COUNTDOWN TO NASHVILLE:
14 DAYS!
Two weeks to go--do you know where your suitcase is??
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Perspective from "ground zero"
Yesterday, I found this article on a law firm's website. It was written a day or two after the Nashville flooding. It is part historical detail, part reflection, and part advice for people as they go back to their homes to see what can be salvaged.
I can only imagine what it was like for the residents of Nashville to return to their homes and find them destroyed. Then to call their insurance companies only to find their homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding. From what I can tell, few people had the extra coverage. I cannot understand the depth of the heartbreak of those who lost loved ones and those who lost the place they called home.
What I CAN understand, at least a tiny bit, is the joy that comes in helping one's neighbor in a time of need. Earlier this week, our church had a little mini-flood in the basement. Nothing major...nothing ruined. I just made a few phone calls to people with shop vacs and we had the whole place cleaned up in an hour. It wasn't exactly the way I had hoped to start a Monday, but when stuff like that happens, you drop what you're doing and get to work.
It seems to me that in those 60 minutes taking care of our church building, we had a little glimpse of how the people of Nashville must have felt as they helped their neighbors sort through the wreckage of their homes. Those of us who participated in the "be the church" day on Saturday saw a glimpse of the beauty of neighbors helping neighbors. ANY time we reach out to help someone in need...when we share God's love with those whom others have deemed unlovable...that is when we ARE the church, which is sort of Frankfort's unofficial motto for 2011.
And that is what we will do in Nashville...we will "be the church" for them.
I can only imagine what it was like for the residents of Nashville to return to their homes and find them destroyed. Then to call their insurance companies only to find their homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding. From what I can tell, few people had the extra coverage. I cannot understand the depth of the heartbreak of those who lost loved ones and those who lost the place they called home.
What I CAN understand, at least a tiny bit, is the joy that comes in helping one's neighbor in a time of need. Earlier this week, our church had a little mini-flood in the basement. Nothing major...nothing ruined. I just made a few phone calls to people with shop vacs and we had the whole place cleaned up in an hour. It wasn't exactly the way I had hoped to start a Monday, but when stuff like that happens, you drop what you're doing and get to work.
It seems to me that in those 60 minutes taking care of our church building, we had a little glimpse of how the people of Nashville must have felt as they helped their neighbors sort through the wreckage of their homes. Those of us who participated in the "be the church" day on Saturday saw a glimpse of the beauty of neighbors helping neighbors. ANY time we reach out to help someone in need...when we share God's love with those whom others have deemed unlovable...that is when we ARE the church, which is sort of Frankfort's unofficial motto for 2011.
And that is what we will do in Nashville...we will "be the church" for them.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
A Thousand Words
They say a picture is worth a 1000 words. Well, here are many, many pictures and some pretty powerful words too.
The quotes used in this video come from this blog post. This blog is usually a hockey blog for the Nashville Predators. But after the flooding, this guy took a few moments to veer from his usual topics to share some observations of the May 2010 floods.
There is an edge to his words we see in the video. And if you take the time to see the read the whole entry, you'll see them there too. Those were difficult times for the residents of Nashville and you can see the raw feelings that were captured in the moment of that article.
He seems a bit perturbed by the lack of national news media (citing a failed car bomb and the oil leak in the Gulf occurring simultaneously to the flooding) but takes a moment to give a little shout out to the people of his hometown. His article ends by saying this: "And yet…life will go on. We’ll go back to work, to school, to our lives…and we’ll carry on. In a little over a month, I’ll be on this website talking about the draft. In October, we’ll be discussing the new Predators’ season with nary a thought of these past few days. But in a way, they changed everyone in this town. We now know that that it can happen to us…but also know that we can handle it.
The quotes used in this video come from this blog post. This blog is usually a hockey blog for the Nashville Predators. But after the flooding, this guy took a few moments to veer from his usual topics to share some observations of the May 2010 floods.
There is an edge to his words we see in the video. And if you take the time to see the read the whole entry, you'll see them there too. Those were difficult times for the residents of Nashville and you can see the raw feelings that were captured in the moment of that article.
He seems a bit perturbed by the lack of national news media (citing a failed car bomb and the oil leak in the Gulf occurring simultaneously to the flooding) but takes a moment to give a little shout out to the people of his hometown. His article ends by saying this: "And yet…life will go on. We’ll go back to work, to school, to our lives…and we’ll carry on. In a little over a month, I’ll be on this website talking about the draft. In October, we’ll be discussing the new Predators’ season with nary a thought of these past few days. But in a way, they changed everyone in this town. We now know that that it can happen to us…but also know that we can handle it.
