Last week, we sent the letter below to hundreds of members and friends of Vine Street Christian Church. We are so excited, and we hope many will join us to celebrate 200 years of ministry in Nashville and beyond!
Dear Friends of Vine Street Christian Church,
Each of you receiving this letter is a part of the Vine Street Christian Church community! This extensive community includes persons who presently worship at Vine Street, persons who have worshiped with Vine Street in the past, and persons who have other interests or experiences with Vine Street, both in the past and in the present. Whatever your connection, we want to make certain that you know about our upcoming 200th Anniversary of the founding of Vine Street Christian Church in Nashville. You may already know that we had planned this celebration for last year, given that Vine Street traces its beginnings to 1820. The COVID-19 pandemic required us to reschedule the celebration for this year instead. We will therefore be celebrating our 200th Anniversary during our two hundred and first year!
In the coming weeks you will be receiving a “save the date” listing of the precise days, times, and locations of our Anniversary events. The purpose of this note is to give you an overall view of these Anniversary events and to let you know that you, together with your friends and families, are invited to join us for any and all of these Anniversary moments.
Our celebrations will begin with a journey into the past and the place where Vine Street began. Dr. Carole Bucy, who has the honorary title of Davidson County historian, will make two fascinating presentations about these early environments. The first will be a glimpse into the world of Nashville in the 1820s. The second will fast-forward 100 years and look at Nashville in 1920s. These presentations will occur on the evenings of September 15th and September 22nd, at 7:00 pm, at Vine Street and will be livestreamed as well.
Although the exact dates have not been set, we will celebrate the installation of two Metro Nashville Historical Markers in late September or early October. The first will be located at the site of the downtown church, near the corner of 7th (then called Vine Street) and Church. The second will be installed in front of the current Vine Street along Harding Pike. We are planning a unique walking event between the downtown location and our current location, so stay tuned!
Many of you are familiar with local artist, Phil Ponder. Phil has painted a number of cityscapes of Nashville as well as paintings of significant structures and locations. Phil has agreed to paint what will be an amazing “portrait” of our current church building. He is already underway with this work. You will have an opportunity to be part of the unveiling of this painting as well as obtain a print suitable for framing and display in your home or elsewhere. Phil will sign and number these. We will announce details of the unveiling and the signing event in our “Save the Date.”
A “pinnacle” of our Anniversary celebration will be the weekend of October 23rd and 24th. We will truly open Vine Street to our neighborhood and community, starting with food, games, music and simply social time together on Saturday, the 23rd. We will use both our newly-renovated church building and yards to spread out and enjoy this time together. Our new carillon will send out its music from the steeple while we welcome you, and all, to this fun day. Gabe Dixon will help end the day with a set of his extraordinary music!
Sunday, October 24th, will center on Vine Street’s 200 years of worship together. Dr. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Disciples of Christ, will preach at our 10:00 am morning worship. The Vine Street choir will perform, for the first time, an anthem written by David N. Childs and commissioned for our Anniversary celebration. Following the worship service, we will gather in our newly-renovated Fellowship Hall to raise toasts, hear remarks from church and community leaders, and share together the Vine Street stories that we each bring to our own part of this amazing 200-year heritage of faith and witness in Nashville and across the world.
We hope you will be a part of this Anniversary celebration! Watch for the “save the date” information that will be coming your way with details of this exciting time in the life of the church we all share together!