Christmas Eve

by Thomas Kleinert

I love worshiping in our sanctuary. I love the large windows, the open view on the changing patterns of sky and clouds, the trees giving shape and color to the seasons.

I love worshiping in our sanctuary any time of year or day, but I have some favorites. Christmas Eve is one of them. The darkness outside. Inside, the hushed voices of worshipers before the services begin, the eyes of old and young reflecting the light of the star. The tiny flame topping candle after candle as the light travels from hand to hand in the beautiful circle of Silent Night. And the songs, the carols, the music blending ancient hope and childhood memories with the miracle of birth, proclaiming once more the wonder of the night of nights when the word of God became a human being. I hope that many of you who read this will join us this year for one of our Christmas Eve worship services.

The service at 4:30 p.m. is designed with small children in mind. At the center are the nativity scene and the birth stories from the gospels of Luke and Matthew, and around it we sing our favorite carols and light our candles.

The service at 11 p.m. tells our story from creation and fall to the birth of our Savior with scripture lessons, carols, and gifts of music. We share the Lord's Supper to proclaim God's faithfulness beyond all that sin divides and destroys, and we give thanks for the birth of Christ. And right around midnight we pass the flame from candle to candle in a circle of joy: the light of Christ will fill the world!

Come and worship with us. Come and take part in bringing the good news of great joy to all. Merry Christmas!

Advent Is Here

At Vine Street, we have a beautiful tradition to mark the beginning of Advent; it’s our very own version of the Hanging of the Greens.

Early in the season, at the end of the day, women, men, and children of all ages gather in the sanctuary. We sing some of our favorite carols and we listen to stories that tell us how bells and stars, candles and poinsettias became part of our holiday traditions.

As part of the service we also decorate the sanctuary with wreaths and garlands – hence the name, Hanging of the Greens. We prepare our hearts by preparing the space. This is no sit-quietly-in-your-pew service, but a walk-around-and-help-add-beauty service. Toward the end of this special time together, though, we quietly watch the great star as it rises over the baptistery and we say a prayer that our hearts may be prepared to welcome the coming of Christ.

Our Hanging of the Greens is a simple and festive time of worship and preparation for all generations, and we hope you will join us this year.

Sunday, December 1, 4:30pm
Hanging of the Greens

The service is short enough for our youngest friends to enjoy, and after the closing carol, those of us who aren’t too tired go downstairs to the fellowship hall for a little hot cider and a cookie, and all are invited to make a family advent wreath to take home with them.

Thanksgiving Together

"Come, ye thankful people, come..." The tradition goes back longer than most of us remember: every year, congregations from churches and synagogues in west Nashville gather for an interfaith Thanksgiving worship service. Every year, the service is hosted by a different congregation and a different set of clergy and lay leaders offer prayers, readings, songs and reflections. 

This year, the service will be hosted by our friends at West End Church of Christ, and they are very excited, because this is their first year as a host congregation. "Join us for this wonderful opportunity to worship with our neighbors and give thanks for all of God's blessings."

This year's service will be on Sunday, November 24 at 6 p.m., West End Church of Christ, 3534 West End Avenue, with a reception immediately following.

Thanksgiving Offering

Your gift to the annual Thanksgiving offering helps to underwrite the education of students attending the fourteen colleges and seven seminaries or divinity houses of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). You are helping to ensure that when students from Vine Street go away to study they will come home to a Disciples institution.

Coming home to a Disciples college or theological school is possible through the scholarships and grants that are made available by generous individuals, the Disciples Mission Fund and your gifts to the Thanksgiving Offering. Together we can make coming home to Disciples educational institutions more affordable. For generations thousands of students have attended the colleges and universities of the Christian Church,  receiving both a quality education and the opportunity to remain within our Disciples  heritage. The Thanksgiving Offering helps continue this tradition.

Consider how important teaching and learning is to our faith community.

Then, consider your investment not just in the student’s opportunity to learn but also as an act of stewardship for future generations.

Likewise, consider the many generations of pastors, who, if not for the support of faithful congregations and individuals over the ages, would not have flourished as our pastors, teachers and leaders. Have you considered the impact of the pastor in the life of your church, community or region? Our institutions help prepare our pastors for the service and leadership they provide to our communities. Let’s thank them by supporting the Thanksgiving Offering.

Historically, our denomination has led in founding and supporting higher education. Today, the colleges, universities, seminaries and divinity houses find themselves in a transformational time, much like the Church. Your gifts will give students an opportunity to Come Home to a Disciples college or seminary and help lead our ongoing transformation.

The Thanksgiving Offering benefits the colleges, universities, seminaries, and divinity houses affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). These learning communities are an extension of the church, challenging students to understand and respond to God’s call to serve. Your support provides scholarships, church relations programs, and chaplaincy offices. Most importantly, your support of the 2013 Thanksgiving Offering helps Disciples Come Home!

Music for a Mission

Grab your blanket, lawn chairs, and a picnic dinner, a bottle of wine or some snacks to share with friends, and join us on the back lawn for an evening of great music with Gabe Dixon, Julie Lee, and Erin Enderlin!

