[Church News]

Red Bird Mission experiencing financial shortfall
A UMNS Report by Kathy L. Gilbert

A significant decline in contributions has created a crisis that may result in the closing of the school at Red Bird Mission, according to the mission's executive director.

Red Bird is one of four mission institutions of the United Methodist Red Bird Missionary Conference. The conference is in an isolated area in the heart of Appalachia, a geographic region that stretches along the Appalachian mountain range from Mississippi to southern New York. Red Bird Mission School in Beverly, Ky., has been in existence since 1921.

For the past three years the mission has been operating with a deficit, using reserves to meet the shortfall, said Fred Haggard. The mission includes a clinic, retail operations, community outreach and a work camp.

"The cost of education takes the biggest percent of our budget," he explained, adding that the other parts of the mission are able to raise funds through their ministries but the school has no real way to raise money.



This year, the budget shortfall is $500,000. "We jumped from having a pretty bad situation to a near critical situation," Haggard said.

The mission has enough money to operate through 2007, but if no more funds are received decisions will have to be made about what to cut. "It could mean a loss of the school," he said. "Most likely it would mean cutting out part of it, probably the high school since that is the most expensive part."

Haggard noted that students and parents are upset about the possibility of closing the school.

"Red Bird School is not just a place for educational advancement, but spiritual advancement," said Jonathan Sizemore, a senior at the school. "For the past six years, I have attended chapel and devotional sessions. It has been a true blessing from God to be able to start out the academic day with a praise song, words of encouragement from the speakers and a prayer."

Denominational attention to recent disasters, such as the South Asian tsunami and Gulf Coast hurricanes, has resulted in a drop in donations to the mission, according to Haggard.

"One of the reasons we have had a decline in people coming to our work camps is because lots of groups say they sent teams to Mississippi and couldn't get enough together to come to Red Bird," he added.

He also believes the attitude of United Methodists toward mission work is changing. "Seems the more exotic and the further out they (mission projects) are, the more they want to go. People go and spend a lot of money on these mission events and they come home and feel like they have done their mission work."

Declining membership and the aging of members also are factors in declining giving to missions like Red Bird, in Haggard's opinion.

"I think we offer to this community a very unique education that is Christian and small school based," Haggard said. "In my mind it is the best thing we are doing as far as changing the future -- changing the way people in this community live."

Donations to Red Bird Mission can be made through the Advance Special #773726 and mailed to Red Bird Mission, 70 Queendale Center, Beverly KY 40913. Secure credit card donations can be make through the Red Bird Mission Web site at rbmission.org.

umc.org

[Church News]

JUDGE: METHODIST CHURCH OWNS FOUNDATION MONEY
By Karla Ward, HERALD-LEADER BUSINESS WRITER

The Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church is the rightful owner of an estimated $20 million that has been controlled for years by the Good Samaritan Foundation, Fayette Circuit Judge Gary Payne has ruled.

"We are very gratified by Judge Payne's decision, and we believe he's absolutely right," said Mark Guilfoyle, attorney for the church.

The Good Samaritan Foundation has traditionally made annual grants, primarily to organizations that provide health care to needy Kentuckians and to health education efforts. Dr. James Holsinger, chairman of the foundation board, said yesterday he expects to appeal the judge's decision to turn the funds over to the church. He said he also wants to talk with church officials about their plans for grants this year, in hopes that the church will agree to continue funding organizations that have been receiving grants. The deadline for organizations to apply is Wednesday. Guilfoyle said he could not discuss the case further until after talking with church trustees.

Last summer, another attorney -- who served as chancellor of the Kentucky Annual Conference -- said that the church planned to continue making health-related grants, but that it would probably begin putting more of the money toward Methodist-sponsored health and welfare missions, such as the Red Bird Mission in Beverly.

Among the causes that received a total of $670,000 in funding last year, with approval from the church, were the Good Samaritan Nursing Center at the University of Kentucky, the Harambee Nursing Center in Louisville, nursing scholarships at Midway College and health and dental clinics at the Nathaniel Mission. The money for the grants came from a trust created with money from the 1995 sale of Good Samaritan Hospital to Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.

