During this time of the COVID pandemic and in-person classes being suspended, Church Street’s Confirmation class has continued without any interruption. This year’s class of fifteen 6th and 7th graders began last September and will continue through April 2021. They meet every Sunday at 11 am via Zoom. The parents join the students on screen the first Sundays in the month.
The class is taught by Rev. Rick Isbell with on-screen help from Russell & Melanie McNutt and Jeri Strong. Behind the scenes Jenny Cross’ support has been tremendous in setting up electronic student folders, and Paula Buckner’s filing system of past Confirmation materials has been invaluable in helping us continue to get important Confirmation materials to students.
We have been delighted for our clergy staff to join the class periodically along with Confirmation mentors. In addition to weekly class sessions, class members have also been collecting food items for BOH Food Co-op as well as money to contribute to Heifer Project International.
In spite of all the challenges and hurdles of doing class via Zoom, the students have been great in their attendance and participation. We’ve even had some class members to join us while traveling in the car on trips (there are some advantages to Zoom!). What the future holds, we don’t know; but the Confirmation class will keep zooming along.
As you have etched your signature in holy shades of light and dark across the sky above us, you have engraved your name upon every living part of your creation. Even as you answer to many names, we know you as the One Who Is, the One who will stand with us till time is no more. We praise you that your autograph glows in the stately stretch of the heavens this eventide — a silent signal that you linger close. If we failed to acknowledge you or caused you pain in these hours past, please forgive us. We pray you would never erase that treasured mark of ownership we are honored to wear.
Heart of Truth, the newscasters twist their sirens to their most alarming levels, keeping us anxiously poised for the next catastrophe. It is all we can do to keep from being swept up in despair. Help us instead to tune in to those voices that share stories of your goodness: the sick are being healed, the wounded are being delivered, medications are being distributed, the hungry are being fed, neighbors are helping neighbors, isolated ones are not forgotten, your work is being done.
How comforting to know that your humble disciples still walk the earth, bearing the truth of your benevolence. Thanks be to God!
O Bringer of New Life, even in the bleakness of winter, you invite us to believe in what can still be. Give us courage to move forward, even when we are tired and stressed, when we are restless and confused, even when our challenges seem insurmountable. Receive our private concerns, we pray, that we may know your wisdom, especially in . . . . . . . . . . And as it is your good pleasure to receive our prayers, we offer these on behalf of our Church Street family:
Seven offer gratitude for virus vaccinations
Thankful for prayers: A mother’s health is improving
Gratitude: One’s depression is lifting
Couple grateful for a vacation
Member thankful to be released from hospital
Prayers for a good job opening in the area
Upholding a family saddened by recent news
Courage for one with newly diagnosed cancer
Frail friend with pneumonia
Close friend given six months to live
One desires guidance in beginning a friendship
Upholding two members in cancer treatment
Comfort for family: Death of father
Healing: Husband in deep depression
Strength for family coping with son’s grave emotional problems
Member recovering from major illness
Friend suffering physically and emotionally
Continued healing for heart patient
Grandson with lymphoma
As we rest tonight, Lord, enlarge our hearts that we might love more deeply and serve with greater intensity in the new day to come. And as we sleep, we place ourselves, all whom we love, and all who bear your love to others into your keeping, for you Lord, only make us dwell in safety.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Your evening sky, Creator of Rest, becomes the color of silt and we anticipate the silent grandeur with which you close each of our days. As we gaze at your soft glory, let us enter the closet of prayer and commune with you in that place of quiet where words are unnecessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
There is the beautiful aspect of widening darkness makes all things appear equal: There is no one more lofty or wise than the other, both mansion and hut are sheathed in raven, overgrown fields appear as lovely as manicured lawns, all skin tones blend into the color of earth. Only in the shadowed hours do we let down our guard long enough to see with the leveling eyes of God.
With morning’s light, however, inequities again will starkly reveal themselves; so give us new energy to take up the cause of the disordered, the poor, the hungry and misunderstood, the ill and the disenfranchised. Give us the will to respect all of your blessed creation, tending it with the love of the Father.
O One Who Beckons, thank you for calling us to be part of your labor for justice and mercy. We join our hands with all believers everywhere who know you as the Source of all Goodness and who pray without ceasing for your will to be made manifest in all our lives. Receive now both the praises and the struggles lifted from the Church Street family:
Homebound members thankful for church contacts
Young couple celebrate the birth of a new daughter
Praises for all who are helping with virus vaccinations
Gratitude: Souper Bowl donations for the hungry exceeded expectations
Thanksgiving for end of lengthy recovery from back surgery
Prayers for a good job opening in the city
Upholding a family saddened by new challenges
Courage for one with newly diagnosed cancer
Close friend given only six months of life
Upholding member in cancer treatment
Comfort for daughter and family in the death of father
Healing: Husband in deep depression
Strength for family coping with son’s grave emotional problems
Pray for mother recovering from brain bleed
Friend suffering physically and emotionally
All who are grappling with grief
Continued healing for heart patient
O One Who Dreams With Us, may we take in your bracing night air as we rest upon your cool sheets of peace. Refresh us with sleep tonight for the work that tomorrow holds. Shelter all whom we cherish, we pray, and all your beloved who long for the nearness of Christ:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
O Evening Host, you call us with slashes of orange light seeping through the darkening horizon; your invitation beckons us home again into the enfolding freedom from our daily routine. Here in this calm closing, you offer breathing space to remember how you have carried us through the hours and how you are opening windows and doors to free us from our tensions. May we enter these moments in quiet reflection . . . . . . . . . . For your gift of this day of living under your glorious sun, we bow in gratitude.
