Crown of Thorns, Crown of Glory: A Journey Toward Easter

BRENTWOOD, TN, March 19, 2007 -- During Holy Week, Sunday, April 1 through Saturday, April 8, 2007, the Brentwood United Methodist Church (located at 309 Franklin Rd.) invites members of the community to bring your troubles to the cross as we follow Jesus on His journey to the place where He suffered and died. We will be reminded that Jesus’ suffering was not limited to the cross as He endured the pain of following God’s will, of friends who betrayed Him, of losing loved ones, of rejection, of being misunderstood. Through Holy Week worship at
Brentwood United Methodist Church, we trust that you will discover comfort for your journey and great joy in the hope of Easter!

Holy Week and Easter Opportunities:

• Holy Week begins with Noon Day Worship and Lunches, April 2-4. The 30-minute services will be followed by a catered lunch offered by donation.

Monday: message - Rev. Kaye Harvey, lunch - BBQ Pork
Tuesday: message - Rev. Jeremy Squires, lunch - lasagna
Wednesday: message - Rev. Bob Moore, lunch - baked chicken breast.
• “Stations of the Cross” and “Walk with Jesus” Opens at 5 pm on April 1 and continues daily through noon on April 7. Each of twelve stations offers a reflection of Christ’s experience on the way to Calvary, and a call for prayer for us today. This quiet meditation is designed to help draw us closer to the sorrow of the crucifixion and the redemption of Easter Sunday. Accompanying this is the “walk with Jesus” for children and their families.
• Maundy Thursday worship and communion will be held on Thursday, April 5, at 7 pm in the Sanctuary. This moving service commerates the Last Supper of Jesus through scripture, music, and communion ends by stripping the Sanctuary and leaving in silence.
• Good Friday worship will be held on Friday, April 6, at 7 pm in the Sanctuary. The story will be retold of Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion and death on Good Friday.
• Easter worship will be held on Saturday, April 7 at 6 pm and Sunday, April 8, at 8:30, 9:30 and 11:00 in the Sanctuary. The Awakening blended service will be held at 9:30 am in the Chapel.

For more information, contact Shannon Garrett at 373-3663 or sgarrett@bumc.net. Brentwood UMC is located at 309 Franklin Road, directly across from the Kroger Shopping Center.

Holy Week services at Belmont United Methodist Church

NASHVILLE, TN – Holy Week marks the time between Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and his arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and Easter Sunday resurrection.Monday, April 2 through Thursday April 5, there will be a 30-minute worship service in the sanctuary each day. Times are staggered to accommodate various schedules and each service is increasingly later in the day as Good Friday approaches.Come participate in worship experiences that will remind your heart of these central events of the Christian faith.

Monday, April 2
7:30am, Service of Annointing
Tuesday, April 3
12:15pm, Service of Candelighting
Wednesday, April 4
4:30pm, Service of Confessing
Thursday, April 5
6:30pm, Service of Communion & Footwashing
Friday, April 6
12:15pm, Good Friday Tenebrae Service
Easter Sunday, April 8
8:15am worship with full choir and brass, Sanctuary; 10:30am worship with full choir and brass, Sanctuary.

United Methodist Church Displays "Stations of the Cross"

NASHVILLE, TN – Walking the "Stations of the Cross" is an ancient Christian practice that reminds participants of the suffering Jesus endured on the day of his death. In the Roman Catholic Church, walking and praying the stations is a well-established tradition. This year, a United Methodist Church in Hillsboro Village is offering a new tradition- a protestant version.

Visual representations of fourteen pivotal events in Jesus’ journey to the cross will be on display in the Sanctuary of Belmont United Methodist Church (at the corner of Acklen Ave and 21st Ave S) daily during the week before Easter, April 2 - 6. To create the visual representations of each event, members of the congregation reflected prayerfully on events leading to the crucifixion as described in scripture. Then they interpreted the historical events in terms of their significance for their present-day faith. The resulting displays are original artworks of mixed media including stained glass, photography, interactive dioramas, and crafts.

