Hard and Holy Work

Am I paying attention to the holy ground beneath my feet?

Where do I see burning bushes? 

Many of us want to understand how to integrate our spiritual lives with our engagement in working for justice and liberation. Hard and Holy Work provides a space for just that, helping readers participate in Lent in a new way by becoming attuned to God’s boundless presence in our world and waking up to, and taking action for, God’s justice through exploring stories from the book of Exodus that have inspired the work of liberation for centuries.

The authors, one a pastor, the other a Hebrew Bible scholar, reflect on the brave action of the midwives Shiphrah and Puah and other faithful women in Exodus, Moses’ awakening to the plight of the Hebrew people, Moses’ life-changing encounter with the burning bush, the Israelites taking the risk of crossing the Red Sea, and more to help readers to see anew and contemplate how God is calling them to respond to what is not right in the world: racial injustice, especially borne by women of color, houselessness, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities.

Hard and Holy Work takes readers through a unique Lenten journey, encouraging us to see those who are marginalized or suffering as God sees them; contemplate how privilege, fear, risk, and feelings of uncertainty can cloud our attention; and practice endurance for the messy middle of justice work, leaning on God’s provision and rest when the way forward is unclear.

Questions at the end of each chapter offer opportunities to discuss, reflect, and respond to God’s call through daily reflections for individuals, prompts for small group discussion, and ideas for taking action in the outward work of justice and liberation.

At Vine Street, a group will meet weekly on Wednesday mornings at 9 am in Thomas Kleinert’s study, beginning on February 14, Ash Wednesday, to reflect on our readings and share our responses.

Thomas has purchased ten copies of the book, so participants can simply pick up one before the first session.

This lovely study and devotional is written with a wise and compassionate voice, bringing timely reflections on timeless Scriptures and nudging us to consider the significance of movements, moments, and our own spiritual yearnings. It is an invitation to pay attention, as the authors say, to ‘the divine possibility of the present moment.’ In a season in which our hearts are broken anew each day, may this book give us what we need as people of faith to mend and heal and move.”

—Laura M. Cheifetz

At the Movies

On the tenth day of Christmas, Vine Street at the Movies will present their first movie of 2024! Happy, Texas, with Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn and William H. Macy, is the story of a small Texas town that has hired two professionals to help put on a beauty pageant for local girls. The pair that shows up are pros of a different sort. Rated PG-13.

Showtime at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, January 3, in the chapel.

"Happy, Texas is a hoot, a hilarious comedy that's smart and caring, yet sexy and ingenious enough that it just might stir up some of that elusive Full Monty-style box-office appeal."

–Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Questions? Contact Jim Carls, the curator of the film list and convener of this monthly event.

Christmas Offering

We will receive the Christmas Offering on December 17 and 24, 2023. To make an online contribution, please click the button below. Thank you!

Warmth in Cold Weather

Just a reminder:

Please bring winter clothing for students at West End Middle School. Carol and her team will drop off the first collection on December 20. They will continue to collect items through January 2024:

Warm socks, scarves, hats, and gloves are great - both knitted or purchased. And if you see a winter coat that’s just the right size, you might just bring a big smile to a student’s face!

Please drop off any items you wish to contribute in the reception area next to Thomas’s office. Thank you!

Interim Regional Minister Called

Rev. Kevin Lorenzo McNeil has accepted the call as The Christian Church (DOC) in Tennessee's Interim Regional Minister and President

Son of Rev. Henry Alfred Smith and Mary Helen Bowling, Rev. McNeil is a fourth-generation preacher with a long history of church service. He is married to the lovely Kimberly T. McNeil and they have three children, Courtney Danyel, Kevin Michael, and Carrington Myles McNeil. Rev. McNeil has received ecclesiastical endorsements from the Missionary Baptist and Free Will Baptist Churches; and in 2008 was ordained by the Christian Church Disciples of Christ in the Piedmont District and Endorsed by the Christian Church Disciples of Christ Region of Virginia. 

Currently Rev. McNeil is the Senior Pastor of Bethany Christian Church D.O.C. in Roanoke VA, and the Moderator of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ in the Region of Virginia. He also serves as a General Board Member of the Christian Church Disciple of Christ in the United States and Canada. Rev. McNeil is a certified Anti-Racism Pro-Reconciliation trainer and member of the Commission on Standing for the Region of Virginia of the Christian Church (D.O.C.). Rev. McNeil has served as Campus Pastor at the University of Lynchburg and spent seven years as a teacher in Roanoke City Schools and spent over ten (10) years in adult alternative education. Rev. McNeil also currently works as a small business consultant in Roanoke VA.

He is very active in the community and is an adamant supporter of education, social justice and keeping communities informed on current events. He also spends time conducting leadership and boundaries training for various organizations. Rev. McNeil loves sports, reading, watching movies, travel and spending time with family and friends and is very competitive. 

Rev. McNeil holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Miami (FL), and an M.A in Counseling as well as an M.DIV. from Liberty University.

Community Ministry Grants

In the fall, Vine Street Christian Church received seventeen applications for Community Ministry Grants for the 2023-2024 funding year.

