess.

ENCOUNTER@METROCENTER  Each Sunday at 12:30pm, McKendree Church has an alternative worship service for those who feel “church” isn’t for them.  This service meets at the United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa Parks Blvd.  Everyone is welcome to attend. Everyone is welcome to attend one or both of our Encounter services.  For more information on our Encounter Ministries, you may contact Rick Quinn at mckendreerick@gmail.com.

REFRESH! is our mid-week gathering.  We meet in the first floor chapel each Wednesday, 12:00-12:30pm.  Our worship includes prayers, music, a message and Holy Communion.  Everyone is invited to attend.

NEXT STEPS!  Do you want to know more about McKendree Church – our history, and our ministries?  Want to be more connected?  Whether you’re new to McKendree or have been part of the church family for a long time, we welcome you to join us for conversation in Fellowship Hall, Sunday, March 26, following the 9am service.  You’ll have an opportunity to learn more about the ministry and vision of McKendree Church, meet our leaders and take a tour of the church, and find a place to connect!  If you’d like to join us,please RSVP to Ruth Baggett at  mckendreeinfo@gmail.com or 615-271-2600.

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GROUP MINISTRIES!

UMW MEETING  Our United Methodist Women are meeting this Saturday, March 18 at 10am in the Community Room.  Shelley Handy will lead a program of “A Call to Prayer and Self-Denial.”  We are collecting items for disaster relief kits.  Please bring hand towels and $1 for toothpaste.  (Please don’t bring toothpaste, we cannot ship it in our kits.)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY  We are beginning a Bible Study (for Lent and a few weeks beyond) from the book, He Chose the Nails, by Max Lucado.  We meet in Pastor Stephen’s office at 6pm, and everyone is welcome to join us!

WALKING MEDITATION LIFE GROUP TIME CHANGE  Throughout the history of Christian spirituality, there has been a connection between the simple movement of walking in nature and our spiritual journey.  Under the facilitation of Erik von Nieda, a new walking meditation life group is forming to meditatively walk together, share and dwell on scripture, and lift one another up in our spiritual journey.   NEW DATE/TIME:  The group meets at the Warner Park Nature Center porch, near Old Hickory Blvd on Hwy 100 at 9am on Saturdays, beginning March 25.   For more information or to get involved, contact Erik at ebvn56@gmail.com.

 

DIVORCED CARE MINISTRY   Karasheila Jackson is starting a Divorce Care Support Group Ministry at The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd in Metro Center.
NOTE CHANGES:  The meetings are on Wednesdays, from 6:30-8:00pm.  This session of Divorce Care Ministry will be from March 15-June 7 (13 weeks).  Enrollment is open until March 29.  The cost is $20.

The purpose of the Divorce Care Support Group is to help people begin to heal from the pain of divorce or separation.   We strive to do this in a warm, caring environment designed to help them face their challenges and move toward rebuilding their lives after one of the most painful and stressful experiences that people go through.

If you are interested in being part of this group, please contact Ruth Baggett in the church office (615-271-2600, mckendreeinfo@gmail.com).

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HIKE2HEAL WALK TO BENEFIT RAISE THE ROOF ACADEMY IN UGANDA, APRIL 22
The 5th Annual Hike2Heal Walk will be on Saturday, April 22, at Edwin Warner Park.  This is a 5K walk/run/hike, with proceeds to benefit healthcare for the students at Raise the Roof Academy in Uganda.  All ages and abilities are able to participate.  In addition to the walk, there will be a dog show, kid’s zone, music and prizes.  Registration fee is $35.

Raise the Roof Academy now has over 700 children!  The school is located in an area without reliable medical care.  The nearest clinic is a 3 hour walk.  The most affected people in the villages are women, children, and the elderly.  The most prevalent illnesses include maternal related care, malaria, respiratory infections, skin infections, HIV/AIDS and more.  This 5K benefit will allow healthcare to be provided in the form of immunizations, antimalarial treatment, and preventative treatment for the students and staff of the school.

If you’d like to participate, but can’t make it that day, you can sign up as a Virtual Runner.   Registration for Virtual Runners is $30, and 100% of your registration goes to the medical clinic to bring better health to the children of RTRA!  For more information contact 615-686-9085, www.raisetheroofacademy.org or info@raisetheroofacademy.org.  To register for the walk, go to https://runsignup.com/Race/TN/Nashville/Hike2Heal.

UMCOR Special Offering on March 26  It’s that time again!  Giving time!  Sunday, March 26 is UMCOR SUNDAY (formerly known as “One Great Hour of Sharing”).  We give to help alleviate human suffering when disasters happen, in the U.S. or around the world.  But UMCOR does more than just providing emergency water, food and cleaning supplies.  Read this article from UMCOR Haiti to see one example of how UMCOR helps.         — Evangelism/Missions/Social Justice Team

Julien Nadia is a 34-year-old single mother living with her three children in Haut Damier, a community in Cabaret, Haiti.  Just like many other families, Julia’s family was affected by the earthquake in 2010.  Her opportunities to earn an income greatly decreased after the earthquake and she was unable to pay her rent.  She and her children sheltered in a tent built on a small plot of land she had bought many years ago.

Even before the earthquake, the living situation was difficult for Nadia’s family because her revenue had never exceeded US $2 per day.  She was always struggling to care for her children and keep them in school.  After the disaster, the family’s situation further deteriorated.  “It is not easy raising three children in such a small space with few resources,” she said.

“I even thought [about] sending the oldest to live with relatives in Port-au-Prince, but then I remembered the problem of children being kept from school and forced to work as domestic servants, and I abandoned the idea, preferring to keep my children with me and caring for them as I could.”

As part of UMCOR’s intervention evaluation, 40 households in Cabaret were identified as the most vulnerable—those who need integrated support.  Nadia was head of one of the identified vulnerable households.  With that designation, she also received training in Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) and received a cash grant from UMCOR to establish a small business.

She adds: “As part of its assistance, UMCOR provided us with one-year rental subsidies, so we could live in better conditions while UMCOR worked on the new houses.”  UMCOR invested funds into the construction of one-to-three-bedroom houses for these same beneficiaries.  The size of the house depended on the size of the family.

Nadia was able to start her business, and thanks to UMCOR, she and her children feel safer living in their newly built house.

“Finally, I can say that I am the greatest beneficiary of UMCOR.  I received a grant to set up a business to increase my income, and what is even more amazing, this house, that I proudly show you, was also built by UMCOR.  I lived before in a tent, but now I have my own house with more privacy for me and my children.”  Nadia was so happy that she lifted her eyes and hands to heaven saying “Glory be to God who placed UMCOR in my path.”

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PASTOR’S SERMON  You may hear Pastor Handy’s latest sermon by going to https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mckendree-united-methodist/id962978531?mt=2

McKENDREE GIVING  Your financial gifts and donations are always appreciated.  Consider adding McKendree UMC to your bill pay account.  Our address is: 523 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37219.  Online giving is always available at https://mckendreenashville.com/give.  Also, you can text your giving!  Just text the amount you would like to give to 615-375-4049.  The first time you give you will be prompted to visit a secure URL.  Just follow the prompts and enter your information.

As always, remember God’s will for us is good, we must do the rest!
Pastor Stephen