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The TN UMC Mercy and Mission Ministries is comprised of the following five ministries (click each banner to view their page):      |
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Please scroll down to view a story/event listing, or a directory of news/events:
- Chamness: Chamness: 'Scripture quite clear about immigration' (from TNUMConnects 3/7/12)
- Teen builds children’s libraries for Project Transformation Tennessee (from The Connector, February 2012)
- Immigration Reform 101: A look at reform proposals (from TNUMConnects 2/29/12)
- Conference continues support of Meharry Community Wellness Center (from TNUMConnects 2/8/12)
- Immigration Reform 101, key terms and advocacy opportunities (from TNUMConnects 2/8/12)
- Immigration Reform 101, key terminology (from TNUMConnects 2/1/12)
- Project Transformation Tennessee launches this summer (from The Connector, Jan. '12)
- Immigration reform 101 (from TNUMConnects 1/18/12)
- Where does the Church stand on immigration? (from TNUMConnects 1/11/12)
- 61st Ave. UMC teams with Toys For Tots, Last Minute Toy Store runs through Dec. 21 (web story from WKRN)
- 2011: Suffering increased for poor, hungry (from TNUMConnects 12/14/11)
Chamness: Chamness: 'Scripture quite clear about immigration' (from TNUMConnects 3/7/12)
submitted by Bishop Ben R. Chamness
Dear friends, immigration is one of the most divisive issues of our day. The arguments are complex and myriad. Regardless of the political stance each of us may have regarding immigration, our United Methodist Tradition, our primary citizenship in the Kingdom of God, and our Sacred Scripture are quite clear about God’s call as Disciples of Jesus when it comes to understanding immigration and actions around these issues.Leviticus teaches us that "the alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19, NRSV)
In Deuteronomy 10 we find these words: God “executes justice for the poor and the widow, and loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.” This passage from Deuteronomy 10 goes on to say that “You also shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
In Romans 12 we hear of the high calling we have as followers of Jesus in Christian Community. “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; and extend hospitality to strangers.”
The second session of the 107th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee is in full swing. In last year's session we saw numerous efforts to criminalize and further marginalize members of the immigrant community. Efforts among immigrants rights organizations, Clergy for Tolerance and the Coalition on Education about Immigration were successful in holding the line and preventing many of the anti-immigrant bills from becoming law, most are resurfacing in committees and are again threatening to pass.
In addition to the anti-immigrant bills that were not settled last session, elected officials have added nearly a dozen new bills to their agenda. Once again, legislators are prioritizing costly anti-immigrant bills instead of focusing on the real priorities of Tennesseans.
Just a few days ago, an Alabama “copycat” bill came before the House Judiciary Committee. HB2191 makes it a Class E felony to, "[c]onceal, harbor or shield from detection" or "transport or move another" anywhere in Tennessee who that
person "knows or reasonably should know is an illegal alien." Gratefully this bill was taken off notice due to a large number of calls from concerned citizens to our legislators.
We do not need this kind of legislation in the state of Tennessee. Our finest values as a Nation, let alone as a United Methodist people of God compel us to stand against such attempts to withhold hospitality from the stranger and the sojourner.
In our Social Principles we find these words: “Our respect for the inherent dignity of all persons leads us to call for the recognition, protection, and implementation of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights so that communities and individuals may claim and enjoy their universal, indivisible, and inalienable rights.” (Para. 162 p. 108) Furthermore, our Social Principles in Paragraph 162. H) state this: “We recognize, embrace, and affirm all persons, regardless of country of origin, as members of the family of God. We urge the Church and society to recognize the gifts, contributions, and
struggles of those who are immigrants and to advocate for justice for all.”
I write to urge you to be aware of these issues in our state and nation in these days. Educate yourselves and your congregations about the issues of immigration. Dispel the damaging myths about immigrants and immigration that are extant in our communities with good factual information. Preach the Gospel of the grace and peace we know in Jesus Christ!
There are several resources I can point you toward to assist you in this work.
Gospel Without Borders is an excellent DVD produced by EthicsDaily.com and the Arkansas Foundation of the United Methodist Church. CLICK HERE for more information.