Because we are Nashville."
I love those last sentences: life will go on "with nary a thought of these past few days. But it a way they changed everyone in this town. We now know that that...it can happen to us...but also know that we can handle it. Because we are Nashville."
There's (rightfully, IMHO) a lot of pride in Nashville concerning how they handled the floods. And seeing this video and reading this blog gives me more reasons to be glad I have the opportunity to go "be the church" for this great city.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Music City...Here We Come!
Today I'm trying to learn more about Nashville. So to get started, I clicked here to check some things out. And frankly, it makes me want to go even more on the mission trip, but also STAY for a vacation! Of course, we won't have much time for site seeing since we'll be busy from morning until night doing the Lord's work, but a girl can dream, right?
From what I've read about Nashville--especially my favorite quote from an earlier blog entry: "This ain't no country club baby, this is Nashville" (you can read that post here)--it sounds like the ethos of Music City is an awful lot like Pittsburgh, the city of Steel. Pittsburgh, though quickly becoming a technological hub, historically has been been a blue-collar, mill town with a hard-working attitude and a gritty outlook to go with it.
The "down-to-earthness" that frequently accompanies country music appears to color the local scene of Nashville as well. The Lonely Plant website (where the quote above is from) describes it this way: "It [Nashville] also has friendly people, a lively university community, excellent fried chicken and an unrivaled assortment of tacky souvenirs." See? Couldn't that phrase describe Pittsburgh too? (Of course, one must substitute pierogies for fried chicken.)
I THINK Nashville is gonna feel a little bit like home for those of us who have been city-dwellers. We'll know for sure on the Thursday night of our trip...that's the day we quit early and hit the town! Westminster Church, where we'll be staying, has provided us with a list of handy places, including some "safe" honky-tonks!
Can't wait to post pictures of THAT night! :0)
From what I've read about Nashville--especially my favorite quote from an earlier blog entry: "This ain't no country club baby, this is Nashville" (you can read that post here)--it sounds like the ethos of Music City is an awful lot like Pittsburgh, the city of Steel. Pittsburgh, though quickly becoming a technological hub, historically has been been a blue-collar, mill town with a hard-working attitude and a gritty outlook to go with it.
The "down-to-earthness" that frequently accompanies country music appears to color the local scene of Nashville as well. The Lonely Plant website (where the quote above is from) describes it this way: "It [Nashville] also has friendly people, a lively university community, excellent fried chicken and an unrivaled assortment of tacky souvenirs." See? Couldn't that phrase describe Pittsburgh too? (Of course, one must substitute pierogies for fried chicken.)
I THINK Nashville is gonna feel a little bit like home for those of us who have been city-dwellers. We'll know for sure on the Thursday night of our trip...that's the day we quit early and hit the town! Westminster Church, where we'll be staying, has provided us with a list of handy places, including some "safe" honky-tonks!
Can't wait to post pictures of THAT night! :0)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
I'm gonna guess (though I admit I have not done much research!) that most large denominations have their own branch of disaster assistance that is mobilized during times of crisis around the world.
We Presbyterians have the PDA. They respond to both national and international crises. Right now, on their home page, they have updates on response efforts to the devastating earthquake in Haiti and flooding in Brazil and Pakistan, as well as updates on the recent referendum in the Sudan. They also post "situation reports" concerning the recent events, including (among many others!) the situation in Liberia and on-going progress in the Gulf Coast.
Last year through PDA, Frankfort Church members donated over $300 for the relief effort in Haiti. The session decided to match the donations received and sent another $300 for earthquake relief efforts in Chile. In March, 5 Frankforters will take part in the PDA trip to Nashville, working on relief efforts a little closer to home.
God's arm has a long reach through PDA and other relief organizations. The prayers of His people come from every corner of the earth, and offers of service and resources flow like a river in times of need. There is always a way to "be the church" to help those in need!
We Presbyterians have the PDA. They respond to both national and international crises. Right now, on their home page, they have updates on response efforts to the devastating earthquake in Haiti and flooding in Brazil and Pakistan, as well as updates on the recent referendum in the Sudan. They also post "situation reports" concerning the recent events, including (among many others!) the situation in Liberia and on-going progress in the Gulf Coast.
