| Home
Salvation Army
Angel Tree
Alive Hospice
Bethlehem Center
The
Shopping Bag
Community Care
Fellowship
Luke 14:12
Miriam's Promise
Habitat for Humanity
Siloam
Family Health Center
Volunteers in
Mission
|
Crievewood
Outreach Ministries
Salvation
Army Angel Tree
The Christmas work of The Salvation Army began first in the mind of
William Booth, its founder, on Christmas day in the year 1868.
Booth, a minister, had been working at his mission station all day
that Christmas. The day was not much different from any other
day. The profound poverty of the East End of London prevented
much in the way of festivities. There were no feasts, next to no
gifts to exchange, and very little celebration.
At the end of the day Booth came home to his own family.
Catherine, his wife, had prepared a festive dinner and the children
gathered around him to enjoy a happy family Christmas.
But William Booth was disturbed. While he was enjoying the
comfort and warmth of his own family, he was obsessed with the thought
of those who had nothing. He resolved then and there never to
spend another such Christmas. The following year, 1869, Booth
took his oldest son, Bramwell, and other workers in his mission to
solicit gifts and donations about London. On Christmas Day they
spread a feast for all the poor of East London who could get in, for
as long as the food lasted. The Christmas dinner was modest by
present day standards, but it was the beginning of what has become a
universal tradition in Salvation Army service.
The tradition of Salvation Army Christmas work has grown and continues
to grow over the years. A Salvation Army kettle on the corner is
regarded throughout America as an indigenous part of the Christmas
scene. The kettle and uniformed workers are shown in December
street scenes in movies. Popular songs are written about them.
Salvation Army Christmas kettles and Angel Trees have become a part of
the romance of Christmas and are a part of the Christian witness and
work of The Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army Angel Tree program, which is now a Christmas
tradition throughout America, began humbly in the late 1970's when a
Salvation Army officer and his wife wrote the names of a few needy
children on paper angels cut from greeting cards and placed them on
Christmas trees for shoppers to "adopt." From that simple
beginning the program has grown each year and now provides hope and
help for over 17,000 children, elderly and disabled citizens in
Nashville. It is a means for thousands of volunteers and donors
to share the true meaning of the holiday season with their families
and their community as well as those in need.
Angel Trees will be present in area Malls from November 8 through
December 6. Contact The Salvation Army Volunteer Office at
242-0411, extension 232 to volunteer and share the true spirit of the
season!
See The Salvation Army.
back to top
Alive Hospice
In December,
1974, a group of concerned individuals met to discuss the special
needs and challenges facing the terminally ill. Alive Hospice
was born out of that initial discussion.
Located at
1718 Patterson, Alive Hospice has a mission to provide end-of-life
care, grief support, and education to patients, their families, and
the community.
Coping with
terminal illness presents many challenges, physical and emotional, to
both patient and family. The Hospice team of professionals and
volunteers is equipped to handle these challenges and believes that no
one, regardless of illness, age, or ability to pay, has to die in pain
or alone.
The Hospice
staff makes regularly scheduled visits to the patient at home as well
as during hospitalization and provides skilled care.
On the Hospice
team, the nurse, the home health aide, the social worker, the
chaplain, and the volunteer each has a role. Service may include
24-hour-on-call availability; arrangements for medical equipment and
supplies; arrangement for physical, speech, and occupational therapy
related to symptoms control; assistance with personal care;
companionship and emotional support; help in the home or with errands;
respite care, family support and preparation for death; assistance
with financial and practical concerns; contact for grief support.
In-patient/residential care is provided at The Residence, a 30-bed
facility at 1710 Patterson. Its "common area" for residents
include a library, music room, sanctuary, a sunroom, and a patient spa
complete with a hydrotherapy tub. A full-time medical director
is on staff.
One-on-one
counseling and support groups are offered. Among these are
spouse group, general grief group, children's group, teen and preteen
group, bereaved parents, holiday seminar, and Camp Evergreen for
children and youth.
