09/16/20 |
451 Hogan Road, Nashville TN 37220 phone: 615-832-2897 website: www.crievewoodumc.org |
Sunday, September 20 Outdoor Worship at the church at 9:30am Added on September 20: Children ages 3 years through second grade will have the option to attend Outdoor Kids’ Worship. Worship packets will be available for grades 3-6. Also Available: Recorded Online Worship Sunday, September 20 10:45am www.facebook.com/CrievewoodUMC/ Sunday, September 27 Online Worship continues on Facebook 10:45am www.facebook.com/CrievewoodUMC/ Pastor’s Pen “The words of the Teacher, Son of David, king in Jerusalem: ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!'” (Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, NIV) The Old Testament book of wisdom known as Ecclesiastes begins with the above words. The author – here called Teacher but in the original Hebrew known as Qoheleth – surveys his current situation and life and declares it “meaningless.” He goes on to wonder about the purpose of life and the meaning of it all as the sun rises and sets each day. I can hear in his voice a lament and an exasperated tone at the monotony of daily life and a longing for something more. As we have crossed the six-month mark of the pandemic (yes, you read that right), I have found myself in a similar headspace as Qoheleth. What are we doing? What’s the point of all this? Are things ever going to change? When will life get back to normal? What if things stay like this for six more months? Another year? Or two or three? I’m feeling sadness and anger around the loss of life and health and the way things have been handled on various levels. I don’t think I’ve reached the point of despair at the situation, but I’m certainly frustrated. In fact, I think the thing that I’m feeling most is boredom. I’m tired of being at home all the time. I wish I could see and interact with more people. I wish my kids could go to school. I wish I could go out to eat and explore new places. I wish I could travel. Instead, every day feels the same, and it’s getting old. One of the strange things about Ecclesiastes is that there’s no real resolution to the problems and questions that Qoheleth puts forward. There’s no magic answer or big reveal as to the purpose and meaning of life. It’s almost as if we’re each invited to work through the same struggles and find our own solutions and answers. That’s where I find myself – wrestling with all of this but without a clear resolution. If that’s where you are too, then you’re not alone. I don’t know the answers, but I do know that we are called to keep on keeping on, to struggle, and to have hope that there are brighter days ahead. As Ecclesiastes reminds us, we are all “in God’s hands” (Ecclesiastes 9:1). Rev. John HillJoin Pastor John for a six-week study using Amy-Jill Levine’s book Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner’s Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven starting on Wednesday, September 23, at 6:30 pm. All are welcome, so feel free to invite friends beyond Crievewood. While anyone can participate without the book, you are encouraged to purchase the book and read each chapter ahead of the session because it will greatly enhance your experience and learning. The study will be entirely virtual using Zoom. If you need help getting set up with Zoom, please contact the church office. Otherwise, you can click this link (https://zoom.us/j/97855570881) or use the Meeting ID: 978 5557 0881 in Zoom to attend. There will be a lobby for security purposes. Tuesday Bible Study It’s back! Tuesday Bible Study has resumed meeting in the church building with all safety precautions in place. The group will gather in the Builders classroom on Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the book Stories Jesus Told: How to Read a Parable by Greg Carey. Books for this fall study have been ordered and cost $12.50 per copy. As always, new participants are welcome. New Mission Opportunity – Pawster NashvilleHave you ever wondered how a pet becomes homeless? When pet owners are in crisis, they sometimes have no other choice but to surrender their pet. A new organization, Pawster Nashville, wants to give them a different choice. By providing foster care for cats and dogs, Pawster Nashville helps keep pets and their owners together through crisis. Pawster plans to foster 5 pets this fall before launching full operations in January, and we are asking the Crievewood UMC community to help. Whether you want to become a “Pawster Foster,” make an in-kind or financial contribution, or volunteer in another capacity, you can help end pet homelessness before it begins, and keep a family together through crisis. Learn more at pawsternashville.org. Other Missions AIM Mission to Mountain TopThe annual CUMC adult fall mission trip to Mountain Top has been scheduled for the weekend of October 15-18, pending MTOP’s ability to host the mission. There will be some procedural and logistical safety changes due to COVID-19. Anyone who feels comfortable going and would like to join the team and reach out to others by sharing your time, Christian love, and talent to help with needed home repair for the residents of the Cumberland Mountains, please call Joe Buffler at 615-351-0601. Keith Head and Chelsey Hedglin are also available to answer questions