October 15 is a day you will not want to miss as we celebrate our commitments to the Building Bridges campaign. The entire church family will participate in a symbolic journey to the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge to express our commitment to embrace the downtown community for Christ.
Take note of the following adjustments to our regular Sunday morning schedule and plan to be present for this special day at First Baptist Nashville!
| 9:00 | Bible Study |
| 10:15 | Worship in the Sanctuary |
| 10:40 | Journey to Shelby Street Bridge |
| 11:15 | Program on the Bridge |
| 11:30 | Celebration Luncheon at the GEC |
The purpose of all the activities of this Sunday morning is to kick off our "Building Bridges" emphasis to reach the new residents of downtown with the Gospel of Christ. We believe in a church reaching its community and these folks are in our community. God has blessed us in recent years with property for parking or building which we had attempted to purchase for many years. He has helped us stay strong through some tough times and with declining attendance. We feel He has prepared us for this assignment and He expects us to do it. The greatest days of First Baptist Nashville are ahead of us. This Sunday, from the best vantage point for seeing the downtown, is our starting point to "Build Bridges" from our church to our community. It's going to be a great day!
We will go to our regular Sunday School departments at our regular time. The only change we ask is that the lesson be finished by 10:00 so that everyone can get to the sanctuary by the worship starting time of 10:15.
Be sure to wear walking shoes if you are planning to go to the bridge!
We will have an abbreviated worship time together before leaving for the bridge. Pastor Frank will dismiss us in groups based on our mode of transportation. The first group dismissed will be the ten folks riding golf carts, parents with children and those riding the buses that will load at the 7th street doors. The last group dismissed will be those who are going to walk to the bridge.
The first bus in line will go to the elevator in the parking lot under the bridge. This elevator will take ten passengers at a time to the area of the bridge above the steepest part. It is a short, nearly level, walk on up to the center of the bridge where we will have our program.
All other buses will unload near the start of the bridge. Note: it is a short walk from that unloading spot to the elevator if the lower part of the bridge looks too steep for you.
If you care to drive, there is a parking lot reserved for us under the bridge with easy access to the bridge and the elevator.
The route for walking: exit the New Entrance and go across our parking lot to Demonbreun Street, which will be blocked to traffic. Turn left on Demonbreun and stay in the left half of the street all the way to 3rd Avenue. The intersections at 6th, 5th, and 4th Avenues will be blocked to traffic. Turn left at 3rd and go ½ block to bridge.
When we all get to the center of the bridge, which we are hoping will be at 11:15, there will be a short service of dedication led by Pastor Frank. There will be 50 chairs available for some of our senior adults and parents with small children; the golf cart riders will stay on the carts. When the program concludes, we will carefully make our way down the bridge retracing our steps. We will return on the bus we came on or walk back the route we came. We will all be headed toward the Gaylord Entertainment Center where we will have lunch together in the big Rehearsal Hall.
Those walking, including the stroller pushers, will enter the GEC (arena) at the doors located at 5th and Demonbreun. There will be people there providing directions. There are a few steps down into our banquet room. Proceed in, find a place to sit, get your food and eat. Don't wait for a starting signal.
Bus riders and golf cart riders will go under the Land Port directly to the banquet room with little or no walking to the tables. The golf carts will be taken back to the church and parked because they can only operate until 12 due to the permit we have with the police.
At the end of the meal, the buses will pick up riders where they unloaded inside the GEC and go back to the church. Golf cart passengers may be picked up by their own rides inside the GEC. We will give specific directions to their drivers Sunday morning.