On Saturday, September 14 we will gather “in the round” behind the Fitzpatrick House, starting at 6pm - time for dinner and drinks with friends! - and the concert will begin at 7:30pm. We will also have beverages available for purchase. 

We will not be selling tickets or charge admission, but we will ask for donations to help us raise funds for Vine Street’s water project with Living Waters for the World. More than a billion people around the world don’t have access to water that is clean and safe. We want to raise $5,000 as a first installment to train leaders and purchase materials to help build a community-based and community-operated water treatment system. The ball is starting to roll, and this fundraising event will give it a good push forward! The suggested donation per adult is $25, but we’re certain many of you will be able to reach a little deeper.

So, come on out on September 14, and join us “in the round” for a fun evening of music and fellowship! 

The Facebook event page makes inviting Facebook friends really easy!

You can also download the poster and put it inside your car window or on your neighborhood bulletin board!

The Stormy Question

The Christian Church and the Slavery Issue

In a 3-week adult education series, we will explore how Disciples of Christ reacted to the slavery controversy and the subsequent Civil War in the mid nineteenth century. 

Based on the interpretive exhibit on display at the Disciples of Christ Historical Society (an online version of the exhibit is also available) this topic commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Class discussions will include biographical sketches and the philosophies of Disciples chaplains, soldiers, abolitionists, pacifists, war hawks, and defenders of the slavery system. Comparisons to today's social justice issues will also be examined.

We are very fortunate to have Sara Harwell, Vice President and Chief Archivist and the curator of the exhibit, as our teacher on Sunday mornings (August 18 and 25, September 8); we meet each Sunday at 9:30am in the Fellowship Hall.

William Tolman Carlton "Watch Meeting Dec. 31st 1862, Waiting for the Hour" | White House Art Collection

Stormy Questions

Public forum on May 18 explores issues of slavery and mass incarceration

As the 2013 event in the Wayne H. Bell Lectureship on Ministry, Vine Street Christian Church and the Disciples of Christ Historical Society invite the public to a forum wrestling with the historical issue of the church and slavery, the modern parallel of mass incarceration, and ways in which the church can recover its prophetic voice by forming communities with those condemned by the criminal justice system.

Saturday, May 18
9 AM - 2 PM
Vine Street Christian Church
4101 Harding Pike
Nashville, TN 37205

FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Box lunch provided

To reserve your free space & box lunch, call or email
Vine Street Christian Church 615-269-5614
stormyquestions@vinestreet.org

150 years have passed since the Emancipation Proclamation. By examining the church’s response - or lack thereof - to slavery, we can see more clearly the oppression resulting from a war on drugs that has spanned four decades and resulted in unprecedented numbers of people, mostly minorities, being incarcerated. Informed by the past, the church must discern how to respond in the present to systemic injustice.

As Michelle Alexander has pointed out in her book, The New Jim Crow, we have an analogous evil in our midst today, which is the mass incarceration that has resulted from four decades of a drug war that has almost exclusively targeted poor communities of color, and a punitive, adversarial criminal justice system that defines justice in terms of process, not outcome, and provides little opportunity for healing and reconciliation. If the church is to take seriously the gospel of following a condemned criminal who proclaimed freedom for prisoners, we must acknowledge that we are failing in the same way as our nineteenth century predecessors did.

Topics:

• The Churches and Antebellum Slavery
• The New Jim Crow: The War on Drugs, The Prison Industrial Complex/Mass Incarceration
• Visits with people who have experienced and are experiencing injustice firsthand
• The Response of the Churches Today – What Can We Do?

Panel discussions, workshops, and question and answer sessions featuring church historian and archivist Sara Harwell, former prosecutor Preston Shipp, former death row inmate Ndume Olatushani, minister Thomas Kleinert, prison chaplain Jeannie Alexander and community organizer Janet Wolf.

Moderated by Glenn Thomas Carson, President, Disciples of Christ Historical Society.

To reserve your free space & box lunch, call or email
Vine Street Christian Church
615-269-5614
stormyquestions@vinestreet.org

Exploration | Music

Vine Street Music Series 2013

On Sunday,  April 7, Vine Street begins a five-week exploration of the place of music in worship and spirituality. Each Sunday, Nashville singer/songwriters and music professionals will talk about the influence of church music on their faith and their music careers, and will share some of their music.

As part of the vibrant Nashville music and faith community, we joyfully welcome all guests to join our conversations. All sessions will be held on Sunday mornings at 9:30a.m. in the Vine Street Fellowship Hall, followed by music during our 10:45a.m. worship service. We will post more information and video updates at vinestreet.org/musicseries2013.

April 7 - Session 1 

The guest to kick off the series will be Dave Barnes. Dave is a Nashville based singer/musician and Grammy nominated songwriter. He is the son of a minister, growing up in Mississippi and Knoxville TN before coming to Nashville. He released his first EP in 2002. His September 2004 release Brother, Bring The Sun was critically acclaimed for Dave's songwriting and overall high-quality presentation for an independent release. Through its release, he gained notability among singers Amy Grant (who later performed on Dave's wedding song "I Have and I Always Will"), Vince Gill and John Mayer.

In 2005, Dave co-produced the five-song EP Today & Tomorrow for his friend Matt Wertz; he also co-wrote one of the songs on the EP.