When the hospital was sold, the board of the Good Samaritan Foundation put the proceeds into an endowment fund that typically awarded about $1 million a year in grants. The Methodist Church filed suit in 2000, claiming it owned the hospital at the time of the sale and should control the money. Three years later, Payne ruled that the church was the rightful owner and that the money was actually being held in trust for the church. The foundation appealed, and the appeals court sent the case back to Payne.

In Payne's final ruling on the case, signed Dec. 22, he reaffirmed his earlier decision and ordered that the trustees on the board of the Good Samaritan Foundation be replaced with a new board appointed by the church to govern the money. The current trustees on the Good Samaritan Foundation board will maintain their standing so that they can appeal the case, but they will have no authority over the money unless a higher court reverses Payne's ruling, he ordered. He also said the existing board cannot dispose of any of the foundation's assets without written approval from the church during the transition period.

The foundation has filed a motion asking the judge to change his order to allow the current trustees to pay operating expenses, which might include "legal services and all other expenses associated with the prosecution of this matter to a final and non-appealable judgement."

A hearing has been scheduled for January 19.

Read the entire article at....

[Church News]

Campbell's UPC symbols and lids for Red Bird Mission

The United Methodist Women continue to collect Campbell's UPC symbols and lids for Red Bird Mission. Brands include Campbell's, Franco-American, Pepperidge Farm, Pace, V8, Prego and Swanson.

For a complete list, visit the Red Bird Web site at rbmission.org and click on "Labels and Box Tops."

desotoexplorer.com

[Church News]

Tessie Aleson was strong supporter of Red Bird Mission

Red Bird Mission lost a strong supporter when Tessie Ann (Buchele) Aleson of Bismarck, passed from this life on March 3, 2007, at the age of 89.

Tessie Ann Buchele was born on January 22, 1918, in Butler, SD, the youngest of eight children (three of whom died in infancy). She graduated from Butler High School in 1936. Following a year at business college, she worked for Policy Holders National Life Insurance Company before heading to Western Union College in Le Mars, IA, for their two-year teacher training program, graduating in 1940. After teaching at Lester, IA, Tessie married her college sweetheart, Ardell "Al" Aleson, on June 9, 1943, at Butler, SD, a union that would endure under his death in March of 1999.

Tess Aleson was a devoted, supportive spouse of her clergy husband throughout their married life. They served together in a variety of locations, beginning with Bantry and Des Lacs, ND, in 1943, moving to Minot in 1946 where Pastor Al was founding pastor of First Evangelical United Brethren Church. During this time the family grew, with the birth of a daughter in 1944 and twin sons in 1947.

In 1949, they moved to Langdon, North Dakota, followed by a call to establish a new church in Williston, ND, in 1956. They continued their service to the church at Kindred, ND (1962-1969), First United Methodist Church in Bismarck (1969-1975), and the United Methodist parish on Enderlin/Sheldon, ND, from 1975 to formal retirement in 1983. Their "retired" life included another ten years of ministry with United Methodist churches of Wahpeton and Great Bend until fully retiring in 1993. A joy of Tessie's life during this time was a number of mission trips to the Red Bird Mission at Beverly, KY, plus overseas travels to Turkey, Germany, Switzerland, and Greece to visit Air Force family in those locations. In each community where they lived in North Dakota, Tessie often did substitute teaching as well as teaching basic piano to many students, while always involved in lay ministries of the church. Crafts and finding ways to serve others also became a focus of her time.

Following the death of her husband, Rev. A. R. Aleson, in March of 1999, Tess Aleson moved back to Valley View Heights in Bismarck where she lived until her passing.

kxmb.com

[Church News]

Trip participants work at mission

Fifty-six people from seven area churches went on the 2007 Winter Weekend Mission/Ski Trip put on by the Duncan’s Chapel & Chandler’s Chapel United Methodist Churches February 17th through the 19th. They left Auburn for Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Ky., a Methodist medical, dental and work mission in rural Appalachia.

The group worked in the housing of Red Bird Mission on Saturday. Work groups from around the country come to help at the historic Red Bird Mission, and the 56 in the Twin Chapels’ group included people from Russellville, Auburn, Adairville and Chandlers. Some also helped work in the lumberyard of the Red Bird Mission, where construction teams have served underprivileged members of the local community since 1925.