For
information about the referral/admission process or about
volunteering, call 327-1085. To arrange a visit of the
facilities, call the social worker at 963-4746.
See
Alive Hospice.
back to top
Bethlehem Center
Bethlehem
Center was founded in 1894 as a rescue mission and kindergarten.
Now it is a multi-service agency serving children, youth, adults, and
seniors. Its main campus is located at 1417 Charlotte Avenue.
Most families served are headed by women living in or near public
housing whose income is below the poverty level. There were
about 10,000 clients served in 2001.
Programs are
nationally accredited childcare for infants and children ages 6 weeks
to 12 years and summer programs for children ages 5-12. Youth
development programs for boys and girls ages 9 to 17 years include Men
of Distinction, Just Between Girls, and tutoring. There are
programs for adults such as job readiness and adult literacy.
The Greater Charlotte Hot Lunch Program and Bethlehem Center cooperate
to deliver over 16,000 means annually to homebound individuals and
seniors. Bethlehem Center is a Second Harvest Food Bank
satellite. The Christmas Toy Store provides toys, clothing, and
household items to needy families each Christmas. Crievewood
United Methodist Church, other United Methodist churches, and the
United Methodist Women support Bethlehem Center. To ask for a
volunteer application, call 329-3386, ext. 106.
See
Bethlehem Center.
back to top
The Shopping Bag
The Shopping
Bag is a thrift store located at Bethlehem Center's main campus, 1417
Charlotte Avenue. It was started in 1982 by the United Methodist
Women and proceeds support Bethlehem Center. The Shopping Bag
accepts used household items and clothing for resale. Shoppers
and volunteers are needed. Volunteers from Crievewood United
Methodist Church are Jimmie Lou Veazey, Ann Henry, Dot Gee, Claudia
Fox, Florence Bennett, Heppy Ellis, and Martha Turner. For
volunteer opportunities, contact Ann Henry at 832-9482.
back to top
Community Care Fellowship
Located next to the Nancy
Webb Kelly United Methodist Church, Community Care Fellowship (CCF)
has been a ministry of the United Methodist Church since 1984 to the
homeless and poor. This ministry is supported by churches,
foundations, grants, and private donations. Considered a Day
Shelter, CCF provides homeless persons and families with a place where
they can shower, shave, launder clothes, use the telephone, receive
mail and receive counseling. The center is open Monday through
Friday from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Hot lunches are served four days a
week. Over 100 people are served by CCF each day.
Pressing priority needs are
for volunteers, financial donations, personal hygiene items,
disposable diapers, white tube socks for adult men, washing detergent,
and bleach. Crievewood UMC contributes financially to this
ministry. In addition, Dave McIntyre and Tom Lively volunteer.
For more information you may call 227-1953.
See Community Care
Fellowship.
back to top
Luke 14:12
In 1983 a member of
Edgehill United Methodist Church brought a pot of soup to one of the
church staff. A homeless man was there and said how hungry he
was. He proceeded to eat the entire pot of soup. From that
one incident, the Luke 14:12 ministry to the homeless was born.
Luke 14:12 serves a hot noon meal on Thursdays and Fridays to over 80
homeless persons each day. It is one of only two programs for
the homeless in Nashville that provides transportation to the church
for the meal.
See Luke 14:12.
back to top
Miriam's Promise
Pregnancy, Parenting, and Adoption Services
Since the
beginning of 2002, Miriam's Promise has
-
facilitated
the adoptions of 25 infants, 6 international children who have spent
their lives in orphanages, and 14 foster children who have moved from
place to place;
-
approved
forty-seven other families to welcome new children into their homes
through its adoption and placement services; and
-
been an
oasis of safety and healing for approximately 70 pregnant young women
who have come to them for counseling and support through The Elizabeth
Project.