The Community Ministry Grants team, chaired by Pat Cole, reviewed all applications for impact, mission, sustainability, and other criteria, and recommended that the Administrative Council fund all grants at the amount requested.

All of them, and at the full amount requested - that’s fantastic!

Of the seventeen local non-profits (see below), seven are new recipients, and ten are previous recipients.

This past week, we mailed checks totaling $22,500, funded predominantly by annual contributions by our members and friends.

Thank you to all who contributed, and to the Community Ministry Grants team: Cate Mart, Dair Grubb, Stephen Moseley, Jeff Miller and Pat Cole, chair. 

Because of these grants…

• Alameda Christian Church will expand their Backpack ministry, feeding participants and including new services such as health screenings and haircuts.

• Chemo Guardians will purchase groceries for a Thanksgiving dinner for 100 people.

• Harvest Hands will provide meals for their after school programs in education, healthy living, economic development, and spiritual formation.

• Heartbound Ministry will support their Little Readers program and start Project ART classes at two locations.

• Justice Industries will fund a Matching Savings Program for team members to help in times of crisis.

• Martha O’Bryan Center will provide bus passes, baby wipes, and feminine hygiene products for mothers.

• Nashville Adult Literacy Council will cover licensing fees for online ELL and tutoring programs for fifteen participants.

• Open Table will purchase 0 degree sleeping bags, blankets, and propane for their street outreach program.

• United4Hope will expand recruitment and training to build relationships between schools and churches (like the one West End Middle School and Vine Street Christian Church have).

• Pawster Nashville will provide vaccinations to thirty dogs and cats in foster care and get closer to their goal of providing comprehensive veterinary care for every foster pet.

• Penuel Ridge Retreat Center will provide hot meals, bus passes, and hygiene kits to homeless women attending a day retreat, focused on spiritual connection, healthy relationships, and emotional well-being.

• PLAN will purchase a shelving system to store bins of t-shirts, pants, socks, underware, blankets and light weight jackets for their homeless neighbors.

• Preston Taylor Ministries will provide after-school reading programs for approximately 45 students at two locations.

• Rest Stop Ministries will provide meals for a month for their residential community of female survivors of sex trafficking.

• Tennessee Innocence Project will continue their fight against wrongful convictions in our state.

• Tennessee Prison Outreach Ministry will provide art and craft supplies for summer campers who are children of incarcerated parents.

Advent & Christmas Calendar

Financial Stability for Older Adults

In May, Metro Social Services released its annual report on the wellbeing of Davidson County residents. “This year, in particular, we gave special attention to our seniors who are becoming overwhelmed with financial burdens and rising costs," Metro Social Services executive director Renee Pratt said, according to The Tennessean. Nashvillians aged 65 and up represent the fastest growing age group in the city, and half of them experience livable income poverty. The Tennessean reported that Nashville scores lower than many similarly-sized Metro areas for livability for older adults.

In December of last year, our congregation provided a grant to AgeWell Middle Tennessee and United Way of Greater Nashville to fund a planning initiative for Financial Empowerment for Older Adults in our community. The guiding vision has been to build, based upon the successful model of the Financial Empowerment Center, a coordinated support network that empowers older adults to improve their financial well-being. In close coordination with partner organizations, AgeWell and United Way reviewed model programs from other communities, mapped current resources in Davidson County, and enlisted Vanderbilt Qualitative Research Core to facilitate focus groups of older adults to understand current financial struggles and what kinds of help would be useful. 

The thorough work culminated in a streamlined, low-tech program design to assist older Nashvillians. The Secure Aging Collaborative creates a network of organizations to provide coordinated financial stability services for older adults in Davidson County through 

• personalized financial counseling, 

• benefit enrollment assistance, and 

• referral to supplemental income opportunities. 

We have a wonderful opportunity to hear from AgeWell representatives what this might look like from the perspective of a client, and how this collaborative would contribute to make our community more livable for older adults.

We invite members and friends of the congregation and the community at large to join us for a presentation on Wednesday, November 29, at 6 p.m., in the Fellowship Hall at Vine Street Christian Church. We will serve a light dinner, and are planning for the presentation and Q&A to end by 8 p.m.

A memorial for Charlie Strobel

Vine Street Christian Church took its name from the street it was located on, Vine Street in downtown Nashville. Today the street is known as 7th Avenue North, and you will find a historical marker there, right by the public library, telling passersby about our church and its former location at 138 North Vine Street. Nearby is another historical marker for the Vine Street Temple, but nothing else reminds pedestrians that they are walking on historic Vine Street. Further down the road, though, in Germantown, historic street signs are going up, and this means the Vine Street name is back in the old neighborhood!

What does this have to do with Charlie Strobel? Charlie grew up on Vine Street, and the Strobel family has a long connection to the block between Madison and Monroe. Larry Adams, one of our elders, happens to live there as well, and he suggested that Vine Street Christian Church fund a historic street sign on the corner of 7th and Madison, with a paver at the foot of the sign saying, “In memory of Charlie Strobel, by Vine Street Christian Church.” The cost of manufacturing and installing the sign and paver is $2,500.