Along with spending time working, the group got to enjoy some outdoor activities. Traveling hundreds of miles from Logan County, the group saw winter at its best as a blizzard hit central West Virginia. Youth groups from churches in Orlando, Fla., Knoxville, Tenn., and Huntsville, Ala., were also skiing and tubing, learning to overcome real fear and building self-esteem in the process.

They skied and tubed at Winterplace Ski Resort in Flat Top, W.V. on Saturday. Many youth from Chandler’s Chapel worked hard to raise money for the mission trip with a spaghetti dinner on Saturday, Feb. 10. They raised $380 with donations from the Harvest, Piggly Wiggly and the Auburn Minit Mart.

newsdemocratleader.com

[Church News]

Red Bird School to remain open for next school year


Red Bird Mission School

BEVERLY - At a recent Board Meeting, members of the Red Bird Mission Board of Directors approved the plans to start and complete the 2007-2008 Red Bird Mission School year for grades K-12.

“The donations we have received to date have had a very positive effect on our current financial condition permitting us to make plans for at least the next year,” stated Fred Haggard, Executive Director. “We are very grateful for the support and concern that has been shown for our school.”

Since the announcement of the financial crisis of Red Bird Mission School in November, individuals, churches, and local businesses have been contributing to the appeal. Even with recent gifts, Red Bird Mission School is continuing to face financial uncertainty. Board members and staff are searching for major gifts to create an endowment fund that will provide stability and support for Red Bird Mission School.

Since 1921, Red Bird Mission School, located in the corner of Clay, Leslie, and Bell counties, has been providing a high-quality education for students K-12. Students pay tuition on a sliding scale based on family income making it accessible to all students. Tuition accounts for less than 2 percent of the operating costs of the School. In 2006, 71 percent of graduating seniors went on to a two or four year institution. If you would like to receive more information or to make a gift to the School please contact Red Bird Mission at [phone] or visit redbirdmission.org.

Read the entire article at....
[glow=black,2,300]MiddlesboroDailyNews.com[/glow]

[Church News]

Comments On - Spring break alternatives a 'growing trend'
University of Cincinnati spring break volunteers help out at Red Bird

By CHARLOTTE NOLAN

Jonquils and forsythia are in full bloom. Flowering pear trees are at their peak along Ball Park Road and parallel to the floodwall. Putting two and two together, it must be spring. And in the spring 'A young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,' while college students' thoughts turn from the academic to having "fun in the sun." It's called spring break.

For many years, thousands of students from colleges and universities have flocked to white sandy beaches in Florida. Fort Lauderdale was playground numero uno for many years followed by Panama City. The former finally removed its welcome mat because the riotous partying and over indulgent drinking got out of hand. There, the city fathers felt the extra cost of security and the damage to property far outweighed the student-dollars. Ft. Lauderdale went back to being a family-oriented holiday destination.

For students, when one door closed another one opened south of the border. Cancun and Acapulco in Mexico welcomed them with open arms and openness to excess. Television news programs have shown the throngs of students in bikinis on beaches and in swimming pools behaving as if they were characters in some Greek Bacchanal orgy. Anything goes. No holds barred. Alcohol, drugs, sex. Ain't we got fun?

Happily, this scenario does not apply to all college and university students on spring break. It has come to my attention that literally hundreds of them flock to the nation's capital to study in the quietness of the Library of Congress and also to New York City's Public Library.

Then, there is another very special group of students who spend their spring break on service-learning trips helping to clean up the aftermath left by natural disasters. Others volunteer as workers with Habitat for Humanity.

One of these service-learning concepts is the unique brainchild of the University of Cincinnati. Service-learning is defined as "a reflective educational experience in which students earn academic credit by participating in meaningful service activities. Service-learning experiences are designed to foster deeper understanding of course content and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility."

Civic responsibility sounds like a far cry from "individual indulgence and group irresponsibility" exhibited by others on spring break.

Two locations here in southeastern Kentucky have benefited from the University of Cincinnati spring break volunteers.

A town in Jackson County welcomed the services of 11 students who helped to repair and build homes for impoverished families. Students had previously studied some of the unique aspects of Appalachian culture and were anxious to interact first hand with the communities they had only read and heard about.