Dave's songs were featured on the show What I Like About You, including his song "On a Night Like This", which was featured on the "Three Little Words" episode.

In April 2010, Dave released his fourth full band studio album What We Want, What We Get after having released his single "God Gave Me You" from the same album. The single rose into the top-five Contemporary Christian music chart by June. Blake Shelton released the song as his second single on his album Red River Blue in fall of 2011. It became Blake's fifth number one song at country radio and has sold over one million units. In 2012, Dave Barnes was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song for writing the song "God Gave Me You."

Dave is a friend and songwriting colleague of Vine Street’s own Gabe Dixon. They will have a conversation about songwriting inspiration, as well as sing some of their favorite songs. Dave will perform a couple of his own songs during morning worship at 10:45.

April 14 - Session 2  

Our guest this Sunday is Jason Eskridge. Jason was born and grew up in Rockwood, TN. After high school he attended college at Tennessee Tech University where he played football and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. After college he accepted an engineering job in Huntsville, AL where he worked for approximately a year and a half. During that time Jason could never shake his passion to make music. So he packed up, left Huntsville, and moved to Nashville, TN where he currently resides with his family.

Since moving to Nashville Jason has served as a studio vocalist for such acts as Lyle Lovett, Randy Travis, Jonny Lang, Nicole C. Mullen, Marc Broussard, eLi, Micah Dalton, Grits, Verbs, Circadian Rhythm, Sammy Ward, DJ Maj, and Toby Mac. Jason has also traveled opening or singing backup for Lyle Lovett, Nicole C. Mullen, eLi, Micah Dalton, Grits, Knowdaverbs, and Pigeon John. He has been featured as a guest vocalist on numerous projects, including singing on one of Gabe Dixon’s albums, and just released a six song EP entitled, "the ep...".

Jason has traveled across the country playing for youth groups and campuses as well as playing at various music venues. He has also had the opportunity to take his music abroad as he has traveled to South Africa, Amsterdam, and England. Jason’s desire as a musician is to create music that causes the listener to love God, love themselves, love their fellow man, think harder, think deeper, think broader, laugh until they cry, laugh when they want to cry, try something new, remember something old, and ultimately live life to the fullest.

Jason and Gabe Dixon will talk and share music with us at 9:30 in the Fellowship Hall, followed by a couple of songs during our morning worship service.

April 21 - Session 3

Our guests this Sunday will be the Gallatin High School Performers, conducted by T.J. McLaughlin, Vine Street’s Chancel Choir Director. The Gallatin High School Chorus Program consists of three talented and hard-working ensembles: GHS Performers, Ladies Ensemble, and General Chorus. The choirs perform many times throughout the year; including seasonal concerts, community events, MTVA Contest, a Coffeehouse Night, and a full-scale Broadway musical. The GHS Chorus Program has been under the direction of T.J. McLaughlin since 2007.

The GHS Performers are a vocal ensemble comprised of thirty-four mixed voices that perform a wide variety of music with a high degree of difficulty. Throughout the year they can be found working on pieces from the medieval time period through modern vocal jazz. They have consistently received Superior marks at the Middle Tennessee Vocal Association and Tennessee American Choral Directors Association contests. Many individual choir members have been selected for the Mid-State and All-State Choral Festivals. The GHS Performers are held in very high regard throughout Sumner County and the surrounding area, and they are in constant demand for performances at private and community functions.

T.J. and the choir will demonstrate and discuss the characteristics of many different styles of worship music, including Renaissance music, a Romantic Period setting of an ancient hymn tune, American revivalist songs, and African-American spirituals in the Fellowship Hall at 9:30am. The choir will sing full versions of the songs during the 10:45a.m. worship service and will combine with the Vine Street Chancel Choir for a special offertory anthem.

April  28 - Session 4

Our guest, Julie Lee, is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist originally from Maryland, now living in Nashville. She is also a member of the band Old Black Kettle, with Sarah Siskind, and has collaborated with Sarah Masen, Ron Block, Mike Farris, Vince Gill, Tim O'Brien, and Kenny Vaughan. Her songs have been covered by a wide range of artists, but most notably by Alison Krauss. "Away Down the River" and "Jacob's Dream" were recorded on Allison's collection album, A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection (2007). Julie has toured extensively in the UK and US as an Americana Folk Artist. Most notably, she has opened for Alison Krauss & Union Station at The Ryman Auditorium in 2001, and played her own set at The Newport Folk Festival (2007).  

"Julie Lee is a winning combination of folk, bluegrass, gospel and a touch of blues that establishes her as an artist to watch."
- No Depression

" As a vocalist, she's a powerhouse, owning a solid gold tremolo laced with attitude and blessed with range that she wields with style...a world-class singer."
- Billboard Magazine

"Her soprano sounds conversational, even confidential, but it grabs the high notes and milks them dry. Her songwriting strikes a perfect balance between sharp details and universal resonance, confessional lyrics and sing-along melodies, earnest spirituality and self-effacing humor."
- Washington Post

Julie has ties to Vine Street, most recently playing a concert in November 2012 to raise funds for Week of Compassion water projects. She counts Senior Minister Thomas Kleinert as a friend and fan. They will have a conversation about music and inspiration, interspersed with many of Julie’s songs. Julie will share her music with us during worship at 10:45.