Fortress of Forgiveness, we are a rushed people, and in our haste, our words have punctured suggestions made in earnest and ideas that showed promise. Our unkindness and lack of grace blindsided even those closest to us. For the ways in which we have failed you, our sisters and brothers, and ourselves, we ask for holy pardon, especially for . . . . . . . . . . . . We also pray you would show us how to pardon those who have caused us pain, particularly . . . . . . . . . . Perhaps if we picture your candle of grace shining above each one who has hurt us, we would see that their own struggles are no different than our own.
As you work through us to further your own purposes, we ask that you would infuse our national leaders with you new vision, granting that the groundwork they lay will support a system where all have ample opportunity to thrive in this good land you have given us. Discipline us to pray daily for our leaders at every level, as we also pray for our fellow pilgrims across the world, for ourselves, and for each of these Church Street friends whose situations are already known to you:
Gratitude for the life and witness of a cherished colleague
Ten offer gratitude for virus vaccinations
Thanksgiving for minimal side effects of chemo
Family grateful that father’s illness has stabilized
Many express thanks for communion worship
Gratitude: Family of four healed from Covid
Thanksgiving for vaccinations for family members in UK and Missouri
Thankful for answered prayers of wider vaccine distribution
Courage for one with newly diagnosed cancer
Dear sister depressed from isolation
Prayers for two in treatment for pancreatic cancer
Comfort for family, husband killed in accident
Healing: Husband in deep depression
Healing for one suffering leg pain
Pray for mother recovering from brain bleed
Discernment for one making weighty decision
Strength for friend very ill physically and emotionally
Families mourning recent deaths of loved ones
Continued healing for heart patient
Healing for one whose cancer has spread
We conclude our prayers, Holy One, looking forward to your healing touch of sleep. Watch over all who are closest to our hearts, we pray, and with the dawn, may we place our steps in the footprints of Jesus as we walk his road to heaven:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Waiting One, we come humbly before you as the shadows grow deeper, for we have struggled today and confess our thoughts and deeds have been less than our best; and here in the quiet hours, we feel the sting of our misdeeds, particularly . . . . . . . . . . Our regrets are more than we would like them to be; but we know you will not turn away from us, as you always stand ready to offer your gift of pardon when we sincerely repent. Embrace us with your forgiveness, we pray, and with your help, tomorrow may be a different story altogether.
You feed us the bread of mercy, Sustaining One, and offer us the cup of grace. And for all the mercies that have found us today, hear our prayers of thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . For many of our brothers & sisters, pain has cut a wide swath, so comfort the grieving, heal the hurting, fill all who are empty, and sustain those too weak to form any words. And for those who have forgotten you, open their ears that they may hear your voice calling them home. We are all wanderers and we know we cannot make this journey alone. May your love be our companion as we travel toward your grace of eternity.
Again and again, Great Healer, you remove the thorns of our losses and cover our wounds with your balm of hope. Receive these most recent expressions of gratitude for your work among us; and accept these prayers for holy assistance from your children at Church Street:
Grateful for prayers: member has obtained funding to begin her chemo treatments
Eight express thanks for virus vaccinations
Couple healing from Covid: Grateful for prayers
Member grateful for promising medical report
Thanksgiving: Mother ill at home is improving
Prayers for two in treatment for pancreatic cancer
Healing: Husband in deep depression
Sons mourning the death of their mother
Patience for one healing from surgery
Prayers for improvement in stroke victim
Continued healing for heart patient
Comfort for family: Husband killed in auto accident last week
Healing for one whose cancer has spread
One enduring chemo treatments
Healing painful leg condition
Good Keeper, we are never out of your sight by daylight, and you make your pallet beside our bed each night. If we call out, you are only a heartbeat away. And should you happen to speak, may our hearts open to your whispered words: “All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we offer our collective prayers:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
O Calm Beyond the Sunset, you have designed this shimmering day and extended it to us freely through your grace. And now the evening wind picks up and breathtaking shadows lengthen across the fields; this is another of your invitations as we stand on the edge of your pool of darkness. “Come, enter the restorative flow,” you say, “the temperature is refreshing and all your daytime distractions are hidden away.”
We do long to lay down our troubles on the banks of healing shade and step inside. Give us such courage. While others may follow the world’s path and continue their work through the darkest hours, grant that we might linger awhile with the Holy One who beckons, giving rest to the weary and fulness to the depleted. . . . . . . . . . .