Red Bird Mission also benefited by the volunteers' assistance. Students repaired and painted buildings on campus and also some private homes in the community.

While the great beach escape may still be popular and a college student tradition, alternatives are becoming a growing trend. Overalls and work boots are gradually replacing swimsuits and flip-flops. But, that is a well-kept secret.

The National Relief Network is one of several agencies coordinating spring break trips for student volunteers who are eager to assist with cleaning up the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other disaster areas. The network reports that there are 2,000 students nation wide participating in these relief efforts this year.

Unfortunately, it is not the unselfish efforts of these student Good Samaritans who make newspaper headlines or photographic footage on television news programs. Nevertheless, they are out there and are much appreciated.

I was just wondering what the spring break beach boys and girls will answer their grandchildren when asked, "Grandma, Papaw, what did YOU do during spring break when you were in college?"

Read the entire article at....
HarlanDaily.com

[Local News]

Eastern Kentucky School Struggling Financially
Heather Haley, wymtnews.com

An Eastern Kentucky school is struggling financially. Now staff, students, and parents are working together to keep it open past 2008. The Red Bird community has come together and formed a Save our School committee to raise money to keep the school from closing. More than 100 people showed up to the school Saturday to show their support.

"This is a really good school and it gives opportunities to a lot of people in the community and I think it should always be open," said Red Bird Student Danielle Deal.

Alle Wicker works with the Red Bird Mission and says the school is private, but the student’s tuition doesn't cover costs.

"The children do pay tuition, but it’s based on a sliding scale on their income. The average student pays $107 a year," Wicker said.

The school has less than 300 students and Wicker says they don't receive federal or state funding. Students showed their support by raising money for their school.

"The school can be nice good and wealthy because I want to stay here and keep on coming here for a very long time," said Student Terrigan Roarke.

Wicker says it costs the school nearly 2 million dollars a year to stay open.

"This school is really great. We do a lot to try and help the school out, if you guys want to help the school it'd be great and we'd really appreciate it," said Shay Roark.

Wicker says the budget is approved right now through 2008, but they need to raise a lot more money to stay open any longer. School officials say they raised nearly seven thousand dollars Saturday but they have a lot more to raise to stay open.

Read the entire story at....

[Church News]

Casey's First Mission Trip
Read the entire blog at thepreacherskid.blogspot.com

Casey had an exciting Spring Break week in Beverly Kentucky at the Red Bird United Methodist Mission, along with 27 teenagers from our youth group. We figure Casey will be going on a lot of mission trips in his life, so we thought we would start early. Packing and getting organized to take him along added an additional layer of stress to the trip packing we have done so many times, especially knowing that we were going to be out in the hills and sort of far from the mearest Target, you know? Casey and Mom traveled in the Honda among the caravan of vans so that we could do our own stops if needed or head home early if this really did not work out, but really it was just because we needed all the trunk space for his supplies.

[Church News]

Family returns from service trip to Appalachia
Read the article at hometownlife.com



The Morrow family from Northville traveled to Red Bird Mission in the Appalachian Mountains of southeastern Kentucky recently. During a weeklong service project, they built a deck and assisted a local family repair their home.

"We are unable to put a price on the service these groups provide in this area of Appalachia," said Fred Haggard, executive director of Red Bird Mission. "Over 200 volunteer groups from all over the U.S. have completed vitally needed construction projects in our community and given more than 78,000 hours of volunteer labor each year."

The Work Camp program at Red Bird Mission is a year-round work opportunity for volunteers in mission and service- minded groups. The program strives to provide home repair for low-income community residents in need and maintenance for Mission buildings and grounds. Much needed work such as roof replacements, small room additions, painting, and porch and ramp construction is completed on local homes in the area.

"Each year we are able to make a profound effect not only on those we serve, but on those who come to serve as well," added Haggard. "Lives are enriched through the simplest acts and by people simply helping other people."

Started in 1921, Red Bird Mission helps over 14,000 people each year in an economically distressed area of southeastern Kentucky by providing educational, health, economic opportunity, and community outreach ministries. For information about Red Bird Mission and volunteer opportunities, visit www.rbmission.org or call [phone].

