7 from Kevin - October 2023
Kevin Jeske-Polyak • September 28, 2023
- Compassion Coalition is a member based organization that exists to help the collective church respond to the "gap needs" that often go unmet in our city. They help Knoxville churches by informing them of needs in Knoxville; equipping them through training; connecting them to areas of need and empowering them to serve in our community. Currently, Compassion Coalition has more than 50 member organizations including groups representing the following faith traditions: Episcopal, Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Church of Christ, Lutheran, Methodist, Nondenominational, Presbyterian, Reformed, and Seventh Day Adventist.
- By organizing people in congregations and organizations, Justice Knox builds the power of people to successfully hold our community leaders accountable to justice and fairness. The organizing process follows a three step cycle of listening, research, and action. Not one of these elements is more important than another, and each helps us grow, learn, and increase our faithfulness to the Knoxville community. Currently, Justice Knox has more than 20 member organizations including the following: St. James Episcopal Church, Battlefield Farm, Church of the Savior, United Church of Christ, Church Street United Methodist Church, Cokesbury United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Erin Presbyterian Church, First Baptist Church, Knoxville, First Presbyterian Church, Heska Amuna Synagogue, Commonwealth Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive Baptist Church, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Payne Avenue Missionary Baptist Church, St. John 23rd Catholic Church, Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, West Knoxville Friends Meeting, and Westminster Presbyterian Church.
- The St. James Handbell Ensemble plays during Sunday worship services about once a month from September through May. Besides playing for the congregation, they participate in handbell festivals, conferences & workshops, and other special events. They play everything from traditional, sacred and hymn tunes, to classical, pop, and just-for-fun arrangements. Currently, the St. James Handbell Ensemble is comprised of members representing the following churches: St. James Episcopal, First Presbyterian Church, Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian, Westminster Presbyterian, Second Presbyterian, Trinity United Methodist, First United Methodist, First Methodist Alcoa, and Church of the Ascension.
- Tyson House is an ecumenical worshiping community located at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville. It's core values include Worship (word and sacrament), Community (affirming and relationship), and Discipleship (faith formation, leadership development, & outreach). The ministry is made possible by the generous financial and relational support of the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
- The faith community partners of the Volunteer Ministry Center (VMC) are at the very heart of its mission in preventing and ending homelessness in our community, providing financial support, volunteers, and community support for programs and services to serve those experiencing homelessness. VMC Meal Groups prepare and serve a meal a month to 40-50 of our neighbors who are in a case management relationship working to achieve housing. Currently, Volunteer Ministry Center church member organizations represent the following faith traditions: Episcopal, Baptist, Catholic, Latter Day Saints, Lutheran, Methodist, Muslim, Presbyterian, and Unitarian.
- Church partners are so essential to Knox Area Rescue Ministry (KARM) which is Church and Volunteer Rooted. Because serving the poor and needy is a call to the Church and therefore, God’s people, KARM seeks to be a place where His people can use their God-given gifts and talents to fulfill that call. As such, they seek to engage volunteers from local churches in every aspect of the ministry. Currently, KARM has more than 100 member organizations including groups representing the following faith traditions: Episcopal, Baptist, Church of God, Community Church, Interdenominational, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian, among others.
- The
St. James Prison Ministry Group
offers support to incarcerated neighbors in maximum security by providing visits and mindfulness meditation classes. This support also takes the form of sending books, writing letters, providing blank greeting cards for inmates to maintain contact with loved ones, and helping them plan for their release. Currently, the Prison Ministry consists of neighbors
representing the Episcopal
and Buddhist faith traditions.
Friends and Neighbors, This Sunday is Mother's Day and also Good Shepherd Sunday. Both celebrations have been shaped and changed over the years. Good Shepherd Sunday got the name as we do read the passage from John 10 about Jesus the Good Shepherd, and Mother's Day has roots going back to Mothering Sunday in England. The establishment of Mother's Day in the United States was motivated by the recognition of the work of Ann Reeves Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and Anna M. Jarvis. These women worked for sanitary health care for soldiers and were advocates for peace during the Civil War. They imagined a union of mothers who would call for peace because mothers knew so deeply the loss of their children to war. Mothering and shepherding call for similar qualities of protection and care.
We continue celebrating Easter as we move into a month full of celebrations and transitions. I am looking forward to just hanging out with folks this Saturday night at our spaghetti dinner. You can find details about that in this email. Please mark your calendars for the annual Justice Knox Celebration on May 19 from 6:30 PM- 8:30 PM at First Presbyterian Church. We will have dinner and share stories about the next steps. You will also be asked to consider making an investment in the work of Justice Knox. I hope that you will consider giving to this important ministry.
Alleluia. Christ is risen. We celebrated the resurrection with so much joy this past Sunday. The Easter feast continues for 50 days. Thank you to everyone who made Holy Week and Easter Sunday so special. You helped people feel welcomed to this place where we proclaim the welcoming love of Christ in word, deed, song, Easter egg hunts, and something good to eat. We welcome others because we have known the love of Christ and want to share it.
Friends and Neighbors, As we journey through Holy Week, I encourage you to pause and consider those events that lead us to the joyful celebration of Easter. May that also be reflected in our lives. We walk through hard things and know that God is with us. We hold to the hope that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Friends and Neighbors, As the weather teases us with warm days followed by chilly ones, we enter Holy Week. You have probably heard me encouraging folks to experience the journey to the cross and the grave so we might celebrate the resurrection with that insight. God has shared this human experience and is with us in the darkness and the light. Our liturgies of Holy Week take us on that journey with Jesus and remind us that God is indeed with us on our own journeys.