For more than 45 years, Mountain T.O.P. (Tennessee Outreach Project) has offered home repair and day camp programs to individuals and families experiencing persistent poverty in Cumberland Mountain counties. As in many rural places, fewer resources exist for older adults and community-wide issues such as food insecurity and health-related emergencies tend to overshadow older adults’ physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
A $20,000 grant from ENCORE Ministry this year helped increase services to that older population.
Memphis’ St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church received a $7,250 ENCORE Ministry grant to help renovate a storm-damaged room and make it a safe and inviting workout area for senior adults. Church member and community residents use the facility.
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 Arlington UMC received a $10,000 ENCORE Ministry grant to help renovate flood-damaged areas in the church’s lower level.
A $25,000 matching challenge grant to the Golden Cross Foundation (now known as ENCORE Ministry) in 2021, resulted in almost $77,000 for a ministry that serves older adults in the new Tennessee-Western Kentucky (TWK) Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Nashville’s Connection United Methodist Church received a $2,004 grant to help fund an elevator door restrictor that improves church safety and accessibility.
Dec. 2021 — The Golden Cross Foundation, now known as ENCORE Ministry, awarded almost $102,500 to 12 churches and organizations in 2021 for a variety of projects that benefitted older adult members. Recipients were throughout the Tennessee Conference, now part of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky (TWK) Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Several years ago, Madison Street UMC (Clarksville) member Aleeta Christian applied for a grant from the Golden Cross Foundation (GCF). Money from the $7,500 grant helped fund iPads, accessories, Wi-Fi connections, and a TV and conference tables used during training. The iPads and training were provided to 12 interested older adults in the congregation. The idea for the iPad project …
Glencliff United Methodist Church members and staff, local leaders, neighbors, and The Village at Glencliff (TVG) board members gathered July 19 for a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the grand opening of 12 micro homes — Phase 1 — on the church’s campus. Once the interiors are complete, the homes will house adults experiencing homelessness. Blending two residential models — bridge …