Alive is too precious to lose

My friend David Barton, one of the founders of Alive Hospice, asked me to share this note with congregants and neighbors. I gladly do so; I share his concern, and I have signed the petition.

Thomas Kleinert, Senior Minister

Alive Hospice’s Advisory Board members, former board and staff members, donors and supporters have mobilized to keep Alive from being sold to a for-profit corporation. Alive is the only non-profit hospice in Middle Tennessee. Because its mission is to serve patients and not shareholders, donors make it possible for Alive to go above and beyond standard hospice care.

A 2023 RAND Corporation study (JAMA, Feb, 2023) yielded results saying that family caregivers reported worse care experiences at for-profit hospices than at not-for-profit hospices.  

In 2000, 30% of all hospices were for-profit. By 2020, that percentage had grown to 73%, primarily due to acquisitions of non-profits. The for-profit hospices care structure likely is influenced by having to answer to stockholders.

The coalition formed to save Alive includes a billboard campaign and petition drive. The petition, “Keep Alive Hospice Not-For-Profit”, now has more than than 1900 signatures and continues to grow. Please add your name to the petition. I would appreciate your help in spreading the word: Alive is too precious to lose.

Alive, was founded in 1975 by myself and the late Dr. John Flexner along with Lynn Barton.  It is the nation’s third oldest hospice and the first in the Southeast. It now serves patients in 10 Middle Tennessee counties, with residential facilities in Nashville and Murfreesboro.

Thank you,

David Barton

Thank you, teachers!

Sharing our gratitude for teachers is year round as we experience them in our lives and the influence they have in our learning. This Sunday, May 7, we will conclude our writing notes of appreciation for the faculty at West End Middle School. If you took cards last  Sunday to finish remember to bring them Sunday as delivery to the school will be the morning of May 8. Last week they were surprised during testing week with bagels and orange juice!

You are all greatly appreciated by the faculty, staff and students for your support of school supplies, warm winter clothing and occasional treats. Thank You All!

My treat

Plastic-free cards are awesome

During the last Room In The Inn season we passed out more than 140 fast food gift cards to our guests - almost all of them donated by congregants. Thank you! We started the season with a selection of restaurants and card values, and we discovered that McDonald’s was by far the favorite: for most of our guests it was simply the most accessible.

We are planning a sock and underwear drive for the end of the summer, but several congregants suggested that we collect $10 McDonald’s gift cards year-round - you could, e.g., budget one $10 lunch a month, and that would add up to a nice stack of cards by November, when the Room In The Inn season begins. So, we’re starting our lunch extravaganza now, and we thank you for your generous support!

You may buy $10 McDonald’s gift cards at any of their restaurants, or you can go plastic-free by purchasing four paper cards (Kroger on Hwy 100 in Bellevue sells them). Simply drop them in the offering plate on Sunday or give them to Katie or Thomas. If you prefer, you may also write a check, memo: RITI lunch, and we’ll purchase the cards. Whichever option you choose - we are grateful, and so are our guests!

Celebrating Graduates

On May 21, we will celebrate graduates - high school, apprenticeship, college, grad school, you name it! We are proud of you and what you have accomplished. Please use this form to share some details with us, and we hope you’ll be able to join us in worship on May 21 so we can applaud you and wish you well in person!

A house for all

As a congregation, we are committed to sharing our building with our neighbors. We look at it as God’s house, entrusted to our care and stewardship. Many groups meet at Vine Street on a regular basis, and we celebrate this dimension of our ministry:

• Nouvelle Alliance Christian Church: a Disciples congregation with roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo;

• All Saints Church of Christ: a weekly gathering of members of Churches of Christ who want to explore liturgical forms of worship;

• Insight Counseling Centers: we’re proud to be one of several locations in Middle Tennessee, where Insight therapists provide excellent mental health care for clients of all income levels. Room 4 in the education wing is dedicated for their use;

• Moms at prayer: Four groups of mothers meet to pray for the students and teachers of Montgomery Bell Academy;

• MBA Bible Study: a group of MBA students meet weekly before school;

• AA groups: three AA groups and a Double Winners group meet weekly;

• Brass Band of Nashville: the band uses our building for weekly rehearsals and several concerts each year;

• Penuel Ridge Retreat Center: the board of directors enjoys meeting monthly in the chapel.

These are the groups that use our building weekly or monthly. In addition, there are other groups and non-profits, e.g. Senior Ride Nashville, who have met here for board retreats and other events. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide this service to our community!