Sea of Mercy, look down this eve on those living in the land of broken dreams, your beloved who desperately yearn for solace: the hungry, the refugee, the prisoner, the lonely, those far from home and those whose homes have been turned upside down by illness, the loss of a loved one, by personal conflict. Break into their lives with waves of your healing assurance, reminding them they are not forgotten. Grant that they, and each of us who pray this night, may hear the rippling calm of your voice which gives us courage to wait in times of sorrow.
Already, we feel you working on our behalf and extend our deepest gratitude. And also lay before you these deepest concerns on the hearts of your Church Street community:
Ill member thankful to be released from hospital
Cancer survivor thankful for prayers, all going well
Praises for wife whose radiation treatments are complete
Member thankful for meds that are helping her pain
Two express gratitude for Bible Study offerings on Zoom
Gratitude: Young couple with Covid greatly improved
Fourteen express thanks for virus vaccinations
Healing prayers for cousin suffering from stroke
Comfort for family: Husband killed in auto accident last week
Healing for one whose cancer has spread
For chemo funds to be approved
Mother in treatment for pancreatic cancer
One enduring chemo treatments
Courage for alcoholic son to enter rehab
Proper diagnosis and treatment of painful leg condition
Pain relief for cancer victim
Healing: Husband recovering from heart surgery
We are neither righteous nor devout, nor even worthy; still you have drawn close to us and wrapped us in your amazing love. You hear our cries and you touch us with your mercy, especially in these ways: . . . . . . . . . . As we close our eyes and enter that chamber of rest tonight, fill our hearts with thanksgiving to the One who offers us life eternal:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Gift-Giving God, you are pouring your quiet darkness over another full and often-disordered day, telling us it is time to slow our pace and put away the tools of our trade. Empty our hands and hearts that we might accept this unopened gift of melon-colored twilight, knowing it is offered with love. Inside there are promised treasures of comfort, rest, and reflection. May we honor both the gift and the divine hand that provides it.
As we meditate upon this day of radiant sunshine, we are humbled by all the favors you have brought to pass and the goodness shown to us by others. Especially we recall . . . . . . . . . . We praise you for your overarching benevolence; and even now your snowy ridges are smoothing out those harsh thoughts and hasty actions we deeply regret, especially . . . . . . . . . . . Draw us close, Lord, and dust away those ugly vices that cling to our boots. And as we pass through the new day to come, may others think of Jesus as we walk by.
Gracious Guardian, it is difficult for us to recognize the depth of need that many still face during this pandemic, especially now that the temperatures have dropped. Guard, we pray, those without shelter or adequate food on the table, the ones facing eviction, the unemployed, the ill, confused and dying. Dry the tears that fall all too frequently these days, and in your mercy, continue to lighten the loads of all your cherished ones, including your friends at Church Street:
Member family celebrates birth of new baby boy
Prayers appreciated: Grandmother died peacefully
A friend is vastly improved from knee surgery
Grateful that toddler is tolerating chemo
Thanks for prayers: Sister’s surgery was successful
Single mother thankful for an unexpected gift
Gratitude: One tolerating radiation treatments well
Healing for one whose cancer has spread
For insurance to cover chemotherapy
Courage for alcoholic son to enter rehab
Recovery for young couple with Covid
Proper diagnosis of painful leg condition
Strength and courage for two caregivers
All who need virus vaccines
Blessings for all assisting with vaccinations
Pain relief for cancer victim
Healing: Husband recovering from heart surgery
Two recovering from serious heart issues
Continued prayers: one enduring chemo
Eternal Companion, you have poured out your divine hope upon us and we place our souls, and the souls of all whom we love, into your hands this cold night. We close our eyes in peace, feeling your warming presence beside us; and with the dawn, we will find you there still, ready to support us in whatever lies ahead. Pull together all our prayers, for we offer them in the name of Hope, Jesus our Savior, who prayed in this way:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
O Great Silence, you live beyond the realm of words, in that space we rarely visit. Turn off that spigot of chatter that floods our minds and our mouths, and for this one evening may we join you there to merely keep company with you in your deep mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Teach us the beauty of regular resting in you, that we may learn what true restoration is. In our culture where highest praise is directed to production, remind us that we are esteemed by you each time we seat ourselves at your feet and take in whatever glories you choose to whisper.
Once filled with summer’s happy green fans, the oak’s bare branches now wave to us through the windowpane. The empty trees take their losses with more grace than we, knowing in their ancient wisdom that fretting is futile. Our own losses these past long months have been bitter, and we find it difficult to open our hands and let them fall freely as fragmented leaves. But, Nourishing God, as you enrich the soil with leafy shards, so use our shredded despair and broken dreams to fortify us. We may never stand as stately as the oaks, but you will make us strong enough to lean into the winter winds, as we wait for your next season of greenness.
