Ken Edwards, preaching

Scripture Lessons:

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10; Psalm 48; 2 Corinthians 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-13

8:15 a.m. - Communion in the Chapel 9:15 a.m. - Sunday school

10:30 a.m. - Communion in the Sanctuary

Ken Edwards, preaching

Scripture Lessons:

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19; Psalm 24; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29

8:15 a.m. - Communion in the Chapel 9:15 a.m. - Sunday school

10:30 a.m. - Worship in the Sanctuary

Sunday school classes collecting the offering for July include:

Multicultural Fellowship, Harbison Fellowship, Friendship, Portico

One of the ministry teams I relate to is Outreach, which is responsible for a large number of ministries, including Volunteer in Missions trips. In my early years we sent teams to Mexico, South Africa, Malawi, and St. Vincent?s Island. I couldn?t go because I thought my children were too young for me to leave. But they grew older, and finally a VIM advocate said, "Linda, it?s time for you to go on a mission trip so you should join the team going to Mexico next summer." I signed up, but I really didn?t want to go on this trip. I was anxious and afraid and, valuing my alone time, worried about the intensity of such closeness. When John Collett came to the airport to pray with us, I wanted so much to slip out with him and go home. Now, there is no way to tell you how very, very glad I am that I didn?t run away. That trip was not only fabulous because of the incredible Belmont team I had the privilege of living and working with and how they will forever be special for me, and not only because of the wonderful people of Pachuca we worked and worshiped with, including chopping tomatoes and laughing with a woman I couldn?t talk to but could very much communicate with and then serving her the Communion bread she had so carefully prepared for us, but also because I got to saw and hammer and carry blocks, which, crazy as it sounds, was just great fun because it was done with great people in a country that was new and because we were working together for God?s kingdom and because God?s presence was so much with us and because it not only enriched my faith and spiritual strength, but because it opened up for me a whole new awareness of courage and confidence in myself and jump-started a greater trust in God that continues to grow even now.

As I write this, some of our youth and adults are on pilgrimage to South Africa and Swaziland. If you haven?t already done so, please go to www.southafricapilgrimage.blogspot.com and read about their incredible experiences. When they return, let them tell you their stories. If we are open to receive it, they will come back to us with a deeper awareness of God?s enormous expanse of love and the treasures of God?s kingdom that in their sharing will enrich our life together as a community of faith.

You don?t have to leave home to leave your comfort zone and experience the kingdom of God at work in the world. Belmont UMC, which appears to be a stately, traditional church, is fairly seething with opportunities for service and faith-strengthening experiences. You can stretch yourself by visiting a homebound member, helping with the Golden Triangle Sunday school class; join a Bible study or a new ministry team. Volunteering to sit at the receptionist?s desk and answer phones at Belmont can often be a most interesting experience! God is at work on the kingdom all around us. We can help you find a place to join in.

as of  June 25, 2009

Faye Hill

Kathryn Lazenby

Sunday knitters take part in worldwide knit in public day

by Sally Wright

On June 14, members of the Golden Triangle Sunday Knitters group took part in Worldwide Knit in Public Day. Photos by Nicho Young; group photo by Bill Truan

On June 14, members of the Golden Triangle Sunday knitters group and other friends and supporters met in the Iris Room to work on their knitting projects. There were approximately 15 girls between the ages of 10 and 20 there. These girls participate every Sunday morning along with adult knitters from the K1G2 (Knit 1 Give 2) knitting ministry. It is a time of learning, conversation, and friendship. The girls are eager learners and have made scarves, belts, purses, as well as washcloths for their mothers. They are also working on the world?s longest scarf for Heifer International. Each girl is obtaining sponsors for as little as .50 a row to give toward a sheep from Heifer and they hope to raise the $120 to send the animal to a part of the world where they once lived.

Stop by room 220 on Sunday during the Sunday school hour to see these energetic talented girls in action. Donations of yarn, crochet hooks, and knitting needles, as well as money for their projects are always appreciated. The group hopes to make articles for sale later. Contact Carol Brown at 373-5755, if you can help or for more information.

