Cover Story
Children in Poverty
Four local churches from Holston have been awarded $20,000 in grants from the denomination's task force on children and poverty.
Broad Street United Methodist Church (Cleveland District), Jellico (Oak Ridge), Saint Luke (Chattanooga), and Mosheim Central (Morristown) each received $5,000 for creative ministries for children. The four congregations were among 30 in the entire denomination recently selected by the Bishops' Initiative on Children and Poverty Task Force.
All of the ministries receiving grants were inspired by Bible studies initiated by the Council of Bishops in 1996. In Holston, congregations participated in a "Seeing Through Kingdom Eyes" Bible study program in 1999.
Last fall, congregations across the denomination were encouraged to apply for funds for their new children's ministries.
Of 14 applications received from Holston churches, conference leaders were only allowed to submit five to the national task force. Four of Holston's five applicants were selected to receive grants.
"All of the programs from Holston were really worthwhile," said Anne Travis, Holston director of connectional ministries, "so having to choose five was tough."
Broad Street UMC received grant
money for a new program that will
teach English to the immigrant parents
of children in its existing after-school
program. Jellico received funding to
provide school supplies for underprivileged
children in its community.
Mosheim Central's grant will help supply clothing to needy people who previously had no community outreach available. St. Luke's grant will be used for an after-school arts program.
In a 2001 report based on surveys of Holston churches participating in the "Kingdom Eyes" program, Children's Coordinator Claudia Howard commended congregations for seeking innovative ways to connect with children in poverty. "Many [congregations have] traditional settings and programs that are needed and helpful," she stated. "I believe in order to reach more children for Christ we must look for non-traditional settings as well."
Travis said she was "excited" for the four Holston churches that were notified of their grants in February. "It's such a good example of general church apportionment dollars flowing back into the Holston Conference."
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March 1, 2002 Issue
One Great Mission
Martha Chamberlain's passionate plea for an important offering on March 10. Don't miss "One Great Hour of Sharing."
Page 4
District Roundup
A new section, loaded with news from each of the conference's 12 districts.
Page 8
Enron Debacle
The collapse of utility giant Enron has affected some United Methodist Church investment portfolios, but denomination executives say the impact has been minimal.
Page 6
Bishop's Perspective
"I would be too ashamed and embarrassed to applaud our defense budget. I believe it would have been much more in the spirit of Jesus for Congress to have gotten on their knees and wept for what has become of the earth."
Page 2
The Ride
It's coming on April 3! For more information, visit "Pedaling for Holston's Future."
National & World News
Unless otherwise noted, all articles written by Annette Spence Bender
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The Call Available in Bulk Quantities
We’ve hoped for some time to offer subscriptions to The Call, Holston’s newspaper, in bulk quantities for churches who wish to place them in the Narthex, bulletins, Sunday School classes, etc. Subscriptions are available in quantities of 50, 100 and 200 copies at a significantly reduced rate. For more information, please contact Annette Bender, editor of The Call, at
TheCall@holston.org.
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