T

hanks to many anonymous donors for keeping the Room in the Inn clothes closet stocked so well. Someone left duffel bags filled with clothes recently, and boxes filled with tubes of tooth paste were found in the Room in the Inn bin besides the coffee bar. A McDonalds gift card was also donated which is very handy when we have more guests from the Nashville Rescue Mission than sack lunches. Each Sunday after worship our guests are escorted downstairs to select items from the clothes closet generously donated by the congregation. Some items that are always needed are sunglasses, cough drops, Advil, socks, underwear, travel size deodorant, mouthwash and umbrellas. Any donations made during the week or weekend can be put in the Room in the Inn bin right next to the coffee bar. If there are a lot of items, they can be placed in front of the locked clothes closet doors just to the right of the elevator on the 1st floor. One of the guests, Aubrey, has been visiting just about every week for quite a while and is from Guyana. His wife and five children are still in Guyana, and he hopes to have them come to the United States soon. He is currently living at the Nashville Rescue Mission. He currently has a part time job, but is looking for a full time job. He is an experienced handyman plus an electronics troubleshooter.

Volunteer Opportunities

If anyone would like to spend a little time with Aubrey after the Worship Service to review his resume and possibly provide some guidance, Im sure he would benefit from it. He is one of the nicest gentlemen. When we leave Hillsboro after the Worship Service, we stop and give any extra sack lunches to some of the Contributor Newspaper Vendors; Aubrey always gives his own lunch to one of the vendors, he gets great satisfaction out of that. Please see Penn Cobb if you are interested in spending a little time with Aubrey. nn Martin is in need of volunteers for a reading clinic that will be starting soon at Kirkpatrick Enhanced Option School near the Martha OBryan Center. Tutors will work one-on-one with kids in grades first through fourth for two 30-minute session per week. Tutors could potentially job share with a partner if needed! A short training session will be provided. Contact ann.martin@ mnps.org or call 738-8663 if youre interested! On another note, the art teachers at Kirkpatrick have put together a wish list; if anyone could contribute items they would really appreciate it! The list includes: toilet paper roles, baby food jars, paper towel roles, tissue boxes, old magazines, pie plates, newspapers, plastic bottle caps, and egg cartons, Let Ann know if you can donate any items!
September 2013

Good News
the
Hillsboro Presbyterian Church
hpcnashville.org Pastor Chris Adams

September 2013

Hillsboro Presbyterian Church

hpcnashville.org

5820 Hillsboro Pike Nashville, TN 37215

As summer draws to a close...

Important dates to remember
Worship together at Spruce Street Baptist Church at 11am. No service at HPC. First HTS class of the Fall Semester. Dinner at 5:43pm and class at 6:30pm. See website for more info.

Sept. 4

Sept. 8

Resume two services at HPC: 9am, and 11:15am with Sunday School starting at 10:15am.

Sept. 15

A note from Chris

ometimes people comment on the signature attached to emails coming from me. Some pastors have scripture references listed below their name, and others have a famous quote from an influential leader like Martin Luther King Jr. Mine is a little different. My signature features a quote from a movie, The Blues Brothers. The quote is the somewhat famous line spoken by Elwood Blues when he and brother Jake are being chased the police and Jake is worried he is going back to prison. Elwood responds, Theyre not going to catch us. Were on a mission from God. Sometimes it seems like the best days of the church of Jesus Christ are left in the past. We remember when things were different; when the church was an integral part of the neighborhood, and most churches were a reflection of that neighborhood. When everybody in America (it seemed anyway) professed Christianity, all a church had to do was to build a well-appointed facility and hire a preacher and the people of the neighborhood showed up. Wonderful churches served generations of faithful Christians. Thats the way it used to work. Then one day things were different. Culture changed and neighborhoods changed; people stopped showing up at church, or if they went to church it was no longer the neighborhood church, but folks instead went to the church that offered the most programming and activity. As long as the church continued to innovate its programming to keep up with the latest and best ways to be the church, it was successful. Any church falling behind got left behind in the struggle to keep up. The new mega-churches, as they became known, were better oriented towards growth and programming, but were also less a reflection of the neighborhood. In short, big churches got bigger, and slowly it seems more and more neighborhood churches closed. Over the past four years I have been a part of a conversation interested in asking a different set of questions about more than just growth and programming. Its known as missional theology and its fundamental premise is that God is still on a mission in the neighborhoods where we live. We believe in the incarnational presence