Within your great silence, you have heard the cries of our hearts and have blessed us in many ways. We pray that, as you already have bolstered the spirits of many, you would attend also to these friends and families whose hope is in you:
Three celebrate recovery from Covid
Thankful family members have received vaccines
Gratitude: Husband’s depression is lifting
Thanksgiving: Mother discharged from hospital
Prayers appreciated: Young niece with infection now home
Gratitude for prayers: Son was able to visit his dying mother
Thankful that a heart malady is improving
God’s grace for colleague whose cancer has spread
For insurance to cover chemotherapy
Comfort and grace for those who mourn
All who need virus vaccines
Blessings upon all healthcare workers and volunteers assisting with vaccinations
Prayers for shrinkage of pancreatic tumor
Comfort for family grieving death of mother
Decreased pain for cancer victim
Healing mercy for sister recovering from surgery
Two recovering from serious heart issues
Infant cousin with tumor on spine
Continued prayers: One enduring chemo
Strength for caregiver under great stress
May your Silent Spirit rest our minds and hearts as we sleep, calming our fears and erasing our sins. Fold us and all whom we love into your embrace, we pray; and tomorrow, may we rise forgiven and free to serve in the name of Christ, who taught us to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
When Pat Bellingrath and Celia Ferguson met in conversation about the conviction they felt surrounding the treatment of Black community members in 2016, they never imagined their dream to do justice work across their church conference would come true.
Now, the pair, along with 20 other program planners, will host a four-week Sacred Conversations on Race (COR) series for the Tennessee Valley district of the Holston Conference.
“Conversation is the way you begin to change the world,” Ferguson says. “Conversation is how you build relationships to make the change.”
Humble Beginning
Conversation looks different than it did when the COR Leadership group met for the first time. In 2016, Bellingrath and Ferguson were joined by Stephanie Blue, Rev. Leah Burns, Sandra Dimmick, Jean Galyon and Ivee Miles-Slater around a kitchen table in discussion.
“We heard stories that (proved) we just didn’t know how the world worked,” Ferguson says, providing “The Talk” about racism as an example. “There were incredibly difficult conversations we had. They were emotional.”
In November 2016, about 100 people of all backgrounds and faiths attended the first COR program, sitting around tables to converse with people unlike themselves.
Reflecting and understanding a need for more conversation, the original planning team of seven grew to 22, with a focus on eliminating racism in the larger United Methodist Church, starting with the Holston Conference.
“Our hope is to get churches to start conversations on these issues,” Ferguson says, adding that it’s not only amongst members, but on Sunday mornings during worship, too.
“For me, this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Bellingrath adds. “It really is, to me, a cornerstone of our faith.”
Living the Gospel
When planning the COR program, the leadership team drew from the second of the Baptismal Vows and Article IV and V of the United Methodist Book of Discipline.
The second of the Baptismal Vows
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
Article IV. Inclusiveness in the Church — The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ. The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth. All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, upon baptism be admitted as baptized members, and upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith, become professing members in any local church in the connection. In The United Methodist Church no conference or other organizational unit of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member or any constituent body of the Church because of race, color, national origin, status or economic condition.
Article V. Racial Justice — The United Methodist Church proclaims the value of each person as a unique child of God and commits itself to the healing and wholeness of all persons. The United Methodist Church recognizes that the sin of racism has been destructive to its unity throughout its history. Racism continues to cause painful division and marginalization. The United Methodist Church shall confront and seek to eliminate racism, whether in organizations or in individuals, in every facet of its life and in society at large. The United Methodist Church shall work collaboratively with others to address concerns that threaten the cause of racial justice at all times and in all places.
COR also acknowledges the past of the church, including moments and eras the Methodist Church didn’t treat all races the same, and the times it did.
“We have to know our history,” Bellingrath says. “We really have to acknowledge the history of the United Methodist Church.”
Rooted in history and these texts, the program also relies on the sharing of stories as a powerful way to truly understand and connect to the experiences of others. Each session of the February Sacred Conversations on Race series will include time for conversation and stories, including a night of guest speakers in Session 2.
At the end of the program, the COR Leadership Team hopes that attendees will walk away with action steps toward biblical justice.
“Our call is to suffer alongside those who are oppressed,” Ferguson says, adding that although it’s uncomfortable to have these conversations, it’s the cross we bear. “Even though my white skin gives me an out, my heart can’t give up.”
Learn more and register for the Conversations on Race program here.
Program Details:
Session 1
Tuesday, February 2, 7pm-8:30pm
Starting a sacred conversation on racism: challenges, history, how to begin, how to engage in difficult conversations and a little John Wesley. Sharing of stories and time for conversation.
Session 2
Tuesday, February 9, 7pm-8:30pm
A host of speakers will be joining us this night from Holston and other conferences to speak to racism in the UMC and why we must engage with one another to end racism in our beloved church. Time for discussion and sharing of stories.
Session 3
Tuesday, February 16, 7pm-8:30pm
Discussing white privilege and systemic racism: what these are and how they affect every aspect of our lives. Sharing of stories and time for conversation.
Session 4
Tuesday, February 23, 7pm-8:30pm
Continuing the conversation: where do we go from here and how the UMC can become the beloved community. Time for conversation, discernment and commitment.
