Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church’s Best Years program has served church and community members for more than 10 years. During that time, church members applied for and received several ENCORE Ministry Foundation grants. Here’s a glimpse into the program’s start and lasting legacy.

“Our Best Years program evolved from a Bible Study program that began over 10 years ago,” said Angella Current-Felder, Project Administrator for the program. “Today, the weekly program provides 45 to 50 seniors from the church and community with opportunities for fellowship, physical fitness activities, spiritual formation, and nutritious meals. Without the ENCORE Ministry Foundation grants, Gordon would not be able to sponsor the Best Years Club with all the activities our constituents have enjoyed.”

Over the years, ENCORE Ministry Foundation grant funds enabled the church to provide small stipends to help fund student physical fitness instructors from Tennessee State University, computer trainers who teach participants how to use computer tablets, and a bus driver who takes participants on field trips.

“During the 2023 Christmas holidays we took participants to Scarritt Bennett Center for a concert by gospel artists and lunch,” said Valerie Goodman, Project Manager for the program. “They loved Scarritt and look forward to field trips.”

Grant funds also help provide snacks for continental breakfasts, boxed lunches for participants to take home, and toiletries and household items used as Bingo prizes.

Most of the program’s participants live near Gordon Memorial and many reside in area senior living facilities and are transported to Gordon via the church’s bus and driver.

“Our experiences with the 2-hour program have affirmed the need for seniors to have opportunities to get out of their homes,” said Goodman. “It provides them with opportunities to interact with their peers, establish relationships, and receive everyday essential items such as toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, and hand sanitizer in the form of Bingo prizes.

“Several years ago, participants requested meals to take home. We discovered that providing boxed lunches enabled them to have a meal at dinner. Today, we distribute 45 to 50 box lunches a week.”

Each weekly program provides a familiar structure and flow — prayer, continental breakfast, 20 minutes of exercise, Bingo, a 30-minute Bible Study session, and a closing.

“In June 2024, one of our program’s weekly participants invited Gordon Memorial members to the launching of a senior citizens program at Pleasant Green Baptist Church on Jefferson Street —just a few blocks from Gordon,” said Current-Felder. “Modeling their program after ours, participants meet on the first Saturday of the month. They were so excited to show us how they replicated everything after our program. That’s a great measurement of the impact of our program on the community.”

Participant Jean Chrismon said, “Best Years is something I look forward to every Wednesday. I especially enjoy bonding with the other ladies, studying the Word during Bible study, and receiving the boxed lunch that usually becomes my dinner that day.”

Thanks in part to grant funding from ENCORE Ministry Foundation, this long-standing and successful program is one that enables Gordon Memorial UMC to carry out its mission and vision of making disciples for Jesus Christ.

Sydney Van Atta is a marketing/communications consultant who resides in Brentwood, Tennessee.