Upcoming Events
Merry Missions
Come join us for a fun, hands-on mission experience for the whole family!! This event will serve as the kick-off for our Christmas season of service. At 11:30 AM, we will eat a hot dog lunch together in the fellowship hall and then break into groups to serve by packing diapers for Nashville Diaper Connection, helping to create Hill Holiday gift bags for the students at HG Hill Middle School, or sorting collected supplies for our ministry partners.
Please RSVP by clicking here. Don’t miss this opportunity to share a meal with your church family, listen to Christmas music, serve, and make a difference!!
Aging as an Adventure with Missy Buchanan
What might happen if you changed your perspective on aging - from aging as an enemy and something to be dreaded to aging as a great adventure? As long as you have breath, you have divine purpose. Now’s the time to learn how to embrace that purpose and fill your last years with significance, even as you navigate the potholes along the way. Join author Missy Buchanan for Aging as an Adventure at Belle Meade UMC at 4:00 PM in the Chapel. Guests are welcome!
Pumpkin Fest 2024
Join Belle Meade UMC on October 27 from 4-6 PM for our annual Pumpkin Fest!! This Fall tradition features food, fellowship, and fall fun for all ages. We will have a chili cook-off, costume contests with prizes for all ages, inflatables, a train, a live band, crafts, trick or treating, and more! We have several volunteer needs to pull this awesome event off. Sign up at this link to make chili for our cookoff or serve in other ways!
Made For More Brunch
This November, our Sermon Series and Giving Campaign theme are united: Made for More! We will kick the season off with a delicious brunch on Oct 20 with two seatings, 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM. The menu includes your favorites. A brief presentation will highlight our joys and growth in finances, mission, and ministry. Our hope is that you leave challenged and inspired by the God who can do abundantly more than we could ever ask for or imagine! RSVP by clicking this link!(Click continue as guest if it prompts you to sign in)
Menu: Sausage, Egg and Cheese Casserole, Biscuits, Cheese Grits, Drinks: OJ, Coffee, & Water, Dessert: Cinnamon Rolls
Ice Cream Social
The BEST event in the world is back! Come sample 20 different flavors of homemade ice cream in this one-of-a-kind competition. Our categories are: Best All Around, Best Use of a TN Ingredient, Best Boring but Still Delicious Flavor, and People’s Choice! We'll have a bounce house, putt putt, crafts, face painting, a photo booth, and more. Want to volunteer to make this event a success? Click here to sign up! Save the date and make plans to join us as we kick off the school year in style!
Let's Taco 'Bout Church
Join us for a church-wide taco lunch at 11:30 AM on Sunday, July 21. We will have brief presentations from our administrative committees and a financial update. This mid-year review will cover how your donations have been making our mission and ministry happen! Kids are welcome. RSVP here by July 14.
Vacation Bible School (VBS)
At Belle Meade VBS, children ages 4 years (by Dec 2023) to 5th Grade (Grade completed by May 2024), will discover what it means to adventure with God in faith! On this exciting adventure, children will discover that God can use us all to do amazing things and change the world for good! Relevant music, exciting science, creative crafts, fun recreation, and memorable Bible stories will help kids know that God loves them and adventures with them. VBS will meet July 8-11 from 9am-12pm with a closing celebration, cookout, and outdoor movie night for families on July 12th at 6:30 pm. Please contact Rev. Gracie Dugan with questions at 615-352-6210 or gracie@bellemeadeumc.org.
Click here to see full details and to register and volunteer!
Pride Parade & Festival
Belle Meade UMC's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is excited to share some important Nashville community events happening in June. The Nashville Pride Festival will be held at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in downtown Nashville on June 22 and 23. The Pride Parade is free to attend and begins at 10:00 a.m. on the 22nd at 8th and Broadway. We will help other area UMCs to serve communion Saturday and Sunday. You can sign up here. If you got a t-shirt from the UMC churches last year, please wear it. If you did not get a t-shirt, free ones will be handed out at the event. Please reach out to Mary Laurens Minich at mary.laurens.minich@gmail.com if you are interested in attending as a group to cheer on those marching in the parade.
Juneteenth Celebration
Belle Meade UMC's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is excited to share some important Nashville community events happening in June. Nashville's Juneteenth celebration at Ft. Negley will be held on Wednesday, June 19. If you are interested in learning more or volunteering, please reach out to Skip Wild at pupperwild@gmail.com.
Talent Show
Calling all talented people! To wrap up our Wednesday nights together for the spring, we’ll be celebrating with a Talent Show on May 22 from 6:00-7:00 PM in Fellowship Hall. If you’d like to showcasae your gifts, email rachael@bellemeadeumc.org to be added to the list. Please keep acts limited to 2-3 minutes. Let’s celebrate the creativity and talents of our community!
Movie Night in the Fellowship Hall
Join us for a church and Children's Center movie night at the church on April 12th at 6 pm! We will gather in the church fellowship hall to watch Migration on our large movie screen! Bring your pillow, blankets, bean bags, and more to get comfy for a night of fun and fellowship! We will provide popcorn, and you are welcome to bring other snacks or drinks!
Worship Without Walls
Worship Without Walls is a church-wide event with service opportunities planned for ALL ages and ALL abilities that will take place on Sunday, April 7th between 8:30 - 12:00 pm. We will start with a brief commissioning service at 8:30 am and plan to serve following the worship service from 9:00 - 12:00 pm.
Click here to sign up for a project! For more information on how to get involved, contact Steve Stone Jr. at steve@bellemeadeumc.org or Melissa Vickroy at melissaowilson@gmail.com.
Easter Sunday
On Easter morning, we have three worship service opportunities! At 6:30, we have a beautiful communion sunrise service in the narthex of the Sanctuary. At 8:30 and 10:30, we have identical services in the Sanctuary and online featuring the Belle Meade Choir, robust hymn singing, and guest instrumentalists. Between the 8:30 and 10:30 services, we will have donuts and coffee on the front lawn for a time of fellowship! During the 8:30 and 10:30 services, nursery care will be available for children birth-3 years and children’s church will be available for kids 3 years-1st grade following the children’s message. We hope you will join us as we celebrate the power of Jesus' resurrection!
Good Friday
This Good Friday we are joining in a community worship service with six other churches. The service is organized around the 7 last words of Jesus and will feature musical, poetic, or liturgical offerings from each church in addition to preaching. Worship will begin at 6 pm at Gordon Memorial UMC at 2334 Herman St, Nashville, TN 37208 and will be livestreamed for those who want to attend virtually. There will also be a light reception and fellowship at 5:00 pm for our congregations to spend time together.
Maundy Thursday
Each Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus' last night with his disciples and participate in the very same acts they did: foot washing, communion, prayer, and singing. First, join us for dinner in the fellowship hall from 5:00-6:00 followed by a service of music, reflection, and experiential stations at 6:15 in the Sanctuary/online. This service will feature communion, optional foot washing, and a reflection on Jesus’ I AM the Vine statement. Nursery care will be available for 3 and under during the service.
Covenant School Remembrance & Linking Arms for Change
On Wednesday, March 27, we will open our Sanctuary for a day of prayer and remembrance on behalf of Covenant School. We will keep our Sanctuary open from 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Guided prayers will be provided, as well as votives for you to light. Then, we will join Voices for a Safer TN for their "Linking Arms for Change" event from 5:00 PM - 5:30PM.
Palm Sunday
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday as we enter Jerusalem with Jesus. Join us at 8:30 in the Chapel or 10:30 in the Sanctuary. We will have palms for the congregation to wave in both services as we praise our King of Kings and sing "Hosanna!" Kids are invited to join the prelude processional in the 10:30 service!
Easter Eggstravaganza
Join us on March 23rd from 10am-Noon for our annual Easter Eggstravaganza with bounce houses, the Easter bunny, an egg hunt, crafts, activities, hot dog lunch and more! Invite your friends and neighbors to join us for this morning of fun!
The schedule for the morning will be as follows:
10-11am: Inflatables, the Easter Bunny, crafts, activities, putt putt and more!
11-11:15am: Egg Hunt for All Ages
11:15am-Noon: Hot Dog Lunch
Ash Wednesday Dinner & Service
Join us for dinner anytime between 5:00-6:00 PM in Fellowship Hall. $5 for kids, $12 for adults, $30 family cap. Our Ash Wednesday Service will begin at 6:15 PM in the Sanctuary. This service begins the season of Lent, 40 days of walking closely with Jesus during his ministry, death, and resurrection. This year, our sermon series will be The Way, the Truth, The Life: The I AM Statements of Jesus.
Shrove Tuesday Celebration
Join us for our annual Shrove Tuesday Celebration on February 13th from 5:00-6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall! We will gather for pancakes, bacon, cake, fellowship, fun, a festive photo booth, crafts and king cake! You are invited to wear your purple, green and gold mardi gras best as we celebrate together! To RSVP for Shrove Tuesday dinner email michael@bellemeadeumc.org.
Here's Love Lunch for Youth and Older Adults
On Sunday, February 11th following the 10:30 service, the Youth will be hosting a free lunch in the fellowship hall for the older adults called the Here’s Love Lunch! This lunch is just a simple gesture to show our love and respect for our elders in the congregation. If you would like to attend, please RSVP no later than February 4th via email to Steve Stone Jr. at steve@bellemeadeumc.org or sign up via the hard copy sign-up list on the front desk in the education wing.
Sacred Saturday
Looking for some new spiritual practices to help you begin a new year? Come on a mini spiritual retreat here at Belle Meade! We’ll be offering monthly Saturday morning retreats for just two hours starting in January. The first mini retreat will be on Saturday, January 13 from 9 - 11 am in the Lounge. Let’s do the work of tending to our inner lives, in community! Email rachael@bellemeadeumc.org to let her know you’re coming!
Intergenerational Advent Experience
On December 13, we'll have our Intergenerational Advent Experience in the Fellowship Hall. There’ll be games, songs, and general merriment for all ages!
Sensory Santa
This sensory friendly Santa experience is specifically tailored to kids with sensory integration disorder and other special sensory needs so we will use low/natural light, no music, soft Santa voices, lots of options for how to be in the santa space, pre-scheduled visits to avoid waiting in line and a safe zone for kids who get overwhelmed and need to recenter before finishing their visit. Parents can sign up here to reserve a 15 minute Sensory Santa slot on Dec 9th between 9am-4pm. Email gracie@bellemeadeumc.org to volunteer for a shift in our sibling craft room, welcome table, and more! Your support makes this special event possible!
Christmas Merry Missions
Come join us for a fun, hands-on mission experience for the whole family!! This event will serve as the kick-off for our Christmas season of service. Following the late service, we will eat lunch together in the fellowship hall and then break into groups to serve by packing diapers for Nashville Diaper Connection or helping to create Hill Holiday gift bags for the students at HG Hill Middle School. Don’t miss this opportunity to share a meal with your church family, listen to Christmas music, serve, and make a difference!!
Advent Wreath Workshop
Join us on Saturday, December 2nd, at 10 am for our annual Advent Wreath Workshop! Using live greens, individuals and families will create an Advent Wreath for their home to assist them as they journey through the season of Advent. This wreath along with the provided devotion is a wonderful way to create sacred space in your home during this important season. A $13 donation is requested to help cover the cost of wreath supplies. Please RSVP to Pastor Gracie Dugan, gracie@bellemeadeumc.org ASAP so we can make sure to have enough supplies for everyone!
Parent/Child Retreat
Join us on Nov 18th-19th for our Parent/Child Joyfull Retreat at Camp Cedar Crest. During this weekend designed especially for parents and kids, we will offer set aside intentional space for families to connect, play, and grow together in both fun and meaningful ways. Our weekend together will consist of play, REST, family team-building activities, board games, the great outdoors, family worship, hiking, bonfires, smores, gaga ball, archery, and more! The cost for this weekend will be $50 per person and will cover food, lodging, and all activities. If cost is a barrier to participating in this experience, please reach out to Pastor Gracie. Click this link to register!
Pumpkin Fest
Join Belle Meade UMC on October 29th at 4pm for our annual Pumpkin Fest!! This Fall tradition features food, fellowship, and fall fun for all ages. We will have a chili cook-off, costume contests with prizes for all ages, inflatables, a hayride, music, crafts, trick or treating, and more! We have several volunteer needs to pull this awesome event off. Sign up at this link to make chili or serve in other ways!
Joyfull Brunch
Our sermon series and Giving Campaign theme this November will be Joyfull: A Generous and Abundant Life. You’re invited to join us in Fellowship Hall for a joy-filled brunch on Oct 22! There will be two seatings, 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM. The menu includes your southern favorites like chicken and waffles, grits, bacon, fruit, and delectable desserts. Come celebrate all the joys of 2022-2023, hear important statistical data about our current financial state, and look forward with excitement to the abundant future God has for us at Belle Meade UMC! You can RSVP to Cheryl Brown, cheryl@bellemeadeumc.org or 615.352.6210. Make sure to indicate your seating time.
Pathways to Healing: A Conversation on Moving Forward After a Mass Violence Event
Long-Term Recovery Group. To accommodate busy schedules, the same information will be discussed in all 5 sessions on Oct. 16 & 17. These sessions are best suited for adults, but at parents’ discretion, children are welcomed to attend. Come learn about typical trauma responses and timelines for adults and children, strategies for the holidays, anniversaries, and special occasions, and local resources.