Sun. Jan. 23rd: Congregational Meeting

There will be a Congregational Meeting on Zoom following the worship service on Sunday, January 23rd. Please join us on Zoom following worship at 11:20 am for the annual meeting to approve our budget and vote in our new officers! If you need help getting on Zoom or will be unable to attend but would like a concern raised, please email the church office. Hope to see you all there! You will use the same zoom link as zoom worship to join the meeting. 

Get Ready for Zoom Church!

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!

I hope the holiday season was joyous and filled with ease for each and everyone of us!

Ahhhhhh COVID………we find ourselves in the midst of another wave of the pandemic. The pastoral team has decided to not have in-person church for the next several weeks. We feel that this is paramount for the health and safety of our congregation. We will reassess at the end of January for the month of February.  

We know that the isolation and loneliness of COVID can be hard for many of us. So we firmly believe that having an opportunity to gather once a week can be very helpful in maintaining connection among us. Turning our minds to spiritual pursuits for an hour a week can be life giving and sustaining for all of us!

Come and join us this Sunday at 10:30 AM on Zoom! The link to join will be included in our weekly email. To subscribe please visit our Contact page. All are welcome to join us!

We truly cannot wait to see everyone. 

Peace,
Pastor Anne-Marie, Beverly and Laura

In-Person Worship Suspended until Further Notice

Grace and Peace to each of you.

Yes, this is my usual greeting to you in the Brookmeade Beat, and it is especially clear that we need both grace/mercy and peace these days. The omicron variant of CoVid-19 is in our midst, infecting members of our community as well as many others. As a result, we have decided that Brookmeade should stop in-person worship immediately, until circumstances are safer. So, regretfully, we have canceled both our Christmas Eve service tomorrow evening, and the morning worship service this Sunday, December 26.

Please, if any of you contracts CoVid-19, contact our office by phone voicemail at (615) 352-4702 or by email to Brookmeade@comcast.net. We want to support you in any way you may need.

And your worship team has not abandoned you! A short video of lessons and carols, recorded last Christmas season for virtual worship, will be posted on our YouTube channel tomorrow, and a link sent out to all who receive the Brookmeade Beat. In addition, a short liturgy with instructions for the end-of-year ritual that was planned for this Sunday will be posted before December 31. The carols are sung or played by small groups, so you can be more comfortable singing along. The end-of-year ritual is a meaningful way to help cleanse yourself of those parts of 2021 that need to be left behind. We hope you find solace in both, as a route to joy this season.

We also have plans for posting more meaningful virtual worship services in January and as long as necessary to get past this virus surge. We are a community of faith, and we have faith that this, too, shall end, and that we shall survive through the power of God’s love for us and for the world.

Merry Christmas!
Onward to a better and happier New Year!
from Pastor Beverly and all your Brookmeade Pastoral Team

UCC Christmas Fund Offering

“Good news… Great joy… All the people!” Luke 2:10 

The Christmas Fund has been caring for active and retired United Church of Christ clergy and lay employees and their families for over 100 years, providing emergency financial help, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas “thank-you” checks to our lower-income retirees.

This year, amidst many unforeseen new realities, the Christmas Fund continues to respond with love to the emergency financial needs of many who serve the church.

Please click HERE for more information, to watch a video about the Christmas Fund and to donate directly to the UCC. 

You can also donate to the Christmas Fund through Brookmeade by bringing/mailing us a check with “UCC Christmas Fund” in the memo line, or by choosing “UCC Christmas Fund Offering” on the drop-down menu when you give online with Tithely. Brookmeade will be collecting for the Christmas Fund all through the month of December. 

Thank you for your support of the Christmas Fund!

Sunday, December 12th: Memorial Garden Ceremony

Please join us immediately following service on Sunday, December 12th when we will hold a brief ceremony to give thanks for the history of our Memorial Garden and remember those whose names are honored there. During this ceremony we will be collecting small containers of dirt which will be transplanted into the new garden when it is established. In this way, we will be giving thanks for past times and memories while looking forward with hope and anticipation for a new Memorial Garden and all the future memories it will hold for our community. We will be holding this ceremony rain or shine and encourage all who are able to attend and participate!

Sat. Dec. 4th: Project CURE Volunteer Group

Our next trip to the Project CURE Warehouse (2300 Clifton Ave.) is scheduled for Saturday, December 4th, 9:30 am – 12 pm. We will be sorting medical supplies. Newcomers are very welcome but please wear a mask! For planning reasons and to make sure we are COVID safe we need a head count for our group prior to volunteering.  Please RSVP to Cindy D. ASAP if you plan to attend (or to the church office). Thanks and see you there!

Donate to the Last Minute Toy Store by Dec. 12th

In Brookmeade tradition, this Christmas season we will be collecting toys for the “Last Minute Toy Store.” This project provides free gifts for children and teens whose families are unable to. They are looking for donations of new toys, stocking stuffers, books, games, sporting goods, and arts & crafts!

Janet L. has offered to organize the toy drive this year and we are so thankful to her for keeping the Brookmeade spirit alive in this way! We will be collecting toys from Sunday, 11/28 until Sunday, 12/12. You can bring toys to put in the donation box on Sunday mornings or during Lauryn’s office hours (Mon, Wed, Thurs 10am – 2pm).

Here are the guidelines for purchasing NEW toys and other items:

“New, unwrapped toys (no clothing or footwear) and other age-appropriate gifts in the $10 – $25 price range are needed for ages newborn to 18 years. Gifts for all ages are helpful, but in the past we have had a special need for items for teenagers and toddlers. We do not accept toys that require batteries to operate. 

It is sometimes hard to find gifts for teens. Please consider donating gift cards in the amount of $15-$20 to stores such as: Bath and Body Works, Walmart, Old Navy, Rue 21, Target.

If you would prefer to buy specific items, here are some ideas: Jewelry, make-up kits, purses/wallets, watches, ear buds, ear phones, journals, curling irons, shavers or trimmers, candles. Please steer away from clothing, shoes, and small accessories.”

To find out more about the Last Minute Toy Store, visit their website here: https://www.lastminutetoystore.com/

Learn & Grow Advent Study Series begins Dec. 2nd!

Learn & Grow is a time of study and reflection on the Bible, theology, and the issues of today. We meet on Zoom each Thursday at 7:30 pm for about an hour or so. For Advent, we will use a study guide from Amy-Jill Levine called “Light of the World.” Here is our upcoming schedule for the holidays:

Advent Study: Light of the World by Amy-Jill Levine Begins Dec. 2nd!
December 2: “The Meaning of Memory” Luke 1:5-25, 57-64
December 9: “The Promise of Potential” Luke 1:26-56
December 16: “The Journey to Joy” Luke 2:1-40
December 23: No Class this week
December 30: No Class this week
January 6: “The Gifts of the Gentiles” Matthew 1:18-2:15

Donate to Afghan Refugees

The Vanderbilt English Language Center is collecting furniture and resources for Afghan Refugees. They are accepting donations of free/cheap clean furniture from the Nashville area, as well as gift cards (Target, Walmart, Kroger, Publix etc.). Please contact the church office if you’d like to learn how to make a donation. Any help is appreciated!

The Nashville International Center for Empowerment is also accepting donations and volunteers, as they plan to resettle 300 Afghan refugees in the Nashville area in the coming weeks. For more information and the link to donate, visit: https://www.empowernashville.org/afghanistan/