A Laywoman's Perspective -- Commentary by Scarritt-Bennett Center Laywoman in Residence, Joyce D. Sohl

There is a hot wind blowing outside, but the cool of the air conditioner in my office at least gives me the illusion that I am cool. Even the birds are looking for a cool spot and the squirrels are stretched out on any shady tree limb they can find. Such is summer here in Nashville!

Before the heat and humidity hit, we had a group of song writers here on campus. They had paid "big bucks" to improve their writing skills and attended lectures, participated in critical peer and leader review sessions, and became a community of people seeking the elusive lyrics and melody of a song. It was fun having them scattered around the campus with their guitars.

I sat in on one of the review sessions where they critiqued each other's songs. One young woman shared a song about not being able to find God in the church. At the end of her first verse she said something like: "But I was able to find God when the circus came to town." No one understood her metaphor and she could not explain it so that others understood, but I got it! Remember the movie "The Parable" that portrayed Jesus as a clown that came to town with the circus? (Youth work days back in the 60's) The girl was too young to have seen the movie, but she had a concept that spoke to her. The leader worked with her until finally the chorus of the song ended with God being found within. A spiritual moment within the midst of a secular class!

I taught a course this month entitled "Spirituality of Protest", talking to God in the midst of troubling times. We explored lament Psalms; the healing stories of Jesus; contemporary and ancient prayers and poems; spirituals and hymns; and art. We also wrote our own laments and talked about the need for honesty with God in our personal and public lives. The lament addressed to God can lead to justice, healing, and hope.

Tuesdays in the Chapel, a half-hour noon-time preaching service started on June 16th with Bishop Melvin Talbert as the first preacher. This service is for the community as well as the Center's staff and guests. We had great music and great preaching and are looking forward to sermons by Sharon Howell, Rami Shapiro, Beth Richardson, Kathleen Flood and Michael Waldrop. This may be the beginning of a "new tradition" and happen every week starting in the fall.

Conversation with staff, guests, and visitors are still an important part of my time. One Saturday I explained all about the Center to a Seven-day Adventist couple that were taking their Sabbath walk through the grounds. Another time I shared with a guest the purpose of the labyrinth. And yet at another time I spent about two hours with a group of United Methodist Women telling them about the Research Library and its tie to the history of this institution. Conversations with one another is as important as conversations with God, I believe. This is my perspective as a laywoman observing and participating in the activities of this sacred place.


Joyce D. Sohl
Laywoman in Residence

“Produce Parade” feeds inner-city hungry -- Potato Drop goes awry, inner-city benefits

What originally started as a Society of St. Andrew (Advance #801600) Potato Drop – 45,000 pounds of potatoes dropped in a parking lot for re-bagging and distribution to feeding agencies – has turned into a “produce parade” right into the streets of neighborhoods that are most in need in the Fort Myers, FL area.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Fort Myers and Christ Lutheran Church in Cape Coral, FL have partnered to make a positive impact for those in need in the Fort Myers area. For three years, these groups have worked with the Society of St. Andrew, a national non-profit hunger relief ministry that saves fresh produce from being dumped due to market and cosmetic reasons, to deliver nutritious produce to critical feeding agencies. But the Potato Drop they co-sponsored in 2008 went slightly awry, producing an unexpected benefit.

“What an amazing morning! I never thought that showing up to help with a Potato Drop would lead to such an awesome experience of delivering food directly to the people who need it,” said a young couple who attend Christ Lutheran Church.

Organizing a Potato Drop can be very tricky. Between setting a date, getting volunteers to bag the potatoes, scheduling food banks and agencies to pick up the fresh produce, and hoping that a load of excess produce will be available through the Society of St. Andrew, any number of things is likely to go wrong. Miraculously, most events go off without a hitch, but during the Potato Drop in May of 2008, after all the potatoes were bagged and most of the volunteers had left, it became evident the food bank that had reserved half of the potatoes was not showing up. The remaining volunteers couldn’t just let those potatoes go to waste. Taking matters into their own hands, they loaded up their vehicles and headed to a low-income area of the city and delivered nutritious sweet potatoes to small food pantries, soup kitchens, rescue missions, local shelters, and a benefit event they happened upon that was being held for a neighbor in need. Every recipient was grateful for the food; each volunteer came back overwhelmed by the experience and with a story to tell. In fact, these dedicated volunteers were so impacted by their experience many became organizers of this year’s event and officially incorporated the “produce parade” distribution.