The
Elizabeth Project, a mentoring program, emphasizes responsible
decision-making and self-esteem in young pregnant women. Based
on the biblical story of Elizabeth and Mary, The Elizabeth Project
pairs pregnant teens with compassionate women who partner with them
through a program that provides information on prenatal care,
childbirth, and parenting. The young women experience love,
support, and respect as they find hope for a better future for
themselves and their children. Belmont UMC and Brentwood UMC
have each sponsored an Elizabeth Project in Nashville.
Crievewood
UMC makes a monetary donation to Miriam's Promise, but Miriam's
Promise also needs many specific things:
-
6"-8" white
pillar candles for New Families Entrustment Ceremonies
-
baby-themed
gift bags
-
small, white
New Testaments as gifts for infants
-
matching
stuffed toys - one for the adoptive family and one for the birth
mother
-
disposable
cameras for new mothers
-
gift
certificates from Kroger, Wal-Mart, etc.
-
other baby
supplies such as diapers, bottles, crib sheets, baby food and formula,
baby soap and shampoo, picture frames and photo albums
Or you may
want to volunteer to
-
serve as an
Elizabeth
-
provide
transportation for a young mother and her baby
-
host a baby
shower for The Elizabeth Project
-
tell a
pregnant teen who may benefit about this opportunity.
Miriam's
Promise, a ministry of the Tennessee Conference, is chartered by the
State of Tennessee as a non-profit organization and licensed by the
Department of Children's Services.
See Miriam's
Promise.
back to top
Habitat for Humanity
Jerry Ethridge and Randy Cortner
have begun work as SOS volunteers for the new phase of Habitat
for Humanity homes.
See
Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity
back to top
Siloam Family Health Center
CUMC’s Mission Committee has
formally adopted this center as one we will help and contribute to on
an on-going basis. Siloam’s faith-based mission is to provide
health-care to the poor, non-insured, immigrant and refugee population
of Nashville. They do this by using donations of money and supplies.
They also have a tremendous network of doctors willing to donate their
time and expertise at the center. Last year they logged approximately
7000 patient visits. This number is expected to continue to grow.
Not only is Siloam a community mission, it can also be thought of as
an international mission because their patient base consists of 103
different countries.
The Mission Committee of CUMC
would like to ask you, the congregation, for a donation. This does
not involve money or even time (but that would be great too!). For
the month of March we are asking everyone to remember Siloam when you
go the the drugstore or grocery store. Siloam is always in need of
over the counter drugs that they can give out to their patients. Any
type of medicine is welcome, but here is a list of some of the basics
they always need: anti-acids, pain-relievers, vitamins (especially
children’s), heartburn and other stomach remedies, and allergy
medicines.
I
will be collecting your donations for the rest of the Sundays in
March. There will be a box in the narthex marked “The Medicine
Cabinet”. After the last Sunday in March, I will take the medicine
that has been collected to the center. This will be our “formal”
collection for Siloam, but “The Medicine Cabinet” will always be
available for your donations. It will be placed in the office, and I
will send the collections on to the center.
Thank you
in advance for your wonderful support of Siloam and all our missions.
Call me, Kathryn Spain, if you have any questions at all (315-0972).
See
Siloam Family Health Center
back to top
VIM St. Vincent Report - Part 2
by Dr. James Fields
Belmonter Dr. James Fields (back left) and nurse
Terri Dixon (front left) with Vincentian children and their parents.
Twenty-four volunteer missioners - twelve Belmonters, eight other
Tennesseeans, and one each from Alabama, New York, Ohio, and Texas -
recently served on a two-week mission team to St. Vincent, West
Indies. Working with the local people of this small country, which is
second to Haiti in poverty level in the Western Hemisphere, each of us
in our own way, with servant hearts, shared our time, talents, and the
love of Christ with His children of this beautiful country.