Ah, Lord, you have brought us safely once again to the edge of twilight, where we must confess we are an absent-minded people. Even today we failed to notice your song delivered by the bird on the windowsill, the gleam of sunlight filling a room, the parting of the clouds revealing an ocean-blue sky, the family of stately evergreens huddled close to shield us from the wind. But then, you are the God of Second Chances, so you will help us keep our eyes open wide tomorrow for those flowers of grace you keep unfurling, even in our era of bleakness.
God of the Ordinary, we long to do something of immense significance in improving our world’s vast needs. We cannot resolve homelessness, but we can lend a hand or financially support Habitat projects.We cannot fill every empty belly on the planet, but we can feed our neighbors at Soup Kitchen and Beacon of Hope. We cannot cure cancer and all injurious diseases, but we can send notes to and offer prayers of comfort for the hurting. We often wonder how our small acts actually dent these monumental challenges. Only Jesus knows, and it is in his name that we perform our small deeds in the ordinary ways open to us.
In our ordinariness, Lord, ease our anxieties when we feel we aren’t doing enough, and remind us you are making changes in individual lives and situations, not we ourselves. We rejoice at the ways you blessed us this day, especially in . . . . . . . . . . , while we also ask your forgiveness for the slights we may have inflicted upon others . . . . . . . . Glory to you, Lord Christ!
As the mundane becomes glorified through Christ, we offer these prayers especially for . . . . . . . . . . and on behalf of your people at Church Street:
Ten members offer gratitude to church for helping them acquire virus vaccinations
Member grateful for amazing support in her bereavement
Grandmother grateful for church’s spiritual guidance and nurture of her grandson
Thanksgiving: Infant tolerating cancer treatments well
Family of four celebrate recovery from virus
Thanksgiving that lung radiation is well-tolerated
God’s grace for dear colleague whose cancer has spread
Comfort for sons: Beloved mother nearing death
Member with cancer, for improved red blood count
Pray that son might be able to see his hospitalized mother before she succumbs to Covid
Prayers for colleague: Shrinkage of cancer so surgery may proceed
Healing for cherished cousin, stroke victim
Prayers for clarity for overwhelmed wife
Husband struggling with depression
Decreased pain for cancer victim
Three recovering from serious heart issues
Infant cousin with tumor on spine
Strength for two mothers: Sons gripped by addiction
Continued prayers: One enduring chemo
Strength for two weary caregivers
For insurance company to approve chemo
O Keeper of the Night, offer your mercy to all your children whose burdens are heavy. Cloak us in holy rest under the beam of the full moon, for we turn over ourselves, and all whom we cherish, into your care. And may our final thoughts before sleep be filled with gratitude, as the prayer of your Son sings in our hearts:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
All are welcome at Church Street! We believe every person is of sacred worth and created in God’s image. We welcome and celebrate the gifts God has given to all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, status, economic condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious affiliation. We respect diversity of opinion and expressions of Christian faith. We believe God loves everyone unconditionally! As God loves us, so let us love and serve in the name of Christ.
Confirmation Class Zooms Along!
Featured, Missions, YouthDuring this time of the COVID pandemic and in-person classes being suspended, Church Street’s Confirmation class has continued without any interruption. This year’s class of fifteen 6th and 7th graders began last September and will continue through April 2021. They meet every Sunday at 11 am via Zoom. The parents join the students on screen the first Sundays in the month.
The class is taught by Rev. Rick Isbell with on-screen help from Russell & Melanie McNutt and Jeri Strong. Behind the scenes Jenny Cross’ support has been tremendous in setting up electronic student folders, and Paula Buckner’s filing system of past Confirmation materials has been invaluable in helping us continue to get important Confirmation materials to students.
We have been delighted for our clergy staff to join the class periodically along with Confirmation mentors. In addition to weekly class sessions, class members have also been collecting food items for BOH Food Co-op as well as money to contribute to Heifer Project International.
In spite of all the challenges and hurdles of doing class via Zoom, the students have been great in their attendance and participation. We’ve even had some class members to join us while traveling in the car on trips (there are some advantages to Zoom!). What the future holds, we don’t know; but the Confirmation class will keep zooming along.
Evening Prayer – February 10
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
February 10, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
As you have etched your signature in holy shades of light and dark across the sky above us, you have engraved your name upon every living part of your creation. Even as you answer to many names, we know you as the One Who Is, the One who will stand with us till time is no more. We praise you that your autograph glows in the stately stretch of the heavens this eventide — a silent signal that you linger close. If we failed to acknowledge you or caused you pain in these hours past, please forgive us. We pray you would never erase that treasured mark of ownership we are honored to wear.
Heart of Truth, the newscasters twist their sirens to their most alarming levels, keeping us anxiously poised for the next catastrophe. It is all we can do to keep from being swept up in despair. Help us instead to tune in to those voices that share stories of your goodness: the sick are being healed, the wounded are being delivered, medications are being distributed, the hungry are being fed, neighbors are helping neighbors, isolated ones are not forgotten, your work is being done.
How comforting to know that your humble disciples still walk the earth, bearing the truth of your benevolence. Thanks be to God!