Clergy For Tolerance is a group of concerned clergy from all faith traditions in Middle Tennessee. Consider becoming a part of their work. They are having a Clergy Day on the Hill on March 13, 2012 to voice concerns about immigration policy. CLICK HERE for more information.
The Coalition for Education about Immigration is a grass roots organization working for justice around immigration issues: www.educationaboutimmigration.com
Finally, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition is a very good resource for staying in touch with the immigration legislative issues coming before our State Legislature: www.tnimmigrant.org/state-policy
I pray for you and your ministry and for grace, peace, and courage to be with you as you proclaim a Gospel without borders in these days.
> Related: See related news stories about immigration from TN Justice For Our Neighbors, CLICK HERE
> A.N.O.W.: Outreach, Mercy & Mission Ministries
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Teen builds children’s libraries for Project Transformation Tennessee (from The Connector, February 2012)
Logan Hardin loves to read.
So when the Liberty UMC teenager in Brentwood learned about a need for children’s books for a new ministry called Project Transformation Tennessee, she quickly embraced the task of organizing an entire children’s library as her community service project for her Girl Scout Gold Award.
But wait!
Logan didn’t stop after collecting, sorting, and labeling 700 books for one library—for which she worked more than 60 hours to earn Girl Scouting’s highest honor. With the help of her family, she kept collecting books—2,000 in all—enough to lay the foundation for four church-based libraries that will be used this summer by children in four underserved neighborhoods in Nashville.
“Reading has had a huge impact on my life,” says Logan, 17, a senior at Brentwood High School. “I want other people to have the chance to love books as much as I do.”
As a result of her efforts, good books will be more accessible for children in neighborhoods surrounding Project Transformation summer day camp sites at Ernest Newman UMC, Nancy Webb Kelly UMC, Sixty-First Avenue UMC, and Tulip Street UMC.
The free day camps will be operated by 32 college-age interns living on the campus of Belmont University and working weekdays at the camp sites, which are expected to serve approximately 300 children.
“One of the most important components of Project Transformation Tennessee is our reading program,” says Courtney Aldrich, executive director of the nonprofit organization. “Every day, children who attend Project Transformation day camps read one-on-one with a volunteer for one hour. This is a special time for these children, not only because they are improving their reading and comprehension skills, but because they get one-on-one attention from a positive role model.”The children’s libraries got another boost Jan. 27-29 when hundreds of youth attending the annual Tennessee Conference Warmth in Winter gathering in Murfreesboro donated approximately 1,600 additional children’s books to Project Transformation Tennessee.
“Since this year’s theme was ‘Think Big,’ we wanted this year’s Warmth in Winter mission outreach project to make a lasting impact,” says Brad Fiscus, director of Young People’s Ministry for the Tennessee Conference, which sponsors Warmth in Winter.
“Logan gave us the example because she thought big when she started her book drive,” Fiscus adds. “She inspired all of us also to think big as part of our mission outreach for Warmth in Winter.”
Fiscus, who also serves on the Project Transformation leadership team, says this year’s invitation to donate books and art supplies for Project Transformation prompted one of the most enthusiastic outreach responses in the event’s history.
“It’s exciting because the books especially will have a lasting impact,” he says. “And it was a natural fit for this year’s Warmth in Winter theme because Project Transformation is all about thinking big, too.”
For Logan, who attended Warmth in Winter with other youth from Liberty UMC, the bountiful book harvest is an affirmation of how people respond when invited to contribute to a faith-inspired need.
“It’s been incredible to watch how many people are helping out with this project and how many people are donating books,” she says, citing people from her family, neighborhood, church, school, Girl Scout community and now church youth groups from across the Tennessee Conference.
Her parents and siblings have been especially encouraging, she says, allowing her to “take over” the basement of their home to sort, label and store stacks and boxes of books.
“My youth group at church has helped with all the sorting, and I’ve had members of the National Honor Society at my school also helping” Logan says. “We have seven different reading levels for beginning readers all the way through more complex chapter books. So we categorize the books based on the number of words per page and the difficulty of vocabulary and pictures. Then we code them all by colors.”
