April 29, 2020
Pastor’s Pen
6 People + Cell Phone
A marvelous 19th Century book, Three Men in a Boat: (to say nothing of the dog) by Jerome K. Jerome, came to mind over the weekend. The story recounts a two week holiday boat trip on the Thames River to and from Kingston and Oxford. The novel is written with a nice blend of seriousness and humor.
Maybe it came to mind as an adventure tale of individuals navigating the currents aiding or challenging their movement from one place to another. Maybe it came to mind as a study in human behavior when folks find themselves in defined experiences that require teamwork and problem solving. Maybe it came to mind as a reminder that every journey includes the expected and the unexpected. Maybe it came to mind because the dog, Montmorency, emerges as a key character.
For seven weeks our worship story line might read “6 people in a sanctuary (to say nothing of the cell phone)”, and with the Bishop instructing us to “stay the course” through May (at least), this story will continue. I appreciate the Bishop providing leadership in accordance with medical experts.
I am also grateful to the team that gathers in the sanctuary each Sunday to lead and offer a virtual worship experience. We have had quite the adventure! It seems that in our first two streamed services we spoke and sang in tongues. Aware that not everyone has the spiritual gift to interpret “tongues” we worked diligently to change that. Last Sunday we apparently offered the service with “Cathedral voices” that captured the reality of an empty sanctuary. That brought mixed reviews; there is no spiritual gift of liking that echo feature. We did have those four weeks of good quality sound, but I think the other three Sundays had the best sermons I have preached in 41 years (or not) and they were either garbled or delivered in a tunnel; oh well.
Furthermore, there have been currents to navigate on the video side as well. What is seen, who is seen, where to stand, monitoring movement, use of symbols and visuals….all while keeping proper social distance. Again, I cannot overstate the commitment and effort of our worship team.
Jerome K. Jerome began writing his best known novel as a travelogue, but to his surprise it evolved into a funny, insightful adventure that connected with life in pre-Edwardian Britain. The author once said in an interview, “I didn’t know I was a humorist”; well I didn’t know I was a “televangelist”. Life happens.
We have, and are surely moving (streaming) into a new place, a new understanding of being church, being disciples, and creating community. Sometimes it feels as if we are going with the flow and other times paddling upstream. Yet every stroke stirring the water of grace.
Like the dog on the boat, a cell phone has emerged as a key character in our ministry. It not only has enabled us to offer a live worship experience but also allows for instant comment and feedback. We learn in real time how wide the audience, the quality of the audio/visual, and any points of connection with elements of the service.
So, I look forward to Sunday morning and the opportunity to worship together through the wonder of technology. There will be 6 people in the sanctuary, not to mention a cell phone, prepared to lead a service and hoping to connect with life in this pre-post pandemic world. You can be sure that God is, and will be, present too.
The new normal of streaming our services has expanded the reach of our worship life, a wonderful serendipity! Consequently, we are exploring equipment needs for developing this ministry into the future. This week? Well, some adjustments will be made to address sound and visual quality…but have your spiritual gifts at the ready.
Peter van Eys
 |
Thursdays, starting May 7th, 4:30-7pm
Special Practices
| The CHNA,s farmers’ market hosted by Crievewood UMC will open as originally planned but with social distancing practices in place. The market will have local produce, meats, bread, baked goods, and at least one food truck. (Food truck orders must be placed in advance.) However, right now, the market will not offer raffles, music, or kids’ activities. We hope you plan to come and support our local farmers and merchants. But, for the safety of all, please familiarize yourself with the new procedures before entering the market. You can find an outline of those procedures at http://www.crievehallassociation.com/farmininthehall. |
| The Upper Room Feeling blue or need a pick-me-up? Paper copies of both the March/April and May/June issues of the The Upper Room are available at the church on the narthex table. But because COVID-19 has complicated already stressful living and not everyone can get out to retrieve a pamphlet, Upper Room is temporarily making resources available free online. Through June 30th, you can find the daily devotion at https://www.upperroom.org/devotionals. Look toward the top of the web page to locate a “click here” command to access the current, daily meditation. You can also examine other uplifting items including several articles relating to the pandemic, Upper Room morning prayer on Facebook Live, the “New Every Morning” daily video, and other resources to help you keep a positive attitude throughout the day. Find these items at https://www.upperroom.org/covid-19. |
 |
A Letter of Appreciation KPEVE Senior High Technical School On behalf of the Board of Governors, Management, Staff and Students of the school we wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to you for the kind gesture shown by donating footballs, volley balls and packets of markers to the school. Our school is a developing one that lacks a lot of sports equipment because of financial constraints. We have a lot of students who are very good in the area of soccer, volley, table tennis, basketball and other games but could not train as a result of lack of these equipment. Mr. Kwame Orison, popularly known as Fo Kefa is a Citizen of Kpeve and honest. This is about the third donation he has solicited for the school. He is one of the indigines who left the community but continues to involve himself actively in helping to solve some of its challenges. He is a good person to deal with so I will encourage you to provide him with the necessary support when needed. Am very proud to inform you that during the Inter-School Zonal Sports Competition held at Kpando last year our school took the first position in Boys’ Soccer, Girls’ Netball and Girls’ Cross Country. With the presentation of the items we are going to train more sports boys and girls in order to defend maintain and win more first positions. Like Oliver Twist, we will always ask for more and more of the items. Attached (below) are copies of the items that are need in the school. God Richly Bless you CUMC of Nashville, U.S.A. Matilda Dzotefe (MS) Headmistress |
Sports Items Needed: Handball Handball Goal Post Netball Table Tennis Board Table Tennis Racket Stop Watch Knee Cap Hose/Stockings Javelin Boys/Girls Discus Boys/Girls Shotput Boys/Girls High Jump Equipments Netball Jersey Volleyball Jersey Spike Running Verse Soccer Jersey |
| Other Missions Gift a Gallon With the COVID-19 virus spreading worldwide Uganda has also had to adopt new procedures of social distancing and increased hygiene in spite of the lack of clean water, food, and health products available. Raise the Roof Academy has addressed this challenge by canceling classes at the school, erecting hand washing stations on campus, providing first responders to check on students and their families, and keeping the medical clinic open. The Gift a Gallon program is facing hurdles as well. Collection sites in churches in America and elsewhere are currently closed, and volunteers cannot gather to work. In Uganda packages are normally distributed in July through a week of celebration that may not occur this year. Raise the Roof is encouraging its supporters to purchase a gift a gallon online so that supplies may be purchased, assembled, and distributed in Uganda to circumvent some of the problems (https://www.raisetheroofacademy.org/gift-a-gallon). Bags that have already been packed can be sent through USPS to Raise the Roof Academy’s PO Box 92216 in Nashville (zip code 37209) where they will be delivered to a sponsored child as soon as the organization is able to do so. Project Transformation Project Transformation plans on continuing their summer program to help children improve in their literacy, social-emotional, and spiritual development, a program that will be desperately needed this year. Like other businesses and non-profits, Project Transformation will need to adjust procedures because of COVID-19. Please look for information on how that will be done in upcoming newsletters. Nashvile Rescue Mission The Rescue Mission is seeing an uptick in persons needing help due to unemployment and natural disasters at the same time they are trying to incorporate social distancing practices because of the COVID-19 virus. They need more space, money, and supplies. If you would like to help, check out their website at https://nashvillerescuemission.org/ways-to-give/gifts-in-kind/ |
