LOCAL
Our Reach and Send Ministries stretch their arms to the community, especially the non-religious or nominally religious people, so they may feel invited to participate in our community and experience the love of Jesus through the body of Christ. We create strategic partnerships locally by providing food to those locally in need and becoming involved with our local schools. We invite you to worship with us along with becoming a part of these ministries by receiving the blessing of service.
You can make a difference!
TULIP GROVE SCHOOL
We see serving and loving our community, schools, teachers, and families as a vital ministry of the church, and thus provide many opportunities for our disciples to get involved. HUMC proudly partners with Tulip Grove Elementary School. We have a vibrant and ever-growing relationship with the goal of simply loving and serving like Jesus. Some of our initiatives are as follows: providing school supplies and uniforms, supplying Thanksgiving meals and Christmas help for school families, loving on the teachers and staff with our sponsorship program, hosting Bible study for the teachers and staff, and serving as greeters for the first day of school, test proctors for TN Ready, volunteers for PTO events, and anything else we have the opportunity to do.
FOOD PANTRY
Hermitage UMC’s Food Pantry ministry provides non-perishable food to our neighbors in need. Neighbors may come to the church office during office hours and they will be met by our staff where packages of food are provided as needed. The Food Pantry receives food donations from church members. A few times each year, #HermitageUMC hosts food drives to help stock up the pantry. Volunteers keep it organized and ready for distribution.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working in nearly 1,400 communities across the United States and in approximately 70 countries around the world. Habitat’s vision is of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat works toward our vision by building strength, stability and self-reliance in partnership with people and families in need of a decent and affordable home. HUMC participates in the local Nashville Habitat build in the fall. All skill levels over the age of 18 are welcome!
F.U.E.L.
F.U.E.L. was adopted to help feed school children that have little or no food on weekends. For some children, their only food source may be the school lunch program. Children are selected by the schools, not based on income, but on signs of hunger. Their parents sign permission slips to receive our food bags. We don’t know their names, the schools keep them anonymous so that we can focus on sharing love and food. We gather specific foods that meet the nutrition requirements of growing children, and on Tuesday evenings, volunteers prepare the food packages by packing enough food for the weekend in grocery style bags, and we pray over them. On Fridays, the bags are delivered by volunteers to the participating schools, who place them directly in the backpacks of children for them to enjoy over the weekend. We do this every week during the school year.
H.E.L.P // ESL PROGRAM
H.E.L.P. (Hermitage English Learners Program) is an ESL, English as a second language program, helping students learn or improve English language skills
ROOM IN THE INN
Room in the Inn is a non-profit ministry in Nashville that partners with more than 160 local congregations of various denominations to provide shelter for about 1,300 homeless individuals during our coldest season: from November 1 – March 31.
Hermitage UMC provides shelter and meals to about 14 men, women, and children on Tuesday nights during the season. Sometimes we are given an opportunity to help on additional nights, especially when winter weather is more severe than usual.
We pick our guests up in our church bus and bring them back to the church, where we provide them with a hot meal and a warm place to stay for the night. Sometimes, we take them out to a local restaurant for a good meal! They are able to shower, get new socks, clothes, and undergarments once they arrive at the church, too. We wake them up early Wednesday morning and provide them with a hearty breakfast and a sack lunch for that day before returning them to the Room in the Inn campus at 6:00 am. In addition to sharing food and shelter, we are given the opportunity to fellowship with our guests. This might include playing a game of cards, watching TV with them, or just having a chat. Room in the Inn creates an opportunity for those who have more material things in life to share them with people who don’t, and in fellowship, discover that we are not as different on the inside as we might appear on the outside.
COMMUNITY CARE FELLOWSHIP
Community Care Fellowship (CCF) is a day shelter for the poor and homeless. Their mission is to provide a place of respite and rest without a load of requirements.
CCF provides a wide range of services, such as meals, showers, cleaning facilities, phone privileges, a mailing address, diapers & other supplies, gasoline vouchers, counseling, job referral, and financial assistance for rent and electric bills. CCF also offers an After School program for children living in the James A. Cayce Housing Project.
At HUMC, individuals, families, Sunday School classes, and other church-affiliated groups frequently volunteer at CCF. In addition, several HUMC members serve on their Board of Directors. Our church has begun an annual tradition of collect new underwear in January to supply CCF for a WHOLE YEAR.
PROJECT TRANSFORMATION TENNESSEE
As a PT partner church, each summer, HUMC financially sponsors an intern, delivers meals to the college students working, collects needed school supplies for the PT summer program, and provides 10 – 12 volunteers per day for a week of reading one-on-one with children at a PT host site. If you have a heart for kids and want to help improve their literacy, social-emotional, and spiritual development or you have the gift of hospitality, love college-aged kids, and can make them feel at “home,” this would be an excellent ministry for you.