Eventually, children attending Project Transformation camps will choose books to read based on the color code that identifies their reading level. They’ll sit down one-on-one with a volunteer each day to read the words on the pages together. Volunteers from across the Tennessee Conference will be needed to serve as reading buddies.
Logan expects to be one of those volunteers this summer before starting college in the fall.
“I love to read, so I’m excited,” she says. “My sister and brothers are excited to help, too. In fact, my whole family plans to go and read with children at Project Transformation.” To learn more about the reading program and other opportunities with Project Transformation Tennessee, visit www.pttennessee.org.
This article or a version of it was featured in the TN Conference newsletter The TNUMConnector. Get a full year for only $12!Click the button to subscribe now!
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Immigration Reform 101: A look at reform proposals (from TNUMConnects 2/29/12)
When it comes to immigration reform, most anyone involved in the debate believes that the current system is flawed but, what do we do to fix it? Below are links to three proposals, each easily broken down in a one-page format. Next week, TnJFON will present three additional proposals in our series on Immigration Reform 101.Remember, March 13 “Clergy Day on the Hill” is being organized by Clergy for Tolerance and the American Center for Outreach. Training for Tennessee faith leaders interested in learning how to speak with legislators regarding immigration issues can attend a free training on March 8. For more information, CLICK HERE.
Immigration Reform 101:
> DOWNLOAD Reform proposal 1: status and a pathway to it (Document)
> DOWNLOAD Reform proposal 2: family reunification (Document)
> DOWNLOAD Reform proposal 3: increase in work visas (Document)
Immigration Reform 101 is authored by United Methodist Missionary Jim Perdue Burke. For those who want to digest the entire resource, it is available in English and Spanish on the website: www.desertsouthwestconference.org
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TnJFON) | is a ministry of the Tennessee Annual Conference, urges leaders in the faith community to familiarize themselves with the impact of state and local immigration policies as our state legislature gears up to introduce laws that could impact hospitality to our immigrant brothers and sisters.
This article was featured in the TN Conference weekly eBlast TNUMConnects. FREE to your INBOX weekly!Click the button to subscribe now!
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Conference continues support of Meharry Community Wellness Center (from TNUMConnects 2/8/12)
In the spirit of the United Methodist Global Health Initiative the Tennessee Conference recently delivered several cases of medications to the Meharry Community Wellness Center as part of the Conference outreach to those struggling with HIV/AIDS in Middle Tennessee. The United Methodist Global Health Initiative aims to combat diseases of poverty such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis worldwide.The Meharry Community Wellness Center, a Tennessee-designated AIDS Center of Excellence, provides a continuum of comprehensive services to people living with HIV/AIDS in Tennessee and is the sole provider of HIV and HCV care to inmates of Tennessee Department of Corrections. Our Conference sends food, medications, health kits, dental care supplies and other basic supplies for distribution to Wellness Center patients who do not have the means to provide those necesseties for themselves.
For more information on the Tennessee Conference Health and Welfare Ministries or the Global Health Initiative please contact Brandon Hulette, Director of Mercy and Mission Ministries and Disaster Response and Recovery at 615.329.1177 or brandon.hulette@tnumc.com.
Photo Caption: (photo credit-Fransisco Vega) Brandon Hulette, Director of Mercy, Mission and Disaster Recovery delivers medications to Dr. Vladimir Berthaud, Director of the Meharry Community Wellness Center. Meharry Medical College is a United Methodist-Affiliated Medical School in Nashville.
This article was featured in the TN Conference weekly eBlast TNUMConnects. FREE to your INBOX weekly!Click the button to subscribe now!
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Immigration Reform 101, key terms and advocacy opportunities (from TNUMConnects 2/8/12)
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TnJFON) continues Immigration Reform 101 by introducing more key terms that will likely come up when discussing immigration (links below). In addition, TnJFON urges faith leaders to consider practicing “political ministry” by joining others in opposing unjust legislation.March 13, 2012 is “Clergy Day on the Hill.” This is an opportunity for lawmakers to hear the concerns of clergy regarding proposed immigration legislation in Tennessee. For more information about “Clergy Day on the Hill,” visit: http://clergyfortolerance.org/
To learn more about proposed legislation in Tennessee: http://www.clergyfortolerance.org/mobilize-educate/proposed-bills-2012/.