Our Administrative Council approved that we solicit memorial gifts for Charlie Strobel from members and friends of the congregation, and has committed $5,000 to honor his life and ministry. Why $5,000? Paying for a street sign in the old neighborhood is a lovely gesture, but the Council affirmed unanimously that Charlie himself would probably suggest that we use the money to support the Charlie Strobel Housing Fund at Room in the Inn, to be used for expanding current housing at the Center for Human Development on Drexel Street. We are committed to doing both.

As we approach Thanksgiving, we invite you to consider a gift to the memorial fund at Vine Street in memory of Charlie Strobel (March 12, 1943 – August 6, 2023), a friend of the poor, whose kindness and vision live on through Room in the Inn.

We Gather Together

Make sure to mark your calendar: On Sunday, November 19, we will gather in Fellowship Hall for our Harvest Lunch. The meal will be catered, and there will be no charge — and you don’t need to make a reservation. Just come and enjoy a good meal with your Vine Street community — and feel free to invite a friend!

Later that same Sunday, at 4 p.m., we will once again come together for an Interfaith Thanksgiving Concert at The Temple. Together in Gratitude. Together in Song is a wonderful opportunity to meet folks from other congregations and hear a variety of music (including a piece by our choir!)

All Saints Sunday

On November 5th, we remember and give thanks for “all the saints who from their labors rest,”  including members of the congregation who have died over the past year. During communion, as we gather at the table, we hear their names spoken, along with the names of others who have shaped our life and faith in ways that give them a special place in our heart. Some of them may be famous, others may be known only to us and to God. All of them belong to the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1).

We don’t look at the saints as a separate group of people or anything like the “professional league” of believers, but simply as who we are in Christ, and therefore are called to be (much as the Apostle Paul used the term, e.g. when he addressed his letter “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi”).

To submit names, please use this online form. We will also have a clipboard available before the service, if you’d rather submit the names in handwriting.

Church-wide Survey

Another survey? Every business you interact with these days, it seems, sends you a survey. We trust you’ll discover quickly that this one is different. It’s from your church. It was created by your Ministry Council and your ministers. 

We need your responses to help inform our programming, worship, events and pastoral care as we come together post-Covid in new and transformative ways. The Pillars of Faith Formation provide a solid footing, but we want to make sure that our plans address your actual needs, and not merely what we perceive them to be. Your input will also help us make budget plans and build meaningful leadership structures.

The survey is anonymous and will be reviewed by the Ministry Council, Elders and ministers here. Once we have read and reflected on your feedback, you’ll hear from us again. 

Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions. We appreciate you!

ROOM IN THE INN

Will you make the beds or do the laundry? Or will you make dinner or breakfast? Will you spend the night with our guests and serve breakfast early in the morning? Or will you spend the evening with them, sharing a meal, listening to their stories, or perhaps playing Uno or chess? The gift of hospitality finds countless expressions during a night of Room in the Inn, and we hope you’ll be part of one of the teams.

The season at Vine Street starts on Thursday, November 2. Until the end of March 2024, we will host groups of guests every first, third, and fifth Thursday. We are grateful for our continuing partnership with Westminster Presbyterian Church, whose volunteer drivers will again cover all transportation needs, and with MBA, whose students will offer their gifts on several nights this season.

To learn more about the program, talk to Thomas, and make sure you browse The Manual. Are you ready to sign up?

Mark with AJ

Beginning in the first week of November, Thomas Kleinert will lead a 6-week study of the gospel of Mark, or rather, co-lead: the conversations will be based on A. J. Levine’s The Gospel of Mark: A Beginners Guide to the Good News, and each session will be introduced with a short video clip by the author (it’s like having her in the room, Thomas insists, and participants in previous studies based on her work agree).

Participants purchase their own copy of the book in their preferred format, but otherwise the study is free.

The study groups will meet weekly on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a possible break during the week of Thanksgiving.

To sign up, please click the button below, and think about whom you might invite to join you! Questions? Contact Thomas.

AJ describes herself as an unorthodox member of an Orthodox synagogue and a Yankee Jewish feminist who, until 2021, taught New Testament in a Christian divinity school in the buckle of the Bible Belt.

Sock Sunday

Our Room in the Inn season will begin on November 2nd, and over the next few weeks we will collect a special offering for our guests:

• socks

• boxer briefs

• $10 McDonald’s gift cards

You know how good it feels to put on a fresh pair of socks and undies after a shower! We have stocked up on sweat pants, t-shirts, nail clippers, deodorant, and other items, but we need your help with socks and boxer briefs (all sizes). Please bring them to church on or before October 22, Sock Sunday. We also need 168 gift cards - we give one to each of our guests so they can get lunch (McDonald’s appears to be the most accessible option, based on feedback from last season’s guests). If you’d rather contribute funds, please indicate “RITI” on the memo line of your check or online gift. Thank you for helping us get ready for the winter shelter season! Look for the volunteer sign up in your e-newsletter - it’ll be in there very soon!