Child hands out food bag

“Rather than just dropping off a truck load of potatoes to a feeding agency, we had the satisfaction of meeting and talking to the people that we would otherwise have never met,” said Kimberly Volz, a Cape Coral, FL resident. “At the end of the day, my whole family felt really blessed by the opportunity for hands on mission work.”

The 2009 event, which has come to be known as the “Produce Parade,” included squash, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, and some citrus, all provided by the Society of St. Andrew’s Florida Gleaning Network. The groups partnered with Mount Hermon Ministries in the Dunbar area of Fort Myers where the potatoes had been distributed in 2008. After the food was bagged at the drop site, 12 trucks loaded down with 15,000 pounds of produce were driven to the inner city area. Mount Hermon Ministries, a Baptist mission outreach facility, is well known in the area for being an important asset to the community and their large parking lot was the perfect staging area as the produce “paraded” into the community. Smaller agencies picked up various produce and people in the neighborhood were encouraged to take bags home and to their neighbors who could not get out to pick up the food on their own. “One of the greatest things to come out of this year’s event is the connection that has been made between Mount Hermon Ministries and Christ Lutheran,” said Tracy Moffat, event coordinator. “Kids who would have otherwise never met, joined together to feed their own community – what a great way to share the love of Christ,” said Moffat. Plans are already being made for another “Produce Parade” in 2010.

The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) is a national, faith-based, ecumenical, nonprofit ministry that gleans America’s fields and feeds America’s hungry. It effectively tackles the problem of hunger in America through its grassroots Gleaning Network, Potato & Produce Project and Harvest of Hope programs, which salvage fresh produce that will otherwise be wasted and donates it to feed the hungry. For more information about the Society of St. Andrew and its hunger relief programs: call toll free 800-333-4597; e-mail: sosainfo@endhunger.org; website: http://www.endhunger.org/. The Society of St. Andrew: Gleaning America's Fields ~ Feeding America's Hungry.

Rodriguez to lead Hispanic/Latino New Church Starts Division/Path 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 18, 2009/GBOD/ — The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) has named Samuel Rodriguez director of the Hispanic/Latino New Church Starts Division/Path 1, effective July 1.

“Sam will be very instrumental in helping achieve the important and significant goals that are set before us,” said the Rev. Thomas G. Butcher, executive officer of New Church Starts/Path 1. “We are excited to have him on our team,” he said.

Prior to this appointment, Rodriguez was a commissioned missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) of The United Methodist Church.

He was the conference coordinator for Hispanic/Latino Ministries in the Central Texas (regional) Conference in Fort Worth, Texas for seven years. In this capacity, Rodriguez facilitated training opportunities for the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry Module Trainings, Pentecost Journey: Guide to Hispanic Ministry, Hispanic Culture Training, and Language Immersion weekends.

He also resourced dialogue and reflection with pastors actively involved in or seeking to incorporate Hispanic-Latino ministries. As a staff member of the Office of Church Growth and Development, Rodriguez assisted in creating opportunities for several Hispanic /Latino New Church Starts.

Prior to his current assignment, Sam served four years in the Northwest Texas Conference as director of Hispanic Ministries in the Big Spring District. Two of those years Rodriguez was a GBGM Missionary under the National Plan for Hispanic/ Latino Ministries.

New Church Starts/Path 1 owns the goal of recruiting 1,000 pastors to start 650 new United Methodist congregations in the United States by 2013.

A native of El Paso, Texas, Rodriguez holds a BA in English and American Literature from the University of Texas in El Paso and an MA in Christian Service from Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University.

Rodriguez and wife Demetria have two children: Samuel Joseph 19, and Vanessa Rae 15. His parents Luis Armando and Esperanza Rodriguez, reside in El Paso, Texas where they are members of Wesley United Methodist Church.