The annual MLK Day March at TSU will begin at 9 am on Monday, January 19th, beginning at the Jefferson St. Missionary Baptist Church (2708 Jefferson St.), and ending at the TSU Gentry Center with a Convocation at 10 am. 

For more information about Nashville’s MLK Day events, click HERE. 

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.

We will continue the second part of this work in the new year, starting 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:

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 be hosting Room in the Inn on Friday, January 9th! Check your weekly Brookmeade Beat email for a full update on our last RITI. Click HERE to sign up to volunteer on January 9th. There is also a paper sign up sheet located in the hallway of the church. Please contact the church office with any questions and for more details about how you can get involved! We have opportunities for all skills and levels of involvement ~ including drivers, overnight hosts, cooks, helping with set up, and dropping off donations. Thank you for helping us support this important ministry and helping to keep our neighbors warm and fed this winter!

On January 4th, our Learn & Grow adult Sunday school class continues at 9:15 am on Sunday mornings! We will continue to study the “Living the Questions: An Introduction to Progressive Christianity” series, finishing up Part 1 on January 4th, and then continuing into Part 2 “Reclaiming the World” on January 11th. This series is “for those who are yearning for something more than the shallow platitudes that too often pass for theology in our churches. It’s for those who are looking for a faith conversation that encourages questions and open dialogue.”

Upcoming Schedule:

January 4: Out into the World: Challenges Facing Progressive Christians

Part 2: Reclaiming the World

January 11: Restoring Relationships

January 18: The Prophetic Jesus

January 25: Evil, Suffering & A God of Love

February 1: The Myth of Redemptive Violence

February 8: Practicing Resurrection

February 15: Debunking the Rapture

February 22: Reclaiming the World

Our usual monthly COW Offering benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank and Heifer International will be Sunday, January 4th. Bring canned goods and cash to donate Sunday or give online via Tithe.ly (choose COW offering in the drop-down menu).

We continue to collect monetary donations, and canned chicken and tuna weekly throughout this winter season, as so many families face food scarcity and uncertainty. If you can bring a few cans each week, this will help us help those in need.

Join our Project CURE Volunteer Group Saturday, January 3rd 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.

Start the new year off right by picking up a copy of the new January-February UPPER ROOM daily devotional, now available without cost in the foyer of the church, to have daily set-aside time for prayer & meditation on sacred scriptures in the new year! Pick up the UPPER ROOM in the foyer of the church, or contact the church office to have a copy mailed to you.

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.