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24° 51' 43" N latitude, 80° 43' 30" W longitude
t o m g i l d e m e i s t e r
My wife, Julia, and I recently spent a week away in the Florida Keys – Lower Matecumbe Key to be more precise. To be really precise… 24° 51' 43" N latitude, 80° 43' 30" W longitude. The door of our bungalow was eight paces from a lagoon. The Gulf of Mexico was 300 yards north by kayak. The Atlantic Ocean was a two and a half block walk away. Key West was 70 miles southwest. Cuba was 90 miles straight south. I'll just say the weather was "nice." How about 86° the same day it was 17° in Nashville? Yes, I'm a jerk to point that out.We got lucky. We chose this place because it was the best deal we could find. We really had no clue how glorious it would turn out to be. How glorious was it? A four foot nurse shark swims by in the lagoon, gliding past a small school of phosphorescent green and pink parrotfish. And that’s not the first of it. The Keys don't really have any beaches. But I studied the tide charts. At low tide, we could walk along the Atlantic Ocean as the moon pulled the sea a few yards away from the land. On this narrow beach, we saw "blue balloons." They weren't balloons. They were jellyfish – a blue inflated bladder with a fanlike sail and a blackish purple mass attached. They were Portuguese man-of-war's with 30-150 feet of tentacles carrying a sting that can be incapacitating. The wind had sailed them onto the beach, and the sun was accelerating their decomposition. Such is the rhythm of life, and such is creation – fragile, startling in its beauty, not always easily approached.A female osprey was nesting on a high platform a block from the ocean. They are big birds with brown wings, white breasts, and a brown and white head. We saw the male across the lagoon and confused him for a bald eagle. And, ah, day’s end. The sun melted into the ocean as the sky sang with color, yellow, orange, purple. It was full above the horizon and then gone in 90 seconds. The sun doesn't have to rise the next morning, but in faith I believe it will.We were told that the manatees usually keep Homo sapiens at a distance. We were also told that running water might attract them. Both observations were correct. The last morning on the lagoon, three manatees came looking for a drink. I would guess that the cow was 10 feet long and weighed 1000 pounds. The other two were no small fries – 600-700 pounds if they were an ounce. They drank for 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure that we were more grateful than they were.While I was away, I was reminded once again that God is more conspicuous sometimes than others. It was all good and I'm glad to be home. Honest. See you at the House come Sunday
Belle Meade United Methodist Church March 19, 2014The Spire
Inside this issue of The Spire: • Capital Campaign
Updates• Finance News• Letter from the D.S.• Opportunities to Serve• Prayer List• Youth Mission Trip
News
Staff Contact Information Church Office 352-6210Tom Gildemeister [email protected] 924-7146Kristin Clark-Banks [email protected] 364-4739Danny Rhodes [email protected] 957-8939Mark Acker [email protected] Sansbury [email protected] Rigney [email protected] DeMerritt [email protected] Margaret Miller [email protected]
Record of Faithfulness Through FebruaryContributions Received YTD: $157,690Expenses YTD: $182,695Difference: ($25,005)Apportionments Paid YTD: $32,000
The Finance Committee is in the process of setting the 2014 budget based on pledges that have been received for the year. Our church is committed to increasing our Apportionment payments this year in order to reach 100% for the 2015 budget cycle. Despite that modest increase, the church is operating on a very lean budget and we depend on every gift to the church's general operations, which include weekly worship, programming, service and outreach, and basic utilities. If you have not yet made a pledge to your church, please consider doing so by talk-ing with Rev. Danny Rhodes or Barbara DeMerritt.
Capital UpdatesHopefully you will have noticed your Capital contributions at work around the church.- The new windows are in the process of being installed throughout the second floor classrooms and blinds are being measured. - New carpet has been installed throughout the entire second floor of the Education wing and in the stairwell landings.- The sanctuary organ has had significant work done and sounds better than ever.- Plans are underway for a covering to the Davidson Rd. sanctuary entrance. We are assessing the condition of the parking lot in association with this construction and hope to break ground by this summer.- New interior signage is installed (with a few minor cor-rections forthcoming)- New exterior signage will be installed this springThank a member of the Board of Trustees who continue to work hard for this church.Michael Bunton, Martha Brooke Martin, Susan McWil-liams, Darwin Pankey, Dick Page, Myra Bess, and Mari-lyn Lukehart. And a special "Thanks" to the committee chair, Lisa Francis!
