Welcome Pastor Laura!

On Sunday, August 18th, our new Vanderbilt Divinity School student pastor, Laura Hodges, joins our pastoral team! We are delighted Pastor Laura will be joining us! Laura and her spouse are new implants to Nashville from Cleveland, Ohio.  Laura is starting her second year at Vanderbilt Divinity School where she is pursuing her M.Div. degree.  She is a Member in Discernment with the United Church of Christ, seeking ordination and planning to pursue congregational ministry.  Laura is “incredibly excited to get to know each of us and to learn what it means to be a part of Brookmeade!”

BIO

Laura Hodges (embraces all pronouns) grew up in Avon Lake, Ohio attending Avon Lake United Church of Christ. Her early faith formation was heavily influenced by her times spent at Temple Hills church camp as well as her passion for reading which included children’s Bibles and prayer books. Disillusioned with the church at thirteen, Laura spent time exploring other religions and spirituality before having a conversion experience at a Southern Baptist Church at sixteen. Since then, Laura returned to the UCC tradition where she feels she can reconcile her deep love for Jesus Christ and her commitments to love and seek justice for people of all racial/ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities, and socio-economic situation. Having attained her undergraduate degree from Calvin University, in Grand Rapids, MI, Laura began her ordination process with Avon Lake UCC and enrolled at Vanderbilt Divinity School where she hopes to graduate with her Master’s of Divinity in the spring of 2021. In her free time, Laura loves to draw, write, read, play with her dog and cat, rock climb, and spend time with her husband James.

McKay Book Fundraiser through Sept. 14

Seeking your used Books, CDs, DVDs, Records, Legos and Games for a fundraiser!  Bring your donations Brookmeade and they will be taken to McKay’s to raise money for educational resources at Brookmeade.  This fundraiser will conclude with a Team Tidying Day at Brookmeade, so get your items in before then and join Team Tidying Day, 10-2pm, Sept. 14!  See Becca G. with any questions.  See link to McKay’s to see what used items they look for: http://www.mckaybooks.com/what-we-take

Sun. Aug. 4th: COW Offering

In July we delivered 53 pounds of food to Second Harvest Food Bank. This is a result of the COW Offerings for the past three months. Remember to bring in non-perishable food items in the first Sunday of every month. The COW offering also accepts cash and checks. All the money is split between Second Harvest and Heifer International. Brookmeade doing its part to help alleviate hunger.

August – October: Learn & Grow Book Series

Learn & Grow classes will resume on Sunday, August 11th with a book series. Join us in reading Republican Like Me by Ken Stern, Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks, and Dying of Whiteness by Jonathan M. Metzl. During this book series we will explore how to maintain communication and build relationships with people whose views are different from ours. We will also look at the role of policies in our political landscape. This series will conclude with Brookmeade’s participation in an event hosted by Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Sun. July 28th: Guest Preacher Rev. Sarah Jordan

Join us Sunday, July 28th as we welcome Guest Preacher Rev. Sarah Jordan at our 10:30 am worship service! “Rev. Sarah Jordan, (she/her/hers), originally from Mobile, Alabama, is a community-taught artist and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). She has lived in Davidson, NC, Nashville, TN and Chicago, IL.  She is interested in the intersections of art, social justice movements, and faith. She dreams of a church that is moved by the Holy Spirit, deeply rooted in the gospel, and oriented toward collective liberation. Currently, she works as a Clinical Associate at The Next Door, a residential recovery center for women in Nashville.”