Ministries

Belmont UMC—May 19, 2013
Heather Harriss, preaching

Audio - MP3

Music Schedule

May 26
8:15 Christy Perkey, pianist
10:30 Guest youth choir,
Oak Grove UMC, Decatur, GA
No afternoon rehearsals

Tour rehearsals
Sunday, May 19, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Wednesday May 29 and Thursday May 30, 4:30-6:00 p.m.

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Youth Choir

Open Door Singers youth choir

Click here to download the 2012-2013 Youth Choirs schedule

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Sanctuary Choir releases CD

Belmont's Sanctuary Choir has released ?Song in the Night", a CD collection of worshipful music from various cultures. All selections on the recording have been performed in Belmont worship services.

The CDs are $10 each, and you can place your order now by downloading and filling out the order form posted here. Please return your order form to the church office or e-mail in your order to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Music Ministry Mission Statement

The music ministry of Belmont United Methodist Church strives to glorify God through music in all gatherings and presentations. The mission of the music ministry supports the mission of the entire Belmont UMC community: we strive to embody the gospel of Jesus Christ by reaching out to each other and the community, nurturing one another in the life of the church and sending one another in service to all persons.
The music programs at Belmont offer opportunity for
- Education
- Spiritual Growth
- Fellowship
- Participation in ministry
- Stewardship of gifts and talents
- Outreach

All choirs are voluntary, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate, regardless of experience. All participants strive for excellence, dignity, reverence and integrity in all musical endeavors.

For additional information regarding the Belmont Music Ministry, contact: Gayle Sullivan
Director of Music Ministries
383-0832 ext. 29
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sanctuary Choir (Adult) - This is the primary choir for 10:30 a.m. Sunday worship. In addition, they present several musical programs each year and sing for other various church events. No audition is required for membership and rehearsals are every Wednesday 7:15-9:00 p.m year-round. Childcare is provided.

The choir's recording "Song in the Night" 
is available on compact disc.

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Childrens Choirs

God's Flock (Children ages 3 years) - This group is introduced to music through simple songs, stories, and fun musical games from 6:15-7:00 p.m. Mid-August-early May.

Joyful Noise Singers Choir (Children ages 4 & 5) - This group is introduced to music through the use of simple children's songs and fun musical games on Wednesday evenings from 6:15-7:00p.m Mid-August-early May.

Music Makers (Children grades 1-2) - These young musicians learn the basics of music reading through singing and playing musical instruments. They meet on Wednesday evenings 6:15-7:00 p.m. Mid-August -early May.

Chapel Choir (Children grades 3-6) - This choral experience for elementary children provides special music for Sunday worship as well as seasonal musical programs. This choir meets on Wednesday 6:15-7:00p.m. Mid August-early May.

Open Door Singers (Youth grades 7-12) - This Youth Choir sings for 10:30 worship regularly. They also tour periodically and present musical concerts in the surrounding area. The group rehearses each Sunday afternoon 4:30-5:30 p.m. September-May.

Carillon Ringers (Adult) - A group of intermediate/advanced handbell ringers with music reading abilities. They rehearse on Sunday 5:30-7:00 p.m. August-early May.

Wesley Ringers (Youth grades 7-12) - An intermediate teenage handbell ensemble. Some musical experience is required. They rehearse from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Sundays September-May.

Celebration Ringers (Adult) - A group of beginning/intermediate handbell ringers who rehearse on Thursdays 1:00-2:00 p.m.

Children's Chimes (Grades 5 & 6) - Group for beginning hand bell ringers who rehearse on Wednesdays 5:40-6:10 p.m. Spring and Fall.

