Maundy Thursday service April 6

Good Friday service April 7

Easter Egg Hunt April 8

The annual Easter Egg Hunt is on Saturday, April 8, at 10:00 AM at Campbell West. In addition to inflatables, Friends Life Treat Truck is back with yummy treats, Coffee Cart Nashville will be there with caffeine for parents, and, of course, an egg hunt for littles and the big kids! We will have lunch immediately after and hope you plan to stay and fellowship with one another. 

Easter services April 9

Selfishness and self-centeredness abound in our culture, even among Christians. It is why Jesus said, “To become my follower, you must deny self, take up your cross, and follow me.” I often hear people make the case that much of today’s Christianity is not indicative of what Jesus taught and embodied. My good friend and retired minister Rubel Shelly once published an excellent book titled I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Christian… and I Liked Him Better Then. His basic claim is that the Jesus of history and the Jesus of common public perception are two very different persons. He argues that the church has done a poor job of representing Jesus and his message over the past two thousand years to the extent that he has become unattractive to many today. He quotes American scholar Sam Pascoe who famously said: “Christianity was born in Israel, only to be taken to Greece and morphed into a philosophy. From there it was taken to Rome and made into an institution of civil power. Eventually, it migrated to Europe where it was developed into a culture. And later, it was brought to America and made into an entrepreneurial business enterprise.”

Shelly says that when we institutionalized Jesus around the time of Constantine, we watered down core parts of his message and we started to become more concerned with maintenance, doctrine, beliefs, power, and blending Jesus with the culture. What we now have in our culture is a lot of people who really don’t know what Jesus was all about because the church has misrepresented him for so long. We’ve made him into what we want him to be rather than allowing his message to speak for itself. We have tried to put Jesus in a box to fit our own agendas. In some ways, we have even put words into his mouth.

Jesus was asked by a scribe, “Which commandment is the greatest?” And Jesus responds with: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And the second commandment is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” That’s it! That’s what the Christian life should be about. It is very straightforward! Yet if we are honest, we know that we have a hard time following these two basic commandments. They are simple. We know them by heart, yet they are very difficult and complex at the same time!

Methodist pastor Martin Thielen asks these questions: “Of all the things that clamor for our time, energy, and attention, what matters most? What is the bottom line? We are all constantly bombarded with dozens of concerns, including our job, career, marriage, children, home, friends, faith, church, community, health, and finances. And these concerns often compete with one another for our time and energy. So how do we figure out what matters most? What is primary? What is secondary? What really counts? That’s what this scribe in Mark 12 is trying to figure out. He wanted to know, what is the greatest priority in life?”

For Jesus, we should focus on having a relationship with God and a relationship with others. And it should happen in that order. So before we get too wrapped up with doctrine, biblical literalism, worship styles, social issues, culture wars, partisan politics, and church shopping, we should ask ourselves, “How are we doing when it comes to following these two central commandments?” That will tell us a lot about our life and our faith. Think about the symbol of the cross. The vertical bar represents our relationship to God (worship, prayer, Bible Study, etc). The horizontal bar represents our relationship to others (mission, service, outreach, kindness). Without both bars, we don’t have the cross. Without both aspects of the faith, we don’t have a complete faith.

Dr. Ben Curtis is offering a class on Getting Involved with God which will focus on a book of the same title by Ellen Davis in the Boardroom. “This is a book about getting, and staying, involved with God – what it takes, what it costs, what it looks and feels like, why anyone would want to do it anyway,” says Davis.

• March 15 – Proverbs: “Wise Ignorance”
• March 22 – Ecclesiastes: “Simple Gifts”
• March 29 – Job: “The Sufferer’s Wisdom”

Rev. Jay Hutchens is offering a class focusing on the familiar question, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” in Room 200.

“A close reading of scripture reveals that there were a variety of people present at the crucifixion of Jesus all viewing the events of Jesus’ death from different perspectives, hopes, and aspirations," says Jay.

Using Dr. A.J. Levine’s short and accessible book Witness at the Cross as a springboard for conversation, Jay will explore and discuss the backgrounds of many who were present the day Jesus died. Each of the perspectives will help inform and shape your understanding of the significance of Jesus’ death and how we live today as “people of the cross.”

Dr. Roy Stauffer is leading a class offering a realistic look at spirituality in our daily living in the modern world in Room 105. Beginning with an understanding of what spirituality means, the class will discuss how we know and experience God, different ways of praying, and how we relate to others spiritually.

How does our everyday life, including even how we talk to or with others, express our spirituality... or lack thereof?

This class is intended to not just discuss spirituality but to experience it.