[Church News]

Jonah complex began at Red Bird Mission
By ROBERT AMUNDSEN

I had a time when I had a Jonah complex. I had felt God calling me to something different than what I was doing. At the time, I was the recreation director for the largest correctional facility in Tennessee. I decided I was going to go on a mission trip to help me get back in touch with God because life working at the prison was beating me down.

Shortly before my trip, I was hired to teach at Red Bird Mission School in Clay County. I felt that God was leading me in that direction and was finally answering my prayer to get to teach. While on the mission trip to Liberia, West Africa, the bishop of the United Methodist Church there asked me to stay and pastor a church, and I informed him that I was a teacher, not a preacher.

I look back now at how God was trying to lead me in the way he wanted my life to go, but I was not ready to listen. Today, I look back and wonder why I put conditions on how I wanted God to call me.

I was reminded recently at our annual conference that life is like a circle. That is true in my case, as God brought me back full-circle to where he wanted me. The Rev. David Wilson of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of the UMC said in a sermon at our annual conference something that I had heard before but had forgotten. "The circle reminds us of the beginning and the end and what's in between is important." What are we doing in the circle of our lives that is making an important impact of the lives of others?

Robert Amundsen is the pastor of the Evarts Congregational United Methodist Church and the Wallins United Methodist Church. He can be contacted by e-mail at [e-mail]

Read the entire article at....
HarlanDaily.com

[Church News]

Bishop Lindsey Davis to lead Kentucky and Redbird Conferences


Lindsey and Jennifer Davis

Bishop G. Lindsey Davis has been assigned to serve as bishop of the Louisville Area, which includes the Kentucky Annual Conference and the Red Bird Missionary Conference.

Bishop Davis spent most of his life and ministry in Kentucky before being elected bishop in 1996. He holds degrees from Union College, University of Kentucky, and Lexington Theological Seminary. Prior to his election as bishop, he served as pastor at First UMC in Lexington, Mayo Memorial in Paintsville, and St. Luke in Lexington. From 1994 to 1996, he was district superintendent for the Lexington District. Since September 1996, he has been the Resident Bishop for the North Georgia Area.

Bishop Davis and his wife, Jennifer, have two adult children and three grandchildren.

Bishop James R. King, Jr., Kentucky’s Resident Bishop since 2000, has been assigned to the South Georgia Area.

[Church News]

New bishop hopeful for Methodist future
courier-journal.com


Lindsey Davis

Bishop G. Lindsey Davis spoke in an interview about his appointment as head of the Louisville Area of the United Methodist Church. His jurisdiction includes the Kentucky Annual Conference, covering most of the state, and the Red Bird Missionary Conference in southeastern Kentucky.

What are your goals for the Red Bird Missionary Conference (an area of southeastern Kentucky that receives financial support from the United Methodist Church)?

I need to reacquaint myself with Red Bird. I love Eastern Kentucky. My wife grew up in Pineville, Ky., not far from Red Bird. We were both educated in Union College in Eastern Kentucky. I served in Paintsville, so I have a great love for that mountain part of our state. I've been away for 12 years, so I'm not up to speed on what their issues are, but I look forward to getting reacquainted and having them catch me up on what they're doing.

What was your work experience in Kentucky?

I started as associate in First Methodist Church in Lexington, a large downtown congregation, then went to Paintsville to serve at Mayo Memorial Church, a county seat town. Then I was sent into St. Luke in Lexington, and we built that church into one of the larger congregations in the state. I served as district superintendent for two years in Lexington. And then I was elected bishop in 1996. I’ve been blessed with some wonderful places to serve -- blessed beyond anything I deserve.

How do you balance having your own views with your role as being bishop for all the Methodists in your area, regardless of whether they agree with you?

You have to be very open and transparent about who you are. We have wide diversity of thought within the United Methodist Church. I've never had any trouble being pastor to all my people. Sameness and always agreeing on every issue is not ever going to happen. We learn to love and care for one another in spite of the fact that we might have strong differences on issues. I've never served a congregation where everybody agreed with me. I think we learned to love, care and respect one another, and then we have to be honest about our differences in perspective and be good at listening to people who might have a viewpoint different from our own.

