Congratulations to Eric Owens, freshman at Belmont University, elected to the forty member Congress in the Student Government Association. He is one of twenty students chosen for the Freshman Leadership Program.
Congratulations to Robin Jewett, instructor in the Physician Assistant program at Trevecca Nazarene University. Physician Assistants must recertify every six year by taking a long and difficult exam (PANRE). A passing score is 379. A score of 720 places the student in the top one percentile. Robin scored an 800 which is beyond extraordinary.
Congratulations to Michelle Plummer, elected to the Trevecca Nazarene University Athletic Hall of Fame, to be inducted at Homecoming Ceremonies in November. Michelle was a scholarship volleyball player at TNU from 2000-2003. She is a graduate of Trevecca and the graduate research program at Vanderbilt Medical School. She serves as the assistant coach of Girl’s Volleyball at St. Cecilia’s High School and is the mother of three preschool children.
Dr. Sam Green led the Hermitage Worship Choir in two morning worship concerts in The Center on Sunday, September 25, 2011. Vocalists included Lisa Anderson, Jo Apple, Melody Beach, Dorinda Biggs, Joy Bradley, Joyce Clevenger, Kristi Dozier, Julie Foster, Beth Fox, Anna-Laura Green, Keli Green, Wendi Harrison, Traci Haydel, Marvin Heath, Traci Hollandsworth, JoAnn Jackson, Ken Koon, Pam McNeese, Herb McMillan, Miriam McMillan, Lindsey Miller, Anna Plummer, Ruthann Ring, Beverly Sharpe, Bobby Smith, Kari Snyder, Ken Stegall, Tammy Tarter, Jenni Thompson, Jim Trease, Paul Vann, Brenda Waffird, Jami Walker, Joe Walker, Deborah Walter, Misty Webb, and Betty Willis. Band members included Jay Barfield, Paul Bolling, David Flint, Donny Jackson, Patrick Lake, Randy Layne, Graham Scott, and Michael Waller. I think it should be noted that Michael Waller played knowing he was going to his father’s wake in the afternoon and memorial services today. The concerts exalted the Lord Jesus Christ by declaring his name, his saving work, his attributes. What a tremendous display of talent and energy.
Kristi Mabry, Hermitage Missions President, and the Missions Council presented the Missions Fair in The Center on Sunday, September 25, 2011, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. The Team who made it happen included Jared (co-leader) and Sarah Jo Bouton, Jeremy and Heather Michael, Donna Shankle, Amy Walvoord, Jenn Neely, Matthew Mullins, Marvin Heath, Bev Mitchell, Ken Jewett, Jody Scott, and Adrie Brown. Helpers who assisted in the action included Kris Neely, Shane Tarter, Hunter Steinmetz, Reed McCoy, Daniel Jones, Chase Wheeler, Josh Cater, Ben Mabry, Robert Luther, Eddie Witkowski, Christine Helm, Jill Satterlee, Marilyn Jordan, Miriam McMillan, Ken Elkins, Kim Vann, Jill Sweigard, Kailey Perkins, Hayley Gold, Marileigh Mabry, and Shelby Rose. Multiple and diverse agencies opened their displays and tables and offered opportunities for mission in the neighborhood and around the world. One mission leader told me our church was the first Nazarene Church to invite her agency to a fair. A Room-in-the-Inn executive told me Hermitage Church was the church homeless men plead to be put on their list because of how they are treated. He had great words to say about Paul Stonecipher, the HCN director of Room-in-the-Inn. An estimated 300 people attended the fair.
Thanksgiving may seem far away to you, but I want to talk to you about something that has been a part of my Thanksgiving for decades: the Thanksgiving Offering for World Missions. Since I was a child, the Church of the Nazarene has received special offerings at Thanksgiving and Easter for world missions. These days, those offerings support 702 missionaries in 156 world areas, sharing the gospel. It supports 175 compassionate ministry centers in the United States and Canada to care for underprivileged and hurting people. 10.6 million people have accepted Jesus because of the sponsorship of the Jesus Film and 27,769 churches have started because of them. 10,205 children in 79 countries are supported through the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Child Development Fund. 54 Nazarene Schools provide education in 34 countries. Hermitage Nazarenes give between $55,000 to $60,000 to the World Mission Fund each year. Most of the time, we do that in catch up fashion in May and June. Would you begin to think about and pray about the possibility that you would give an offering for missions at Thanksgiving time? I will talk to you more as Thanksgiving gets closer.
I have not written it this year so here goes. Fall officially arrived last Friday, September 23, 2011. It is my favorite season and I think the favorite season of most people I know. It has its own distinct smell and wardrobe and colors and foods. I know it brings a lot of rain but I like rain too. And, as if you needed more, the farther you get into the fall, the sweeter the collard greens taste. When God renews the earth, I am hoping I get a lot of fall.
I know that the Wilson County School break begins this weekend and extends into the next three weekends. That means lots of people are going out-of-town. If you are in-town, I hope you will make it your business to attend Sunday School and worship. I look forward to seeing you and being with you.
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Howard
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