Bagels for teachers

The end of the school year is approaching, and ‘t is the season to be … well, nobody gets too excited about state standardized tests. To show our love for our teachers, Carol Doidge and Laura Miller will surprise the staff at West End Middle School with a bagel breakfast from Vine Street. Thanks to our teachers, and thanks to Carol and Laura for coordinating this gesture of appreciation!

A Word from the Chair

Our annual stewardship campaign is coming to a close.

Have you made your pledge of financial or time resources yet? If not, it’s definitely not too late.

As we’ve explored the necessity of this year’s theme, “Come Together,” we’ve heard from a number of our members and friends about how and why giving of time, talent and resources is important to them:

Jeff talked about the church’s vital role in providing safety and hope through the past few years as the world was turned upside down.

Ed and Pat talked about the impact of past members’ commitment to Vine Street on the life of the church and community today.

Gayle talked about feeling welcomed by the members of Vine Street, and loved and cared for.

Liam and Gia talked about their leadership roles in the church, and how Vine Street is such a loving and supporting community.

Our younger children talked about (and sang about) how the church leads them to know they are loved by God, and by the members of the church.

Doug talked about the ways in which our time commitments to the church are vital to sustaining the Spirit, in addition to the ways our financial gifts support our continued commitment to following the teachings of Jesus.

Lydia and Dair reminded us of the many big and small loves that make up our church at Vine Street, and how important each is to the wholeness of our community.

And Abi wrote Come Together, a special hymn we will sing for the first time in worship on Sunday, April 16.

Love, care, support, impact, guidance, commitment and wholeness. These common themes ring throughout and are a large part of what makes Vine Street a deeply special community.

Your financial gifts, and your gift of time, help ensure that this community continues to be a place that nurtures and supports believers of all ages as well as continuing to be a light in the darkness for our Nashville community at large.

Please consider making your pledge today.

How did we end up here?

Bill McKibben is an award-winning author, activist, educator. Like many of us, he grew up believing—knowing—that the United States was the greatest country on earth. As a teenager, he cheerfully led American Revolution tours in Lexington, Massachusetts. He sang “Kumbaya” at church. And with the remarkable rise of suburbia, he assumed that all Americans would share in the wealth. But fifty years later, he finds himself in an increasingly doubtful nation strained by bleak racial and economic inequality, on a planet whose future is in peril. And he is curious: What the hell happened?

We invite congregants and neighbors to come together and talk about his book, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon. Those of us who, like McKibben, are members of the boomer generation, what are our memories? Those of us who were born in the generations before or after, what is our take on how we got where we find ourselves? McKibben is not without hope. And he wonders if any of that trinity of his youth—the flag, the cross, the station wagon—could, or should, be reclaimed in the fight for a fairer future. Would you like to be part of the conversation? Let us know of your interest in this book group and some of your schedule preferences, so we can confirm additional details soon.

Linking Arms for Change

In the current political climate, big change may have to come in small steps, former Governors Bredesen and Haslam recently argued in a column. Voices for a Safer Tennessee embraces that approach, and invites Tennesseans to come together to find common ground. You can show your support by signing up for this event on Tuesday. On the sign-up form, list Vine Street Christian Church as your group, so we can stand together.

Summer Camp

In Defense of Kindness

Book groups to launch April 25 and 26

These days many of us view kindness as an inert act based on the absence of being a jerk, or we see it as heroic and herculean, beyond the reach and capability of mere mortals. But what if kindness was a practice we could each choose, every day, as a way to experience community and wholeness in new, life-giving, world-changing ways?

In his insightful book In Defense of Kindness, leadership coach and pastor Bruce Reyes-Chow shows how being kind (which is different than being nice) has the power to transform our relationships in all arenas of our life – from the internet to the public square, from those closest to us to those we find it hardest to be kind to, from justice work on the streets to meetings in the boardroom, and from the line at the coffee shop to the line for school drop-off.

To join one of the two book groups, please sign up and get your copy of the book (both print or e-book versions are available). For each of the five sessions, participants read approximately 20, easy-to-read, pages.

Tuesdays at 5pm, April 25 - May 23

Wednesdays at 9am, April 26 - May 24

Easter Special Offering

Several times a year, congregations receive a special offering to support the ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). These gifts are given above and beyond the regular core support of Disciples Mission Fund.

