I was appalled to read in The Call that Centenary United Methodist Church in Morristown was contacted about the times of worship services, and no one returned this call. The phone call was made on Saturday afternoon, and no one is usually in the church office at that time. We do have an answering service. I am the pastor, and just happened to stop by the church to check the temperature in the sanctuary about four hours after the call had been made to the church office. Immediately, I called the number left on the answering service. I received a voice on that answering service. I left the information requested on it. No one attended worship services the next day, or the following week. So I called the number again, after reading the article in The Call. That was the same voice that I had heard before, but she said she didn't get my return call on her answering service.

Now I realize that this call was made under false pretenses under the direction of the editor of The Call. The impression was left with me that the caller was seeking the times of worship services of a church in the Morristown area so that she might attend. That was not the case at all. This entire situation from my perspective is bad taste. The editor of The Call would do well to stay with printing articles of a positive nature, instead of acting as a self appointed monitor of local church effectiveness.
Rev. Terrill Littrell
Centenary UMC
Morristown District


Thank you for your enthusiastic article about our membership growth at Piney Grove UMC ["While some churches & districts thrive, total membership continues to decline," April 8]. I was pleased to see the congregation receive recognition for their faithfulness. I do, however, want to ask for one clarification. I feel you misunderstood my comment on the clothing and food pantry for our community. I was quoted as referring to our community as "rurally destitute." I do not recall making that statement. I do recall stating that the area was somewhat rural, and in comparison to much of the district, some families in the area live in conditions that the more affluent would consider destitute in comparison. This is not a reflection of the overall condition of the community. There are affluent residents of the area as well, and it is a beautiful section of Knox County. No pastor or other representative of Christ should ever see people as anything but valuable jewels in God's treasure chest.

Rev. Larry Anderson
Piney Grove UMC
Knoxville District


I first wanted to thank the Rev. David Brannock for his article about the difficult decisions that the Board of Pensions struggles with each year ["We agonize over decisions that affect Holston," April 8]. I have been pursuing surgery for the past two years that the Board of Pensions has excluded from our conference insurance coverage. Again, this February my request was voted down. I understand looking at the skyrocketing expenses and making difficult decisions annually. I just wish the Board could look into the future and see that perhaps expenses incurred now would reduce expenses incurred in the future. I'll agree that the bottom line is important. My question is: Should the opportunity for long-term health be compromised for the short-term bottom line? Sadly, in my case, the answer to my question is yes.

Marc Gamble
Youth Director
Church Street UMC
Knoxville District

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