Organ Specs

To view or download the organ specs, click here
(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

You Are My Witnesses
Luke 24:44-53
Belmont UMC—May 12, 2013
Ken Edwards, preaching

Audio - MP3

In Marilynne Robinson’s novel, Gilead, the Reverend John Ames, a Congregational Church pastor, the 3rd generation of pastors in his family, writes a memoir for his son. Ames married rather late in life and he has a young son, a seven year old. Realizing that his heart condition will someday take his life, Ames sets out to write down the things he wants his son to know and remember. He shares his family history, stories of his own grandfather, a radical abolitionist and of his father, a pacifist. He shares observations about life, being fully present to all that goes on around him. He marvels at the sense of awe and beauty he experiences as he watches two young men laughing and playing around with one another on the town street—a simple expression of friendship and joy. He proclaims his desire for his son “to live long. . . and love this poor perishable world.”

What words of wisdom, memories, thoughts or words of encouragement would you like to leave behind? If you knew you were leaving this earth soon, what would you want to say to your children or your friends?

Today’s text is for Ascension Sunday. Luke offers two versions of this story: the one here and one in Acts 1. In both texts Jesus bids the disciples farewell, promises the coming of the Holy Spirit and then tells them that they are witnesses to what God has done in and through him. Through the last chapters of the Gospels Jesus begins to prepare the disciples for his departure.

An alternative text for today is from John 17; John 13-17 are considered “farewell discourses,” 5 chapters of last words, words of farewell, words that intend to prepare the disciples for Jesus’ leaving them alone. In John 17 Jesus offers this beautiful prayer for the disciples, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (17:20-21)

For 5 long chapters Jesus bids the disciples farewell. And the disciples have questions for Jesus—they are simple questions like those of children. Imagine that Mother and Father gather their hats and coats and prepare to depart for the evening. Their children look up from their play and ask a series of predictable questions:  Where are you going? Can we come, too? Who’s going to stay with us? When will you come back?

And in these moments before leaving this earth, Jesus prays for them and tells them the things they will need to know to continue being his disciples. My understanding of these passages is quite simple. Jesus is saying, “I am leaving and you, the disciples/the church, will be the only evidence that I was here, that I lived with you, that I taught you, that I died for you and that I’m still alive. Here’s what you need to remember to get that right.”  He speaks to them about their relationship with each other and their relationship with the world.

In Luke Jesus describes the work of the disciples as the work of repentance and forgiveness. These words describe who we are as the people of God. “Repentance” implies that we are a people who have turned toward God. The Greek word for “repentance” in the New Testament (metanoia) means that we have “new minds” and we think differently about each other and about the world around us. We are the people who have embraced a new way seeing things—we have turned around and now see things as God sees them. It means that we see each person as a child of God. In each person we see hope and possibility and we hear God’s call to love each person as God loves them.

I was reading the story of Will Campbell in the newspaper last Sunday (Tennessean, May 5, 2013). Will is often called the “bootleg preacher.”  Will, a white man, was there when blacks were picketing lunch counters in Nashville, lunch counters that excluded blacks. Will was there when Dr. King was shot in Memphis; he was grieving and comforting others who grieved with him. He was there when black children entered white schools in Arkansas for the first time. Will is a prophet who believes God calls us to do things a little differently. Will believes this God calls us to love everybody. And for Will Campbell, a civil rights advocate, that means loving members of the Ku Klux Klan, as well. The Klansmen represent hatred and homegrown domestic terrorism perpetrated toward our black citizens. How can we be expected to love the Klan?

As I read some of Will’s story in the paper last week, I was struck by how high Jesus sets the bar for us. Does that mean I need to love a young man who casually set a backpack holding a bomb in the middle of crowd toward the end of the Boston Marathon? I’m going to carry that question around with me for a bit, but I think I know the answer. I know Jesus said we should love our enemies. That is indeed a radical new way of looking at the world around us. It is the repentant way of seeing things. If we loved our enemies, the world might remember that Jesus was here, teaching, leading, loving in a way that no one had experienced before.