[Local News]

United Methodist Youth Lend Hand In Kentucky
By TODD VOGTS, ledgernewspaper.net

Most teenagers spend their summers working or hanging out by the pool, but not these teens. As part of a mission trip with the Moundridge United Methodist Youth Fellowship, 12 teens went with four adults to Beverly, Ky., to help the poor in the area for a week in June.

“There were 125 volunteer campers at the mission that week – two groups from Kansas, two from Indiana and one from Georgia,” said Lori Frazer, MUMYF leader. “The kids especially made a special bond with the Overland Park kids.”

Frazer said this is the first time the youth group from the Moundridge United Methodist Church went on a mission trip. This expedition saw the group go to Red Bird Mission Camp in Beverly, and while there, Frazer said, the group worked to repair anything that needed work in the community they served.

“We worked on two homes removing and installing new flooring and painting and installing trim work,” she said. “We worked at the Red Bird Mission School by scraping gum from their bleachers, power washing the concrete and the side of the building, painting the concession stand and tables and picking up garbage. And we also worked on the campus painting.”

To fund their trip, the group raised over $8,000 by working auctions, church dinners and holding other fundraising opportunities.

“Our congregation and the community really pulled through for us,” Frazer said. “One of our fundraisers was a community movie night at the church. The youth groups from Hesston UMC and McPherson UMC both showed up, along with our church congregation and people from the community. I was so impressed that those two youth groups came to help support us. I hope we can do the same for them.”

Frazer said they chose Red Bird because it was in line with what they were hoping to accomplish through their trip.

“First of all, we wanted to help a mission associated with the Methodist Church,” she said. “There were many to choose from. We chose going to Kentucky because we knew it would be geographically different than Moundridge, but also because there was a need to help the very poor. They rely on the Methodist Church volunteers to come each year to repair their homes, otherwise they would have no other means.”

Being so dependent on others did cause a few of the people receiving aid to be less than thankful.

“The people that are helped through Red Bird all apply for these services,” Frazer said.

“They are on waiting lists for months at a time. One family seemed more grateful than the other. I suspect they may take the generosity of Red Bird volunteers for granted since this mission camp has been in existence since 1921.”

The experience at Red Bird was eye opening, Frazer said.

“The sad fact in that part of the country is that they live on the land they grew up on from birth and have no means to better themselves or change their legacies,” she said. “A lot of the homes had their own family cemeteries right behind the home, next to the garden. So they are in the same home from birth to death.”

Of course, Frazer said, it was also a spiritual time for the group members.

“One of our crew leaders was a meth addict who turned to God seven years ago and became a Christian and is now telling his story to anyone who will listen,” Frazer said. “He told a group of our kids how the legacy is to have your grandpa teach your dad how to make moonshine and your dad then teaches you. He said that legacy will stop with him and his kids will not learn. He told our kids to never try drugs, not even once. It only takes one time to get addicted, and it isn’t worth it. That message alone was worth the trip to Kentucky.”

That wasn’t the only anecdote the group took to heart, though.

“Another message we heard was from the director of the camp himself,” Frazer said. “He told us about the power of prayer. When he was a teen, his brother accidentally shot him while hunting. He should not have been alive, let alone walking. After being told he’d never walk again, he now is in his 50s and walks with a limp. You can never give up hope on someone.”

One participant, Autumn Blaylock, was moved to tears when discussing God with an autistic boy, Frazer said.

Frazer said she too had a unique experience when she doubted the importance of the work she was doing while painting latticework, but then that evening the camp director specifically mentioned the work she had done.

“At that point I realized we had made at least one person happy that day,” she said. “I was ashamed that I had felt my job wasn’t worthy. We never know how a small gesture may affect someone else.”

The group worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Two of the seven days were reserved for travel, so the Wednesday of the week was the group’s day off. On their day off, the group visited the city park in Barbourville, Ky., to enjoy the swimming facilities. They ate lunch in Cumberland Gap, Tenn., and heard live music from a band with a singer from Council Grove. The group also hiked to Pinnacle Point were participants were able to stand in Kentucky and Virginia at the same time.

“That area of the country is extremely beautiful,” Frazer said. “Every night the kids could play basketball, volleyball or horseshoes.”