O Bringer of New Life, even in the bleakness of winter, you invite us to believe in what can still be. Give us courage to move forward, even when we are tired and stressed, when we are restless and confused, even when our challenges seem insurmountable. Receive our private concerns, we pray, that we may know your wisdom, especially in . . . . . . . . . . And as it is your good pleasure to receive our prayers, we offer these on behalf of our Church Street family:
As we rest tonight, Lord, enlarge our hearts that we might love more deeply and serve with greater intensity in the new day to come. And as we sleep, we place ourselves, all whom we love, and all who bear your love to others into your keeping, for you Lord, only make us dwell in safety.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Evening Prayer – February 9
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
February 9, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Your evening sky, Creator of Rest, becomes the color of silt and we anticipate the silent grandeur with which you close each of our days. As we gaze at your soft glory, let us enter the closet of prayer and commune with you in that place of quiet where words are unnecessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
There is the beautiful aspect of widening darkness makes all things appear equal: There is no one more lofty or wise than the other, both mansion and hut are sheathed in raven, overgrown fields appear as lovely as manicured lawns, all skin tones blend into the color of earth. Only in the shadowed hours do we let down our guard long enough to see with the leveling eyes of God.
With morning’s light, however, inequities again will starkly reveal themselves; so give us new energy to take up the cause of the disordered, the poor, the hungry and misunderstood, the ill and the disenfranchised. Give us the will to respect all of your blessed creation, tending it with the love of the Father.
O One Who Beckons, thank you for calling us to be part of your labor for justice and mercy. We join our hands with all believers everywhere who know you as the Source of all Goodness and who pray without ceasing for your will to be made manifest in all our lives. Receive now both the praises and the struggles lifted from the Church Street family:
O One Who Dreams With Us, may we take in your bracing night air as we rest upon your cool sheets of peace. Refresh us with sleep tonight for the work that tomorrow holds. Shelter all whom we cherish, we pray, and all your beloved who long for the nearness of Christ:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Evening Prayer – February 8
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
February 8, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
O Evening Host, you call us with slashes of orange light seeping through the darkening horizon; your invitation beckons us home again into the enfolding freedom from our daily routine. Here in this calm closing, you offer breathing space to remember how you have carried us through the hours and how you are opening windows and doors to free us from our tensions. May we enter these moments in quiet reflection . . . . . . . . . . For your gift of this day of living under your glorious sun, we bow in gratitude.
Fortress of Forgiveness, we are a rushed people, and in our haste, our words have punctured suggestions made in earnest and ideas that showed promise. Our unkindness and lack of grace blindsided even those closest to us. For the ways in which we have failed you, our sisters and brothers, and ourselves, we ask for holy pardon, especially for . . . . . . . . . . . . We also pray you would show us how to pardon those who have caused us pain, particularly . . . . . . . . . . Perhaps if we picture your candle of grace shining above each one who has hurt us, we would see that their own struggles are no different than our own.
As you work through us to further your own purposes, we ask that you would infuse our national leaders with you new vision, granting that the groundwork they lay will support a system where all have ample opportunity to thrive in this good land you have given us. Discipline us to pray daily for our leaders at every level, as we also pray for our fellow pilgrims across the world, for ourselves, and for each of these Church Street friends whose situations are already known to you:
We conclude our prayers, Holy One, looking forward to your healing touch of sleep. Watch over all who are closest to our hearts, we pray, and with the dawn, may we place our steps in the footprints of Jesus as we walk his road to heaven:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Evening Prayer – February 4
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
February 4, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Waiting One, we come humbly before you as the shadows grow deeper, for we have struggled today and confess our thoughts and deeds have been less than our best; and here in the quiet hours, we feel the sting of our misdeeds, particularly . . . . . . . . . . Our regrets are more than we would like them to be; but we know you will not turn away from us, as you always stand ready to offer your gift of pardon when we sincerely repent. Embrace us with your forgiveness, we pray, and with your help, tomorrow may be a different story altogether.
You feed us the bread of mercy, Sustaining One, and offer us the cup of grace. And for all the mercies that have found us today, hear our prayers of thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . For many of our brothers & sisters, pain has cut a wide swath, so comfort the grieving, heal the hurting, fill all who are empty, and sustain those too weak to form any words. And for those who have forgotten you, open their ears that they may hear your voice calling them home. We are all wanderers and we know we cannot make this journey alone. May your love be our companion as we travel toward your grace of eternity.
Again and again, Great Healer, you remove the thorns of our losses and cover our wounds with your balm of hope. Receive these most recent expressions of gratitude for your work among us; and accept these prayers for holy assistance from your children at Church Street:
Good Keeper, we are never out of your sight by daylight, and you make your pallet beside our bed each night. If we call out, you are only a heartbeat away. And should you happen to speak, may our hearts open to your whispered words: “All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we offer our collective prayers:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Evening Prayer – February 3
UncategorizedBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
February 3, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
O Calm Beyond the Sunset, you have designed this shimmering day and extended it to us freely through your grace. And now the evening wind picks up and breathtaking shadows lengthen across the fields; this is another of your invitations as we stand on the edge of your pool of darkness. “Come, enter the restorative flow,” you say, “the temperature is refreshing and all your daytime distractions are hidden away.”