Colon cancer 5k in memory of Isse Waddey

Saturday, March 4

Photos by Steve Lowry

Young Professionals & Couples Lenten Bible Study Sundays at 10:45 AM at Campbell West

Youth Moms Group moved to Thursday, March 23, 6:30 PM due to Spring Break

Typically meeting on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM at Campbell West, our Youth Moms Small Group is a time for all moms with youth of sixth through twelfth grade to come and enjoy appetizers and drinks, talk about life, and talk about the ups and downs of raising teens.

Contact Tammy Morgan for questions or more info [email protected]

During this season of Lent, we are supposed to be focusing on Jesus. Maybe the most important question you can ask yourself is, “What difference does Jesus make in your life?” How is your life different because you are a Christian then it would be if you weren’t a believer?

This question was first brought to my attention about 53 years ago when I was a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Although I was a full-time student, I also worked for the Dean of Students office with undergraduate students. Among other things, I had an early version of “small groups” several nights a week. The students in these groups didn’t know I was a Divinity School student, but somehow the conversations always got around to questions of faith and religion.

One night the students in a group asked me, “Roy, why are you so happy all the time? Why do you always have a smile on your face?” I had never thought about it before, but I quickly realized, and told them, “It’s because of my faith in God and Jesus Christ.” You can’t truly believe in God and Jesus and not have a positive, upbeat spirit. (Not all the time, because we are still human, but generally.)

So that was and is my first answer to the question, “What difference does Jesus make?” Like the daily news, the world seems to focus on “what’s wrong.” And as a result, society suffers from malaise or even a breakdown. But, like Paul says in Philippians 4, Christians focus on the positive – what’s good and true and beautiful and what’s worthy of praise, and it makes all the difference in our attitude.

A second difference Jesus makes is patience. Not just because the Bible says so, but life’s experiences prove it... that “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.” (Romans 8:28) So when life gets difficult, we just hold on and let God help us get through it.

Truly believing gives us hope. We trust what we read in I Corinthians 10:13 that “there is no problem, no trouble, too great for us to handle with God’s help."

The next difference Jesus makes is peace – peace in the world, but especially and most importantly, inner peace. Our modern culture and lifestyle seem to do all they can to keep everyone stressed out, uptight, anxious, worried, and fearful. But a true relationship with the Lord will bring you a “peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

Joy is another great difference Jesus makes in our lives. Even in the midst of life’s greatest sorrows, crises, and tragedies... when happiness is not there, joy can and will be. That’s because joy comes from our inner relationship with the Lord. But happiness only comes when “all’s right with the world.”

Lastly, a relationship with Jesus brings us love. And this love is reflected daily in how we treat others – kindness, gentleness, generosity, putting others first, etc. The opposite of self-centeredness.

So these are some of the more important blessings that come to us when we seriously put our relationship with God and Christ first. And we try to share this good news with everybody else we can so that they can enjoy these blessings too (fullness of life).

Lent is a great time to honestly ask yourself, “What difference does Jesus make in my life?” And if you can’t come up with some answers, maybe you need to take another look at your relationship with Him.

Shutter replacement

Please pardon our construction mess as we have contractors on-site to replace the large shutters on both sides of the sanctuary. These are the original shutters that were installed when our sanctuary first opened in 1949!  We don’t expect any major logistical disruptions, but we will have heavy machinery and equipment on our campus for an extended period of time as the project will take several weeks to complete. Our projected completion date is April 15.

"Why Jesus?" continues Sunday

Our Lenten sermon series this year analyzes the life and ministry of Jesus through the lens of Mark’s gospel. We are looking at his teachings, healings, miracles, death, and resurrection. What does it mean to follow him 2,000 years later?

 “Self-Denial in a Self-Centered World”

Clay Stauffer

Mark 8:31-38

Our Sunday schedule is:



• 8:30 AM – Breakfast in Drowota Hall
• 9:30 AM – Informal service in the sanctuary with livestream
• 9:40 AM – The Bridge service in the chapel with livestream
• 11:00 AM – Traditional service in the sanctuary

Guatemala mission trip 

March 4-11

Woodmont has authorized a new mission group for assistance to individuals who have been affected by natural disasters. The new program, called House of Hope, will build pre-fabricated exterior walls for homes destroyed by tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding.

The walls will be built at Woodmont and shipped to the prepared home site and erected by volunteers to form a new, 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom home. We will need approximately 12 to 15 volunteers on Saturday, April 22, to build the walls. One home typically takes approximately four hours to build. We are hoping to complete two homes for our first build. We will need volunteers to help load the walls onto the semi-truck the following Sunday after our staff blesses them. 

