Outreach                                                 Kern Wednesday Night Dinner Blog

We Welcome All in the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord!  

Located at 451 E. Tennessee Avenue in Oak Ridge, TN 37830  Ph. 865-483-5273 or fax 865-483-0192

Visitor information: Service activities and expectations!  We are family! 

Attire:  come as you are--sweat suits or 3-piece suits!  God looks at the heart!

Worship: feel free to worship authentically as you are led.

Communion:  usually is served on the first Sunday of each month..but may be requested as needed. All are welcome to the Lord's Table.

Get Involved:  sign up for opportunities on the bulletin tear-off and place it in the offering basket.

Sunday School:  all ages at 10 am.  See greeter or  visitor welcome bag for more information.

Offering:  as the Spirit leads, guests are welcome to give (but is not expected!)

Coffee and Pastries:  help yourself to anything you see and feel free to drink during the service.

Desire a call from the Pastor:  indicate any message you desire on the red pew pad on your row along with your address and phone number, email, and time most convenient to call.

Kern has many members who have been through training programs in which listening skills and counseling skills have been developed.  These members, as well as clergy, are happy to be available to our congregation, and confidentiality is assured.  Please contact the church office to request assistance. (865-483-5273)    

Many people hear the word "Outreach" and they experience an immediate adverse reaction. To many the word is synonymous with "holier than thou" churchy people trying to get sinners into the doors of the church so they can be saved.

At Kern, our understanding of Outreach is evolving into a radically different perspective. Outreach is quite simply our efforts to enter into the broken, hurting lives of our community in order to provide a measure of healing, mercy, and compassion. We do this because of our love for the God who has entered into our broken lives and is healing them with mercy and compassion.

We are seeing that Christ's healing occurs when we provide money for food, utilities and other necessities, but especially when we allow our hearts to enter into the hurts of others through relationships and through self-giving service.

We are seeing that lives are transformed by "Outreach" like that -- the lives of those we touch, and especially the life of the congregation. As we seek to show our community the compassionate face of God, we are transformed from people consumed with our own self-interests into people increasingly desirous of partnering with God for the healing transformation of our community.

Outreach is our effort to be "God with skin on" for a watching world. Our dream is that we will do that with so much grace that people will be irresistibly drawn to the God who passionately longs for them.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY FRIDAY EVENINGS

Come and get to know some fellow strugglers.  The 12 step program with biblical comparisons is the approach used. We meet around the table at 6:30 for a snack supper.  Then worship begins.  We end the evening with classes for newcomers and group sessions.  What a great way to begin the weekend!  Come and join the family with hangups, habits and addictions who want to work at becoming whole!

Congregational Care and Celebrate Recovery

Many of the people who attend CR worship on Friday nights also worship on Sunday mornings and unless you know they are in recovery for “hurts, habits, and hang-ups”, you would be hard-pressed to tell any difference between “them and us”.  And that is exactly the point: there is no difference between them and us. We all have issues, addictions, and sin in our lives. Recognizing and embracing that common ground is the primary means by which we become a hospitable Congregation of Care for everybody. Recognizing our common ground frees us to grow together as a community capable of being honest and vulnerable and needy. It frees us to serve and sometimes to be served.

Every Friday night, about 55-90 people gather at 6:15 to experience care in the form of a hot, nourishing, delicious, home-cooked meal prepared for about $1/person and served free of charge. People gather around candle-lit tables and new friends are made each week. (Rarely do the same people sit at the same table each week.) There is a palpable sense of community. That sense extends into worship and then into share groups where people discover that they are not alone in their experiences and emotions.  Friday nights are soaked in grace.

CR on Friday nights is open to all who wish to join in the worship and fellowship.  If you have a desire to serve in this ministry, please contact Lynna through the church office or at lynnan@kernumc.org.

www.AngelFoodMinistries.com

ANGEL FOOD UPDATE:  In recent weeks, Angel Food Ministries has communicated to host sites that individuals associated with the ministry at the headquarters in Monroe, Georgia are under FBI investigation for possible financial irregularities.  Believing in the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, Kern will continue serving our community with low-cost groceries through Angel Food with assurance that this remains an excellent means to stretch food dollars and that service will continue unhampered by the investigation.  We will make every effort to be honest and transparent with you and our customers and will carefully monitor the situation as it unfolds.  Our sole motivation is to serve our community and bring honor to Jesus' name.  Please call Lynna at the church if you have questions or concerns.

Call the Church office for other info 483-5273 ask for Lynna Nicholas

To place an on-line order click here.