Last year through PDA, Frankfort Church members donated over $300 for the relief effort in Haiti. The session decided to match the donations received and sent another $300 for earthquake relief efforts in Chile. In March, 5 Frankforters will take part in the PDA trip to Nashville, working on relief efforts a little closer to home.
God's arm has a long reach through PDA and other relief organizations. The prayers of His people come from every corner of the earth, and offers of service and resources flow like a river in times of need. There is always a way to "be the church" to help those in need!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Westminter PDA on the Web!
Guess what I found? Westminster's PDA site is on Facebook! You can go there for more information on what's going on even now! (PS Garth Brooks just raised $5 million for flood relief!)
And...I found a blog that another church did of their PDA trip to Nashville! Check it out if you want to see the kinds of things we're getting ourselves into!
(And here's another one but it's a lot longer than the first one and it doesn't have any pictures.)
And here's an article the local media did about the great things Westminster Church is doing through PDA!
And...I found a blog that another church did of their PDA trip to Nashville! Check it out if you want to see the kinds of things we're getting ourselves into!
(And here's another one but it's a lot longer than the first one and it doesn't have any pictures.)
And here's an article the local media did about the great things Westminster Church is doing through PDA!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
See our Digs!
Want to see a slideshow of where we'll be staying? Just click here!
Not exactly roughing it, is it? :0) There is a plethora of bathrooms at WPC...but not so much with the showers! So team leader Joyce L. has arranged with the local YMCA to set aside time in the AM and PM where we can go over and use their showers!
How many days can Allison go without a shower?! (Longer than you might think--she did work at a summer camp, you know!)
Find out the results at the conclusion of the trip!
Not exactly roughing it, is it? :0) There is a plethora of bathrooms at WPC...but not so much with the showers! So team leader Joyce L. has arranged with the local YMCA to set aside time in the AM and PM where we can go over and use their showers!
How many days can Allison go without a shower?! (Longer than you might think--she did work at a summer camp, you know!)
Find out the results at the conclusion of the trip!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Do you know the way....to Nashville?
Want to know how to get to Nashville, TN??
OK, so maybe this isn't EXACTLY the route we'll be taking...but I bet it's close!
I have some friends who have traveled pretty extensively and highly recommend the "Lonely Plant" tour guides. So I began to search for an online version for Nashville...lo, and behold, here it is! (My favorite quote from this web page is: "This ain’t no country club baby, this is Nashville.")
Thursday night of our trip is "Nashville Night" when we quit early and hit the town for dinner and whatever else we can get ourselves into! This should be an adventurous night! (Or will we all retire early because we're so beat?) Guess you'll have to check the blog on Friday the 25th to find out!
OK, so maybe this isn't EXACTLY the route we'll be taking...but I bet it's close!
I have some friends who have traveled pretty extensively and highly recommend the "Lonely Plant" tour guides. So I began to search for an online version for Nashville...lo, and behold, here it is! (My favorite quote from this web page is: "This ain’t no country club baby, this is Nashville.")
Thursday night of our trip is "Nashville Night" when we quit early and hit the town for dinner and whatever else we can get ourselves into! This should be an adventurous night! (Or will we all retire early because we're so beat?) Guess you'll have to check the blog on Friday the 25th to find out!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
What We'll Be Doing
You may be wondering, "So, what will you be doing?" I'm so glad you asked!
Our team leader, Joyce L. (and her teenage son), visited Westminster Church and the PDA people with whom we'll be working. She was told that we (meaning those outside of Tennessee) didn't hear much about the Nashville flooding because tourism is such a vital part of their local economy. They didn't want to go through what New Orleans is still enduring with rebuilding their local economy. So they didn't want to make a big deal about the flood damage, and worked to rehab a lot of the sources of tourism (like the Grand Ole Oprey) so that visitors would continue to visit.
Joyce L. also told us that those who have the money to fix their homes have done so. The houses that are left belong to people who are either living upstairs because their downstairs is unlivable or are staying elsewhere until their home can be fixed.
Some of us (like Larry!) are bringing helpful skills with us; others of us can, um...well...we can paint! But we ALL bring willing and teachable spirits. And we pray that those who are not going along on the trip will bring prayers to God for us and our safety...but mostly that we could "be the church" to those who are hurting and need a little bit of hope.
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