For the cost of $20,000, a family will receive a sealed structure including windows, doors, and a roof. After the walls are built offsite, they are then loaded onto a truck and driven to the new home site. Volunteers will then erect the house and add the final touches for a new home. If our Woodmont volunteers so choose they can even travel to the homesite to assist in the construction. 

Our April project will assist families in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. On December 10, 2021, an EF-4 tornado with 190 mph winds touched down in Mayfield and traveled 150 miles carving a path through Kentucky. There were 57 fatalities and 515 injuries with 50,000 people left with no power. 

Woodmont is in an enviable position to help with this project. Thanks to your generous donations we already have the necessary funds and we have the space in our parking lot to build the walls. We are currently looking for volunteers! We will need 12 to 15 volunteers on Saturday, April 22, beginning at 9:00 AM. Additional volunteers will be working with our Burnt Offerings mission group to provide lunch with the assistance of our CWF.

If you are interested in assisting with this project or projects in the future, please contact Beth Sowell at [email protected]t or

(615) 512-2242.

In addition to construction volunteers, Burnt Offerings, Woodmont’s grilling ministry, needs volunteers to help serve lunch on April 22 for the Houses of Hope team.  We will be serving barbecue and anyone is welcome to volunteer.

The meal will be prepared ahead of time. We need 3-4 volunteers to assist us. Times are TBD, but midday: prep, serve, & cleanup. Please email Rob Smith at [email protected] to volunteer for food service.

The Bridge

March 12

Photos by Steve Lowry

Beth Sowell sharing on behalf of our new Houses of Hope ministry

Bethany Hills camp is open for summer registration!

Send your child to one of the world’s most Christ-filled places to be surrounded by other Disciples of Christ youth from across the state! Visit tndisciples.org/bethany-hills for more information and to sign up.

• Discovery Camp Grades K-2 May 30-June 2
• JR Camp Grades 3-5 May 30-June 3
• Chi Rho Camp Grades 6-7 July 23-27
• Eighters Camp Grade 8 June 11-17 (held in conjunction with the Kentucky region at their camp, Wakon’ Da-Ho)
• CYF Camp Grades 9-12 June 5-10
• Post High Weekend 1st -2nd Year of College July 14-16

Do you love Bethany Hills Camp? Do you want to ensure these sacred spaces are kept up for future generations? Please consider helping at a work day at camp on Saturday, March 25. RSVP and for more information, contact Joan Hale at the Disciples of Christ regional office, [email protected].

Book Club March 21

The Woodmont Book Club will meet on Tuesday, March 21, at 10:30 AM in The Bay Room and discuss The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys.

Sanctuary and chapel open for reflection beginning March 22

During the season of Lent, we commit ourselves to growing our relationship with God and nurturing the promises we have made to our faith. Many of us find this by being alone and present with God in places of quiet through reflective and contemplative prayer.

Woodmont will be opening the church for members to come to our quiet and spiritual space in the sanctuary and chapel for the last three weeks of Lent. The Worship Committee would like to encourage you to find personal time to spend with God... alone in silence... praying... listening for the grace of faith renewal.

The sanctuary or chapel will be open from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM on the following days:

• Wed, March 22 - Chapel
• Thurs, March 23 - Sanctuary
• Fri, March 24 - Sanctuary

• Wed, March 29 - Chapel
• Thurs, March 30 - Sanctuary
• Fri, March 31 - Sanctuary

• Wed, April 5 - chapel

Doors will be open at each of the respective locations at the times above. Questions? Contact Rich Sanderson, chair of the Woodmont Worship Committee, at [email protected]

Fisk University Tour presented by Woodmont's Racial Bridges Ministry March 25

On Saturday, March 25, you're invited to tour Fisk University, a key element of African-American and Nashville history for more than 150 years! The visit will include the Carl Van Vechten Art Gallery, Jubilee Hall, Memorial Hall, as well as a discussion about Fisk and social justice. Karen Woolridge will also speak about her connection to Fisk through multiple generations of the Work family, notable faculty, and musicians. The group will meet at Woodmont in front of the mansion at 10:20 AM for group transportation. After the tour, the group will have lunch in the Fisk area.

First "Apawstles" meeting March 26

Our new "Apawstles" group is having it's first meeting Sunday, March 26, at 11:00 AM at Campbell West.

