Today, in Holston Conference News Briefs for April 27:
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TOP STORY: Grants awarded to 13 children's ministries
All year long, Holston churches collect loose change to help needy children both in Africa and at home. Earlier this month, the Change for Children Committee announced that 13 children's ministries would receive a total of $34,675 in grant money, culled from those nickles, dimes, and pennies.
From Wytheville to Chattanooga, eight districts were represented among the churches and agencies receiving funds. Change for Children grants this year ranged from $500 to $5,675. For a list of winning churches, see the upcoming May 6 edition of The Call.
Who won grants in 2004?
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Come and learn something about Holston history
The Holston Conference Historical Society Meeting will be held at New Salem UMC in Knoxville on Saturday, April 30, at 10 a.m. For more information, contact the Rev. Gaye King at (865) 573-0828 or by e-mail. All are welcome.
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Grants available for elderly programming
The Holston Conference Foundation is calling for proposals from Holston churches and agencies that provide educational, recreational and spiritual programming for the elderly. This year, the Foundation's Margaret Loving Trust has $55,000 available to fund ministries for older adults. Typical grant requests range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Application deadline is May 30. For more information, e-mail Rita Broderick or call her at (865) 690-4080.
Visit the Foundation's site
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Worship arts festival in Maryville area: May 21
The Maryville District Leadership Team and Green Meadow UMC are partnering for a music and worship arts festival on Saturday, May 21. The agenda includes morning workshops followed by a festival and barbecue luncheon at Green Meadow. The festival is free, but the cost to attend the workshops is $10, payable at the door. Profits will benefit the School of Hope, a mission for teenage parents. The Wesley Institute offers .3 CEUs for workshop participation.
Find out more or download a registration form
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When they say 'open doors,' they mean OPEN doors
A Wisconsin church is taking the denomination's "open doors" policy literally. When Osceoloa UMC's solid metal double doors seemed to appear "institutional and forbidding" to visitors, church members found a solution: They used a saw to let the sunshine in.
Read more in Interpreter Magazine
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Need a presenter at your next mission gathering?
A Knoxville couple has been trained as mission interpreters for Red Bird Missionary Conference and is available for appearances at Holston churches. For more information, contact Ed and Carrie Carter by e-mail or call (865) 522-4534.
Learn more about Red Bird Missionary Conference
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Numbers: Behind bars, a growing population
While the crime rate has fallen over the last decade, the number of people going to prison is outpacing the number of inmates released, according to a new government report.
The nation's prisons and jails held 2.1 million people in mid-2004 -- 2.3 percent more than the year before, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In 2004, one in every 138 residents was in prison or jail; the previous year it was one in every 140.
Malcolm Young of the Sentencing Project, which promotes alternatives to prison, told the New York Times: "We're working under the burden of laws and practices that have developed over 30 years that have focused on punishment and prison as our primary response to crime."
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