Proposed bills are more likely to become law if they make it out of committee. Consider making a call against unjust immigration legislation during this committee phase; contact your legislator to voice your concern as a person of faith. As one lobbyist stated, “ten phone calls can change a vote.” To find your elected official visit: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators/
Immigration Reform 101:
Terminology: Rule of Law (CLICK HERE)
Terminology: Open Borders (CLICK HERE)
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TnJFON), a ministry of the Tennessee Annual Conference, urges leaders in the faith community to familiarize themselves with the impact of state and local immigration policies as our state legislature gears up to introduce laws that could impact hospitality to our immigrant brothers and sisters.
Immigration Reform 101 is authored by United Methodist Missionary Jim Perdue Burke. For those who want to digest the entire resource, it is available in English and Spanish on the website: http://www.desertsouthwestconference.org
This article was featured in the TN Conference weekly eBlast TNUMConnects. FREE to your INBOX weekly!Click the button to subscribe now!
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Immigration Reform 101, key terminology (from TNUMConnects 2/1/12)
A few weeks ago, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TnJFON) began posting short “one-pagers” on immigration reform from the United Methodist perspective.TnJFON continues Immigration Reform 101 by addressing key terminology; some of these terms will likely surface when faith leaders engage in reform dialogue.
Another great resources is the “Drop the I-word” campaign promoted through The General Commission on Religion and Race of The United Methodist Church (GCORR - CLICK HERE).
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TnJFON), a ministry of the Tennessee Annual Conference, urges leaders in the faith community to familiarize themselves with the impact of state and local immigration policies as our state legislature gears up to introduce laws that could impact hospitality to our immigrant brothers and sisters.
Immigration Reform 101:
Terminology: illegal/criminal VS. undocumented/unauthorized, .PDF (CLICK HERE)
Terminology: amnesty vs. pathway, .PDF: (CLICK HERE)
Immigration Reform 101 is authored by United Methodist Missionary Jim Perdue Burke. For those who want to digest the entire resource, it is available in English and Spanish on the website: http://www.desertsouthwestconference.org
This article was featured in the TN Conference weekly eBlast TNUMConnects. FREE to your INBOX weekly!Click the button to subscribe now!
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Project Transformation Tennessee launches this summer (from The Connector, Jan. '12)
Program will address void with college-aged studentsAs a teen, Keller Hawkins loved youth group at Nashville’s Belmont UMC, but experienced a spiritual void once she became a college student.“I was so consumed with school and studying and being on the varsity swim team,” says Hawkins, 19, now a sophomore at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. “I just got wrapped up in college life.”
Fortunately, she recognized the void and, for the first summer after her freshman year, sought out an internship with Project Transformation to reinvigorate her faith and feed her mission-minded inclinations.
“I needed to be able to give my heart to something significant,” Hawkins says of the United Methodist-supported ministry. “I didn’t really know much about Project Transformation, but the experience far surpassed my expectations.”
Today, Hawkins is considering seminary and a ministry vocation, thanks in part to her Project Transformation internship last summer in Texas. However, her more immediate plans are to apply to intern this summer with Project Transformation Tennessee.
The Nashville-based nonprofit organization will launch this May modeled after Project Transformation Texas. Tennessee leaders are actively recruiting 32 college-age students from Tennessee and beyond for its first class of interns.
The interns will live on the campus of Belmont University and commute each day to operate free eight-week summer day camps for children in four underserved Nashville neighborhoods. The camps will be held at Ernest Newman United Methodist Church, Nancy Webb Kelly United Methodist Church, Sixty-First Avenue United Methodist Church, and Tulip Street United Methodist Church.
“Project Transformation offers a structure for serving low-income children and youth, connecting churches with their neighborhoods, and helping other area churches partner in a new and relevant ministry. But most importantly, it’s about giving young adults an opportunity to develop as principled, knowledgeable and Christ-centered leaders, right at the time when they are trying to discern how they want to invest their lives,” says Courtney Aldrich, executive director of Project Transformation Tennessee, who interned for three summers with Project Transformation Texas.