In one church I served we used to invite people to pass the peace of Christ to one another with these words: “As forgiven and forgiving people, let us turn and pass signs of Christ’s peace among us.” The root idea of “forgive” means “letting go” of something we are holding onto tightly. We are people who forgive each other, letting go of grudges and letting go of past hurts and failures. I suspect Jesus knew his disciples, past and present, would have to learn to forgive each other in order for them to be witnesses of God’s love.

I had lunch with a friend the other day. I love this friend very much and we find much joy and grace in being together. But I know there have been times when we have had to forgive each other—it’s not as easy being my friend as one might expect. To be here with one another in this diverse community of faith, we will need to learn the spiritual practice of forgiveness, and as we do we will be witnesses of the One who forgives us and sets us free to live and serve. And maybe the world will remember that Jesus was here, teaching, leading, loving, forgiving and that he continues to do so.

My parents are here today. I grew up in a home where we didn’t sit around talking about theology. In our home we learned that faith is about something we do. We were taught to attend church where we could learn about God and grow in our understanding of who God is and what it means to live as God’s beloved children. In our home we learned that faith meant loving our neighbor, even when doing so was inconvenient or difficult. We learned, “Be kind to one another.” Faith is more than ideas; faith is action. Jesus would want his disciples to remember that.

In Luke 24 Jesus appears to the disciples who are standing around talking about the possibility of the resurrection. A couple of them claim to have seen Jesus on the way to Emmaus. Jesus appears and frightens them. He says to them, “Why are you frightened and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I, myself. . . . He showed them his hands and his feet.” (vv. 38-40)

Later in this chapter Jesus prepares these disciples for his departure. In a way I think he is saying, “Now you must be my hands and my feet. When people see that you believe, see how you live, how you serve, how you care for the least of these, you will be witnesses of my life, my presence, my love.” Jesus sends the disciples to the ends of the earth to be his hands and feet.

I heard the Dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School say to the graduating class this week that they are to be translators of faith into action. He used those words of St. Francis, “Preach the gospel everyday, and if necessary, use words.” Our lives must model the life of Jesus and we must be ready to go and to serve where Jesus calls us.

The world must see Jesus in us or the world will not see Jesus. Jesus said, “I’m leaving and you will be the only evidence that I have been here. You must now be my hands and my feet.”

Let us close with these words of prayer, attributed to Teresa of Avila:

God of love, help us to remember
that Christ has no body now on earth but ours,
no hands but ours, no feet but ours.
Ours are the eyes to see the needs of the world.
Ours are the hands with which to bless everyone now.
Ours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.

Another Vision—Setting Sail
Acts 16:9-15
Belmont UMC—May 5, 2013
Ken Edwards, preaching

When reading today’s text I recalled a book I read in my young adult years in which the author kept referring to the Christian life as The Great Adventure. I like the metaphor, and it is certainly applicable to many of these stories from Acts. It’s obvious that the early followers of Jesus began to respond to the resurrection of Jesus by living out this great adventure. Each day was a new experience and a new revelation. God was at work forming the community of followers called the church.

There are several things that are unique about this adventure. The first and most important is that it is not our adventure—it is God’s adventure. In the book of Acts it is the Spirit that is leading and guiding the followers of Jesus. In last week’s text it was the Spirit that gave Peter a vision that opened his eyes to a new way of seeing the world. The Spirit led him to move beyond the comfort of his well defined circle of Jewish followers. He saw God at work among the Gentiles in the very same way God had blessed the Jews. It was the Spirit led vision that changed the course of Christian history. You and I might not be here if Peter had not been opened to that vision.

In Acts we see Paul and the other apostles responding to the leading of the Spirit. At one point the Spirit stops them from going one place they had intended to go and redirects them. In the Book of Acts God is calling the shots. The Spirit is leading and making things happen. In today’s text Paul has a vision in which he sees a man from Macedonia pleading, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Paul responds to the vision by setting sail.