VIM Malawi information meeting

Do you sense the WARM HEART OF AFRICA beckoning you in 2010? Belmont UMC will send a VIM (Volunteer in Mission) team to Malawi in June of 2010. A first-alert information meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on July 1, in room 124. There will be no sign-ups at this session, but it will provide an opportunity for you to learn more about 2010 trip plans from Kara and Jeff Oliver, Sue and Herb Mather, Susan Utley, and others who have gone to Malawi on previous trips.

Who should come? Anyone even faintly considering being part of the 2010 VIM team. Anyone who knows someone he or she wants to encourage to be part of a future VIM team. Anyone who is just curious.

Bring a dish at 5:00 p.m. as part of the summer Wednesday Night Potluck gatherings, or if you can?t make it to the food and fellowship around the table, come at 6:00 p.m. for the Malawi VIM information meeting.

For more information contact Sue and Herb Mather at 292-9521.

Farris Moore to celebrate 100th birthday

The 2009 tenth national gathering of United Methodist Men will be held at Belmont University in Nashville, July 9?12. The theme for the event is "Focus on the Cross." Featured speakers include Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, Resident Bishop in the Northern Illinois Conference UMC; Dr. Patrick Morley, author and chief executive officer of Man in the Mirror ministries; Rev. Kevass Harding, Pastor at Dellrose UMC in Wichita, Kansas; Bishop William Morris, retired Bishop having served the Tennessee and Alabama-West Florida Conferences; and Dr. Reginald Ponder, president emeritus of Louisburg (N.C.) College.

The gathering includes 20+ seminars, leadership training for conference, district, and local UMMen leaders, a ministry fair, prayer line, and mission events including: Stop Hunger Now, Society of St. Andrew, work repairing homes in and around 61st Avenue UMC, and PET (Personal Energy Transportation).

For more information or to register go to www.gcumm.org or call 866-4313.

Hamilton Barksdale

During the summer, we will run spotlights on each of our Homeplace friends. An outgrowth of the ministry of Belmont United Methodist Church, Homeplace provides services to support and enhance the social, recreational, therapeutic, and vocational development of four wonderful individuals.

Long-time Belmont UMC member Hamilton Barksdale is also a member of Toastmasters, a local public speaking and leadership organization. Hamilton gave the following speech on Saturday, June 20, at a Toastmasters meeting:

I come in contact with a lot of people each week. The people I enjoy most are the ones who are kind to me.

I work at Blackstone. The people I work with help me lift heavy things. They also give me directions. They are very kind, very helpful.

I eat in the cafeteria at Vanderbilt Medical Center. My friends there listen well, and they are kind. They talk with me to pass the time away.

I go to Belmont United Methodist Church. My friends there are very helpful. They take me to lunch. Sometimes they help me find my place in the Bible. I can also count on them to help me when I have a problem. We have a "big band" dance called "The Moonlighters" every winter. I dance with different people and get my picture taken. In the fall we have a church retreat, it is a nice gathering at Beersheba, and people bring their Bibles.

Sometimes I go to see my doctors. They are very helpful. They ask questions about my knees, and they always want to help me feel better. My doctors are very encouraging.

Homeplace helps me with my health, my activities, and my apartment.

They take me on errands. Sometimes they take me to the bank or Wolf Camera. I can count on them to take me to the grocery store and to get my medicines, which they organize for me.

There is a nice hospital chaplain at Vanderbilt Hospital. The chaplain listens to me. I like it when the chaplain says, "Now let?s hear some encouraging words from Hamilton."

These are some of the people I come in contact with every week. Have you ever thought about the people you come in contact with?

by Beverly Job

On May 31, Rueben and I got up at 3:00 a.m. to meet the church bus at St. Mark?s UMC in Murfreesboro. We traveled with eighteen United Methodist Women from the Tennessee Conference and others from Arkansas and Texas to Louisiana to work at Sager-Brown for four and a half days. We worked each day, from 8:30 a.m.?3:30 p.m. packing kits, sewing school bags, and doing home repair in the community. I worked in the sewing room part of the time and then went with several others to a shelter for battered women and children to organize the clothes closet. Other groups worked on cleaning, repairing, and painting homes in the community.