The interns will plan and operate the camps four days a week; hear speakers and attend ministry exploration outings every Friday; and participate in worship with their camp site churches on Sundays. They will receive room and board and a $1,500 living stipend. The inaugural program runs May 26-July 28, with time off each week from Friday afternoon
to Saturday evening.
“I’ve told church leaders that, if you want to help your young adults, get them to do Project Transformation,” says the Rev. Vona Wilson, associate pastor at Franklin First UMC, which has sponsored four college students in the last four years at Project Transformation Texas.
Wilson says Project Transformation helps churches to fill the significant void in ministries that resonate with young adults.
“For the most part, the Church is missing and losing its young adults, especially its college-age students. This generation does not respond to the traditional model, where we ask our young adults to sit inside our walls, in a classroom or in one hour of worship on Sunday mornings. This generation is about making a difference in the world. What Project Transformation does is to show our young adults that, if you’re a leader and a Christian leader, you’re going to make a difference in whatever field you choose,” says Wilson, vice president of the leadership team for Project Transformation Tennessee.
Hawkins left last summer’s internship wanting to make a difference with her life. Her experience was enriched by living and working for 10 weeks with nine other interns on her team and by attending Friday ministry exploration outings such as visiting the Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. But mostly, she was transformed by interacting daily with about 100 children, grades 1 through 6, in Denison, a small town in rural North Texas.
“It wasn’t just working with these interns and these kids, but it was working with them every day and really getting to know them,” she says. “The kids were amazing, and I learned a lot of things about myself and where I want to go in life. On the last day of camp, it was so hard to say goodbye. I was sobbing. I came to love the children so much.”
Hawkins says Project Transformation is for anyone who is open to experiencing transformation and being part of transformational experiences for others.
“If you want an experience that really changes you and helps you become more aware of the world around you, then definitely apply for Project Transformation,” she says of the new Tennessee ministry. “What better time than when you’re still in college and your summer is a wide-open slate. It’s something you can put your whole heart into.”
> Jan. 31 is the priority deadline for submitting internship applications to Project Transformation Tennessee. To learn more, visit www.pttennessee.org.
> VIEW internship posting on TNUMC.org CAREERS page
This article or a version of it was featured in the TN Conference newsletter The TNUMConnector. Get a full year for only $12!Click the button to subscribe now!
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Immigration reform 101 (from TNUMConnects 1/18/12)
In the coming weeks, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TnJFON) will borrow from a wonderful resource authored by United Methodist Missionary Jim Perdue Burke on behalf of the Desert Southwest Conference and The National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry of The United Methodist Church.Entitled Immigration Reform 101, we will break down the information into its original form, a series of one-pagers that emphasize Holy Conferencing when debating this pressing issue. For those who want to digest the entire resource, it is available in English and Spanish on the website: http://www.desertsouthwestconference.org
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TnJFON), a ministry of the Tennessee Annual Conference, urges leaders in the faith community to familiarize themselves with the impact of state and local immigration policies as our state legislature gears up to introduce laws that could impact hospitality to our immigrant brothers and sisters.
We also urge faith leaders to attend the free Gospel Without Borders screening and panel discussion on January 24. Click here to register: http://www.clergyfortolerance.org/mobilize-educate/trainings/?ee=3
Immigration Reform 101:
> Federal Immigration policy reform (CLICK HERE)
> A key focus of The UMC (CLICK HERE)
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Where does the Church stand on immigration? (from TNUMConnects 1/11/12)
In 2012, the Tennessee legislature is considering immigration laws much like those in Alabama and Arizona. If these laws pass, ministries and congregations could experience barriers to sharing worship, ministry, and hospitality with immigrants in our midst.Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TnJFON), a ministry of the Tennessee Annual Conference, urges leaders in the faith community to familiarize themselves with the impact of state and local immigration policies. Over the course of the next few months, TnJFON will provide basic information on these issues, from a United Methodist perspective.