May 5 - Session 5  

Our guest, David P. Sartor is a concert music composer and conductor, and is Adjunct Professor of Composition at Trevecca Nazarene University. Sartor's compositions have been recognized with prestigious awards that include the American Bandmasters Association's Ostwald Prize for Symphonic Wind Ensemble Music, the National Fine Arts Award, a New Music for Young Ensembles composition prize, twenty-four consecutive ASCAP awards for compositions of unique prestige value, and a “highly commended” award in England’s Oare String Orchestra's Third Annual International Music for Strings Composition Contest.  He was a Finalist in both the Columbia Symphony Orchestra’s American Composer Competition and the Fauxharmonic Orchestra's Adagio Composition Contest, and the First Prize winner in the Burlington, VT Chamber Orchestra’s Composer Competition. Most recently, he received double honors in the 2012 American Prizes, national awards celebrating American excellence in the arts, garnering Third Place in the Choral Composition Division and Finalist status in the Orchestral Composition Division.

Dave believes that "Composition is an act of faith. While most composers strive for artistic excellence in their work, music also serves to communicate. Without willing players and attentive audiences, any composition is merely a complex set of instructions. Every piece of music, whether new or historical, is a testament to its composer's faith in the partnership among composer, performers, and audience."  

T.J. McLaughlin and Dave will lead us in exploring the place of music in worship, spirituality and inspiration. During the 10:45a.m. worship service, Vine Street’s Director of Music Emerita, Julia Callaway will present one of Dave’s compositions for organ, and the Chancel Choir will sing Dave’s setting of Psalm 67, both of which were commissioned for Vine Street Christian Church.

Cinematic Savior

Cinematic Savior: A 5-week study of Jesus in Film

Movies have a profound impact on our imagination, and we're not always aware of that. Many 20th-century Americans, when they heard a story about Moses, saw before their inner eye the face of actor Charlton Heston. And there are many, more subtle interplays between movies and the religious imagination. 

During Lent this year, you will have a great opportunity to explore the relationship between Scripture, imagination, and film with Rev. Casey Sigmon.

This five week Lenten study has two primary goals: 1) to make us more attentive readers and interpreters of Scripture and 2) to make us a more attentive film audience, especially when viewing films that interact with the icon of our faith-Jesus.

What makes achieving both tasks fun for the next five weeks is the use of various representations of Jesus in film—from Cecil B. DeMille’s King of Kings, to The Greatest Story Ever Told…from The Life of Brian and Jesus Christ Superstar, to Jesus Film and beyond! Since the advent of cinema, Jesus has been making an appearance on the big screen. You will even have a chance to test your own film making skills before the series is through!

Come join us on Wednesday nights beginning February 20^th for dinner, fellowship, and, starting each night around 6:30pm, conversations about our Savior on the silver screen.

Schedule

February 20 | Intro, Road Map, Terms

We talk about movie lingo, the road ahead, and other things.

February 27 | Jesus Films

We discuss King of Kings (1961), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964), and The Jesus Film (1979)

March 6 | Monty Python's Life of Brian

We all watch together Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

March 13 | Scandal Films

We discuss Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Jesus of Montreal (1989), and Life of Brian (1979)

March 20 | Experimental Film Making

We grab the camera and play!

About our Leader: Casey Thornburgh Sigmon is a lover of all things pop culture and theology. She studied Film as an undergraduate at the University of Kansas and then went to McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago to whet her appetite for theology. She was ordained in the Disciples of Christ Pentecost Sunday 2011 in Chapel Hill, NC. These days Casey is working on two projects: a PhD in Homiletics and Liturgics at Vanderbilt and growing the first addition to the Sigmon family (due in June). She and her husband Phill are new members to Vine Street and very much look forward to getting to know the community better!

The Stormy Question

On January 1, 2013 the nation observed the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Disciples of Christ Historical Society, located in Nashville, is participating in that commemoration with an interpretive display in the Oscar Haynes Exhibit Hall. 

The special exhibit, "The Stormy Question: Christian Churches and the Slavery Issue" showcases the Society's collections documenting the various positions taken by the Disciples of Christ on slavery, the Civil War, and emancipation.

James H. Garrison, editor of Christian Evangelist

Taken together, these documents, books, illustrations and artifacts tell a compelling story of a faith community struggling with the momentous issues and events of the nineteenth century in the United States. Many items will be displayed for the first time. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

An expanded version of the exhibit will be placed online at www.discipleshistory.org in the spring. For more information please contact the curator, Sara Harwell.

Remembering Dr. King

We encourage our members to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by familiarizing themselves with the work of Michelle Alexander, this year’s speaker at Vanderbilt University's Martin Luther King Commemoration. Her keynote address will be a good introduction to her important book, The New Jim Crow, which has received excellent reviews and won the 2011 NAACP Image Award for best nonfiction.

The book is a stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status—denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement. The New Jim Crow tells a truth our nation has been reluctant to face.

Michelle Alexander

author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Monday | January 21, 2013 | 7PM
Langford Auditorium
Vanderbilt University

Following the keynote and a book signing, members of the Divinity School and other community partners will lead a brief prayer vigil.