We do long to lay down our troubles on the banks of healing shade and step inside. Give us such courage. While others may follow the world’s path and continue their work through the darkest hours, grant that we might linger awhile with the Holy One who beckons, giving rest to the weary and fulness to the depleted. . . . . . . . . . .
Sea of Mercy, look down this eve on those living in the land of broken dreams, your beloved who desperately yearn for solace: the hungry, the refugee, the prisoner, the lonely, those far from home and those whose homes have been turned upside down by illness, the loss of a loved one, by personal conflict. Break into their lives with waves of your healing assurance, reminding them they are not forgotten. Grant that they, and each of us who pray this night, may hear the rippling calm of your voice which gives us courage to wait in times of sorrow.
Already, we feel you working on our behalf and extend our deepest gratitude. And also lay before you these deepest concerns on the hearts of your Church Street community:
We are neither righteous nor devout, nor even worthy; still you have drawn close to us and wrapped us in your amazing love. You hear our cries and you touch us with your mercy, especially in these ways: . . . . . . . . . . As we close our eyes and enter that chamber of rest tonight, fill our hearts with thanksgiving to the One who offers us life eternal:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Evening Prayer – February 2
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
February 2, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Gift-Giving God, you are pouring your quiet darkness over another full and often-disordered day, telling us it is time to slow our pace and put away the tools of our trade. Empty our hands and hearts that we might accept this unopened gift of melon-colored twilight, knowing it is offered with love. Inside there are promised treasures of comfort, rest, and reflection. May we honor both the gift and the divine hand that provides it.
As we meditate upon this day of radiant sunshine, we are humbled by all the favors you have brought to pass and the goodness shown to us by others. Especially we recall . . . . . . . . . . We praise you for your overarching benevolence; and even now your snowy ridges are smoothing out those harsh thoughts and hasty actions we deeply regret, especially . . . . . . . . . . . Draw us close, Lord, and dust away those ugly vices that cling to our boots. And as we pass through the new day to come, may others think of Jesus as we walk by.
Gracious Guardian, it is difficult for us to recognize the depth of need that many still face during this pandemic, especially now that the temperatures have dropped. Guard, we pray, those without shelter or adequate food on the table, the ones facing eviction, the unemployed, the ill, confused and dying. Dry the tears that fall all too frequently these days, and in your mercy, continue to lighten the loads of all your cherished ones, including your friends at Church Street:
Eternal Companion, you have poured out your divine hope upon us and we place our souls, and the souls of all whom we love, into your hands this cold night. We close our eyes in peace, feeling your warming presence beside us; and with the dawn, we will find you there still, ready to support us in whatever lies ahead. Pull together all our prayers, for we offer them in the name of Hope, Jesus our Savior, who prayed in this way:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Evening Prayer – February 1
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
February 1, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Wait on the Lord, be of good courage
and he shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord. (Ps 27:14)
O Great Silence, you live beyond the realm of words, in that space we rarely visit. Turn off that spigot of chatter that floods our minds and our mouths, and for this one evening may we join you there to merely keep company with you in your deep mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Teach us the beauty of regular resting in you, that we may learn what true restoration is. In our culture where highest praise is directed to production, remind us that we are esteemed by you each time we seat ourselves at your feet and take in whatever glories you choose to whisper.
Once filled with summer’s happy green fans, the oak’s bare branches now wave to us through the windowpane. The empty trees take their losses with more grace than we, knowing in their ancient wisdom that fretting is futile. Our own losses these past long months have been bitter, and we find it difficult to open our hands and let them fall freely as fragmented leaves. But, Nourishing God, as you enrich the soil with leafy shards, so use our shredded despair and broken dreams to fortify us. We may never stand as stately as the oaks, but you will make us strong enough to lean into the winter winds, as we wait for your next season of greenness.
Within your great silence, you have heard the cries of our hearts and have blessed us in many ways. We pray that, as you already have bolstered the spirits of many, you would attend also to these friends and families whose hope is in you:
May your Silent Spirit rest our minds and hearts as we sleep, calming our fears and erasing our sins. Fold us and all whom we love into your embrace, we pray; and tomorrow, may we rise forgiven and free to serve in the name of Christ, who taught us to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Turning conversation into change
Adult MinistriesWhen Pat Bellingrath and Celia Ferguson met in conversation about the conviction they felt surrounding the treatment of Black community members in 2016, they never imagined their dream to do justice work across their church conference would come true.
Now, the pair, along with 20 other program planners, will host a four-week Sacred Conversations on Race (COR) series for the Tennessee Valley district of the Holston Conference.
“Conversation is the way you begin to change the world,” Ferguson says. “Conversation is how you build relationships to make the change.”
Humble Beginning
Conversation looks different than it did when the COR Leadership group met for the first time. In 2016, Bellingrath and Ferguson were joined by Stephanie Blue, Rev. Leah Burns, Sandra Dimmick, Jean Galyon and Ivee Miles-Slater around a kitchen table in discussion.