Although they tell the same story, the subject matter of the stations differs from the traditional ones used by the Roman Catholic Church. Jesus never falls in this version, and Veronica does not appear. Seven of the stations will sound familiar to Catholics: Pilate tries Jesus, Jesus carries his cross, Simon carries the cross, Jesus speaks to the women, Jesus speaks to his mother, Jesus dies on the cross, Jesus is laid in the tomb. The distinctively protestant stations are: Jesus prays alone, Jesus is arrested, The Sanhedrin tries Jesus, Pilate sentences Jesus, Jesus wears the crown, Jesus is crucified, and Criminals speak to Jesus.

Belmont’s sanctuary will be open 7:30am to 7:30pm April 2 - 6 for persons to visit the Stations of the Cross.

For more information visit the church’s website at www.belmontumc.org or contact Alison Schmied, at alison@belmontumc.org or 383-0832, ext. 13.

HIT MUSICAL COMEDY CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES COOKS UP GOOD TIME AT NASHVILLE'S TPAC, OPENING THURSDAY, APRIL 19

Editor's Note: More than a few Tennessee Conference churches take groups to 'movie nights' or 'nights at the theater.' For that reason I'm trying to give you advance notice of something your senior citizens group, drama group, adult discussion group might miss because they waited too late to make reservations. The original production of CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES is still running after 85 weeks of sold out performances in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Where the touring company has appeared--the story is the same, SOLD OUT performances. Though the story occurs in a Lutheran Church it is "all too Methodist" and even Roman Catholic audiences have felt it also relates very closely to them.
And what are the chances of catching some great humor and having a theatrical production that could be rated "For all ages." Some of the humor may elude younger children, but for junior age on up. The news release describing the play is reprinted below. Just before the news release I've enclosed a few reviews--mainly from United Methodists--so you can see what they felt about the CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES.

Comments from Audiences:
United Methodist Women, ladies of the Bazaar Booster's Group, Decorah, IA, Candace Arp - "No matter the sign on the church door, the women in church basements are the same everywhere ...... they just have different names. Our group had a great day laughing with the 'ladies' and at ourselves."

United Methodist Church, Mankato, MN, Julane Budke--- "We laughed all the way home and are still laughing!"

United Methodist Church, Sioux Falls, SD, Carol Flynn---"the acting was superb--the play hilarious, very close to home since every church kitchen has a 'lady in charge' who knows the only right way to do things--the way we have always done it in the church kitchen."


Grace United Methodist Church, Vernon Center, MN, Melanie Smith shares the feelings of her group:
- It was great! My face hurt from laughing so much! Dorothy
- It was excellent! Very true to life & very funny! - I would go back a second time I thought it was so good! Gerry
- I thought it was FABULOUS!!!!! Peg
- A particularly funny and entertaining play! ...laughed so hard I was afraid I was missing some of the lines! ... the actors were truly stupendous... I could see several ladies in our church in them ...I would love to go again! Ann
- Anyone from a small town church will relate, but everyone will laugh ... the actor and actresses were awesome! Melanie

Pastor Gary Olson, Lakeview Lutheran Church---"Church Basement Ladies is both hilarious and poignant because it connects with our experience with people who, out of great love, care for the local church, but who do it with all their foibles, faux pas, and unwritten rules. We've all been there. It's wonderful-!!"

The News Release:
Nashville, TN March 14, 2007… Curt Wollan, Executive Producer of Troupe America, Inc. and Nashville Producer Art Fegan of Art Fegan Entertainment, are bringing the hit musical CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES to Nashville, Tennessee. The critically acclaimed comedy opens Thursday, April 19 at Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in the intimate Andrew Johnson Theater. The production is expected to run thru July 1, 2007.

CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES first opened in 2005 at the Plymouth Playhouse in Minnesota and instantly became an overnight sensation. The Minneapolis Star Tribune described the play as being “wickedly funny and exquisite,” while the St. Paul Dispatch called it “an affectionate peek at community life with a pinch of whimsy.” The show has had a phenomenal run at the Plymouth, selling-out every single performance for over fifteen straight months and is still going strong. On the heels of their regional success, the production has now hit the road for a highly successful 53-city tour, receiving rave reviews and packing theaters all across the country.

CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES, a celebration of the Church basement kitchen and the women who work there, is a musical comedy featuring four distinct characters, and their relationships, as they organize the food and solve the problems of a rural church in the 1960’s. From the elderly matriarch of the kitchen, to the young bride-to-be learning the proper order of things, the production gives us a touching and humorous look into their lives as we see them handle a record-breaking Christmas dinner, the funeral of a dear friend, a Hawaiian Easter Fundraiser and a steaming hot July wedding. Collectively, these basement ladies stave off potential disasters, instruct the young and keep the Pastor on due course –all while thoroughly enjoying (and tolerating) each other. Funny and down to earth, audiences are sure to recognize these ladies as they see the year unfold from the basement of the House of God.

Inspired by authors/humorists, Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, the creators of the best-selling book Growing Up Lutheran, director Curt Wollan wanted to create a show that celebrates the women who are the foundation and bed rock of the church. Wollan explains, “It’s about the women who work so hard with such dedication to cook, clean and support the Church, whether they be Lutheran, Methodist, Jewish or Catholic and everyone of us know who they are. My Mom and the mothers of all my friends were church basement ladies and I wanted to honor these women. This is dedicated to them.”

Jim Stowell, one of America's favorite storytellers, and Jessica Zuehlke, a performance arts educator, developed the script for CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES and collaborated with composer/songwriter Drew Jansen, well-known writer for Comedy Central’s “Let’s Bowl” and “Mystery Science Theatre 3000.” The production is choreographed by Wendy Short Hayes; set design by Jared Grohs; lighting design by Scott Herbst; costume design by Beth Nistler and musical direction by Drew Jansen.

TPAC is located in the James K. Polk Cultural Center at 505 Deaderick Street in downtown Nashville between 5th & 6th Avenues and Deaderick and Union Streets. Performances are as follows: Thursdays at 1pm & 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm & 8pm and Sundays at 2pm & 6:30pm.

Ticket prices range from $29 - $40 and are on sale now. About Ticket Sales: To purchase single tickets call Ticketmaster ARTS line at 615-255-2787 or order online at www.tpac.org. For group sales information (10 or more), call 615-782-4060. For further information visit www.cbl-nashville.com.

Calvary United Methodist Church Moves Praise and Worship Service to Family Life Center

“Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him.” Psalm 147:1

How pleasant and fitting, indeed, when we come together in praise and worship! About eight years ago, a handful of folks at Calvary UMC had a dream of starting a new worship service. They wanted to try something different and untested. We started with an occasional service on Wednesday nights. Then, we decided that the new service should be offered on Sunday mornings. So, Anderson Chapel became the home of the Praise and Worship Service at 8:30 a.m. every week. There were some growing pains, yet, quietly and steadily, it became a main staple of the Sunday morning worship offerings at Calvary. When the Praise and Worship Service began to average about 75 people at 8:30, we added another service at 10:30 in the Chapel. We quickly found that this later service was better attended. Also, the Praise Team needed to focus all its energy and effort into one service, rather than two. So, the Sunday after Easter 2006, we combined the early services (Sanctuary and Chapel) and kept the Praise and Worship Service at 10:30 only. In just one year, our numbers have jumped significantly. Eighty is now considered a tad low…we averaged 104 in the first six weeks this year. Several times the attendance went well over 100, making seating almost a fire hazard in the Anderson Chapel!