Please note: This is a ticketed event. A limited number of free tickets are available through the church. Individuals may also get no more than two tickets from the box office at the Sarratt Student Center 343-0371

Michelle Alexander, a graduate of Stanford Law School and Vanderbilt University, is a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, and legal scholar. In recent years, she has taught at a number of universities, including Stanford Law School, where she was an associate professor of law and directed the Civil Rights Clinics. 

Merry Christmas!

We wish you and all a happy New Year! May we grow in our knowledge of God's peace and learn to dwell in it. We have our regular worship services on Sunday, December 30. On January 6, we have a special conversation about our Children's Ministry during the Adult Education hour. Most other programs will resume the following week. 

***

The funny thing about the church calendar is that there are so many. Our program and budget year runs July 1 to June 30. The year for the annual tax statements runs from January 1 to December 31. But our worship cycles wisely ignore those beginnings and endings, and center our lives in the life of Christ.

In the Christmas cycle we are shaped by the mystery of the incarnation, "The Word became flesh and made his home among us" (John 1:14). In the Easter cycle we are shaped by the resurrection for life in the new creation, "If anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. Everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

And so we begin the year with Advent, with waiting and with wonder. We invite you to join us for our Advent worship services, seasonal adult Christian education opportunities,  and all the special celebrations on the road to Christmas...

Download pdf of schedule 

Wednesday, November 28 ★ 6:30pm
MBA Choir Christmas Concert

Advent 1 ★ Sunday, December 2 ★ 4:30pm
Hanging of the Greens

Friday, December 7 ★ 7:00pm
Naming our Losses

Advent 2 ★ Sunday, December 9

Thursday, December 13 ★ 7:00pm
Brass Band of Nashville Christmas Concert

Saturday, December 15 ★ 2:00pm
TNT Christmas Party

Advent 3 ★ Sunday, December 16
Boards & Staff Christmas Party

Wednesday, December 19 ★ 6:00pm
Christmas Program with Children’s Choir

Advent 4 ★ Sunday, December 23

Christmas Eve ★ 4:30pm
Family Christmas Worship

Christmas Eve ★ 11:00pm
Lessons, Carols, Candles & Communion

Thursday, December 27 ★ 7:00pm
Madrigal Singers Christmas Concert

Thursday – Sunday, December 27-30
Church Retreat at Christmount

water:360

We drink it. We swim in it. We wash our bodies, clothes, dishes, and cars with it. We spend the first months of life immersed in it. We are baptized in it. We dam it. We pollute it. We waste it. We thirst for it. We drown in it. We can’t imagine life without it. We take it for granted. Water.

When we do a 360 at Vine Street, we look at something from every possible perspective and address it with as many of our senses and capacities as possible. We have done hunger:360, homelessness:360, prison:360, aging:360, and now it’s time for water.

We may well have discovered the one thing that touches every dimension of our life: physical, spiritual, political, economical, theological - or can you name one aspect of life that doesn’t participate in water’s flow?

Every 360 contains elements of study, worship, art, fellowship, and service. Take a deep breath. Dive in:

On Wednesday, October 17, we meet for our regular Wednesday Nights at Vine Street dinner at 6pm, and at 6:30, we turn the dining room into a studio. We'll use sheets and sheets of water color paper, water colors and brushes, scriptures with a water theme, and our imagination to create paintings for the sanctuary. This is a fun activity for people of all ages!

On Sunday, October 21, our worship will immerse us in remembering our baptism, listening to and touching water, and reflecting on Paul's words in Romans 6:3-11, and more (think about the paintings we created the Wednesday before). On the following Sundays, we will continue to include water in our worship services: the threatening waters of the flood, the absence of water in the desert, and the deeply human gesture of sharing a cup of water.

On Tuesday, October 23, we will watch the first of several movies, Blue Gold: World Water Wars. We meet at 7:00pm in the Fellowship Hall.

Wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today, as the source of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management. Can the human race survive? 

On Wednesday, October 24, after our 6pm dinner, we will learn about the watershed our church is located in. Monette Rebecca will be our guest speaker, and she will tell us about the Richland Creek watershed and how to take good care of it. Monette is the Executive Director of the Richland Creek Watershed Alliance.

On Saturday, October 27, we will have a wonderful opportunity to tour the Omohundro water treatment plant in Nashville. This is a special treat, since Scott Potter, the Director of Metro Water Services, will lead the tour in person. If you love great architecture (!), or have a thing for giant cast-iron pipes that have been in service since 1873, or are just curious about how your water gets from the river to your tap, this is a can't-miss experience. In order to participate, you must be 13 years of age or older, and you need to sign up (that too is part of keeping our drinking water safe). [Thomas did a brief pre-tour, and he won't stop talking about how great it was; the editor] Sign-up form

On Sunday, October 28, during our 9:30am Adult Education hour, G. Dodd Galbreath will talk to us about water as a limited resource, and the political and economic implications of that reality. You may remember that during the most recent drought in the South East, legislators in Georgia wanted to reopen the debate about where exactly the border between Tennessee and Georgia runs, and it was all about the water of the Tennessee river. Dodd Galbreath is the Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Practice at Lipscomb University. Serving two former Tennessee governors of different parties, Galbreath led efforts to implement a nationally recognized wetlands conservation plan; to create one of the nation’s first environmental justice plans; and to pass five legislative proposals for sustainable use of Tennessee’s water supplies and native rivers. 

