Money from an ENCORE Ministry grant was used to transform two small restrooms and an unused Sunday school classroom into an updated and accessible family restroom.

ENCORE Ministry grant helps make Beersheba Springs Assembly personal retreat lodging more accessible for older adults and guests with mobility issues.

ENCORE Ministry organizes a special Sunday offering every September, and the 2022 offering will support the Bill and Lynn McAlilly Fund for Church Accessibility. The offering traditionally is the second Sunday (September 11 this year), but church may take the offering any Sunday that is convenient. September 11 is also known secularly as Grandparents Day.

ENCORE Ministry Executive Director Kent McNish announced the Bill and Lynn McAlilly Fund for Church Accessibility at the inaugural Tennessee-Western Kentucky (TWK) Annual Conference June 15-17, 2022. During the announcement, McNish presented a check for $500,000 from ENCORE Ministry to establish the fund.

Nashville’s Connection United Methodist Church received a $2,004 grant to help fund an elevator door restrictor that improves church safety and accessibility.

Nashville’s Crievewood United Methodist Church received a $5,000 grant to help purchase equipment needed to improve online and in-person worship services. Pre-pandemic, Crievewood did not have an online worship service. When COVID shut down in-person gatherings in early 2020, church members scrambled to find a solution.

Clark United Methodist Church in McMinnville, Tennessee, received a $2,000 grant from the Golden Cross Foundation, a ministry of the Tennessee Conference of The United Methodist Church. The grant helped fund new front entrance doors. The previous wooden doors had deteriorated to the point that they were out of alignment, resulting in heat loss during the winter and difficulty opening …

Carthage (Tennessee) United Methodist Church received a $5,000 grant from the Golden Cross Foundation. The grant helped fund equipment needed to improve online and in-person worship services. Pre-pandemic, the average attendance was 200 people each Sunday. The average number of people attending in person each Sunday now is about 100, but services also are livestreamed and posted on YouTube. “Our …

Tennessee Ridge United Methodist Church received a $10,000 grant from the Golden Cross Foundation. Money from the grant was used toward repairing and resurfacing an aging parking lot to increase safety and accessibility for all who attend. Comprised primarily of older congregants, the small-membership church is on a charge with three additional churches forming the Tennessee River Charge of the …

Glencliff United Methodist Church in Nashville received a $10,000 grant from the Golden Cross Foundation, a ministry of the Tennessee Conference of The United Methodist Church. The grant funds a variety of retrofitting projects. “While our congregation is faithful and giving, many members are also aging and vulnerable,” said the Rev. Ingrid McIntyre, pastor of Glencliff UMC and executive director …