The Easter Offering, received by most congregations on April 2 & 9, 2023, supports college students in leadership development programs, global mission partners, health and social service ministries, the formation of new congregations, support for pastors and chaplains, and so much more. 

Thank you for your support! Contributions may be made online as well as by mailing your check to the church, memo: Easter Special Offering. In worship, we provide envelopes that can be dropped in the offering plate.

Gift to Support Community Ministry Grants

Several weeks ago, Thomas received a phone call from a former member of Vine Street who said she wanted to send a gift to support the Community Ministry Grants she had read about. The donor wishes to remain anonymous but agreed to speak with us about her gift. Pat Cole, who chairs the Community Ministry Grants team, talked with her.

When were you in Nashville?

I lived in Nashville for 35 years and worked for Metro Government, HCA and MNPS as a physical education and Lifetime Wellness teacher. I came to Vine Street in the late eighties.

How did you connect with Vine Street?

My parents were active in the Disciples of Christ church in Kentucky where my dad served on the boards of local and national church committees. My mom played the piano for our local church. At first, I would attend Vine Street and sit in the back. One day, an older woman spoke to me and said, “Love to have your friendship.” We became friends, and I will never forget that I knew this church welcomed me.

Any special memories of Vine Street?

I joined a group that Linda Parker led and met people like Joyce Crowell and Sherri Blair. Joe Keith was a lifesaver for me on several home projects! 

What prompted your current gift of $50,000 to the Community Ministry Grants?

I always wanted to give 10% to the church and non-profits that support kids, older adults and animal welfare. I have a heart for those three groups. I saw in the e-news that Vine Street had given grants to several organizations and ministries in Nashville that provide shelter, food and assistance to several groups I would like to support, so I called Thomas.

What is your vision for the use of this gift?

I would like to see grants made to smaller non-profits that support young people, older people and animals, especially animal groups that take in pets from women in domestic violence situations, or the unhoused, or rescuing pets from older people who can no longer care for the pet. Pet overpopulation is a concern for me, so perhaps a center that does spay and neuter. There used to be a summer camp at Nashville Humane Society for youth and I would be happy to see some kids from Vine Street be able to participate. I know that Vine Street will use the money wisely and that my church will help those out there who are doing good things in the Nashville community.

Pat Cole again conveyed our gratitude for the donor’s gift of stocks valued at more than $50,000. “I will relay your vision to the Community Ministry Grants committee. Thank you for your generosity to help children and youth, older adults and animals through Vine Street Christian Church.”

Keeping housing affordable

Westminster Home Connection has been one of our ministry partners for several years. In the 2022 Annual Report, Keith Branson, the Executive Director, writes,

A little more than 10 years ago, in the wake of the devastating Nashville flood, a group of people in a faith community saw a need for home improvements among older adults … so they rolled up their sleeves and got to work. As that initial group fixed and modified more and more homes, they realized this need went far beyond a handful of individuals. Safely aging in place and remaining in the home and community where you’ve built your life is a near universal desire, but for many, it can be financially out of reach. … As home prices and construction costs continue to soar, Middle Tennessee will never be able to build its way out of the affordable housing crisis. The WHC model preserves the affordability of existing homes owned by older adults and persons with disabilities by ensuring they remain livable.

Check out their website for more information, including volunteer opportunities. We’re proud to support this critical work with our outreach funds!

Needy Elderly Grant Update

In December of last year, our congregation provided a grant to AgeWell Middle Tennessee and United Way of Greater Nashville to fund a planning initiative for Financial Empowerment for Older Adults in our community. We have received the following update from AgeWell Middle Tennessee.

AgeWell and United Way of Greater Nashville convened a kick off meeting late January to begin a six month collaborative planning effort. 27 individuals from 16 organizations including nonprofits, faith communities and government departments met to discuss the economic insecurity facing older Nashvillians, and to create a vision for, building upon the successful Financial Empowerment Center, a coordinated support network that empowers older adults to improve their financial well-being. Our vision includes core services of

• individual financial counseling,

• benefit enrollment assistance,

• resource navigation support,

• legal advice and

• help generating supplemental income.

Following the initial meeting, AgeWell partnered with Vanderbilt’s Qualitative Research Core and conducted four focus groups with older adults in different areas of Davidson County. The participant feedback is being compiled and coded at this time, and a summary report will help our collaborative develop a person-centered, coordinated network that better serves older adults. We are busy reviewing model programs from around the country, mapping the landscape of services and imagining what an ideal system would look like for Davidson County. We are also exploring funding opportunities to support the new network.