On Tuesday, October 30, at 7:00pm, we watch another great movie in the Fellowship Hall, Flow: For the Love of Water

Water is the very essence of life. It sustains every living being on this planet and without it, there would be nothing. Literally. In her film, director Irena Salina sounds the alarm: our life-giving water is a resource in peril across the planet. The film highlights the local intimacies of a global crisis.

On Sunday, November 4, during our 9:30am Adult Education hour, we will learn about water in the rituals and prayers of our Jewish and Muslim neighbors. In the Christian tradition, the ritual use of water has not always been limited to baptism and footwashings, and we will discover how some other ancient traditions have continued in Judaism and Islam. We have invited Cantor Tracy Fishbein from The Temple, Congregation Ohabai Sholom and Daoud Abudiab from the Islamic Center of Columbia to teach us.      

On Wednesday, November 7, after our 6pm dinner, Scott Potter will talk about how much he loves his job. Scott is the Director of Metro Water Services, and he will tell us about the joys and challenges of providing clean and safe drinking water to all Nashvillians. How much water do we use in Nashville on an average day? How long has the water been in the pipe before it comes out of your tab? You can ask him just about anything!

On Sunday, November 11, during our 9:30am Adult Education hour, Steve Young will introduce us to the work of Living Waters for the World. This non-profit, headquartered in Spring Hill, TN, trains and equips mission teams to share the gift of clean sustainable water with communities in need. We might decide to send a team from Vine Street! 

On Sunday, November 11, at 4:30pm we will watch Ponyo by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. The consensus among critics, according to wikipedia, is that "While not Miyazaki's best film, Ponyo is a visually stunning fairy tale that's a sweetly poetic treat for children and Miyazaki fans of all ages." [I agree; the editor] Bring the kids!

On Tuesday, November 13, we will watch The Milagro Beanfield War, one more movie (7pm, Fellowship Hall) from the inexhaustible treasure trove of Jim Carls's cinematic list.

In Milagro, a small town in the American Southwest, Ladd Devine plans to build a major new resort development. While activist Ruby Archuleta and lawyer/newspaper editor Charlie Bloom realize that this will result in the eventual displacement of the local Hispanic farmers, they cannot arouse much opposition because of the short term opportunities offered by construction jobs. But when Joe Mondragon illegally diverts water to irrigate his bean field, the local people support him because of their resentment of water use laws that favor the rich like Devine. When the Governor sends in ruthless troubleshooter Kyril Montana to settle things quickly before the lucrative development is cancelled, a small war threatens to erupt.

We are also working on scheduling a clean-up day along Richland Creek (watch for details in your e-mail box), but let us tell you about one more project we're very excited about: during the weeks of water:360, we will build a photography gallery at our website. Most of you have a digital camera or a phone with a camera. What we want you to do is document how you encounter water on a daily basis. The sink in the morning is an obvious starting point, but then we want you to keep your eyes open for the countless ways in which water is part of your day (please don't jump in the pool with your phone). You can pick a day and make it your Day of Water Attentiveness, or you can click away anytime you come across something with a water connection that may have gone unnoticed had you not remembered this public art project. Send your pics to fotoeditor@vinestreet.org, and the picture fairy will take it from there.

schedule for the fridge pdf and if you love to hear us tweet use #water360

About Us

Join us August 12 - September 29, as we reflect on Vine Street's story - including the larger historical and denominational narrative it is part of. We meet on Sunday mornings at 9:30am in the Fellowship Hall. This is a great opportunity for members and friends - really anyone who is curious about our story and the struggle for faithful Christian witness!

What's the Difference? 
Vine Street, the Stone-Campbell Tradition, and the Challenge of Social Change

The series will look at Vine Street's past, present, and future, exploring not only how the early Disciples carved out their tradition on the American frontier, but at how the congregation weathered controversies some members still recall, such as racial desegregation and the Vietnam War. We will also think and talk about Vine Street´s continuing witness in a time when not only mainline, but evangelical Christianity seems on the wane.

All are welcome from 9:30-10:30 in the Fellowship Hall as Ted Parks and Jack Wallace lead an interactive discussion based on the book Renewing Christian Unity, authored by Vine Street’s own Gary Holloway and others.

Copies of Renewing Christian Unity are available at Vine Street for $15. Please contact Hope Hodnett at hope@vinestreet.org for details.

Session 1 - August 12
What Difference Does History Make?
Renewing Christian Unity, chapters 1-2
 
Session 2 - August 19
Stone and Campbell
Renewing Christian Unity, chapters 3-5
 
Session 3 - August 26
Permission and Prohibition
Renewing Christian Unity, chapters 6-9
 
Session 4 - September 2
Science and Revelation
Renewing Christian Unity, chapters 10-12
 
Session 5 - September 9
Ebony and Ivory
Civil Rights: How did Vine Street respond? What are the implications for today’s church?
 
Session 6 - September 16
War and Peace
The Vietnam War: Our stand then, our stand now. What is our identity? Are we relevant?
 
