The Christmas Fund has been caring for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the United Church of Christ for over 100 years, providing emergency grants, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas “Thank You” gift checks each December to our lower-income retirees.

United Church of Christ congregations and members have blessed the Christmas Fund with their generosity for many years. This year, your care and compassion will be especially appreciated by those servants of the church who are facing a time of need. 

Brookmeade will be collecting for the Christmas Fund offering throughout the month of December. You can bring a check on Sunday, mail one to the church office or donate online via Tithe.ly by choosing “UCC Christmas Fund Offering” on the drop-down menu. Thank you for your generosity this holiday season!

Our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will be held at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, December 24th. Please invite your family, friends and neighbors to attend this special service of readings and hymns as we celebrate the joy of Christmas together!

Sunday, December 21, is the longest period of darkness of the year. Our faith tradition teaches us that joy comes in the morning; however, there is room for grief even in the anticipation of joy. For many, the holiday season can be challenging. Even for those who love the holidays, the hustle culture around it can cause us all to need some relief. This service is for those who are struggling to find their peace in this season where our culture expects us to put on a smile. This service is for those who need respite from the “Christmas Cheer,” and who need to acknowledge that there is room for grief, for despair, there is room for release in this season too. Pastor Liz will create brave space for you to come and experience prayer stations, and encounter the Holy in the spaces where we need to be seen and heard and reminded that we are not alone. Come and see, and bring a friend as we make room for authentic feelings and are lifted with some hope. The service will be held Sunday 12/21 at 7 pm. 

The second phase of our Visioning process has included some grief work and will still include some congregational/covenant-building work. Pastor Liz has used her training and experience to organize four after-worship sessions.

After some thoughtful and prayerful discussion, Pastor Liz and leadership have decided to POSTPONE the second half of the Visioning Phase 2 process until after the beginning of the new year. We will still have our Darkest Night Service on Sunday, December 21st, at 7 pm in the sanctuary. This will be a reflective service with prayer stations and an opportunity to consider grief in the midst of the season of holidays (Holy Days).

We will continue the second part of this work on Sunday, January 11th, with a session on Practicing Consent and Healthy Covenantal Boundaries. Followed by a session on January 18th, working on Conflict Resolution Training. Pastor Liz intends to help us build tools for building a stronger and healthier covenant for moving forward. This work may include some challenging conversations, so we invite you to be brave and welcome the opportunity to grow as we learn together.

Be brave, take a risk, and come join in the Visioning work that lays a foundation for the ministry God is calling Brookmeade to become. We need your voice and your knowledge. And we hope your love for this institution and its people will be enough to draw you to the good work ahead of us. 

Once we complete Phase 2, Phase 3 will begin in February, and in this phase, we will begin the work of naming God’s mission (the purpose for our ministry) and God’s vision (the direction that mission will take) for our future ministry. This is the fun work, the dreaming, the brainstorming. It will really help us all be on the same page if we don’t skip any steps along the way. Let us continue this journey in ministry and allow God to show us how good it can get!

This is our schedule for the rest of Phase 2:
Evening:
Sunday, December 21: The Darkest Night Grief Reflection Service (7 pm)

Following Worship:
Sunday, January 11: Practicing Consent and Healthy Boundaries
Sunday, January 18: Conflict Resolution Training 

*Please contact the church office if you’d like a Zoom link to attend virtually for any of these dates! Videos of the first two grief-focused sessions are available in the Church office and a link can be sent to you to view them if you would like to catch up with us.

Brookmeade will provide overnight shelter & supper for persons living on the cold streets of Nashville on Friday, Dec. 12th @ 5:30 PM. We need volunteers to make this happen! Brookmeade participants in the RITI ministry in past years have always found it to be a deeply enriching experience. Please help in providing meals & other services via the signup link in your weekly email or the paper signup sheet located in the long hallway of the church. Heartfelt thanks in advance to all who volunteer to help the unsheltered of Nashville living on the streets during the Christmas season. Please contact the church office with any questions!

