Our top 5 headlines in May
June 01Facing the day If clicks are votes, the following stories and reports were the most-read by our subscribers in this month's weekly editions of The Call. 1. Explaining a virtual Annual Conference A letter from ...
News Archive
News Archive
Emergency grants inspire churches to target their neighbors' needs
May 28 - by: Annette SpenceWhen the pandemic shut down businesses and sent people to shelter in their homes, some people thought about stockpiling toilet paper and food for themselves. United Methodist congregations throughout Holston Conference thought about neighbors whose ...
Ready when disaster happens: Mission supplies needed now
May 28 - by: Annette SpenceMission leaders are asking congregations to collect cleaning and hygiene supplies so Holston Conference can be prepared to help when disaster strikes again. Holston's stockpile of "cleaning kits" and "hygiene kits" were depleted when used to help ...
The Call: May 28 edition
May 28It's not about us When the pandemic shut down businesses and sent people to shelter in their homes, some people thought about stockpiling toilet paper and food for themselves. United Methodist congregations throughout Holston ...
Missionaries depart Prague church due to virus-related problems
May 22 - by: Annette SpenceBRISTOL, Tenn. -- Two months ago, the Rev. Mark Hicks was immersed in his ministry as pastor of the English Speaking United Methodist Church in Prague. By May 4, he was on his way to the United States, with only two suitcases and the clothes on his ...
The Call: May 22, 2020 edition
May 22May 22, 2020 Prague interrupted Two months ago, the Rev. Mark Hicks was immersed in his ministry as pastor of the English Speaking United Methodist Church in Prague. By May 4, he was on his way to the United States, with only...
The Call: May 14, 2020 edition
May 14The stated latest Bishop Dindy Taylor provides an update on the closing of Holston church buildings and plans for Annual Conference: COVID-19 task force created Church buildings remain closed Book of Reports posted May 27 Pre-Conference ...
The best and worst of times with 10 clergy moms
May 08 - by: Annette SpenceBeing a clergy mom was never easy. But when the coronavirus shut down schools and sent children home for parents to teach and entertain, the job got even more difficult. And yet, there are moments and memories that are “precious and priceless,” as ...
The Call: May 8, 2020 edition
May 08Life as a clergy mom Being a clergy mother was never easy. But when the coronavirus shut down schools and sent children home for parents to teach and entertain, the job became even more difficult. We asked 10 clergy moms in Holston ...
Holston members discuss 'what's next' in visioning webinar
May 07 - by: Annette Spence6 ways to prepare for the post-pandemic church What’s next? As church leaders struggle for footing in a ministry-shifting earthquake, they’re also scanning the landscape for a glimpse of the church that will stand after the dust settles. So, when...
The Call: May 1, 2020 edition
May 01Will the kids be alright? Mike Pugh sees a change in the people who are coming through for hot lunches at Open Door Café in Wytheville. Since the café closed its dining room in mid-March and started providing takeouts only, fewer diners are ...
Directors announce: No camp this summer
April 30Dear Holston Family, Holston Camp & Retreat Ministries has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak. As we have been watching events unfold, we have been in prayer for the well-being of your family. After a careful discerning process, and with...
Our top 5 headlines in April 2020
April 30April showers If clicks are votes, the following stories and reports were the most-read by our subscribers in this month's weekly editions of The Call. 1. Churches improvise as Holy Week looms Churches are ...
Wytheville cafe provides hot meals for hungry families, despite pandemic hurdles
April 30 - by: Annette SpenceWYTHEVILLE, Va. -- Mike Pugh sees a change in the people who are coming through for hot lunches at Open Door Café. Since the café closed its dining room and started providing takeouts only, fewer diners are making donations for their meals. Pugh ...
Crisis upon crisis: Chattanooga churches aid tornado survivors
April 24 - by: Annette SpenceAt a time when others were staying home to save their nation from the coronavirus, members from local churches in Chattanooga and Cleveland had to put on their masks and step out to save a community. Church members headed out with chainsaws to help ...
The Call: April 24, 2020 edition
April 24Crisis upon crisis Church leaders use the words “surreal” and “crazy” to describe the crisis-upon-crisis situation they found themselves in over the last two weeks. Here's how church workers in the Chattanooga and Cleveland area had to put on ...
The Call: April 16, 2020 edition
April 16Dangerous new world As people around the world stay home in the fight to foil the coronavirus, many United Methodists from Holston Conference have jobs that send them out into a dangerous world to care for others. Eleven frontliners spoke ...
