Thursday updates

Scott Perry had knee replacement surgery on Thursday. He is expected to go home on Friday. Thank you for your prayers for him and Kathy during the days of recovery and rehabilitation!

Betsy Von Dohlen is recuperating at home from surgery earlier this week. She will have to rest for a few weeks; if you would like to help with meals, please get in touch with Katie at katie@vinestreet.org.

Joyce Crowell has made a remarkable recovery after suffering a stroke earlier this week. She is at home and making appointments with specialists to develop a treatment plan for a hole in her heart which was discovered while she was hospitalized.

Julia Keith is resting at home. She is scheduled for back surgery on May 30.

Judi Sachs has completed treatments and is regaining her strength. She is looking forward to regaining her strength and energy!

Linda Parker continues to receive chemo therapy treatments. Thank you for keeping her and all those named above in your prayers!

And last but not least, an update from Week of Compassion:

60818459_10156915773373855_8353675416073928704_o.jpg

Our prayers are with communities and congregations that suffered in the severe tornadoes last night, and the high water flooding of the last few days. So far we are aware of significant damage to Community Christian Church in Jefferson City, MO [pictured]; and family members in the area who have suffered damage or lost their homes. We are in touch with partners in those communities to learn of other needs.
In the Oklahoma Region, extreme flooding has caused severe damage to properties and homes. Many of our Disciples churches-- particularly FCC of Broken Arrow and FCC of Hominy-- have opened their doors to meet the needs of the wider community.
Many of you are asking how to help: remember, the best practice is “Stay, pray, give.” Week of Compassion offers solidarity grants to congregations that sustained damage, and to churches and regions that are working to serve their neighbors. When you help fund these grants, you help us support local partners that meet immediate needs right after a disaster; and you also support the long term rebuilding process, which can take years. To donate, please visit our website, and designate your gift for “U.S. Storms and Fires.” Not only does your gift meet practical needs; it serves as a reminder to those who’ve suffered great loss that they are surrounded by a greater cloud of witnesses, and have the support of the whole Church.
Stay, pray, give… it does more good than we can imagine.

Thank you for your prayers

Eric Hutton asks that we remember his parents, Frank and Karen, as they wrestle with health and aging issues.

Meda Miller asks for our prayers for her friend Jordan who is going through very hard times. For a variety of reasons, she will have to move away by herself. Meda asks us to join her in prayer that Jordan “makes new friends and has the best year of her life.”

Julia Keith

Julia Keith has been in severe back pain for over a week. After an MRI and a consultation with her neurosurgeon, she decided to have back surgery. A date has not yet been confirmed. Thank you for your prayers for Julia as she waits for relief, and for a successful surgery.

Solidarity with our Jewish neighbors

Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel, Chabad of Nashville, invites all who wish to stand in solidarity with the Chabad community of Poway and the Jewish community as a whole to a Shabbat service on Friday at 6:00pm. Chabad of Nashville is at 95 Bellevue Road. Please read his letter below.

Dear friend,

We are heartbroken and pained by the cold blooded attack that took place on Shabbat, the last day of Pesach, during services,  at Chabad of Poway, CA. This is an attack on all of us, and we grieve for the family of Lori Gilbert-Kaye who lost her life &  pray for the recovery of Noya Dahan (Age 8), Alon Peretz and Rabbi Yisrael Goldstein who are injured. 

We thank all of those who checked in on us here in Nashville, and showed their care and support.

Together with assistance from local and Federal law enforcement, we will continue to review our security measures & take utmost precaution to ensure the safety of each and every person, adult and child, that enters our Chabad campus and center.

You may ask, what can I do in a moment of darkness and pain? The Rebbe-Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory often reminded us at times like this that along with the outrage, mourning, and grief, we must focus on action and positive change. A little light pushes away a lot of darkness.

Let us each take upon ourselves a new mitzvah this week to combat the ugly hate that has again reared its ugly face. More than just a nice sentiment, the light and goodness we bring into the world through performing a Mitzvah - by adding in goodness and kindness we create real, positive change, generating light, and bringing the era of redemption ever closer.

Today, please reach out to another with kindness, give extra charity, put on tefillin, say some Tehillim (psalms), attend a Torah class, resolve to light Shabbat candles, or choose any mitzvah that is close to your heart.

As Rabbi Goldstein said in his personal appeal to the world following his surgery, "this Shabbat, let us fill up the Shuls, all of our Houses of Worship, and let us show that nothing will take us down. Let us show that this will not deter us nor scare us. Jewish unity is what we need now. A little bit of light dispells a lot of darkness. Am Yisrael Chai!."

Let us pray that G-d send healing and comfort to the Jewish community of Poway. We pray for the day when all evil and hatred will vanish from the world, and only goodness and kindness will prevail.

In the merit of our collective Mitzvot, may we each bring much comfort and peace to each other at this challenging time

AM YISRAEL CHAI - We the Jewish people have, are and will live on forever more.