I like to know what is going to happen—what is predictable. I begin my day by making a list—you’ve heard about my list making. But I often look at that list and say, “God, that’s what I have planned for the day. What’s on your list? Make me open to your leading.” My mother always says, “You never know what is going to happen when you wake up in the morning.” That’s true of this great adventure we call the Christian life.

Some time ago I was part of the leadership team for a clergy retreat. I had several responsibilities—nothing complicated. One of the things I was asked to do was lead a hike during the free time. I had started to regret the commitment. I wanted that time to myself for some solitude and quiet. I was pleased when it started raining that morning. But by the time of the hike the rain had stopped. So I went to the gathering place hoping no one would show up. Two clergy were there waiting for me and we set out. Not long into our hike I realized that I was hiking with two very wounded persons and they began to pour out their pain and struggles to me. I thought, “God, I do not want to be on this hike with these people.” But that sometimes annoying sacred voice in my mind said, “You are exactly where you are supposed to be. Please pay attention.” At the end of our hike we circled up in prayer and support of one another and I have continued to be in contact with these wounded fellow travelers. I keep being reminded that it’s not about my plan; it’s about God’s plan.

We have been in a period of prayer and discernment at Belmont for some time now and we hope that process will lead us to a strategic plan for the church. But let’s remember that it must be God’s strategic plan, not ours, and we would not want it any other way.    

To experience this adventure we must be ready to respond when God calls, we must be ready to go where the Spirit leads. Like Paul we must be prepared to set sail. Douglas Steere wrote, “The wind of God is always blowing but we must hoist our sails.” (I’m indebted to Steve Bryant for this quote.)

Another distinctive of this adventure is that we will encounter many special friends along the way. These new friends will enrich and bless our lives. Because of Paul’s obedience to the Spirit he meets a woman named Lydia. Lydia is described as a “God worshipper. . . . and a dealer in purple cloth.” She is a business woman, dealing with the elite class of people in Philippi, who were allowed to wear the color purple. She was a Gentile who was attracted to Judaism and interested in what Paul has to say. She eagerly listens to Paul and then asks to be baptized. It is not likely that this Pharisee turned Christ follower would have sat and talked with women under any other circumstance, but following the Spirit’s call takes us to surprising places and to surprising encounters with the people God puts in front of us.

Look around this place and give thanks for those you have met because you allowed the Spirit to lead your life. I could share my faith story in the context of those persons whom I have met along the way--lay and clergy, saints of God, who have loved me, sometimes against all odds, and who have taught me, inspired me, and held me accountable to be a better human being, a better pastor, a better friend, a better husband and father, than I could have ever been without them. This was not on my radar when I followed the call of God into ministry. I was thinking of what I would do for others but more often than not I am on the receiving end of great blessing because these surprising encounters with God’s people. Who are some of the people you have met because you have set out on this adventure called the Christian life?

On this adventure we will experience transformation. We will experience our ongoing transformation and the miraculous transformation of others. Because those early Christ followers yielded themselves to the Spirit’s leading they were witnesses to life changing events. Lydia would not only be baptized but would offer her home as a place of hospitality. And it is likely that Lydia’s faith and home were the centers of a new movement of God in Philippi.

I had learned of Andy’s illness and hospitalization as his parents left church on Sunday morning. I didn’t know him but I felt compelled to visit him anyway. On Monday I tentatively knocked on his hospital room door and introduced myself to him. He welcomed me into his room, into his life and into his journey with cancer. Months later he would stand in front of our church, where he and his family had become involved, and he would say that my visit was the beginning of an incredible life transformation. I was surprised by his words because I was, and am, pretty sure it was the other way around.

I suspect that the Apostle Paul felt much the same way with his encounter with Lydia. We keep learning how important it is to follow the Spirit’s lead and every time we do we are once again surprise by where God takes us, who we meet along the way, and what incredible transformations take place in us and in others.

Jesus meets us here today and asks, “Do you love me?”

We respond, “Yes, Lord, you know that we love you. Yes, Lord, we will feed your sheep.”