or concerns. Participants must be 18 years old, but no construction experience is required. Fresh Golf Tournament FiftyForward is an organization which assits Adults 50+ in Middle Tennessee in living longer more fulfilling lives by providing various programs and services to those seniors. One of those programs is Meals on Wheels. The FiftyForward Fresh Golf Tournament is organized by our own Barry Coggins to raise crucial funds to support the Meals on Wheels delivery program. The tournament is scheduled at noon on Saturday, September 26th at the Nashboro Golf Club. If you would like more information about this tournament please click the button below. Fresh Golf TournamentDorothy Cortner Boone Scholarship Congratulations to the following 2020 recipients of the DCB scholarship: Josh Cate, Zach Cate, Joseph Hattan, Kellyanne Shaw, and Rainey White. We are proud of your accomplishments thus far and wish you much success as you continue your education. We wish all our Crievewood students and teachers a safe and wonderful school year!Topic: CUMC Youth/Parent Meeting Time: Sep 20, 2020 04:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/99779701731 Meeting ID: 997 7970 1731A Note from Finance Committee Benefits of Donating to the Church from an IRA If you are interested in the tax advantages of making your gifts to Crievewood directly from an IRA, you should discuss a qualified charitable donation (QCD) distribution with your tax advisor or investment firm. Generally, a distribution from an IRA, whether voluntary or a required minimum distribution (RMD), is taxable income. A QCD distribution is not taxable. A QCD is a direct payment to the church from your IRA custodian and can be made if you are 70½ or older. Up to $100,000 is permitted annually. The potential benefits of using a QCD distribution versus a regular distribution include reducing tax obligations, avoiding being pushed into a higher tax bracket, and reducing the impact of the Medicare surtax. It is important to remember that the QCD distribution must be made directly from the IRA to the church. The check can be mailed directly to the church, or it can be mailed to you and then you can deliver it to the church. But the custodian must make the check payable to Crievewood, not to you. We can provide the church’s taxpayer identification number if needed. The QCD is applicable to both traditional IRAs and Inherited traditional IRAs. Crievewood does not provide tax advice. We are providing information for you to consider and research. The church appreciates your gifts in whatever form they are made.Sept. 16 – Karen Hattan Sept. 19 – Lynne Hooper Sept. 20 – Ada Burch, Alan Fox, Terri Kannon, Carolyn Pemberton, and Dave Thurman Sept. 22 – Eleanor Jarratt Sept. 23 – Brittany Woodard Sept. 24 – Charlotte Swor Sept. 26 – Jamie Fuller and Rainey White Sept. 27 – Hailee Hunt-Hawkins, David Roos, and Brandon Swinney Sept. 28 – Buddy Abernathy and Steph Holland Sept. 29 – Annette Taylor Sept. 30 – Connor Lewis, David Sims, and Jose Luis Velazco If you have a birthday between September 16 and September 30 and it does not appear in the list above, then it is not in our database. We would like to celebrate with you. If your birthday does not appear, please notify the church office at 615-832-2897.Other Notes The UMW General Meeting scheduled on September 19 has been canceled because of COVID-19 virus precautions. Robert and Marjorie Foster, out of state members of Crievewood UMC, have six family cemetery plots at Woodlawn. They are now living in Huntsville, Alabama near their daughter and would like to sell those six plots. They are offering the plots for $3,000 or best offer, a much lower price than Woodlawn will give. If you are interested in purchasing these plots, please call Cynthia Doubet, their daughter, at (265) 520-6201. Because of the COVID-19 virus the Tennessee Annual Conference 2020 will be held virtually this year on September 18 and 19 with the theme By Faith. Members to Annual Conference should receive voting instruction and conference materials ahead of time, and they as well as congregation members can view the conference live-streamed. Consult the TN Conference website for more information. A button linking to the conference is at the end of the newsletter. If you know a Crievewood member who is not able to view Sunday services on Facebook, please call Kathryn Buffler at 615-598-5998. CD’s are made weekly and can be delivered so that all our members can at least hear the Sunday worship service. Still looking for more information? Below are links that may help. UM NewsTN Annual ConferenceCUMC Online GivingLink to the Prayer ListLive Stream Worship Sundays @ 10:45 a.m. Most gracious God, thank you for all the gifts you have bestowed on Crievewood United Methodist Church over the generations. By your Holy Spirit, grant us the grace that welcomes all of your children. Make us a community that reflects the full diversity of Christ’s body. Help us grow to love one another as You love us. Empower us to reveal Christ through worship and service. In your holy name we pray. Amen.Copyright © 2020 Crievewood United Methodist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive the Crievewood United Methodist Church Newsletter. 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