Before the New Year, the worship committee recommended that a new space be considered for the Praise and Worship Service. It was felt that we had to act quickly or risk losing newcomers who might not be comfortable in such tight conditions. Several folks from various groups gathered to discuss the issue (leadership from YCS, sports council, WNL, trustees, finance, staff, etc). We went over several options: move to the Sanctuary (would involve worship time changes), build a new Praise and Worship center (not possible quickly enough to deal with present issues), or use existing areas where space is available. After the alternatives were laid out, we realized that to do nothing was not a very good option. I am proud to say that the Calvary UMC leadership understood that this was an opportunity to grow one of the only (maybe the only) contemporary worship services in the Green Hills area. And they didn’t blink. They decided to act.

It was determined that the Christian Life Center was the best “short term” solution to the Praise and Worship needs. This move will require cooperation from many groups and extra custodial help for set-up and take down. More advanced planning will be needed for basketball season, Room in the Inn, and for children/youth/special events requiring the use of the Christian Life Center. This change also means we will be having two worship services in close proximity. We have already tested for that. With the fire doors to Masters Common closed and with the Sanctuary doors also closed, there is very little noise carry-over from one space to the other. We are fortunate to have such thick walls and doors! Another issue is parking. We are asking able bodied people to park in the spots further out, so those who need to can park closer to the sanctuary and Christian Life Center doors. We hope that some folks will come in the building through the Fellowship Hall doors and take the elevator, if desired, to the third floor.

We are preparing as much ahead of time as possible for this move, and we expect it will cause some temporary discomfort. Yet we are also preparing and expecting for God to move among us in new ways. Being in close proximity can have is advantages, too—we are more likely to see one another and fellowship together at the coffee table. We might see the blessings and joys of how a church can worship together in different settings, celebrating different styles and knowing that God speaks to people in various ways. We also provide a “breather” for Anderson Chapel to be used in other ways—for the Romanians to have their worship time earlier and for needed repairs to take place. After much planning and praying, we are embarking on a new leg of the Praise and Worship journey. On Sunday, April 1 (no, it’s not a joke), we will have our first Praise and Worship service in the CLC.

I hope you will join us in celebrating this next step in the worship life of Calvary UMC. And if you know someone who might be interested in a Praise and Worship Service, invite them to Calvary!

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Psalm 149:6
Blessings,
Susan Spieth, Associate Pastor

Benefit Concert for Key United Methodist Church of Hartsville, Sunday, March 25, 2007, 4:00 p.m.

Churches within the Cumberland District and the Tennessee Conference Black Methodists for Church Renewal are sponsoring a musical benefit program, featuring several Tennessee Conference church choirs and musical performers. The event will be held at Key Stewart United Methodist Church, 116 N. Blythe Avenue, Gallatin, Tennessee, on Sunday, March 25th, 4:00 p.m.

The program is designed to assist Key United Methodist Church, a predomininately African American congregation in Hartsville, which needs financial assistance to maintain its church building.

United Methodists Called to Pray

John Wesley understood this truth well and taught his followers, "God does nothing apart from prayer."

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 16, 2007--GBOD and Aldersgate Renewal Ministries will sponsor “Becoming a People of Prayer,” September 21-22, 2007 at Brentwood United Methodist Church in Nashville.

The purpose of the prayer conference is to call The United Methodist Church to prayer and to strengthen and empower our ability to pray: as individuals, as families, and as congregations.

A prelude to General Conference 2008, the prayer conference is expected to attract some 300-500 persons.

“The Scripture makes it absolutely clear that at the heart of Jesus’ life and ministry was his relationship to God in prayer. To be effective in the Christian life, we must have a vital prayer life,” says Tom Albin, team leader for Upper Room Program Ministries and dean of The Upper Room Chapel.

“Unfortunately, in this post-modern, post-Christian culture--United Methodist still live with the "modernist" mistake that puts prayer in opposition to "doing something."”