Session 7 - September 23
Conflict and Community
The place of GLBT people, immigration, and other issues that divide us today.
 
Session 8 - September 30
What Difference Do We Make?
Renewing Christian Unity, chapters 13-14. What are the causes of the decline in church participation?

The goal of the class is for participants to reflect on Vine Street's story - including the larger historical and denominational narrative it is part of - with a view toward deeper ties to the community and a stronger commitment to the body of Christ as a witness to the world. 

This overall goal includes more specific objectives. After consistently taking part in the class, participants will be able to  

1. identify key leaders and evaluate foundational concepts in Vine Street's Stone-Campbell past;
2. analyze Vine Street's or the Disciples' response to pivotal social change; and
3. develop their own vision for Vine Street as it confronts today's challenges.

Bus Rapid Transit

As a follow-up to the first community forum about the East West Connector BRT line, we are happy to host the next meeting of the Woodlawn neighborhood association on Thursday, August 2, at 7pm in our fellowship hall.

The July 9 community forum created lively conversation (see the Tennessean article) and we are glad to provide a space where our neighbors can gather to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and give their input to this significant public transit project.

Bus Rapid Transit

Next Steps in Nashville's Promising Development of Public Transportation

The Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee will kick off a series of ongoing public information sessions on the East-West Connector bus rapid transit (BRT) project with four sessions in July. The East-West Connector Community Forums will be held at four locations (including Vine Street Christian Church) along the East-West Connector corridor from the White Bridge Road area in West Nashville to Five Points in East Nashville.

The Community Forums will provide information on the proposed route and transit station locations, as well as how BRT differs from traditional bus service.

Vine Street Christian Church
Monday, July 9, 5:30 p.m.
4101 Harding Road

“After several weeks of studies and preliminary design work by our engineering consultants, we now have a route and preliminary transit station locations to share with residents, business and property owners, and employees who work along the corridor,” said Nashville MTA Board Chair Freddie O’Connell. “These forums are an important opportunity for us to listen to individual comments, concerns, and suggestions that will help us plan a successful BRT project.”

The East-West Connector will run along an eight-mile corridor that stretches from Five Points in East Nashville to the White Bridge Road area in West Nashville. The BRT service is expected to serve more than one million passengers in its first year.

“Public input is critical to the success of the East-West Connector,” Mayor Karl Dean said. “I urge Nashvillians to make an effort to attend one of these area forums to learn more about this transformative project and provide feedback that will be invaluable as planning for the BRT line moves forward in the next year.”

The East-West Connector Engineering and Environmental Analysis is being led by URS Corporation, a leading provider of engineering, construction and technical services for public agencies and private sector companies around the world.

To follow the project, “like” it on Facebook or sign up for updates from the Transit Alliance.

“The Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee is committed to working with MTA and Mayor Dean in making the East-West Connector a cornerstone of our regional transportation network,” said Charles Bone, chairman of the Transit Alliance.

Worship Sounds

When we gather for worship, the sanctuary is filled with the sound of human voices - songs of praise, the spoken words of scripture and prayers, glorious anthems and "Little children, come unto me..." Then there are the sounds of organ and piano, of handbells and guitars and brass and more. Worship has a rich texture of sounds.

After 36 years "on the bench," our Organist and Director of Music Ministries, Julia Callaway will retire in the fall. Sunday to Sunday, year after year, she has played the organ and the piano, accompanied the choir and many soloists, selected hymns and musical offerings, introduced new songs and orchestrated the flow of every service. Julia has given 36 years of her professional life to the glory of God and the worship life of God's people at Vine Street, 36 years of beautiful, creative worship sounds. And while we are making plans for retirement parties and celebration concerts, we must also talk about the next chapter in Vine Street's ministry of music.

Over the next few weeks we will get together in groups of various sizes to talk about worship sounds and what kind of music leadership we will need. Our leaders want to hear from all of us so they can develop staffing scenarios that are in tune with our vision for the future.

We ask all our members and friends to participate in a triplet and/or attend a listening group. The triplets are groups of three that meet five times (between March 10 and April 15) to talk about songs, instruments, worship, and related things. All you have to do is sign up, and we'll let you know who your triplet buddies are. The triplets schedule their own sessions, and they are free to talk about a wide range of issues. We will provide a set of guiding questions/statements for each session, and each triplet will appoint a scribe to report important findings.

The listening groups are three open, facilitated sessions, each following the same agenda (so it's OK to attend just one, but it's also great to attend more of them: with different people in the room, the dynamics will be very different in each case). The agenda of the listening groups is a very condensed version of the topics the triplets will discuss. This may sound pretty confusing at first glance, but it's actually a pretty flexible process:

• You may not be able to commit to meeting with a triplet five times; but you can fit one listening group in your busy schedule. 
• You love the triplet idea, because you enjoy talking about these things in depth, and you know it's a great opportunity to get to know two other members of the church. You also want to attend at least one of the listening groups, because you're curious about what other people have to say.
• You enjoy the energy in the room when a larger group of people talk about things they are passionate about. You make sure you have all three listening groups on your calendar.

