Welcome to the seven newest members of Hermitage Church of the Nazarene: Lance Conn; Heather Miller; Steve and Leisha Stride; Gary, Kim, and K.C. Van Atta. The group hails from Alabama, California, and Tennessee with ecclesial backgrounds in the Baptist Church, Catholic Church, Church of Christ, Church of the Nazarene, and United Methodist Church. They asked great questions in membership class and followed them up with emails. Lance is a graduate student at TNU and district licensed minister. Heather is a freshman at Vol State where she plays on the Women’s Basketball Team. Steve is a psychology professor at TNU and Leisha is a stay-at-home mom with two preschool boys (Will and Seth), and a baby on-the-way. Gary is the Women’s Basketball Coach and physical education professor at TNU. Kim is the program manager in TDOT’s Highway Safety Office. K.C. (Kelley Christian) is a sophomore pastoral ministry major at TNU where she plays on the Women’s Basketball Team. Each person brings the gifts and graces of their lives to us and we bring the same to them. In the body of Christ, we belong to one another.
Last Friday night, Mt. Juliet High School played their first home game in their new stadium against Portland. The final score was MJHS: 24, Portland: 6. The Tennessean reported another interesting statistic. Brady Earnhardt rushed for 121 yards for MJHS. Congratulations to Brady, the MJHS Varsity Team, and to MJHS students.
The Tennessean published another great article about HCN in the Friday, September 19, 2008, Davidson AM. Jim Knott was interviewed regarding the organization of Men’s Fraternity on Sundays from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. See the article posted in The Center glass bulletin board.
I am not a golfer so when I talk about golf, it must be significant. Over the last week, I have listened to the hype about the Ryder Cup in Louisville at the Walhalla Golf Club. The Ryder Cup is a golf competition between Team USA and Team Europe played every two years on alternating continents. Team Europe has won eight of the past eleven times. On Sunday, however, Team USA, including two Kentucky boys and six rookies, played their hearts out and won 16 ½ to 11 ½. I told you that to tell you this. One of the Kentucky boys was Kenny Perry. At forty-eight years of age, he played golf all year hoping to be chosen for Team USA. When he won his individual competition on Sunday, his eighty-four year old daddy was there in trademark overalls to greet him and hug him at the eighteenth hole. It was a piece of southern culture. It made me proud.
One more comment about sports: how about Vandy’s 4-0 football team? We’re not here often, folks, so celebrate.
The Staff Team told me that I need to talk about the Sunday Poverty Dinner scheduled for this Sunday evening and the flow of the schedule. Sunday’s dinner is from 5:00 to 6:30 PM in The Center. The menu is Kenyan: beans, potatoes, bread, drink. I need more volunteers who will cook a pot of beans or a pot of potatoes and bread. If you could help, call the church office at 847-3335 and put your name on a list. The purpose of the dinner is to raise money to support ten orphans in Kenya for one year. A box will be available for donations at the food line. The financial goal for the evening is $8,400. That breaks down to: 10 orphans x 12 months x $70 per month. Money has already been given to support two orphans. I have often wondered how I could make a difference in the world for just one child who was hungry and homeless without being taken for a ride by someone who tricked me. I wonder no longer. I have walked in this orphanage building; seen the children; know their desperate need. I am now a beggar on their behalf. Angela Hissey is coordinating a silent auction in the lobby of The Center that will be open from 5:00 to 6:15 PM. At 6:15 PM, the highest bidders will be announced and funds collected with all proceeds going toward the $8,400 goal. Contributions to the silent auction include pottery, furniture, and paintings from local artisans including our own children. If you are not able to attend the Poverty Dinner, you can still donate by writing a check to Hermitage Church of the Nazarene, designating for the Poverty Dinner, and putting it in the Sunday offering plates or mailing it to the church at PO Box 111, Hermitage, TN, 37076. Whatever we do for these orphaned children, we do for Jesus. I want to stand before the Lord and tell him I tried. I believe the same of you. All that I write, I write humbly on behalf of the twenty-two member Mission Africa 2008 Team.
This Sunday, September 28, 2008, is also the date of the annual fall concert by the HCN Choir and Center Band. There are two concert opportunities: 9:00 and 10:30 AM. Please notice the second concert is not 10:15 AM as usual but 10:30 AM. That gives parking lots time to empty and refill. Please notice also that there will be no Sunday School on Sunday. Please take advantage of inviting your UNCHURCHED neighbors, friends, families, and co-workers to attend one of the services with you. Your risk could change their eternity. The music is dynamic. The singers are gifted. The band is sensational. The Holy Spirit has long ago started talking and wooing the people you need to bring. God is going before you. Invite. Invite. Invite. On more than one occasion over the last thirteen years, I have sat in worship listening to the choir, losing my breath, and thinking about all the people I wish were with me. Invite.
Have I told you lately how much I appreciate the privilege to work with such a gifted, committed staff team of Rondy Smith, Carol Waller, Ronnie Thompson, Sam Green, Ken Jewett, and Shane Tarter? Even the newcomers testified in a recent luncheon of the excellence they observe and experience in the ministry of the team. I encourage you to tell them of your appreciation.
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Howard
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