Thank you to the members of the Vine Street congregation for your trust in us, and the support to help build a collaborative financial empowerment solution informed by and designed with older adults.

At the Movies

Updated on April 27: due to inclement weather in April, this movie has been rescheduled for may 3.

The April movie selection for Vine Street at the Movies will be something from the unique mind of Jean-Pierre Jeunet: The Young & Prodigious T.S. Spivet. A young inventor from a very different family leaves home on a road trip to claim an award—and deal with an unresolved personal loss. Anyone familiar with Jeunet's work will anticipate visual delights from his treatment of the American West, but may not expect the emotional impact that also awaits. Rated PG.

"Like Amelie, which came about as close to being a 3D film as a 2D film can be, Spivet is about how the imagination is the best instrument for making sense of the world. The film’s job is to make that imagination, in this case T.S. Spivet’s, credible and engaging, and Jeunet succeeds beautifully, with the difference that while Amelie’s imagination is romantic, T.S.’s is scientific." –John Holland, The Hollywood Reporter

Come and join us on Wednesday, April 5, at 7:00 PM in the chapel.

Holy Week at Vine Street

On Palm Sunday, we gather for worship at 10am, joining the happy crowd who greeted Jesus as he entered Jerusalem. What do you imagine you will you do with your palm branch - wave it with joy as we sing “All glory, laud, and honor to you, Redeemer, King!” or hold it quietly as you reflect on the path this curious king has chosen?

On Thursday of Holy Week, we come together at 6:30pm for a simple meal in Fellowship Hall. We celebrate the gift of the Lord’s Supper and listen to portions of the Gospel according to Matthew. Sitting in groups around tables, we take turns leading portions of the liturgy.

On Easter Day, we enter the darkened sanctuary in expectation of an eruption of resurrection joy as we praise God who raised Jesus from the dead. Blooming flowers will adorn the chancel, and more flowers will help us dress the cross in the colors of new life.

Room in the Inn

Next week, on Thursday, March 30, we will host our final night of Room in the Inn for the 2022/23 season. Thank you to all who have made this vital ministry possible with their generosity and hospitality! We are particularly grateful to our neighbors at Westminster Presbyterian Church, whose volunteer van drivers took care of all our transportation needs. And we are thrilled about completing the first year of our partnership with Montgomery Bell Academy, and the students and teachers who have given so much to offer hospitality to our guests. We hope this new partnership will continue for many years!

As we look back on the past season, we want to gather any insights that might improve the experience for all participants in the 2023/24 season. Please let us know what you noticed, anything you think we might do differently next year. Thank you!

We have a few of the “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, Y’ALL” t-shirts left (see photo). Let us know if you’d like to wear one this summer! We have sizes XS, S, M, L, and XL.

Summer Camp

You can be part of relaunching camp after the pandemic

Spring break’s over, but summer is coming!

You can now register your child or youth for camp. Because summer camp can be such a powerful experience in the faith formation of our children and youth (and adults!), our congregation covers half the registration cost.

So, yes, this isn’t just an announcement, it’s about stewardship. Thanks to your financial gifts to the church, we are able to pay a portion of our children’s registration fees. But it takes more than “treasure” to make camp happen — it requires, more than anything, the gifts of talent and time! If you are able to serve as a counselor or director this summer, please register now or contact the regional staff.

Thank you for considering this awesome role in our children’s faith formation!

Be the Neighbor

Tucson, Nashville, and a former intern - great connections

In the summer, Vine Street youth will be participating in an immersion trip to Tucson with Be the Neighbor to learn about migration.

Throughout the summer, Vine Street will also partner with Be the Neighbor by making our building available for immersion trips to Nashville. Groups from all over the US, from Colorado to Connecticut, will come to Nashville to learn about housing and homelessness, and they will be staying in our building. Be the Neighbor’s co-executive director Rev. Allison Lanza is a former Vine Street intern. She writes, “I am particularly thrilled because Vine Street is where I first developed a lot of the ideas that have become Be The Neighbor; so to be in this space with the dream more fully realized will be such a gift.”

Rev. Catherine DeMoss (a Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt alum) will be the site coordinator for Be the Neighbor and working with Vine Street staff and the visiting groups we’ll be hosting.

We are excited about partnering in this ministry, and grateful to be stewards of such a great space!