ANTIOCH CHURCH PROMOTES KINDNESS THROUGH aarkFEST and ARKALMIGHTY

(Antioch, TN) Antioch is a community that isn't particularly known for kindness. In fact, recent headlines from Antioch seem to portray the South Nashville community as one in decline, filled with crime and overrun with traffic.

The people of the Antioch United Methodist Church don't believe the headlines. With almost 120 years of presence in the community, this church has seen the ups and downs that go with any neighborhood. And, after 120 years, this congregation wants to offer a bit of kindness back to their community. They began several weeks ago when they handed out free bottled water at the intersection of Hickory Hollow Parkway and Bell Rd. And they continue to promote the notion of Antioch as a community of kindness through their aarkFEST Music and Movie Series in June and July, and their participation in the ArkAlmighty website.

aarkFEST, beginning on Friday, June 15, is a series of free concerts and drive-in movies offered as a gift to the people of Antioch. "aark" is an acronym for Antioch Acts of Random Kindness, and the event designers hope that this can be a time for people all throughout the community to gather together as neighbors for fun. Each week for six weeks, the church will host a different group providing a short concert and then project a family oriented movie on a 20 foot screen in the church yard. All are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and sit in the grass, or stay in the car in the parking lot, as the church will be transmitting the movie sound to car radios.

"We offered the drive-in movies as a gift last year..." said Jay Voorhees, pastor of the congregation, "...but we realized that we had a bunch of time before it go dark enough to see the movie. We wanted to encourage folks to make a night of it, so we added the concerts to the mix to fill things out."

While the church can't advertise what movies they are showing each week, hints are being left on their website, www.antiochumc.net. A list of artists performing each week is also available there.

In addition to promoting aarkFEST on their website, the Antioch church is also promoting acts of random kindness through their participation in the ArkAlmighty program. ArkAlmighty (www.arkalmighty.com) is a program designed to connect individual needs with individual resources. It is, in a sense, a clearinghouse for acts of random kindness between individuals.

"We hope that we can be a resource for the people of Antioch connecting basic needs with those who have the resources to help," said Rev. Voorhees.

The Antioch United Methodist Church is located at 41 Tusculum Rd. in Antioch. More information about these programs may be obtained by calling (615) 832-6248 or visiting www.antiochumc.net.