Spring Clean-up April 12Saturday, April 12, from 8:30 ‘til noon is our scheduled Spring Clean-up. After a long, hard winter, many hands are needed to bring our church property back to its normal beauty. Our Boy Scout Troop 87 will assist as we trim,
spread pine straw mulch and remove weeds. In addition to beautifying the property, it’s a great time for fellow-ship and meeting other members of the congregation.Thresa VanZant will be the straw boss leading those who wish to participate by cleaning pews in the Sanctuary. Come one and all for as long or as short a time as you can help.
Opportunity to Serve: Loaves and FishesMonday, March 31, is the 5th Monday of the month. That means it is our turn to prepare and serve the lunch at Loaves and Fishes. We will need about 12 volunteers. If you can come (9:30 to prepare--11:00 to serve or clean up) please let Monk Baird know to count on you: Call 269-9519. The Trinity Sunday School Class will continue its tradition of providing for the famous lemon cake for dessert! Loaves and Fishes takes place at Holy Name Catholic Church located on Woodland Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets in East Nashville. Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday the Loaves and Fishes pro-gram provides a hot midday meal to the hungry and homeless in East Nashville without restriction of religion, race or proof of need.
Save the Date: VBS
July 7-11
Registration
begins March 23
www.bellemeadeumc.org
Youth Summer Mission TripJune 18-25, the youth ministry will be investing in the River of Life Mission Trip in Dallas, GA for our summer mission trip. This mission trip is important for these reasons:1. Serving others changes our lives, as well as the lives of those we serve.2. River of Life has a strong focus on the evening worship sessions. This is important for our youth ministry moving forward!3. We will meet other youth and adults as we all serve together.4. First UMC Dallas is a great partner to work with in missions. Their long history and commitment to the project makes this an ideal place for us to go.5. Atlanta holds some fun things for us to do after the mission work to cel-ebrate and bond together. Our plans include visits to Stone Mountain and Six Flags before returning home.What can you do to support the trip?1. Pray for us and all the youth and adults from other churches who will be there. I especially ask for prayers as I am the speaker for the week.2. Consider going on this trip! We need adults willing to lead and partner with our youth ministry in this way! The dates mean it would be possible for people to participate in the "work week," then return on Sunday, June 22. This may help some people with vacation schedules. And persons with zero skills to advanced carpenters are all welcome!3. If you can’t go, consider a financial gift toward a scholarship for one of our young people!PARENTS AND YOUTH: This trip will fill up! If you want to be a part, you need to sign up ASAP. Our deadline is Sunday, April 27th. There is a significant chance the trip will fill up BEFORE that deadline.-Jason Sansbury, Director of Youth Ministries
A Letter f rom Our Distr ict SuperintendentDear Belle Meade UMC,Thank you for paying 76% of your apportionments. You are well on your way to reaching your 100% goal. Your support of apportionments has both a local and global impact for Christ. By combining our resources as a connectional church we are able to do far more together than we would ever be able to do alone!Apportionment dollars fund many ministries and missions in our conference and world:
- Your congregation's apportionments help support our UM colleges and universities, with the hope that our students will become better educated and perhaps become faithful pastors and leaders within our churches.- After Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, FEMA selected the UM Committee on Relief to lead the $66 million recover initiative because the UMC was the only denomination with the structure and resources to take on the task.- Your apportionments help to afford care and support for children with AIDS, and to speak out against violence in the Middle East. They are paying for teachers, pastors, and missionaries around the world. The UMC is the only Protestant denomination to maintain a permanent presence in Russia.
Thank you again for your faithfulness. May God continue to bless you and work through you to bless others.Gratefully,Harriet BryanNashville District Superintendent
Prayer Concerns
The church prayer list cannot be included on our website due to privacy issues.
You can find the list in the church bulletin
or in the e-mail newsletter.If you would like
to receive the newsletter by e-mail please contact the
Communications Administrator, Anna Margaret Miller, at
the church office at 352-6210 or sign up at
the church website, www.bellemeadeumc.org,
under the newsletter and events page.
NONPROFIT ORGU.S. Postage PAIDNashville, TNPermit No. 1002
Place Mailing Label here
Belle Meade United Methodist Church121 Davidson Road, Nashville, TN 37205www.bellemeadeumc.org(615) 352 - 6210
Worship This Sunday8:30 am - Worship in the ChapelSermon: Rev. Tom Gildemeister
Music by BMUMC acoustic ensemble 8:45 am - Holy Communion in the Sanctuary
A 15-minute time of communion with prayers and liturgy.
10:30 am - Worship in the SanctuarySermon: Rev. Tom Gildemeister
Music: Belle Meade Choir and Instrumentalists9:15 am - 10:15 am Sunday School for all ages
March 26Chicken Pot PieBraised Greens
Green SaladBread
DessertKid's Table
April 2Soup and Baked Potato Bar
BreadDessert
Kid's Table
Wednesday Night Menus:
