The Bridge

10/21/2024

Join us THIS SUNDAY, 10/27 for a benefit for Lee Chapel AME's tutorial program featuring the Fisk Jubilee Singers! We are so excited to host them and to support this important effort to lovingly support literacy for the children of North Nashville.

The Need:Reading scores from schools in 37208 under-perform MNPS averages. According to Every Library Institute, adults with low literacy skills are far more likely to be under or unemployed and more likely to turn to criminal activities.Previously supported by an MNPS contract, the funds for which....

05/23/2023

Tonight, we hosted a panel discussion to address gun safety legislation with Rev. Dr. Clay Stauffer, our senior pastor, alongside Dr. Bill First, former US Senator and Dr. Alex Jahangir, a trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt. The Covenant School shooting rocked our city and our congregation, and we are working seriously to figure out ways to move the conversation around gun safety to a new place. Check out the livestream conversation in the link in comments.

10/27/2022

We are thrilled to announce the return of Walk Thru Bethlehem this year on Dec. 11 at Woodmont Christian Church! The Bridge will be there all afternoon leading carol singing in the sanctuary! Hope you can join us for one of the most amazing Nashville Christmas traditions!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR0HNwlyMktcTdm4JB7cFXHbKlcyE_gC1TwR0WYNI7SYzTuYXLp57eZrQs8&v=tuNxuVxL-oU&feature=youtu.be

04/14/2022

Thursday night, we will remember the events of The Last Supper with Jesus and the Disciples. This is a tradition at Woodmont that goes back before I was ever part of the staff and it has shifted and changed in different ways over the years.

Our Maundy Thursday service begins at 6:15 in Carpenter Chapel.

This year's service will have a cast of 9 costumed actors who will offer different perspectives on what it might have felt like to be present at the Last Supper with Jesus before his betrayal and arrest.

We will share music and communion together and participate together in sharing a liturgy. This service has involved many volunteers and lots of creative work, and I am grateful we can be together to share it as a community!

I hope you will join in to mark this special moment in the rhythm of Holy Week!

To watch the Maundy Thursday service via Livestream, please click this link:

https://youtu.be/Oamk_yVThBk

Please note that we will not have Virtual Vespers this Thursday because we'll be doing the Maundy Thursday service together.

The schedule for the rest of Holy Week at Woodmont is:

Good Friday service (7 Last Words of Christ) : Friday, noon in the sanctuary

Easter Egg Hunt: Saturday, 10 AM, Campbell West lawn

Easter Sunday morning services: Sunrise in the Outdoor Chapel (rain location Carpenter Chapel), 9:30 informal service in the Sanctuary, The Bridge at 9:40 in Carpenter Chapel, 11 AM traditional service in the Sanctuary

Blessings to you,

Andra

For 78 years, Woodmont Christian Church has been growing disciples of Christ in the heart of the Green Hills area of Nashville, TN. The church hosts three S...

12/14/2021

How's Advent going for you? Me, I'm feeling the hustle and bustle of this season-- and trying to breathe in the excitement and hopefulness of it, while taking care to not get too busy that I miss out on how truly amazing it is that God wanted to connect with us so deeply, God send Jesus, God's own child-- the ultimate act of humility and vulnerability in extension towards us.

Isn't it just stunning, the lengths God goes to in a quest to find our hearts?

In my home right now, the contents of a large box of crayons are scattered on the floor where my daughter has been drawing Christmas cards for her friends. The cheerful red German Christmas mugs and breakfast plates from my childhood are stacked, smudged and sticky in the sink. The tree is twinkling, albeit a little crooked. I've got a pile of presents already squished into a suitcase for our first trip to be with family for Christmas in California in 2 years. All this movement, planning, adjusting, waiting and wonder!

What a gift it is to be moving towards Christmas in community with our church family!

Here's a quick heads up on some things that are happening as we move towards Christmas Day: 

1. Joy Anyway - Don't miss "Joy Anyway," the new 11 carol collection that The Bridge band recorded together and released on Friday. To our delight, it's already been streamed over 1,000 times! We hope you'll enjoy the gift of this music and share it with your friends. You might even mention, "Hey, here are some songs from our church-- Come on Sunday and this is the music you can expect." We'd love to welcome new faces in the new year.

You can find "Joy Anyway" by clicking through to the links in the comments on Youtube, Spotify or Apple Music.

2. Christmas Concert -- Wednesday night, 12/15 at 6 PM, we'll have our all church Christmas concert in the sanctuary! All welcome-- We'll share holy moments, holly jolly moments, wiggles, giggles and more under the skillful direction of our beloved Michael Graham.



3. All Church Worship on 12/26 (no separate Bridge service) -- On 12/26 we'll be consolidating services in the sanctuary. Keep an eye on the Spire for details!

4. Virtual Vespers ornament stories on 12/16 -- This Thursday in Virtual Vespers, we'll share scripture, story and songs as we do each week, but there's a twist! If this sounds fun to you, please bring a Christmas ornament or piece of decoration to show the Zoom group that is meaningful to you. You can also describe it if it's too big or heavy-- I won't be bringing our 12 foot tall inflatable Grinch in from the yard. :) Comment below for the Zoom link for Vespers on Thursday from 6:30 to 7:15.

5. Worship with The Bridge on Sunday at 9:30 -- Join us for worship! The Daniel family will light the Love candle on our Advent wreath, we'll share in carol singing, communion and lean in for a special focus on a Christ's love.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love to you,

Rev. Andra

09/30/2021

This week, the Woodmont Board continued its work on behalf of our congregation. Among the many things the board and staff are working on is how to continue to reach out to our congregation and the wider community and draw us together in this precarious time in our world.

Woodmont continues to offer a variety of worship options in style, approach and even location! For the month of October, The Bridge will continue to meet outdoors on the lawn at Campbell West behind the church building.

We have enjoyed the sunshine, the breezes and the birds all contributing their beauty to worship in September, and look forward to being able to see the transition of the seasons week by week as we worship together in October.

The Creative Team this month is Park and Mary Welsh, Sara Kate and Kristen. We've got some great ideas percolating and look forward to being in worship with all of you.

Please note that in case of rain, we will move indoors for The Bridge in the chapel.

That information is posted on The Bridge Instagram on Sunday mornings at 7 AM if there's a questionable forecast, and you're not sure how it'll go. Check us out on Instagram at .

This Sunday is also World Communion Sunday where congregations around the world celebrate communion. We are working up some special music to share to celebrate in solidarity with the global church.

Lastly, tonight is our weekly Thursday Virtual Vespers at 6:30. Tonight, I'm attending a school function for my child, so Francis King will be leading in my absence. Our focus scripture is 1st Thessalonians 5:4-18. 

Grace and Peace to all!

09/01/2021

Mark those calendars!

Join us in Carpenter Chapel on 9/9 from 6 to 730– We are SO are stoked to host as our powerhouse pair of songwriters for the second session in The Bridge’s Congregational Songwriter series.

Ben Grace & Karyn Thurston are joining us all the way from San Diego while in the southeast on tour. They’ll be in Nashville on the heels of and we can’t wait to host them.

This dynamic duo will team up with our own to guide the workshop participants through co-writing an original song in real time together.

You don’t have to be musical or a songwriter to attend— just bring your open heart and open mind! Let’s see what we can build together!

Covid protocols: please bring and wear a mask to this gathering. Ages 8 and up. (Under 12 must be accompanied by a grown up).

08/26/2021

SO PROUD of The Bridge's Congregational Songwriter Series where we worked with Christopher Grundy to lead us in writing a song together as a congregation. Here's the song we wrote as a group, based on Phillipians 4:8.

Our next writing session will be with Ben Grace Gilmore & Karyn Thurston Gilmore of Story & Tune from San Diego on 9/9 from 6 to 7:30 at Woodmont Christian Church. Ben & Karyn will be joining us hot on the heels of their tour which includes the Wild Goose festival. So looking forward to this time together!! Hope you can join us to cowrite!

08/21/2021

Due to the rise in Covid numbers, we are moving The Bridge outside through September 26th.

Join us for worship on the back lawn of Campbell West behind the church building. We will have folding chairs set out, or you are welcome to bring a camping chair or picnic blanket.

On rainy days, or if the ground is too wet to gather safely, we will be in the chapel.

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday!

06/21/2021

Since 2010, The Bridge has worshipped meaningfully through art and music. Regularly, professional songwriters within our community share their songs with Woodmont as part of their offering to God and to our church.

Now, it’s time for us to see what the unprofessional songwriters have to say! 

Love music, but don’t play or sing?
Love poetry, but find yourself scratching your head over what should follow that first great line?
Just curious about the songwriting process, and how a song gets conjured up out of thin air?
Have we got a cool idea for you!

Join us for a congregational co-write with our first songwriter in a series of sessions.

When The Bridge began, our tagline was “What can we build together?” Building creative worship, liturgy, set pieces and altar settings and community have all been part of what we’ve built together. Now, we want to build songs with you! 

In the coming months, Woodmont will welcome five published songwriters whose songs are in regular rotation in our worship gatherings. 

In 90 minute sessions in Carpenter Chapel we will work with the writers as a group to actually write songs to be used in worship at Woodmont together. 

Bring yourself, an open heart, a notebook and pen. 

No experience is needed— all we need is your presence!

Our first songwriter in this series is Christopher Grundy on July 8th from 6 to 7:30 PM in Carpenter Chapel. 

Christopher Grundy’s song “Leaning In” has been a favorite at The Bridge for years. The Rev. Dr. Grundy is also a professor of worship and preaching at Eden Theological Seminary and the author of Recovering Communion in a Violent World: Resistance, Resilience and Risk. Other songs of Christopher’s that you may recognize from our worship time together include “Peace Be With You,” “Stepping In,” “That Was the Year,” “Come to the Feast,” and “We Are Waiting for You.” In worship today, we sang his song "I Will Sing of Your Love, Love, Love."

We hope you'll join us-- Remember! No experience is necessary. The only thing we need is YOU! Mark your calendar today for an evening of special work together.

See you soon!

Andra

05/21/2021

This week, an email was sent to the WCC congregation explaining the board's decision to remove the mask mandate from our church. This is in line with the current Metro Nashville guidelines, which we have stayed in sync with since the beginning of the pandemic.

As you can imagine, there has been a lot of conversation around this decision.

While we can certainly be thankful that the vaccines have allowed us to move forward towards safely being together, we also know that change usually doesn't happen overnight.

After 15 months of living with a lot of fear and uncertainty, it's certainly normal to have strong feelings, no matter where your feelings fall on the continuum of response to the pandemic.

It is so important that people feel safe in worship -- emotionally, spiritually and physically.

We recognize that we have had a variety of circumstances and experiences that guide what we need to feel safe.

For this reason, beginning Sunday, May 23rd, the north side seating section next to the Spire window will be reserved for masked worshippers at The Bridge. Facing the stage, this is to your left.

The family pods will remain on both sides of the chapel, and we'll add an extra pod on the north side in the front so families with children can sit together and stay masked.

Please be mindful of the fact that all children under 12 are not currently able to be vaccinated, and none of our young folks 12 to 15 have been able to be fully vaccinated yet. Please also note that there are people in our midst who are unable to be vaccinated for health reasons who feel concern over their safety. This poses concern for some of us, and we all have varying levels of risk tolerance.

Our faith reminds us to take care of each other. Christ commands us to love one another.

Right now, loving one another looks like being kind hearted and attuned to the variety of emotions people are feeling.

Loving one another is being patient, and thinking of others with gentleness and graciousness.

Loving one another is recognizing that this has been a hard year, and speaking words of encouragement instead of criticism. Loving one another is saying, "How can I help?"

Loving one another is giving space and staying open to the possibility that someone else has a different perspective and experience than you do.

As we move into this next phase of life in the pandemic, let us love one another well.

04/28/2021

If you’d like to worship as a family at The Bridge, we’ve got a special option for families with young kids.

We’ve set up kid-friendly spaces in the chapel alcoves with happy rugs for families to sit together.

We recognize that wiggles, giggles, reaches and screeches are part of being young, and are signs of the realness of intergenerational worship.

We are hoping these spaces feel warm and inviting to you. You are welcome and wanted in worship!

Special thanks to and for the “busy bags” for families to use during the services and for all the beautiful work they’ve done to keep our kids growing, learning and playing safely together at church!

Please note: Masks are required for kids 2 and up. Thanks for helping us keep each other healthy.