United Methodists believe prayer is doing something and that without prayer; all of our efforts produce little fruit if any. This line of thinking says, "Are you going to sit around and pray; or, are you going to get on your feet and do something?"

Albin calls this “the modernist mistake because we can find no such language in the Bible or in the life of Jesus.”

Albin goes on to say that “the future of the Church is directly related to our life of prayer and understanding that our entire life is our prayer.”

According to Albin, John Wesley understood this truth well and taught his followers, "God does nothing apart from prayer."

Those persons who attend the conference will be introduced to a variety of new ways to pray--as individuals, as families and as congregations.

“I believe those who attend the prayer conference will return home with a greater spiritual life and strength. For those who are willing to go deeper, they will have the opportunity to become a partner in a world wide prayer network where we will continue to share the very best ideas and practices--for the building up of the body of Christ and the transformation of the world, said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive for GBOD.

“This event is a major step forward in the journey of the United Methodist Church ‘becoming a people of prayer,’ ” she said.

The conference design team is hopeful participants will leave with an increased awareness of the importance of prayer in their personal life and in the life of the church; with one goal being to equip persons within the church to establish prayer ministries.

“Becoming a People of Prayer” targets pastors, lay members and leaders in The United Methodist Church and leaders in other denominations.

Participants will hear from a variety of leaders and will have the opportunity to pray together in a rich variety of traditions, including Native American, Euro-American, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian.

The conference includes plenary speakers and interactive workshops on various styles of prayer; times of corporate prayer and praise; and a prayer room, which will provide space for spiritual reflection and private prayer.

Among the plenary speakers are:

Terry Teykl, Becoming a Praying Church,
Suzette Caldwell, Giving My Heart to God, Windsor Village UMC, Houston
Marjorie Thompson, Seeking the Heart of God, GBOD
Taylor Burton-Edwards, Giving Prayer and Worship Back to the Congregation, GBOD

For more information and to register contact, Becky Caudill, 1-877-2780, ext. 7059 or e-mail: bcaudill@gbod.org.

The General Board of Discipleship’s mission is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, GBOD is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, call the Media Relations Office toll free at (877) 899-2780, Ext. 7017.

"Three Crosses"--Good Friday, April 6, from Noon to 8:00 p.m., Mt. Zion United Methodist Church

Easter Sunday is a day for celebration!

It is a day of celebration because it was the day that death was conquered, swallowed up in victory. It is a day of celebration because Jesus was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.

It is easy for us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It is more difficult to pause before the celebration and recall that for Jesus to be resurrected he had to suffer and die. Good Friday is a day to pause before the celebration.

Three Crosses allows participants and observers to do just that, to pause, to remember, to prepare for the celebration to come.

It is sometimes hard to grasp that our Creator put on His creation, became human, lived among us for a time, so that we may truly live. Jesus lived briefly, died violently and rose unexpectedly, all for you so that you may have life and have it abundantly.

Your creator has given to you undeserved love. He beckons you to come close, to have a living relationship with Him. This was made possible for you not because of what you have done but because of who He is. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death --- death on a cross, between two thieves.

God’s undeserved love enables you to respond, to respond in beginning or respond by continuing with new enthusiasm your relationship with your creator, savior and redeemer.

You are invited to participate in three significant ways this year. (1) Men to take 30-minute shifts standing on the crosses and to act as Roman soldiers. This will be done on first come, first serve basis beginning at noon and continuing till sunset. If you plan to stand on the crosses, please bring or wear white or light color shorts; (2) Women to sit in front of the crosses, in semi-period costumes. Both of these are very humbling and will build your Easter excitement. (3) Since Christ gave his blood for our lives on Good Friday you will have the opportunity to give their blood for others via a Red Cross Blood Drive from 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM.

To conclude the day a multi-media Tenebrae Service will be held at 7:00 PM.

Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Clarksville District, is located at 5700 Hwy. 48 in Cunningham, Tennessee