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Church


Noted Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber Speaks At Rachel Held Evans Funeral

Saturday, June 1, 2019 - by John Shearer
A crowd of several hundred attendees mostly filled up the the lower level of First-Cententary United Methodist Church’s nave Saturday afternoon to pay tribute to noted Christian author Rachel Held Evans of Dayton, Tenn.

Not previously announced publicly, the main sermon during the 90-minute service was delivered by the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, the best-selling Christian author and noted speaker, who gained national attention as the former pastor of the well-known church, the House for all Sinners and Saints, in Denver. 

The Colorado church has garnered attention for uniquely reaching out to everyone from the LGBT community, to those battling drug addiction and depression.

During the sermon, Ms.
Bolz-Weber, a self-proclaimed recovering drug abuser known for wearing tattoos, related while wearing blue jeans under her robe the story from the Gospel of John of Jesus appearing shortly after the Resurrection. She compared this story of Mary Magdaline meeting Jesus in the darkness to the life of Ms. Evans.

Mrs. Evans, who had made the New York Times bestseller list for “A Year of Biblical Womanhood,” had grown up in Dayton and graduated from Bryan College, but she later broke from some of the fundamentalist Christian views she had been raised on and became supportive of the LGBT community.

She died at the age of 37 on May 4 after a severe reaction to medication while being treated for a flu-like illness.

Offering eulogies during the service were her former youth pastor, the Rev. Brian Ward, and her younger sister, Amanda Held Opelt of North Carolina, who also sang a song in tribute to her while playing her acoustic guitar. 

Other musicians performing during the Requiem Eucharist service were Audrey Assad and Solveig Leithaug. Jeff Chu gave the prayers of the people, and several scriptural readings were done.

Also officiating the service along with the Rev. Bolz-Weber was the Rev. Winnie Varghese, who is a priest and staff member at the well-known Trinity Wall Street Episcopal Church in Manhattan. Rev. Varghese was the celebrant for Holy Eucharist.  

Rev. Bolz-Weber is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor.

Mrs. Evans was not connected to First-Centenary UMC, but her family chose it to have a larger and suitable venue for her funeral. A number of First-Centenary members served as greeters and communion ushers, and associate minister the Rev. Will Lauderback welcomed funeral attendees at the start.


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Church

Randall Franks Shares Music And Testimony At Oakwood Church Of God Nov. 24

Actor/entertainer Randall Franks will share music and his testimony at Oakwood Church of God of Prophecy on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m. The church is at 3927 Webb Road. For more information about the church call 240-9493. A love offering will be received. For more information about Mr. Franks, visit http://randallfranks.com/ . (click for more)

New Movie "One Nation Under God" Has Premiere At Silverdale Baptist

The movie, "One Nation Under God," had its East Coast premiere Thursday night at Silverdale Baptist Academy on the grounds of Silverdale Baptist Church. The movie is scheduled for release next year. On hand for the showing were two of the film's stars, Antonio Sabato, Jr., and Tyree Brown. Also at the event was writer and director, Lisa Arnold. (click for more)

Breaking News

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Chattanooga On List Of 42 Minor League Clubs That Could Be Severed From Majors

The Chattanooga Lookouts are on a list of 42 minor league clubs that could be severed from the majors under a sweeping new proposal from Major League Baseball. During current negotiations with the minors, the MLB is proposing to curtail the number of minor league clubs it has agreements with and reduce the number of minor league players on its payroll. Chattanooga is one of ... (click for more)

Opinion

Dog Abuse On Signal Mountain - And Response

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Send Your Opinions To Chattanoogan.com; Include Your Full Name, Address, Phone Number For Verification

We welcome your opinions at Chattanoogan.com. Email to news@chattanoogan.com . We require your real first and last name and contact information. This includes your home address and phone number. We do not post the contact information, but need it for verification. There is no word limit, but if your article is too long you may lose your reader. Please focus more on issues ... (click for more)


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