On Sunday, February 9, at the 10:30am worship service we were blessed
with prayers and a sending forth. To our great delight and
appreciation, we were taken by bus from the Miami International
Airport to the Northwest Baptist Church, where we were served a
delicious meal and fed spiritually through recitations, singing, and
instrumental music by the students of the multicultural Christian
school (K-12) associated with the church. The children prepared
booklets of inspirational thoughts and prayers, loving personal notes,
and bags containing a sumptuous meal for each of us to enjoy on our
way to Barbados. We will long remember their gracious hospitality,
prayers, and good wishes.
Dr. Wayne Dunavant, Dr. Christopher Ellis, and Dr. James Fields,
physicians on the team, held most of the clinics at the Chateaubelair
Hospital, a small rural hospital with no X-ray machine or facilities
for laboratory work situated on a hill about one block from the
Methodist Manse and about two blocks from the church. We provided
house calls for numerous homebound patients and spent two days in
outlying villages. Many patients with asthma and hypertension were
treated. Eczema, which is genetically transmitted, was treated on
numerous children and adults. Fungal and bacterial skin infections
were commonly encountered also. Because we had only three physicians
on the team, surgery was limited to procedures which were deemed
urgent or necessary. An expanding tumor on the back of one patient was
excised, as were two abscesses of the eyelids. A sixth finger was
excised from the hand of a baby. The three nurses, Laura Benson, Terri
Dixon, and Nancy Garza, were kept quite busy assisting the physicians,
and their help with the patients was invaluable. Sara Bryant, a
physical therapist with expertise in wound care management rendered
great service with musculoskeletal problems and in wound care of the
many patients with non-healing leg ulcers. In addition, she held an
in-service training session on wound care for the local nurses. Two
wheel chairs for severely handicapped children and several pairs of
crutches for amputees were provided.
Dr. Bill Bradford and Dr. Bill Shirley, dentists on the team,
extracted painful and decaying teeth all day long. They were assisted
by Daniel Dunavant and Danny Hazlewood. The dental patients loved the
VIM dentists because they got anesthesia before the tooth was pulled!
Linda Fields, Patricia Russell (the pastor’s wife), and Mavis Loraine,
who recently received heart surgery in Tennessee, and others
distributed new toothbrushes and administered fluoride gel treatments
to some 3,600 students in that part of the island, protecting them
from dental decay for six months. Additional gel was left with the
teachers who were encouraged to administer it again after six months.
Dr. Christina Barns and Dr. Jeffrey Jessup, optometrists on the team,
examined hundreds of patients, tested for glaucoma, treated various
eye diseases, and provided eye glasses to those needing them. Ruth
Randolph and Cora Ann Thomas assisted our optometrists.
Donated items of clothing, shoes, an autoharp, guitar, Christian books
and periodicals, devotional literature accompanied the team to St.
Vincent and were greatly appreciated by the recipients.
Pharmacists Dr. Howard Hayes and Dr. Andrea Lawrence dispensed
thousands of prescriptions from the numerous medications which had
been shipped to St. Vincent. We are grateful for the financial support
of the Belmont UMW St. Vincent Mission Fund, making possible for the
purchase and shipping of medicines and other necessary supplies.
Rev. Luke Dunn preached at the Kingstown Methodist Church, which is
the largest on the island. Dr. Jim Fields was interviewed on a
Methodist radio program, “How Great A Flame” , regarding the
activities of the VIM team.
It is always heart rending when we have to turn away patients who have
waited in line for at least a day or more. Despite the fact that the
medical team worked until 7 PM or later, this scenario happened daily,
and we were especially sad on the last day when we had to tell the
waiting crowd that we were finished. We treated about 3,500 patients
this year. An additional physician or two would have enabled us to do
even more. One of our team members broke two bones in her leg and had
to be airlifted to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for surgery.
It is always a joy to have the opportunity to witness to our faith
through “Christian Love in Action.” It is always a blessing to
experience the bonds of love and the lasting relationships with the
local people who have hosted and taken such good care of us.
See Volunteers in
Mission
back to top
|
