• VIRTUAL ARCHWAYS
  ...a unique interspiritual reader
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• TUESDAYS IN THE CHAPEL

WIGHTMAN CHAPEL
12:30 - 1:05
Free and Open to All

Join us in Scarritt-Bennett’s historic Wightman Chapel for an inspirational 35 minutes of preaching, scripture, prayer and music. Guest preachers from a variety of backgrounds
and faiths will lead each service.

Our Fall/Winter series will begin Sept. 14 and
run through Nov. 30.

See topic & bio below.
Please check back for more info as it becomes available.
1008 19th Ave. S., Nashville 37212 • 615.340.7500

Download flier (pdf)

GUEST PREACHERS:
(subject to change)

September 14 - Sharon Howell
September 21 - Mel Talbert
September 28 - Mike Waldrop
October 5 - Kathleen Flood
October 12 - Mike Ripski
October 19 - Rami Shapiro
October 26 - Viki Matson
November 2 - Kay Gray
November 9 - Michael Williams
November 16 - John Collett
November 23 - Buddy Mason
November 30 - Fred Allen

Sept. 14
Rev. Sharon Howell

Rev. Sharon Howell is currently President of Scarritt-Bennett Center. Previously she served as Senior Pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Lawrence, Kansas. Over the years she has also served as District Superintendent in the Kansas City and Ottawa Districts, and Council Director on Ministries in the Kansas East Conference. Rev. Howell is an Elder in the Kansas East Conference, has been a Delegate to the General Conference and the Jurisdictional Conference, and in the early 1980s was President of COSROW (the General Commission on Status and Role of Women in the United Methodist Church). Rev. Howell’s teaching experiences have included instruction at Saint Paul School of Theology, Schools of Christian Missions, United Methodist Women’s Assembly and the World Federation of Methodist Women.

In Nashville, Rev. Howell is active in the Center for Nonprofit Management, Tying Nashville Together, Immigration Rights Religious Coalition and Belmont United Methodist Church. She also serves as a field education supervisor for students working on justice projects at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

She enjoys reading and is an avid University of Kansas Jayhawks basketball fan.

Sept. 21
Melvin G. Talbert

Melvin Talbert is a native of Louisiana and grew up in Clinton, Louisiana. He is a graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge and Interdenominational Theological Center (Gammon Seminary) in Atlanta, Georgia. He was ordained deacon in the Louisiana Conference of the Central Jurisdiction in 1960 and elder in the Southern California-Arizona Conference in 1963. He served as pastor of Hamilton Methodist Church in Los Angeles for three years prior to becoming part of the conference staff and then District Superintendent of the Long Beach District.

In 1973, Talbert was elected General Secretary for the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee. He served in that capacity until he was elected bishop in 1980. He spent eight years as bishop of the Seattle Area and then twelve years as bishop of the San Francisco Area. He retired at the end of August 2000.

Talbert is known for his prophetic stands for inclusiveness and justice. He has fought long and hard to help his church and society address racism. He is committed to racial, gender and sexual orientation inclusiveness. He believes there is room at God’s Table for everyone. He is an advocate for peace with justice and is an ardent voice for the oppressed and the marginalized. He was one of fifteen bishops who took a stand at the 1996 General Conference calling on The United Methodist Church to change its stance toward gays and lesbians.

Melvin Talbert was married to Ethelou Douglas for thirty-eight years prior to her death. He has one daughter and three grandchildren. He married Marilyn Magee in 2000 and they live in Brentwood.

Sept. 28
J. Michael Waldrop

Mike Waldrop is an elder in the Tennessee Conference of the UMC. Mike’s undergraduate degree is from the United States Air Force Academy. He was a fighter pilot in the US Air Force for nine years before becoming a management consultant for Kurt Salmon Associates both in this country and internationally for nine years. He had returned to the US with his family from a two year stint in Hong Kong and Bangkok where he had just been promoted to principle, when an old call into ministry from age 19 came again during an Emmaus weekend. This time it was so powerful that it would not wait. In a life-changing move, he left KSA and entered Candler School of Theology at age 40 and was ordained into the ministry. He has been serving in the Tennessee Conference for the last 18 years and is currently serving Cross Plains UMC.

Mike loves to travel, is an avid golfer, a good cook, a wise mentor, and a life-long student. He is currently working with the lay leaders of Cross Plains UMC to build a new facility for their growing, changing congregation up in East Robertson County. Ministry in the local congregation has remained fresh and new to him. He is a pastor who loves his work and life in the congregation.

Mike just celebrated 40 years of marriage with Becky Waldrop, his high school sweetheart. They have one son, Jonathan Waldrop, who lives in Cincinnati, OH with his wife, Shelley and their three children, Nora, Bonnie and Paul.

Oct. 5
Kathleen R. Flood, OP

Kathleen R. Flood, OP. D. Min. is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. She presently serves as Director of Stillpoint, In., an ecumenical program in spiritual direction and contemplative prayer here in Nashville. Sister Kathleen is an adjunct faculty member for the Spiritual Formation Academy of the Upper Room and also serves on it's Advisory Board. She is a member of the Cathedral of the Incarnation.

Oct. 12
Mike Ripski

Oct. 19
Rabbi Rami Shapiro

Rabbi Rami Shapiro is Adjunct Director of Interspiritual Programs at Scarritt-Bennett Center. An award winning poet and essayist, his liturgical writings are used in prayer services throughout North America. Rabbi Shapiro is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, and holds doctoral degrees in both religious studies and divinity. He currently teaches Religious Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. Author of more than a dozen books, his most recent title is Recovery: the Sacred Art.

Oct. 26
Viki Matson

Rev. Viki Matson is the Director of Field Education at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Nov. 2
Kay Gray

Dr. Kay Gray is pastor of Donelson Heights United Methodist Church. She has served locally in pastoral ministry for more than 40 years, with the exception of one three-year appointment to the Conference Council office of the Tennessee Annual Conference. She is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern, Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Kay is married to Buddy DeFord, a small business owner, and her family includes six children and ten grandchildren. One of her family’s favorite annual events is a trip to the Chautauqua Institute in upstate New York, where they go for a week of diverse lectures, worship and concerts.

Nov. 23
Buddy Mason

In 1972, Buddy Mason became a member of the Louisville Annual
Conference (now Kentucky Annual Conference) of the United Methodist Church and took an early retirement in 1992. He received secondary certification in English and began teaching at Russell County High School in Russell Springs, Kentucky. He taught dual-credit classes for Campbellsville University during his last seven years, before retiring in 2009. He is married to Bonnie Johnson and between them, they have five children and five grandchildren. Buddy is Director of Volunteers at Scarritt-Bennett Center.

Nov. 30
Rev. Dr. Fred Allen

The Rev. Dr. Fred Allen is the National Director of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century and is a clergy member of the New York Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. Prior to his current position he served as the executive director of African American Initiatives and International Outreach at the United Methodist Publishing House. Dr. Allen has more than 35 years of experience as a professional minister, manager, administrator and communicator in the local church, denominational national program agencies and para-church organizations including the American Bible Society.

Dr. Allen, a native of Nashville, is married and has four children. He is a graduate of Tennessee State University, St. Paul School of Theology and received his Doctor of Ministry Degree from Drew School of Theology.