Come March with us in support of Women’s Reproductive Rights this Saturday, October 2nd at the TN State Capitol, starting at 4 pm. Please contact Pastor Laura or the church office for more details!
For more general information about the March, check out the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/900668367462255
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. Starting this Thursday, September 2nd, we will take a look at climate change using the book “The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis” by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. As Christians, we believe we are stewards of this world. Let’s learn together the small and large steps we can take to protect our planet. Find the link and password in your weekly email to join our weekly Zoom discussion or reach out to the church office at brookmeade@comcast.net.
Haitians Are Desperate for Our Help!
As you know, Haiti has received triple blows in less than two months: the assassination of its president, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on the peninsula just west of Port-au-Prince, and devastating rain in the same area from Tropical Storm Grace. The earthquake destroyed over 136,000 buildings in the capital leaving much of its population without any shelter from the rain and wind of the storm. And the assassination has thrown Haiti’s government into chaos, severely impairing its ability to respond to these two natural disasters.
The UCC has asked its members to send at least $100,000 to help Haiti. You can contribute through Brookmeade’s Tithe.ly app by selecting “UCC Haiti Relief” from its drop-down menu, by check to Brookmeade with “UCC Haiti Relief” on the memo line, or by contributing directly and securely to the UCC effort through this link: https://www.ucc.org/ucc-issues-100000-appeal-for-haiti-after-7-2-earthquake-tropical-storm/
Food and medical supplies and aid workers are all desperately needed. Please give, knowing that these are God’s children in need.
First Sundays of the month we collect our COW 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!
Wednesday 9/1 at 11 am (in person) – Fellowship Team Meeting
Wednesday 9/8 at 5:30 pm (on Zoom) – Council Meeting. Non-council members, please RSVP to brookmeade@comcast.net if you’d like to join. All Council meetings are open for anyone to attend.
Sunday 9/12 at 12 pm (in person) – Deacons Meeting
Wednesday 9/15 at 5:30 pm (on Zoom) – Worship & Gathering Team Meeting
Sunday, 9/19 at 12:15 pm (in person) – Congregational Meeting and Vote. We are sending information packets to all members with information about this important vote! Check your mail box and email prior to the meeting for more information on how to vote. If you do not wish to attend in person you can mail your vote to the church office.
Our next trip to the Project CURE Warehouse (2300 Clifton Ave.) is scheduled for Saturday, September 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. You can also RSVP to the church office (615-352-4702, brookmeade@comcast.net). Thanks and see you there!
You are invited to join us for a FREE yoga class, every Monday at 4:30 pm at Brookmeade UCC (700 Bresslyn Road, 37205). No experience necessary. Please plan to wear a mask (or grab one when you come in our front door) and bring a yoga mat or blanket with you. We will be guided by “Yoga with Adriene” videos on Youtube. Come get your weekly dose of inner peace! Feel free to contact the church office with any questions (brookmeade@comcast.net, 615-352-4702).
As we have for many years, Brookmeade will again have a booth at the annual Nashville Pride Festival this year to distribute information about our church and to be a supportive presence among the LGBTQ community. Instead of being at our usual place at the Metro Courthouse in Nashville Public Square Park, this year’s festival will be on the Bicentennial Mall, adjacent to the Farmer’s Market.
Volunteers are needed to staff our booth during the following timeframes:
Saturday, Sept 18th — 10 AM-12:00 Noon, 12:00-2:00 PM, 2:00-4:00 PM
Sunday, Sept 19th — 12:00 Noon-2:00 PM, 2:00 – 4:00 PM
As for many years in the past, Tony E. will be the Onsite Coordinator for our Brookmeade booth. To volunteer to staff our booth for one of the designated timeframes, contact Tony or the church office. When we are informed of our specific booth location, Tony will give you that information and provide free tickets to the festival for all volunteers. It’s always a joyous experience to interact with Festival-goers to lend support and share about Brookmeade as an Open & Affirming spiritual community in Nashville.
The Nashville Pride Festival will feature live music performances, a family zone with activities for kids, and a Parade on Saturday starting at 10 am. You can find out more info about the festival by visiting www.nashvillepride.org.
This event at Montgomery Bell Academy will include a 45-minute presentation in which Mr. Hinton will share his decades-long journey to exoneration and freedom, followed by a 15-minute question & answer session. General admission to the presentation is open and free to the public.
As a ‘Friends of Freedom’ ticket holder or sponsor, you will receive reserved priority seating for the presentation and a copy of Mr. Hinton’s memoir, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. You will then join Mr. Hinton for a book signing and cocktail reception following the event.
Meet the speaker: Anthony Ray Hinton survived for 30 years on Alabama’s death row. His story is a decades-long journey to exoneration and freedom. In 1985, Mr. Hinton was convicted of the unsolved murders of two fast-food restaurant managers based on the testimony of ballistics experts for the State who claimed that the crime bullets came from a dusty revolver found in Mr. Hinton’s mother’s closet. Without the benefit of a competent expert to challenge the State’s theory (Mr. Hinton’s lawyer hired a ballistics expert who was blind in one eye), an all-white jury convicted Mr. Hinton and he was sentenced to death. After years of petitioning to have the revolver re-analyzed, three independent experts concluded that the bullets could not have been fired from his mother’s revolver. With the assistance of the Equal Justice Initiative, led by attorney Bryan Stevenson, Mr. Hinton was freed in 2015. Since his release, Mr. Hinton has traveled the world sharing his story and discussing the changes that need to be made to prevent similar injustices from happening to other people. In 2018, Mr. Hinton published The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, which was selected for Oprah’s Book Club and is a New York Times bestseller. In 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Bonaventure University.
Parking is available in the parking garage on the East side of the Montgomery Bell Academy Campus at 205 South Wilson Boulevard, in any of the surface lots on campus, or in the Vine Street Christian church parking lot across Montgomery Bell Avenue. This event will take place in the new Burkholder Wellness Center. Please enter through the main rotunda entrance, go through the double doors on the left to enter the Event Center. Montgomery Bell address: 4001 Harding Pike, Nashville TN, 37205. For more information CLICK HERE.
We have a 5th Sunday this month, which means it is Music Sunday! Please suggest or contribute readings, quotes, poems, hymn suggestions, songs etc. If you are not comfortable attending in person yet to share a poem or song, you can also send us a video to be played during the service. You can contact Mike R. from our Worship & Gathering Team or contact the church office at brookmeade@comcast.net. These special Sunday services are always more meaningful when members of the congregation participate with their ideas and talents. The theme this month is “Changes, Transformations and Moving Forward”.
brookmeadeucc.org 