The following congregation are a part of the Holston Annual Conference.
1. Home for Christmas
On the Sunday night after Thanksgiving, Magnolia Avenue United Methodist Church hosted a fundraiser dinner for the launch of “Hope House,” a new ministry for young women without housing in Knoxville, Tennessee.
On Dec. 4, ten women in the 18-to-24-year age range will move into the former parsonage located next to Magnolia Avenue, where they will live and learn how to survive and succeed through faith-based training and support.
Hope House is a collaborative effort of Magnolia Avenue United Methodist Church, Vestal United Methodist Church, Knoxville/ Knox County Community Action Committee, and Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation, according to the Rev. Tim Jackson. Attended by about 100 people, the Nov. 26 dinner raised $8,600 in cash and $5,000 in pledges toward a projected $10,000 monthly budget.
“It’s my understanding that there is nothing like this in our community,” said Jackson, pastor of Magnolia Avenue and Vestal churches. “I can’t think of anything else better to do in the Christmas season than to help someone come off the streets and to help end that cycle of abuse and neglect.”
Hope House is in immediate need of food, hygiene products, women’s clothing, and a new washer and dryer, Jackson said. Text him at 865.300.9021.
2. Hurts so good
Money is tight for many churches, yet the Rev. Brian Inman hoped to inspire his congregation to give sacrificially to others. So as Giving Tuesday approached, he asked Peck’s Memorial United Methodist Church to give generously on Nov. 26 so the entire Sunday offering could be given away.
With about 25 worshipers in attendance, Peck’s Memorial took an offering of $2,700 which was designated for three local organizations ($900 each) on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28. The beneficiaries were Community Food Connection, Family Promise of Blount County, and Friends of Tennessee’s Babies with Special Needs, all in the Maryville, Tennessee, area.
“I wish I could take credit for the idea,” Inman said, but it was a former pastor, Jerry Page, who was the first to ask Peck's Memorial to give away their offering on Giving Tuesday, a few years ago.
“I just thought that we needed to do that again and get our priorities straight, to look outside ourselves and think of others who might be the least of these,” Inman said.
3. May the forest be with you
Two more Holston Conference members joined a growing list of United Methodist “EarthKeepers” during a recent commissioning service led by the General Board of Global Ministries.
The Rev. Clair Sauer, chief innovation officer for the Lookout Mountain Conservancy, and Jan Berry, chair of Holston’s Creation Care Team, were commissioned in a group of 57 new EarthKeepers representing 23 U.S. regional conferences on Nov. 14.
Global Ministries EarthKeepers is a training program that equips United Methodist lay and clergy environmental leaders to launch projects in their communities promoting sustainable actions both locally and systemically.
Other Holstonians who have earned the EarthKeepers accreditation in recent years include the Rev. Jan Nicholson Angle, the Rev. Ila Schepisi, and Dave Winston (2021), and the Rev. Rachel Collins (2019).
Find out more about EarthKeepers.
4. Season’s readings
‘Tis the season to read a devotional or story written by a pastor from Holston Conference. Several Holstonians are authors, but did you know that five are Advent authors, including a bishop? Choose from these books, starting with the most recently published:
story by Annette Spence, editor of The Call, the Holston Conference newsletter.
This story represents how United Methodist local churches through their Annual Conferences are living as Vital Congregations. A vital congregation is the body of Christ making and engaging disciples for the transformation of the world. Vital congregations are shaped by and witnessed through four focus areas: calling and shaping principled Christian leaders; creating and sustaining new places for new people; ministries with poor people and communities; and abundant health for all.