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United Methodists work in dangerous new world to help others
April 16 - by: Annette SpenceInterviews with 11 frontliners Ashley Hammer’s voice over the phone is stretched thin. She’s talking about her patients with the same anguish that came through when she spoke of concern for her family and herself. Hammer is a registered nurse at ...
Chattanooga pastor, wife share terrifying tornado experience
April 14 - by: Annette SpenceEn español CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Rev. Adam McKee was unaware that a deadly storm was bearing down on his neighborhood shortly before midnight on Easter Sunday. He was alerted by his Amazon app voice, “Alexa": “Tornado warning. Seek shelter ...
Chattanooga, Cleveland hit hard by Easter storms
April 13 - by: Annette SpenceApril 13, 6:30 p.m. In Chattanooga, residents were cleaning up from storms today while continuing to practice social distancing and facing the likelihood of a night without electricity. After checking on the church where he serves as senior ...
Commentary: Holy Week at home isn't gloomy. It's an opportunity.
April 05 - by: Heather HayesLetter to The Call When I saw the news story, “Holy Week looms while churches improvise" in last week's edition of The Call, I found the title to be disturbing. In the back of my mind I thought, “This sounds doom-filled.” I know it was an article of...
Bishop Taylor: No drive-in worship services during coronavirus pandemic
April 04Bishop Mary Virginia “Dindy” Taylor and her district superintendents have included drive-in or drive-through worship services to the conference-wide order to close church buildings in order to stop the spread of coronavirus. Taylor sent an email to ...
Commentary: Holston responds to virus with innovative faithfulness
April 03 - by: Gordon GoodgameA letter to The Call Thank you for your recent article highlighting the faithfulness alive and active within the people of Holston. (See “Holston churches gain new vision during virus pandemic,” March 28). These are difficult times for many, but ...
The Call: April 3, 2020 edition
April 03Holy Week looms as churches improvise United Methodist churches are scrambling to figure out how to observe Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and especially Easter as COVID-19 restrictions keep them ...
Spring storms damage two Knoxville-area churches
April 02 - by: Annette SpenceThe pastors of two churches damaged by spring storms in the last week say they are thankful no one was hurt and the interiors were mostly spared. On Thursday, March 26, fire sprang up in the prayer tower at Kodak United Methodist Church after the ...
Holston college scholarship endowment named for Ed Harmon
March 31Press release ALCOA, Tenn. – For years to come, students at two United Methodist colleges affiliated with the Holston Conference will know the name of William “Ed” Harmon. An endowment providing scholarships to students at Tennessee Wesleyan ...
The Call: Top 5 headlines in March 2020
March 31What a difference a month makes At the beginning of March, we were fretting about General Conference, clicking on stories about new denominations. We were mobilizing to help our neighbors in central Tennessee as they assessed the damage from ...
Holston churches gain new vision during virus pandemic
March 28 - by: Annette SpenceThe buildings may be closed, but the church is alive in Holston Conference. Two weeks after Bishop Dindy Taylor mandated cessation of public worship to the shock of many, church members are not only adapting but rallying to share worship, communion,...
The Call: March 26, 2020 edition
March 26New visions in a changed world Two weeks after Bishop Dindy Taylor mandated cessation of public worship to the shock of many, church members are not only adapting but rallying to share worship, communion, encouragement, food, face masks, and...
Holstonians rise up with solutions after coronavirus closures
March 19 - by: Annette SpenceA week ago, Holstonians were incredulous that worship services in church buildings could be canceled due to a virus, even for a two-week period. As news of the coronavirus pandemic grows more alarming, pastors and members of Holston’s 864 churches ...
Staff weigh financial impact, create new methods during pandemic
March 19 - by: Annette SpenceMinistry leaders in Holston Conference are bracing for economic shortages related to the spread of COVID-19, which is keeping people home, shutting down ministries, and eliminating traditional ways of making financial gifts. In response, ministry ...
The Call: March 19, 2020 edition
March 19Doing church in the coronavirus age A week ago, Holstonians were incredulous that worship services in church buildings could be canceled for a two-week period -- because of a virus. Today, they seem to be settling in for a longer period away...
Bishop Taylor closes churches until further notice due to virus spread
March 18March 18 update: Bishop Dindy Taylor has closed Holston churches until further notice. "The good news is medical experts know social distancing is helping slow the spread of the virus. The bad news is it is still spreading," she said. "Like you, we ...
Ongoing: Holston will continue to help tornado-stricken neighbors
March 14 - by: Annette SpenceSome Holston members responded quickly after March 2-3 tornadoes destroyed parts of middle Tennessee. Others are responding now to a call for relief supplies, which Holston Conference mission leaders will collect and distribute. Twenty-four people ...