The point is, each of these combinations (and any other combination you can dream up) works; what we are aiming for is to give all our members and friends an opportunity to participate in this important conversation about leadership in music ministry. The only rule: when you make a commitment to a triplet, you commit to make every effort to participate in all sessions (that's why each triplet gets to schedule their sessions independently).

• The triplets meet five times between March 10 and April 15
• The open listening groups meet at the church on Wednesdays, March 14 and March 21 at 6:30pm, and on Sunday, April 15, for lunch after the 10:45am worship service.

To make room for sharing music and comments outside of these meetings, we created a page on Facebook. Check it out, and feel free to post your own favorite worship songs and listen to what others have posted.

This turned into a much longer post than I expected, but I don't want to end it without encouraging you to sign up for one of the triplets; please complete and submit this form, and you will soon hear back from us. Thank you!

The Banquet of Community

In 1945, Rabbi Julius Mark of the Temple and Dr. Roger T. Nooe of Vine Street Christian Church encouraged the men’s clubs of their congregations to have a dinner meeting in February as a celebration of what was then known as “Brotherhood Month.”

The men met for dinner and decided to make this “Brotherhood Dinner” an annual event. Within just a few years, the women of the congregations joined them, and the tradition continued as the “Brotherhood/Sisterhood Dinner.” Over the years, other Nashville congregations were invited to participate, and the inclusion of Catholics and African-American Baptists showed the intention to build bridges where the community at large seemed too comfortable with disinterested coexistence or outright segregation.

For more than sixty years, this dinner gathering was an occasion for many to reflect on the role of faith communities in the fabric of our public life. In recent years, leaders from the Temple (Congregation Ohabai Sholom), St. Henry Catholic Church, First Baptist Church - Capitol Hill, Belmont United Methodist Church, and Vine Street Christian Church realized that our desire to include the Islamic community required some fresh thinking. In addition, we noticed that younger generations were not nearly as eager as their parents to come to the “Brotherhood/Sisterhood Interfaith Banquet.” We wanted to continue the great tradition of coming together to grow in our mutual understanding and to build and strengthen bonds of friendship in our city; but we also knew that new forms had to be found.

For a few years, I had been reading about a young man in Chicago, who was doing excellent work with college-age men and women of many faiths. A couple of times, I had heard him on the radio, thinking, “I wish we could bring this guy to Nashville.” When the congregations of the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Interfaith Banquet were looking for a new form to channel and direct their interfaith passion, I thought the time had come. I called theInterfaith Youth Core, the organization Eboo Patel had founded in Chicago, and learned that his work had gained international attention - bringing him to Nashville would be possible, but the cost was beyond reach for a handful of congregations. Then I learned that Vanderbilt was interested in bringing this recognized interfaith leader to Nashville, and the Elders quickly decided to partner with the university.

Funding from the Roger T. Nooe Lectureship for World Peace made it possible for us to reserve Langford auditorium on the Vanderbilt campus for the keynote event on February 21 (see the poster below). In the morning of that Tuesday, we invited faith leaders from Middle Tennessee congregations and schools to discuss with Mr. Patel how we can continue our work for mutual understanding. We’ll only have breakfast, but to me it will be another course in the banquet of community. Rabbi Mark and Dr. Nooe would be pleased to see what became of their dinner idea.

I hope you will join us for the lecture on Tuesday, February 21, at 7pm, and that you will invite your friends and neighbors. We encourage our members and neighbors to meet at Vine Street at 6:30pm, so fewer vehicles will be used and people with limited mobility can be dropped off near the entrance to Langford auditorium.

To Not Be Silent

On Sunday, January 29, we begin a six-week exploration of the place of music in worship and spirituality. We will examine the roots of our worship music and the various branches it has developed over generations. We will also have conversations with music professionals about the influence of church music on their faith and their music careers. Listening to examples of different expressions of spiritual music as well as singing along are natural parts of our journey.

We believe that this exploration will be of interest to many people in our community, and so we want to be very clear that guests are welcome to any of the presentations.

All sessions will be held on Sunday mornings at 9:30am in the Fellowship Hall, and the presentations will be made available on video for those who are unable to attend.

See a complete listing of all programs.

Christian Unity

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has strong commitments to seeking Christian unity through dialogue, service, and prayer. Vine Street Christian Church has long been involved in ecumenical efforts in our city and nation, as well as globally.

We gladly extend the invitation to an ecumenical prayer service in observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The service has been prepared by Christians in Poland; here in Nashville, it will be hosted by Otter Creek Church of Christ on Wednesday, January 18, at 7pm.

 ***

Begun in 1908, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated each year in cities and towns across the country and around the world.

The theme for the 2012 observance of this week is "We Will All Be Changed by the Victory of Our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

The service, which will be held as part of middle Tennessee’s observance of this annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, will take place at 7:00 PM at Otter Creek Church of Christ, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN.

Reverend Joseph Breen of St. Edward Catholic Church will deliver the message. Special music will be provided by Otter Creek Church. Area pastors will be leading prayers and scripture readings centered around this year’s theme.

In conjunction with this Prayer Service, Operation Andrew’s United 4 Hope and Room in the Inn will be collecting donations of coats, especially children and teen coats, for distribution through the school system and other social service agencies.

So, please come and pray with us and bring a coat for the collection!

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