“We heard stories that (proved) we just didn’t know how the world worked,” Ferguson says, providing “The Talk” about racism as an example. “There were incredibly difficult conversations we had. They were emotional.”
In November 2016, about 100 people of all backgrounds and faiths attended the first COR program, sitting around tables to converse with people unlike themselves.
Reflecting and understanding a need for more conversation, the original planning team of seven grew to 22, with a focus on eliminating racism in the larger United Methodist Church, starting with the Holston Conference.
“Our hope is to get churches to start conversations on these issues,” Ferguson says, adding that it’s not only amongst members, but on Sunday mornings during worship, too.
“For me, this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Bellingrath adds. “It really is, to me, a cornerstone of our faith.”
Living the Gospel
When planning the COR program, the leadership team drew from the second of the Baptismal Vows and Article IV and V of the United Methodist Book of Discipline.
The second of the Baptismal Vows
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
Article IV. Inclusiveness in the Church — The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ. The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth. All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, upon baptism be admitted as baptized members, and upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith, become professing members in any local church in the connection. In The United Methodist Church no conference or other organizational unit of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member or any constituent body of the Church because of race, color, national origin, status or economic condition.
Article V. Racial Justice — The United Methodist Church proclaims the value of each person as a unique child of God and commits itself to the healing and wholeness of all persons. The United Methodist Church recognizes that the sin of racism has been destructive to its unity throughout its history. Racism continues to cause painful division and marginalization. The United Methodist Church shall confront and seek to eliminate racism, whether in organizations or in individuals, in every facet of its life and in society at large. The United Methodist Church shall work collaboratively with others to address concerns that threaten the cause of racial justice at all times and in all places.
COR also acknowledges the past of the church, including moments and eras the Methodist Church didn’t treat all races the same, and the times it did.
“We have to know our history,” Bellingrath says. “We really have to acknowledge the history of the United Methodist Church.”
Rooted in history and these texts, the program also relies on the sharing of stories as a powerful way to truly understand and connect to the experiences of others. Each session of the February Sacred Conversations on Race series will include time for conversation and stories, including a night of guest speakers in Session 2.
At the end of the program, the COR Leadership Team hopes that attendees will walk away with action steps toward biblical justice.
“Our call is to suffer alongside those who are oppressed,” Ferguson says, adding that although it’s uncomfortable to have these conversations, it’s the cross we bear. “Even though my white skin gives me an out, my heart can’t give up.”
Learn more and register for the Conversations on Race program here.
Program Details:
Session 1
Tuesday, February 2, 7pm-8:30pm
Starting a sacred conversation on racism: challenges, history, how to begin, how to engage in difficult conversations and a little John Wesley. Sharing of stories and time for conversation.
Session 2
Tuesday, February 9, 7pm-8:30pm
A host of speakers will be joining us this night from Holston and other conferences to speak to racism in the UMC and why we must engage with one another to end racism in our beloved church. Time for discussion and sharing of stories.
Session 3
Tuesday, February 16, 7pm-8:30pm
Discussing white privilege and systemic racism: what these are and how they affect every aspect of our lives. Sharing of stories and time for conversation.
Session 4
Tuesday, February 23, 7pm-8:30pm
Continuing the conversation: where do we go from here and how the UMC can become the beloved community. Time for conversation, discernment and commitment.
Evening Prayer – January 28
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
January 28, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Ah, Lord, you have brought us safely once again to the edge of twilight, where we must confess we are an absent-minded people. Even today we failed to notice your song delivered by the bird on the windowsill, the gleam of sunlight filling a room, the parting of the clouds revealing an ocean-blue sky, the family of stately evergreens huddled close to shield us from the wind. But then, you are the God of Second Chances, so you will help us keep our eyes open wide tomorrow for those flowers of grace you keep unfurling, even in our era of bleakness.
God of the Ordinary, we long to do something of immense significance in improving our world’s vast needs. We cannot resolve homelessness, but we can lend a hand or financially support Habitat projects.We cannot fill every empty belly on the planet, but we can feed our neighbors at Soup Kitchen and Beacon of Hope. We cannot cure cancer and all injurious diseases, but we can send notes to and offer prayers of comfort for the hurting. We often wonder how our small acts actually dent these monumental challenges. Only Jesus knows, and it is in his name that we perform our small deeds in the ordinary ways open to us.
In our ordinariness, Lord, ease our anxieties when we feel we aren’t doing enough, and remind us you are making changes in individual lives and situations, not we ourselves. We rejoice at the ways you blessed us this day, especially in . . . . . . . . . . , while we also ask your forgiveness for the slights we may have inflicted upon others . . . . . . . . Glory to you, Lord Christ!
As the mundane becomes glorified through Christ, we offer these prayers especially for . . . . . . . . . . and on behalf of your people at Church Street:
O Keeper of the Night, offer your mercy to all your children whose burdens are heavy. Cloak us in holy rest under the beam of the full moon, for we turn over ourselves, and all whom we cherish, into your care. And may our final thoughts before sleep be filled with gratitude, as the prayer of your Son sings in our hearts:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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