Brookmeade is hosting another art class this fall led by local artist Michele Lambert! This will be a mixed media art class where we explore color. The class will meet Thursday nights from 6-8 pm from 10/3-10/24. The cost is $80 for all 4 weeks (materials included). Please reserve your spot today by contacting the church office (615-352-4702, brookmeade@comcast.net). 

Michele Lambert, Artist Bio:

Co-owner of Shimai Gallery of Contemporary Craft, Michele Lambert, is a multi-disciplined artist.  Working primarily as a painter and poet, her large canvases combine color, texture and words to convey her deep connection to the natural world.  In addition to painting on canvas, wood and paper, she creates small mixed media collages using paper, natural objects and tools.  The collection of her work provides viewers with her life stories of family, heartbreak, trauma, and redemption.  Although she received a degree in Fine Art from Watkins College of Art and Design, she considers art-making a natural gift and a necessary outpouring of expression that has healing power.

Before opening Shimai in 2005 with dear friend and business partner, Becca Ganick, Michele taught at Watkins, in Metro Nashville Public Schools, the Frist Museum and many other private venues.  Her work is in private and corporate collections across the country.  Community involvement plays a vital role in her professional life, serving on several non-profit boards, volunteering in public schools and offering advisory consultation for businesses creating interiors sensitive to trauma victims.

Michele is interested in helping emerging artists find a foothold in the professional art world.  Her background experience as a professional artist, educator and gallery owner gives her a broad perspective enabling her to connect developing artists with best practices in professional conduct whether it be with craftsmanship or building relationships with gallery owners.  She enjoys interaction with other artists and is always interested in learning about the process and motivation behind work created by others.

SAVE THE DATE!  Back by popular demand – Nature Sunday, September 22, 2024. We will hold a simple – low tech service, followed by a simple potluck finger food fellowship time. The Fellowship Team will provide drinks and paper products.
WHEN: 9/22/24
WHERE: Edwin Warner Park. 
SHELTER LOCATION: We have reserved Shelter 6A (50 Vaughn Rd)
https://www.nashville.gov/departments/parks/permits-rentals-and-reservations/picnic-shelters/edwin-warner
Click HERE for a map of the shelter located off of Vaughn Road, the entry point is close to the dog park. Click HERE for directions to Shelter 6A from Brookmeade. 
THE WAY THIS WORKS:
We have reserved the shelter from 6 am until 2 pm. We will host the event from approx. 10 am until Noon at which time we will start our clean up. You are welcome to come early or stay late to take nature hikes/walks, play games on the lawns etc.
There are picnic tables with benches OR you could choose to bring your own chairs if you like. 
We really Look forward to seeing y’all there!

*Please note: There will be no service held at the Brookmeade building on Nature Sunday!

This will be a 20th Anniversary gathering, as the Upper Room UCC Fellowship was founded in the Fall of 2004: a fellowship of UCC laypersons & UCC friends promoting daily prayer & meditation on sacred scriptures via the daily devotional aids of the UPPER ROOM and the national UCC’s Still Speaking daily devotional. Meeting periodically for potluck brunches, the Upper Room UCC Fellowship also seeks the greater unity, fellowship & spiritual vitality of Nashville-area UCC churches & UCC friends.

All are invited to this gathering of Nashville UCC churches & UCC friends: a potluck Anniversary Brunch on Saturday, Sept 21st @ 11:00 AM at Howard Congregational Church (2802 Buchanan St). Special guest artists in concert (sacred jazz & gospel): Connye Florance & Kevin Madill! Bring family, friends & your favorite brunch food for great UCC fellowship & inspiration!

Now available without cost in the foyer of the church is the Sept-Oct issue of the UPPER ROOM daily devotional.  The UPPER ROOM is a great devotional aid for having daily set-aside time for prayer & meditation on sacred scriptures to grow in being closer to God and God’s people all across the world.  Published in 34 languages & distributed all over the planet, the UPPER ROOM is a daily connection with the universal communion of saints with God & one another!  Pick up a copy in the foyer of the church or contact the church office to have a copy mailed to you.

Our next trip to the Project CURE Warehouse (2309 Clifton Ave, 37209) is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7th from 9:30 am – 12 pm. We will be sorting medical supplies. Newcomers are very welcome! For planning reasons we need a head count for our group prior to volunteering. Please RSVP to the church office ASAP if you plan to attend. Thanks and see you there!

Our Restorative Yoga Class has returned to our usual meeting time on Monday afternoons @ 4:30 pm with classes led by our instructor Ali Sperry live on Zoom! All are welcome to join us for this gentle/beginner’s yoga class meeting weekly. During the following dates in September, the class will be offered ONLINE only. Please contact the church office if you’d like to receive the Zoom link to participate from home on 9/2, 9/9, and 9/16.

Brookmeade is excited to welcome guest preacher Dr. Tammy Lewis Wilborn this Sunday, September 1st!

New Orleans native, Dr. Tammy Lewis Wilborn (she/her) is a retired board-certified licensed
professional counselor-supervisor with 20+ years of professional experience. Among her other
accomplishments, Dr. Wilborn owned and managed a solo clinical mental health private practice,
held faculty appointments at the University of New Orleans and Xavier University of Louisiana,
founded the annual Black Women’s Wellness Conference of New Orleans, and authored Playing
A New Game: A Black Woman’s Guide to Being Well and Thriving in the Workplace. As a mental
health and wellness expert and professional keynote speaker, Dr. Wilborn has informed,
inspired, and ignited audiences of all types to be well, whole, and free as God intended.

Dr. Wilborn holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte, a Master of Science in Counseling, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
from Loyola University of New Orleans. She is also a 2021 graduate of Loyola University of New
Orleans’ Women’s Leadership Academy.

In 2020, Dr. Wilborn answered her call to ministry and began graduate studies in the fall of 2022
at Vanderbilt Divinity School (VDS). In December 2024, she will graduate from VDS with a Master
of Divinity degree and a concentration in Pastoral and Prophetic Congregational Leadership. She
is a Member-In-Discernment in the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ and an
active member of Howard Congregational United Church of Christ, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dr. Wilborn is married and is the mother of two adult sons and a teenage son who thinks he’s an
adult.

First Sundays of the month we collect our COW (“Contribute Our Wealth”) Offering. Monetary donations are split between Second Harvest of Middle TN and Heifer International. You can also bring canned goods on Sunday morning to donate to Second Harvest. Please designate your check for COW Offering or if you give online you can choose COW offering on the drop-down menu on Tithe.ly. Thank you for supporting these important organizations and helping Brookmeade fight hunger!

Learn & Grow is taking the summer off. Our class will resume on Sunday, September 8, 2024 at 9:15 am on Sundays. We will study the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. We encourage you to add it to your summer reading list and begin reading it before the class starts!

Click HERE to learn more about the upcoming UCC Southeast Conference Annual Meeting on Thursday 8/15 – Saturday 8/17 in Crossville, TN, including workshop details, speaker bios, lodging details and registration information (in person and online options available). The Greater Nashville UCC Churches Choir has been asked to perform on Saturday morning. If you’d like to join Brookmeaders, along with our sister churches Howard and HTCC, in this performance (singers and instrumentalists are all welcome) please contact the church office. We are also seeking members to act as delegates at this meeting for anyone who is interested in attending!