With deep pain, endless love and fierce determination,

Sincerely,

Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel 

Chabad of Nashville 

PS Please join us at Chabad of Nashville, this Friday evening at 6:00 pm, for a Shabbat in solidarity with the Chabad community of Poway, and in a communal outcry against the rising tide of anti-Semitism. Together, let us stand tall as Jews who proudly celebrate the freedoms of this blessed nation, which allows us the freedoms to celebrate our faith without fear or intimidation. 

Prayer concern

A note from our friend Preston Shipp. Thank you for your prayers for him as he mourns the death of his friend, and thank you for remembering, particularly during this week, how deeply flawed our attempts at justice are.

My friend Jerry Cammuse died yesterday. Not many people outside prison walls knew Jerry because he had been locked up since 1990.

Not long ago Mike Duncan and Jeff McInturff and I met with former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s legal counsel to ask for executive clemency. Jerry was a model inmate, a Bible scholar, a fine musician, a chaplain’s aide, and an excellent example to other men. He was also diagnosed with cancer, and he believed it was due to his exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. And for the entire seventeen years that I knew him, Jerry adamantly insisted that he was not guilty of the crime for which he was convicted. There was no physical evidence, and witnesses had recanted their testimony. Despite all this, Haslam rejected our pleas for Jerry’s freedom.

Unlike my friend Cyntoia Brown, celebrities never took an interest in Jerry’s story or turned his name into a hashtag. Haslam refused to show mercy, and very few people knew or cared. But to those of us who knew and loved Jerry, it was heartbreaking. Given his failing health, we knew that Haslam had essentially condemned Jerry to die in prison, and that is what has happened.

Jerry was born on February 8, 1950. Ever since 2002, when I first started serving as a volunteer chaplain, Jerry has been our song leader. He loved the old hymns: “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” “Trust and Obey,” “Victory in Jesus.” When he led “Amazing Grace,” the last verse was always simply the words “Praise God” repeated over and over. I had never heard that before, and I always was moved by it. He always asked for prayers and for us to continue believing in his innocence. He knew that he was a helpless victim of a terribly unjust system.

Like so many people I have met in prisons, Jerry reflected Christ to me and changed my life for the better. We exchanged many letters, and I knew him well. He should have been released many years ago. But all the system was willing to do with this kind, gentle man was crush him until he died. And we call this justice.

My children prayed last night for Jerry, that he is finally free and in the presence of the God in whom he placed his trust for so long. There are many more people like Jerry suffering in our prisons, all but forgotten and with little hope. If you have never visited a prison before, you really should. People like Jerry have taught me more about God than I’ve ever learned sitting in the comfort of opulent steepled buildings or in years of studying at religious schools.

Prayer concerns

Bess Henderson is still undergoing treatment of an infection in her jaw bone. She continued to experience a lot of pain, and learned on Friday that her jaw is broken. Please continue to hold her close in prayer as she completes the antibiotic treatment and discusses with her medical team what surgical procedures might be appropriate to treat the fracture.

Lyn Dorris asks for prayers for the family, friends and students of Pam Woodard. Pam, a teacher at Lyn’s school, died on Sunday at age 60.

Katherine Young, who moved to Louisville a few months ago, is hospitalized with pneumonia.

Donna Woods is happy to announce the birth of her newest grandchild. Blake Hudson Barr was born to Donnell and Leah Barr on April 10, weighing 8lbs. 1oz. and measuring 21 1/4 in.

Wednesday prayer requests

Bill Cannon died on Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by friends and family. Thank you for continuing to keep Debra and all who love Bill in your prayers. Once funeral arrangements have been confirmed we will share them with the congregation.

Joan Strasinger is recuperating at home after surgery and overnight hospitalization. Joan fell and broke her elbow when a very excited dog accidentally pushed her over on Tuesday. Thank you for your prayers for Joan.

Jackie Halstead will be in Kenya, April 5-14, to lead the East Africa Women's Retreat for missionaries and English-speaking Kenyans. We pray for safe travel for her and all participants, and a fruitful retreat.

Saturday update

We ask for prayers for Bill and Debra Cannon. Bill is in ICU after suffering a major cardiac event last night.

Virginia Grimm is still hospitalized but expected to return tomorrow to her residence at Charter Senior Living in Hermitage. Thank you for continuing to hold her close in prayer.

Monday afternoon prayer updates

Wayne McNatt is scheduled for a second surgery Tuesday morning. This will prepare his leg for being able to fit and rehabilitate with a prosthesis. Please continue to pray for Wayne, his upcoming surgery and the rehabilitation to follow. 

Julia Callaway asks us to pray for those affected by the floods in Papua, New Guinea, town of Sentani; relatives of the Callaway family, the Ingles, are doing mission work there. Over fifty people have died but the Ingles family is safe and is ministering to those injured and needing shelter, food, and water.

Wayne McNatt

Another brother of Lester’s, Wayne McNatt has been hospitalized in Marietta, GA with a  severe foot infection. He will have to have his foot removed; the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning with a follow up procedure on Monday or Tuesday. Please pray for Wayne, and his two boys, Marlon and Marshall and all of the family during this difficult time.

4101 Harding PIKE, Nashville, TN 37205 | (615) 269-5614

Sundays: Traditional Worship at 10:00 a.m. in person & ONLINE