What is now Sager-Brown began as a school and orphanage in 1867 for African-American children orphaned by the Civil War and was part of the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. When it began to struggle financially in 1921, the Jubilee Singers choir traveled around the country to raise funds. Two women, Addie Sager and Elmira Brown from New York, purchased the school for the predecessors of the United Methodist Women?s Division. The school remained open until 1978 and then because of financial struggles and racial integration of schools, closed its doors. Fourteen years later in 1992, Hurricane Andrew caused widespread property damage across the southern Louisiana coast. Through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), the United Methodist Church began collecting supplies and funds for emergency relief. At that time, Sager-Brown school was recognized as the perfect place at which to coordinate UMCOR?s relief efforts. Since then, several thousands of volunteers have come each year to assist in relief efforts as well as home repair and construction.

One of the highlights of the week was loading a container to be sent by ship to Armenia. It was loaded with 47 pallets, which included 8,400 school kits; 2,744 layette kits; 3,360 sewing kits; and 84 bedding kits. Because Armenia is a place where women and girls hold subordinate positions in society, the sewing kits make it possible for women to learn tailoring, an income-producing trade, to make a better life for their families.
This was an experience I?ll never forget and was well worth the time and effort. Upon finishing our evaluation as a team, one member commented, "This experience makes me very proud to be a United Methodist woman. We do work around the world that very few others do!"

Our "wish tree" is blooming again!

Just in time for summer, the Weekday School wish tree is blooming again with several new wishes, including lots of new books for the library. All wishes range in size and price and are a great way for a Sunday school class to make a group contribution to the church. All items purchased also benefit the children?s Sunday school classes and Wednesday night activities.

The tree is located in the hallway near the 20th Avenue cul-de-sac. To purchase a wish, pull a leaf from the tree and use the detailed ordering information on it to purchase the item directly. Or, if you prefer, you can write a check for the item payable to Belmont Weekday School Wish Tree, and we will order it for you.

Frank DuBose with faith friend Elmer Young  Photo by Mike DuBose

Frank, a rising 7th grader at Head Middle Magnet School, is a kind young man with a gentle cooperative spirit and delightful sense of humor. He enjoys drawing airplanes and battle scenes. He is quite the artist, with a vast imagination and definite creative ability. He has a generous spirit, which was expressed in his whole-hearted participation on the VIM Mexico Mission Team in 2007. He has plans to serve with his family on the 2009 VIM Mexico Mission team. The opportunity to serve on the team is very special to him. He also serves as an acolyte and collector.

As a Boy Scout, he has learned and continues to grow in his understanding of the value of self-control, care for the earth, helping his friends, and patience as he works toward his goal. Boy Scouts, his family, and his life shared with BUMC are some of the things Frank appreciates in life.

Frank is a young man of heart, imagination, love, and desire to create a better world. Take time to get to know him as he grows in love of God and neighbor.

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July 5
8:15 Betty Moore, pianist
Amy Cooper, soloist
10:00 Sanctuary Choir warm up
10:30 Sanctuary Choir
Amy Cooper, soloist

Sunday, July 5 - 9:15 am Sunday school, 3rd floor.

Wednesday, July 8 - Movie night

Sunday, July 12 - 9:15 am Sunday school, 3rd floor. No UMY.

Wednesday, July 15 - Evening at the office (respect & community looking at "The Office").

Artificial Christmas trees

Tents

Sleeping bags

Lanterns

Flashlights

Camping chairs

Kayak paddle

Kayak

Coolers

Camp stools

Metal plates, bowls, and utensils

Canteens

Small plastic and or inflatable swimming pools

Binoculars

Maps

Buckets

Hiking boots

White Christmas lights

Tree stumps

Pinecones

King-sized bed sheets: blue, brown, green, and white

Shoeboxes

28 stones

Wrapping paper tubes

2 empty perfume bottles

Wet wipes

Wax paper

Back packs

2 five 5ft length pvc pipe

Clothesline

Wax paper

We are going to have a great time in the great outdoors! Be sure and register for Camp Belmont July 13-17.