The United Methodist Position on global migration and U.S. immigration reform
The 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church called upon the whole denomination to become involved in addressing the root causes of global migration, which currently affects nearly 1/4 billion residents of the Earth. It also calls upon the whole denomination to "rethink church," engaging in new and transformative ministries with populations not fully engaged by and with the church's ministry.
2008 General Conference Resolutions:
> On global migration: (CLICK HERE)
> On U.S. immigration: (CLICK HERE)
About TnJFON | Justice for Our Neighbors is a faith driven ministry, welcoming immigrants into our churches and communities by providing free, high quality, immigration legal services, education, and advocacy. TnJFON@comcast.net
> A.N.O.W.: Outreach, Mercy & Mission Ministries
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61st Ave. UMC teams with Toys For Tots, Last Minute Toy Store runs through Dec. 21 (web story from WKRN)
Check out News 2 Nashville's web coverage of 61st Ave. UMC's Last Minute Toy Store. The Store, a joint venture with Toys For Tots, is open to the public until December 21, 2011. For more, please CLICK HERE.
Read WKRN's stories:
> Dec. 18, 2011
> Dec. 17, 2011
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2011: Suffering increased for poor, hungry (from TNUMConnects 12/14/11)
United Methodists engage in ministry with the poor, hungry and marginalized around the world
a UMNS Report by Kathy L. Gilbert*
The year 2011 was not kind to the poor, hungry and marginalized.
The worst drought in decades compounded by civil strife has affected more than 13 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti. Problems with food shortages in the Horn of Africa have been building over the years but came to a “critical mass” this summer, said Melissa Crutchfield, UMCOR executive for international emergency response.
On the heels of news of severe suffering in Africa came a U.S. report finding another 2.4 million children joined the ranks of the poor during the past decade. The U.S. Census Bureau announced the total Americans living below the poverty line has climbed to 46.2 million.
The continuing bleak economic outlook has left more than 2 million people jobless for the last two years and 700,000 for three years.
Income inequality is increasing in much of the developed world driven by disparity in wages, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Skilled workers have the largest share.
Budget fights
As Congress and the Obama administration faced off over budget cuts and debt ceilings, faith leaders joined hands to form a “Circle of Protection” around programs that affect those with the most to lose: the unemployed, uninsured and homeless.
Two United Methodist faith leaders were among a group of 11 arrested July 28 in the U.S. Capitol as they refused to stop public prayers asking the Obama administration and Congress not to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. Their arrests came after months of protest and prayer vigils held on the grounds of the United Methodist Building in Washington.
Bridging the gap
From the halls of Congress to the sands of Somalia, United Methodists are working to fill the gap between the rich and poor.
A few examples:
• Hundreds of job seekers come to Roswell (Ga.) United Methodist Church for a weekly dinner and range of workshops every second and fourth Monday.
• Open Table, a nonprofit organization founded by Jon Katov, a member of Paradise Valley (Ariz.) United Methodist Church, brings a group of volunteers together as mentors for people in poverty. The people selected for Open Table become “sisters” and “brothers.”
• UMCOR has been funding aid programs in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia since July. As of Nov. 11, the agency had raised $874,921.23 for Horn of Africa relief and approved $430,929 in grants. The situation is not hopeless. UMCOR is continuing to seek donations for Horn of Africa famine relief.
The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries launched a web site Ministry with the Poor to track how the church is engaging in ministry with the poor around the world.
In a striking example of the power of one person to make a difference, the Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith of San Antonia, Texas, sold all her possessions, rejected her pastor salary and benefits and traded her safe warm bed for a park bench or a blanket under an interstate overpass. The petite pastor asked her bishop to appoint her to the streets so she can be in ministry with the poor and advocate for systemic changes.
She is trekking across the country speaking to churches, seminaries and other organizations. Her Facebook page documents her travels.
“Found me a good little high spot next to the creek,” says one of her recent posts. “Had to put up my tent in the rain, but all good and dry inside the tent now.
“It is such a privilege and I pray that the Spirit always guides my calling.”
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn. News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., 615.742.5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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