The Village Church Nashville
The Village Church – a non-denomnational church in Nashville
7224 Old Burkitt Rd
Antioch, TN 37013
Sunday Service 9am and 10:30am
Special Edition: Christmas Eve
Many church schedules were changed due to Christmas Eve landing on a Sunday however the Village Church offered services throughout the afternoon and evening for Christmas Eve. The church is located in a housing complex but up on a hill. It takes a little to figure it out but once there, there’s little mistake you’ve come to the right building.
Upon entry the lobby has many different stations. There is a connect station, Christmas tree, and other stations. There were plenty of areas for people to hang out in the lobby. Once in the lobby, the sanctuary is off to the side.
Inside the sanctuary there was a good amount of seating with a center screen and stage. There was plenty of seating yet plenty of walking room as well. Sound booth and stage display were to the back. Being a Christmas Eve service I wasn’t sure what format to expect but was advised it was about 1 hour long which is slightly shorter than a normal non-denomnational church in Nashville.
The service started with a Christmas worship song, scripture reading, another song, and another song – not an alternation but a full scripture reading inside of the worship set. It was a refreshing format.
The announcements followed where there were a few items to handle. There was a recap for their serving program, an advisement that giving that night would go to a charitable organization called “Harvest Hands” and a few other items including the new visitor connect card.
The main speaker spoke out of Psalm 1:1-3 and talking about how two trees existed in the bible between Genesis and Revelation. The message was short but serviceable given the format of the service and the amount of ground to cover. The next part was a bit of a surprise.
The next segment was communion. This was a bit of a surprise. There were several stations set up front for traditional communion and one in the back for non traditional (gluten free single serve) communion. I thought this was very effective and opted for the single serve. The single serve was right behind me – the volunteer allowed me to grab one without leaving my seat.
After communion, the candle light segment began where candles were lit throughout the church. Many people took photos of this amazing sight. After the candle light, the service concluded.
The Village Church, non-denomnational church in Nashville, followed what I would consider a full format that didn’t feel rushed but did seem to cover a lot of ground. There was a lot of business handled during a short amount of time but it was handled fairly smoothly with no transition issues.
Caution
There was an odd encounter during the service. I tend to take pictures like many church goers visiting a church for the first time. I have done so throughout this tour with little to no issue. Towards the end, I was asked to stop by a security officer. I did stop however I also moved to a different area of the church. The security officer followed me like I was a black shopper at Macy’s. I then changed positions and moved back where I was. The security officer followed. I also saw others were taking pictures – white parishoners. I was only able to take a photo comfortably after a white parishoner and the church’s photographer who was snapping all night – took a photo.
There was no photo taking ban or policy posted or shown. They were NOT asked to stop just me, one of only 3 non-white parishoners in the room that I could see. I did speak to the pastor and guest services. Neither seemed truly interested in my concern – even after I pointed out the room had only 2 black people in it – and as a person of color I did feel singled out and followed around like a black shopper at Macy’s. I explained to the pastor that as a first time guest visiting many churches I took photos so I could aid my memory by loging all this and decide on a church eventually. 22 churches in 21 weeks is a lot to keep track of and these blogs are primarily to help me review what I saw. No other church has had an issue at all with me or other parishoners taking photos and none of the white parishoners were followed around the church like a black shopper at Macy’s. I advised the pastor and guest services this ruined Christmas Eve for me as a first time visitor to The Village Church. I do not expect to be followed around like a black shopper at Macy’s.
I thought Guest Services might as well had a ‘whites only’ sign over it given their lack of concern. I left my contact information for a follow up. I do not recommend this church for people of color, considering how I was treated. The pastor simply said security was a third party but at the end of the day, they are a reflection of a church. I recommend this church for whites only.
