Finding a Church Home and Hope in Nashville

I first started coming to Edgehill United Methodist Church when I was in college at Belmont University. I used to walk from campus to the church and fell in love with its quirkiness and was inspired by the wisdom of the congregation there.

After college I moved and circumstances changed and I had stopped attending church. When I moved back to Tennessee this past year I began attending again and it amazes me how a place can continue to feel like home after years away. I’ve heard that same sentiment from other members of the congregation too, that it just feels like home. I guess the idea of a place feeling like home is that it is a constant space of safety and welcome. I think Edgehill is like that for me and for many of us. 

I wanted to start there because today things feel so broken and it feels easier than ever before to be hopeless. I think many of us are feeling hopeless, worried, overwhelmed and afraid of how these realities might impact our safety and wellbeing. I don’t have any answers and all I have been focusing on is what is within my control.

The people at Edgehill and the community there encourage me to keep going because it is a group of people who are focused on what is within their control. I feel encouraged by their dedication to joy and activism simultaneously. I have discovered so many avenues to do something that is within my control and works to make the world more reflective of the one I want to live in by being a part of this community. I have more energy to do these tasks when doing them with others and being a part of a group rather than alone. When I have tried these things on my own and feel more isolated in my efforts to make change, it’s easier to be discouraged and harder to take care of my own needs.

It can feel weird to prioritize self-care when it feels like the world outside is burning. Being a part of this community has taught me that even though it is equally important to be active in my efforts to create wider change, it is that I take care of myself and my needs. I see how people in this congregation prioritize joy and relationships, connection and health while also protecting the space they have to be active in their wider communities. 

I think being in that environment has made a big difference in my overall sense of hope and hopelessness. There is something magical that happens when you have spaces that mimic the safety and love that you are wanting for the more external world. Nothing is perfect and that is part of the magic too. Things don’t have to be perfect to incite hope and create change. Edgehill reminds me that home is a place where all you have to do is show up and try. Try to be the kind of person you want to be, treat people with respect and do the things that are within your control to create broader change.