HILLSBORO
of God in Jesus Christ. We believe in a God who came, and in the Message translation of John 1, pitched his tent in the neighborhood. We believe in a God who told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We still believe there is gospel in getting to know our neighbors Chris Adams and that neighborhoods are the contexts in which God Pastor calls us to live the mission of Jesus. I want to invite you to be a part of that conversation in Hudson Neely September. Each Wednesday night in September during Minister of Discipleship our Hillsboro Theological Seminary I will be introducing some of the key ideas of missional theology. Things like Amy Dillon listening to the narratives of the people in your neighDirector of Child borhood, seeing that God is already ahead of you and & Family Ministry involved, asking where you are being called to join in what God is already doing, and finally cultivating new Shawn Cothran practices of Christian life (Alan Roxburgh, Moving Back Director of Youth & into the Neighborhood) Young Adult Ministry Admittedly, I am no expert in missional theology, but simply have been a part of the conversation that asks Whitley Gaffney a different set of questions and I want to share this with HPC. I hope you will sign up online or in the church of- Director of Communications fice and be a part of this important discussion. I believe Stephen Nix God is up to something at HPC and I hope you do too. Director of Music Ministry As I look around from my seat sometimes it seems there is lots of anxiety about the future of the church and Carole Shean even Christianity in North America. There are experts Financial Administrator who seem to believe that because some things have changed in North America, perhaps God is no longer Alice ODwyer present in the world around us. They spend lots of time Child Care Coordinator and energy making dire predictions and proclaiming the loss of all we love in the church and in our faith instead Cynthia White of seeking the life giving presence of God that I believe Director of Creative Care is discovered again when we join Gods mission back in the neighborhood. Tim Gmeiner I guess thats the reason for my email signature. We Church Organist believe in a living God who is not yet done with us or our neighbors. We believe in the power of Jesus Christ to transform us in the context of our neighborhoods, and we wont be deterred from our mission as HPC. In short... Theyre not going to catch us. Were on a mission from 615.665.0148 | hpcnashville.org God. whitley@hpcnashville.org

PRESBY TERIAN

A New Season of Sunday School

Bible Class (Teacher: Debbie Holley) Location: Room 111 This multi-aged group agrees on a book (or books) of the Bible and does a detailed study of the text. We look at why it was written and more importantly what it says to us today. If youre interested in a long-term commitment or just want to drop in from time to time, youll find the company inviting and the conversation lively. Starting Sept. 15: Daniel Starting Sept.15: Narrative Lectionary selections, beginning with Creation in Genesis 1 Out of the Box Class (Teachers: Kerry & Lynne McCalla) Location: Parish House Chapel Out of the Box is not your typical Sunday School! This class is open to adults of all ages. We use books and videos of our own choosing to explore spiritual and religious issues as they relate to contemporary life. Participants are encouraged to share their own faith journeys during our group discussions. A moderate amount Friendship Class (Teachers: Scott Brunette, Pat Fiete, Russ of reading outside of class is sometimes required. Phillippi) Starting Sept. 15: Stay tuned! Book selection to be determined. Location: Room 105 The Friendship Class provides an opportunity for spiritual growth for youth and adults with disabilities. The class encour- Truth Seekers Class (Teachers: Lee & Tom Limbird) ages fellowship with all members in all church activities. Location: Parish House Parlor Starting Sept. 15: The Spirit, Our Helper from The Friend- The Truth Seekers Class is led by Tom and Lee Limbird, but ship Bible Studies Service we all see ourselves as on a faith journey, trying to seek better ways to live our Christian faith minute by minute, day to day. To challenge our thinking and also to enhance our understandKerygma Class (Teacher: David Gregory) ing of the Bible and its meaning for our daily lives, we use the Location: Parish House Dining Room WIRED WORD, which captures topics in the news and supports The Kerygma Class is a class dedicated to important converthem with provocative Old and New Testament scripture for sations. We usually read a book over 4-6 weeks and discuss our reading in a relaxed and casual setting, gleaning from each our discernment. There is no expectation that class members will read the WIRED WORD that they receive by email before others understanding and insights. Our recent discovery of Judaic beliefs and practices, for example, is bolstering our own coming, as sometimes our lives eat up all of our minutes. The weekly topics in our class mean that missing a few weeks will Christian faith and also encouraging greater appreciation and not interfere with your participation when you are able to join us. tolerance of those who find a different pathway to faith. Starting Sept. 15: Our class will continue to examine ortho- We welcome newcomers of all ages! Starting Sept. 15: WIRED WORD informed by global news dox and ultra-orthodox Judaism through the writings of Chaim Potok. Our next book will be The Chosen. The Well Location: The Well, downstairs Narrative Lectionary Class (Teacher: Hudson Neely) Theres a new Sunday School program for The Well; children Location: Fellowship Hall 3 years-5th grade are invited to our brand new Living Inside This new class will use the Narrative Lectionary as a guide Out Sunday School that includes both large group and small to examine a different scriptural text each Sunday. The texts include the major episodes in Scripture and are arranged in a group times. Each month will be a new theme, so well kick off narrative sequence to help people see Scripture as a story that September with The Big Dig where children will explore the has coherence and a dynamic movement. The texts will follow character of God through video, song, games, crafts and more. the sweep of the biblical story, from Creation through the early For more information contact Amy Dillon Christian church. Starting: September 15th

CHURCH

September On Call Schedule September 6-12 Stephen 268-8781

g benefitin the nt! epartme D ic s u M

September 13-19 Chris 516-0596 September 20-26 Amy 417-6748 Sept 27-October 3 Hudson 864-680-8766

Other programming notes:

*All classes begin at 10:15am

The Tuesday Morning Bible Study will resume its study of John Stotts Jesus Christ: Teacher, Servant & Savior. The group will meet the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 10am in the Chapel. The Scripture to be looked at for Tuesday, Sept.10 will be 2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2 :8-13. All are welcome and invited to join this group. Jim Harrell is the moderator.

The Womens Prayer Group will meet again this year! No new information - just come the third Thursday of each month to the home of Julia Harrell. The group meets at noon, and after prayer time, they eat lunch together. All women are wanted and invited. If you need any additional information, please call Julia at 376-8848. The first meeting is Thursday, Sept. 19.