The second phase of our Visioning process has included some grief work and will still include some congregational/covenant-building work. Pastor Liz has used her training and experience to organize four after-worship sessions that began Sunday, November 9th. We will continue the second part of this work on Sunday, December 7th, with a session on Practicing Consent and Healthy Covenantal Boundaries. Followed by a session on December 21st (*notice change of date) working on Conflict Resolution Training. Pastor Liz intends to help us build tools for building a stronger and healthier covenant for moving forward. This work may include some challenging conversations, so we invite you to be brave and welcome the opportunity to grow as we learn together.
Be brave, take a risk, and come join in the Visioning work that lays a foundation for the ministry God is calling Brookmeade to become. We need your voice and your knowledge. And we hope your love for this institution and its people will be enough to draw you to the good work ahead of us.
Once we complete Phase 2, Phase 3 will begin in late January or early February, and in this phase, we will begin the work of naming God’s mission (the purpose for our ministry) and God’s vision (the direction that mission will take) for our future ministry. This is the fun work, the dreaming, the brainstorming. It will really help us all be on the same page if we don’t skip any steps along the way. Let us continue this journey in ministry and allow God to show us how good it can get!

This is our schedule for Phase 2:

Following Worship:
*Please contact the church office if you’d like a Zoom link to attend virtually for any of these dates!
Sunday, December 7: Practicing Consent and Healthy Boundaries
DATE CHANGE – Sunday, December 21: Conflict Resolution Training

Evening:
Sunday, December 21: The Darkest Night Grief Reflection Service @ 7 pm

Join our Project CURE Volunteer Group Saturday, December 6th from 9:30 – 11:30 am! We help sort medical supplies on the first Saturday of every month at the Project CURE warehouse (2309 Clifton Ave. 37209). These are surplus supplies that are sent to countries all around the world that need them. No training required to participate! Please RSVP to the church office if you plan to attend. Thank you for helping support this important ministry.

This Christmas season we will be collecting toys for the “Last Minute Toy Store.” This project provides free gifts for families with children and teens to make sure their Christmas is spectacular. Please donate toys unwrapped. We will be collecting gifts for the Last Minute Toy Store until Sunday, December 7th.

Accepting Toy & gift card Donations: New, unwrapped toys, bikes and other age-appropriate gifts in the $10 – $25 price range are needed for newborn to 18 years of age. For Teen Gifts: (ages 12-18) Gift cards, valued between $15 – $20, are a great idea! Here are a few stores that are a hit: Bath & Body Works, Walmart, Old Navy, Target, Game Stop, Books-A-Million, Amazon. If you prefer to buy specific items, here are some ideas: blue tooth speakers, karaoke machines, headphones, tool kits, make-up kits, shavers or trimmers, make up mirrors, purses, shoulder bags, curling irons or journals.

“Diverse Unity Nashville” is holding a Community Town Hall at the Brookmeade building on Saturday, November 29th starting at 11 am, with a reception following. Come hear local guest speakers talk about important issues facing our community. Speakers will include:  Senator Heidi Campbell, Council Member Thomas Duffel, Chaplain Dahron Johnson, Council Member Jeff Preptit, Candidate for Governor Dr. Carnita Atwater.  Please spread the word about this community event!

Continuing a long-standing & loving tradition, the Brookmeade Fellowship Team is organizing a Thanksgiving Day Potluck Dinner @ 2:00 PM at the church for Brookmeade members not otherwise & elsewhere obligated. Extravagant welcome & invitation will also be extended to our West Meade neighbors, as well as to the greater Nashville community! Feel free to spread the word to your neighbors. Brookmeade extends a great heart-warming welcome to all who would like a place to celebrate this holiday together! Please RSVP to the church office so we can be sure and have enough turkey for all! There is a sign up sheet in the hallway or you can call/email the church office.