This group explores how we experience the presence and power of God in “non-human species” as creatures with a role in the kingdom of heaven who are endowed with the capacity to help resolve unresolved emotions in humans. The goal is to increase understanding of God’s providence and interaction with creation through his furry, four-legged messengers. The group will meet for eight weeks and discuss the book Your Dog is Your Mirror by the late Kevin Behan, a veteran police dog trainer. There is no need to be a pet owner - curiosity and an open mind are sufficient! Contact David (Tito) La Rosa at [email protected]

G.E.M.S. March 28

Our next G.E.M.S. luncheon is Tuesday, March 28, at noon in Room 105.

David Ewing will speak about the conversion of Tom Ryman by Rev. Sam Jones and why he built the Union Gospel Tabernacle, which is now the Ryman Auditorium.

Ewing is a ninth-generation Nashvillian, historian, tour guide, and history consultant.  The Nashville Scene referred to him as "the esteemed unofficial Nashville historian" and The Tennessean recently said he is "known for uncovering cool and important bits of Nashville history."

In 2016 David served as a historical consultant for the Ryman Auditorium and worked with them to successfully remove the old confederate gallery sign from the balcony, which had been there since 1892. He is currently writing a book on the history of the Ryman Auditorium.

Lunch RSVP must be in by 10:00 AM on Monday, March 27.  Make reservations by calling the church office (615) 297-8563, emailing [email protected], or signing in to onrealm.org

Unbound Guatemala Zoom event In the Loop March 30

You’re invited to an exclusive opportunity to hear directly from Unbound staff in Guatemala! Join us for a special online Zoom event called "In the Loop: Guatemala" on Thursday, March 30, at noon. Click here to reserve your spot today!

Join Unbound team members in Guatemala and from our world headquarters via Zoom for the latest updates including:  

• Status of program operations in Guatemala
• Real-life examples of the resilience of the families in our program  
• How correspondence between sponsors and sponsored friends works 
• A sneak peek into what our staff in Guatemala is most looking forward to

Join The Bridge band in studio April 2

Andra Moran and Teddy Morgan are extending an open call to whoever would like to join them to sing together on a track in a historic studio in Nashville on Sunday, April 2, from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM. No previous experience or serious musical ability is required - just joy and a willingness to share your spirit and voice with this creative undertaking.

The band is limited to the number of people that can be in the tracking room at one time, so contact Andra at [email protected] to reserve your spot.

Watch sermon "The Hem of His Garment" by Jay Hutchens

Church calendar

Sunday, March 19

8:30 AM Breakfast, Drowota Hall

9:30 AM 21st Century Class, Boardroom

9:30 AM Disciples Class, Room 105

10:45 AM Young Professionals Lent Bible Study, Campbell West

10:45 AM Reflections Class, Room 200

10:45 AM Connections Class, Room 100

11:00 AM Points of View Class, Room 105

3:00 PM Pickleball, Drowota Hall

4:00 PM Disciples Class, Room 200

5:00 PM Disciples Class Dinner, Drowota Hall

5:00 PM Leadership Woodmont, Campbell West

Monday, March 20

11:30 AM Visitation Group, Bay Room

3:00 PM "Geezers," Boardroom

6:00 PM Dinner & A Book Group, Campbell West

Tuesday, March 21

9:30 AM Women's Prayer Group, Boardroom

10:30 AM Book Club, Bay Room

10:30 AM Women's Bible Study, Gathering Hall

6:30 PM Alateen (ages 12-19), South Hall

6:30 PM Parents Al-Anon Group, Room 105

8:00 PM AA Meeting, South Hall

Wednesday, March 22

6:00 AM Men's Small Group, Room 107

7:00 AM Younger Men's Bible Study, Boardroom

8:00 AM "Original" Men's Bible Study, Room 105

5:30 PM Wednesday Fellowship Dinner, Drowota Hall

5:30 PM Grace Notes Rehearsal, Kids' Commons

6:00 PM DivorceCare, The Bay Room

6:00 PM GriefShare, Room 107

6:15 PM Ben Curtis "Getting Involved with God," The Boardroom

6:15 PM Jay Hutchens "Witness at the Cross", Room 200

6:15 PM Roy Stauffer "Spirituality in the Modern World," Room 105

6:15 PM JYF, Kids' Commons

6:30 PM Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary

Thursday, March 23

10:00 AM Sit & Stitch, Gathering Hall

1:00 PM Mahjong Group, Gathering Hall

5:30 PM Handbells Rehearsal, Choir Room

6:30 PM Youth Moms Small Group, Campbell West

6:30 PM Andra Moran Virtual Vespers, Zoom

6:30 PM Nar-Anon, Room 105

8:00 PM AA Meeting, South Hall 

Friday, March 24

Room In The Inn

3:00 PM Pickleball, Drowota Hall

Saturday, March 25

Room In The Inn

10:00 AM Al-Anon, Drowota Hall