The Call: March 14, 2020 edition
March 14Closed for two weeks Bishop Dindy Taylor sent two letters to clergy and church leaders this week after health officials called for "social distancing" to slow the spread of coronavirus. Holston Conference churches will cease worship services...
A message from Bishop Taylor: Urging churches to cease public worship
March 12March 13 update: Cancellation is mandatory, not optional My Dear Holston Friends, I did not realize on January 31 when I sat at an Emory University Board of Trustees meeting listening to a medical expert tell us about research and work with ...
Coronavirus resources for churches, media
March 11On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization identified COVID-19 as a pandemic. On March 18, Bishop Dindy Taylor mandated that all Holston Conference church buildings be closed to the public. Large-group meetings (including worship) are ...
The Call: Top 5 headlines in February 2020
March 06If clicks are votes, these stories and reports were the most-read by our subscribers in last month's weekly editions of The Call. 1. Shell projected for Scenic South Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor announces the ...
Holston prepares to help Tennessee neighbors after tornado
March 04 - by: Annette SpenceALCOA, Tenn. (March 4, 2020) -- Holston mission leaders are reaching out to United Methodists in central Tennessee to learn how they can help after this week's deadly tornadoes. Tennessee is under a state of emergency Wednesday after the deadliest ...
El Equipo Hispano celebra los nuevos ministerios
February 28 - by: Annette SpenceIn English ALCOA, Tenn. -- El Equipo del Ministerios Hispanos está celebrando el lanzamiento de nuevos servicios de adoración, un nuevo pastor y un nuevo trabajador de alcance comunitario en la Conferencia de Holston, elevando a 13 el número total de...
Hispanic team awards $88,000 in grants, celebrates new ministries
February 28 - by: Annette SpenceEn español ALCOA, Tenn. -- The Hispanic Ministries Team is celebrating the launch of new Spanish-speaking worship services, a new pastor, and a new community outreach worker in Holston Conference, bringing the total current Hispanic ministry count...
Shell projected next Scenic South District superintendent
February 28ALCOA, Tenn. -- Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor announces the projected appointment of the Rev. Reed Shell as Scenic South District superintendent, effective July 1. Shell currently serves as senior pastor at Hixson United Methodist Church in Hixson, ...
The Call: Feb. 28, 2020 edition
February 28Shell projected for Scenic South Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor announces the projected appointment of the Rev. Reed Shell as Scenic South District superintendent, effective July 1. Read the announcement. ...
Convocation looks beyond the fight, equips clergy for future
February 22 - by: Annette SpencePIGEON FORGE, Tenn. -- The elephant in the room was the possible upcoming division of the denomination that could change Ministers Convocation this year, most likely by next year. By the time Holston Conference’s annual educational event for clergy ...
The Call: Feb. 22, 2020 edition
February 22Convocation looks beyond the fight The elephant in the room was the possible upcoming division of the denomination that could change Ministers Convocation this year and most likely by next year. By the time the annual educational event had...
Holston members begin planning for 'more inclusive' church future
February 21 - by: Annette SpenceKNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 21, 2020) -- In the first large meeting organized by the unofficial group, UMCNext Holston, 103 United Methodists gathered in a downtown Knoxville church Feb. 15 to discuss and begin planning for a “more inclusive” future for ...
The Call: Feb. 14, 2020 edition
February 14Call for leadership It was a snowy Saturday, but that didn’t stop 90 United Methodists from standing up for the Black Church Feb. 8 in Alcoa. “We are not just black in Black History Month but we are black 365 days," said the Rev. Charlotte ...
Black churches call for representation, leadership in Holston
February 13 - by: Annette SpenceALCOA, Tenn. -- It was a snowy Saturday, but that didn’t deter 90 United Methodists from standing up for the Black Church by attending a “fellowship and information session” held at the Alcoa Conference Center on Feb. 8. The gathering was a ...
Pastors in Southwest Virginia work to help flood survivors
February 08 - by: Annette SpenceFeb. 14, 2020 update: Disaster-response leaders in Holston's Clinch Mountain District met Feb. 10 to prepare for possibly calling in teams for flood clean-up after assessments are made. "We have distributed many, many cleaning buckets and hygiene ...
The Call: Feb. 5, 2020 edition
February 05Changing lives since 1985 For 35 years, youth have departed auditoriums near the Great Smoky Mountains on an annual January weekend, changed by the Gospel music and message that had been carefully selected and delivered for their particular ...