Music on the Hill
Music on the Hill is a free community concert series hosted by Saint David’s. This outdoor concert is set in the hills of West Meade, and people of all ages are welcome. Each concert features three artists, with styles that highlight a broad and diverse range of music found only in Nashville. Check out the lineup for our upcoming concert, and mark your calendar to attend. We look forward to seeing you!
Parents’ Night Out
Parents’ Night Out (PNO) is a centralized babysitting service offered by the St. David’s community for the St. David’s parishioners and the surrounding community. We provide an evening childcare alternative for parishioners. Help the church grow by creating trusting relationships with those in our neighborhood who would enjoy being part of our community.
The event is offered the first Saturday night of each month from 6:00-9:00. Interested parties must make reservations at least 24 hours prior to the event.
Daughters of the King
The Mary and Martha Bethany chapter of The Daughters of the King (DOK) is a Lay Order for women who are communicants of the Episcopal Church, churches in communion with the Episcopal Church, or churches in the historic Episcopate.
Our mission is to extend Christ’s Kingdom through prayer, service and evangelism. Saint David’s has an active Order of 15 Daughters who meet at 9:30 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month in Sanders Hall. While they conduct some business, they spend the majority of their time praying for those on the prayer list and those in need of special intention. They encourage and welcome all women to visit with them and become members.
KIVA.org
Kiva loans money to groups and individuals throughout the world. Working through field partners in the United States and other countries, Kiva.Org provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs to start businesses and become self-sufficient through micro-loans. Those wishing to help with loans are asked to donate $25. When the designated money for a particular loan has been raised, the individual or group receives the money and repays the loan in full by a designated time. The money is then reinvested.
At present Saint David's has made nearly 650 loans in at least 87 countries, including the United States. Loans have assisted businesses dedicated to farming, retail sales, livestock, transportation and construction. Parishioners often make gifts to this ministry to honor friends or family.
Laymen’s Conference
Since 1947, the Episcopal Churchmen of Tennessee have been gathering en masse at DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee. Touted as the largest conference of its type in all of The Episcopal Church (and possibly the Anglican Communion), the Laymen’s Conference draws men from all three dioceses within the borders of the state of Tennessee. Designed to build community through worship and social experiences, the conference features two to three speakers every year who reflect on faith and service. While Saint David’s is among the churches who bring the most participants each year, the number one reflection we hear from anyone who attends is the astonishing sound of hundreds of men singing hymns. If the speakers, the famous fish fry and barbeque cook offs, the campfire conversations after Compline, or the general socializing don’t draw you, singing loud from the heart with a host of deep voices may do the trick!
Men of Saint David’s
The Men of Saint David’s are a quiet, active bunch. Meeting on the fourth Thursday of each month year round, all men, including children and youth, are invited to join the group for dinner, conversation, planning, and sometimes a workshop. The “Men’s Group” has helped support the infrastructure of Saint David’s by recently revamping the playground to make it safer and prettier. They have helped individuals move, driven folks to the doctor, and taken soup to those who need some TLC. With generous hearts, they also gift all the women and girls at Saint David’s by hosting a very special Mother’s Day brunch, complete with flowers for each girl or woman, chef’s hats and linen tablecloths.
Prayer Shawl Ministry
This ministry began at Saint David’s more than 10 years ago, inspired by the original group from Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1998. The group works informally, knitting or crocheting shawls with intentional prayer for those in need of comfort and solace.
Several times a year the shawls are gathered for a special blessing as well as for parishioner prayers as they walk to the altar rail to receive the Eucharist. Blessed shawls are given to individuals in time of illness, need or crisis, to enfold the recipient in love, prayer and support. Many have written to us with reflections on how much the thoughtfulness meant to them and how the shawl physically and spiritually supported them.
Room In The Inn
For nearly three decades, Saint David’s has supported the Room in the Inn program. For those who are involved, Room in the Inn has been rewarding because of the up-close and personal work done with the men they serve.
Room in the Inn provides meals, shelter, and community to homeless men in the Nashville area during the colder months of the year. Saint David’s rotates with several local churches and hosts the event every second Saturday from November to March. Our team provides dinner, breakfast, toiletries and clothes on occasion.
Opportunities to help include bringing dinner and breakfast items, donating toiletries for give-away bags, setting up and taking down tables, chairs and beds, picking up and dropping off our guests, clean-up, etc.
The mission of Room in the Inn is “to emphasize the scriptural ideals of love and community through services to the homeless and to provide faithful people of Nashville an opportunity to respond directly to the broken and disenfranchised among us. This fellowship with the poor is at the heart of our purpose.”
St. Luke’s Community House
St. Luke’s was founded in 1913 as The West Nashville Clinic by the Daughters of the King, an order of the Episcopal Church. Because of St. Luke’s origin and mission, Saint David’s has a special relationship with the organization. Many of our parishioners volunteer and we support where we can. Volunteers also help at St. Luke’s This ’n That Thrift Shop, where donations provide a source of affordable goods for working families, seniors and children.
Sunday Morning Breakfast
The Breakfast Guild serves a delicious breakfast every Sunday between Rally Day in September through the Day of Pentecost, which is typically in May or early June. Breakfast begins at 8:45 a.m. and people usually linger over the coffee we get from a local roaster of organic, fair trade coffee beans. Throughout the year, there are about five parish potlucks that punctuate holidays, such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Breakfast is usually $5 per person or $15 for a family, but when you visit us, please be our guest. Proceeds from these popular meals go into a designated account called the “kitchen fund,” which helps cover costs associated with the operation of the kitchen and expenses the Breakfast Guild incurs. (Postponed during the Pandemic)
Sunday Night Live
The second Sunday of each month from September through May, Saint David’s hosts a speaker series focused on the Nashville community. We invite guests who will help our parish and community understand the needs of Nashville with the goal of practicing civil discourse and understanding our own implicit bias. Guests have included Tennessean Opinion and Engagement Editor David Plazas, former Mayor David Briley, Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway and Juvenile Court Clerk Lonnell Matthews, former Mayor Karl Dean, former YWCA CEO Pat Shea, President of Rethink Public Strategies Brenda Gadd, diversity and inclusion leader Ashford Hughes, Beth Malow from Common Ground Nashville, and Tennessee Justice for Neighbors.
We also feature our own talented parishioners. Participants have included musicians Jennifer and Josh McGuire, Organist/Parish Musician Stephanie Budwey, Rector Carolyn Coleman, author Owen Grimenstein, artist Daryl Wilkinson, and Elise and Will McMillan, who are active in the diverse abilities community in Nashville.
UNITED 4 HOPE
In the fall of 2020, Saint David’s was paired with Bellevue Middle School through the faith based organization United 4 Hope, an organization aiding families of school-aged children in our community. There are many ways to serve and volunteer throughout the year, from donations of food, gift cards, or cash to making grocery deliveries or serving food. If you can give of your time, treasure and/or talents to support one of these areas or want to join this planning committee, please let Lori Kuenneth know at lKuenneth@gmail.com.
Women of Saint David’s
The Women of Saint David’s get together primarily for a variety of enrichment experiences. The main goal of this ministry is to bring women together for community building and story sharing. Once, they spent the morning doing yoga. Another time they shared their favorite book titles and recommendations. Yet another time they had a story sharing night with recipe swap. They do, however, settle in for more serious conversations, including book discussions about how to be anti-racist, or a visit to the Frist Museum of Art to learn about Native American women artists.