Every morning the group woke up by 7 a.m. for devotions and breakfast. They received their work assignments and took a sack lunch to work until 4:30 p.m. The 11 females out of the 16-strong group would work out a shower order before joining the males for dinner and devotions. Curfew was at 10 p.m. with lights out by 11 p.m.

Frazer said the living quarters were tight. She said 16 members shared a cabin that was divided in half, with the five guys on one side and the 11 girls on the other. The group slept in bunk beds, Frazer said. Overall, the group had a positive experience on its first mission trip.

“We had an awesome time on this trip,” Frazer said. “We have a great group of kids and just the road trip and sharing our cabins really got us to know these kids better. They all worked really hard and everyone got along. I think next year it would be nice to stay closer to home and not have the huge expense but still get the same satisfaction.”

If others wish to get involved with the youth group, Frazer said the group meets from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Sunday night, and she said it is worth it.

“The biggest benefit was to get us all out of our comfort zones, to show us how easy we have it here and to appreciate all the little things God gives us on a daily basis,” Frazer said. “We can really take things for granted as we sit in our air-conditioned houses and go to our good-paying jobs everyday.”

[Church News]

Blueberry Festival funds going to Red Bird Dental Lab
By Carol Anders, Staff Writer thepilotnews.com



Volunteers in the not-for-profit booths at the Blueberry Festival were extremely busy on Saturday as well as all of the holiday weekend. Pastor Jim Irwin of the Pretty Lake Trinity United Methodist Church is known for his generous donation of time and effort to help the citizens of Plymouth. So when he contracted a summer cold, it was very difficult for him to not be in the midst of selling the church’s famous blueberry cobbler. He was, however, thrilled with the number of customers who were buying at the church’s booth.

Irwin said, “It’s going so well. We are giving out bigger servings this year and people are telling others to come and get some.”

They began each morning during the festival serving biscuits and gravy to the crowd and volunteers from other booths. Irwin said, “Most of the cobbler was made by Susan Brooks. She just loves to bake.”

This year’s proceeds will be given to help the work of the Red Bird Mission Dental Lab in Beverly, Ky.

[Church News]

griendeau.blogspot.com
Memories of Red Bird Mission



It has been exactly one year since we left Red Bird Mission and returned to our Hoosier home. The anniversary fills my mind with memories of the people and places that inhabited that year. In some ways our mountain experiences were parenthetical in our lives, brief and intransigent. In other ways they were so integral to our lives that we cannot imagine our be-ing without them. My journal is necessarily incomplete; after all, one cannot write of every experience nor share every picture, person, or place that touched us. It struck me that I had forgotten some painful moments of the journey and thus did not include them. Moments like being robbed soon after our arrival, of aching loneliness for family and friends, for the deep sense of isolation caused by closely hemmed mountains and forests, for the pain of accusations from the community while Red Bird struggled for its footing, for the need to sometimes leave the mountains in order to breathe freely again. But the human soul is so flexible and the journey so wonderful that these moments gave way to remarkable peace and to deep gratitude for the privilege that we knew was ours. We may have left little mark on the mountains, but they left a big mark on us.

Red Bird has changed in the last year. Drs. Lynn and Sharon Fogleman saw their last patients at the Clinic on Friday, July 29. They will be leaving for Africa in early 2012 to bring health services to the community of Yei in South Sudan. Contracting the Clinic services provided a structure that allows them to leave as another physician steps in to continue care in a seamless manner; I feel good that this can happen so smoothly. Dr. Lamar Keiser, long-time dentist, retired at the end of June. He continues to come to Red Bird two days a week from his home in Danville to provide patient care. The Mission continues to recruit a dentist to fill his shoes chairside. The dental lab sits rather quiet and remains an opportunity as yet unfulfilled. The School continues in its K-12 format with a greatly reduced budget; music remains an integral part of student life there. All other services remain in place as Red Bird continues to regain its financial footing and looks for ways to continue meeting human needs. The mountains remain unmoved, mists still roll in and dissolve again along their edges, the elk roam freely, people still live and love in the shadows of the Daniel Boone. The Red Bird River still springs from its limestone bed and moves inexorably to the Kentucky River and the great waters beyond. The circle of life seems little changed, but for one brief moment we stepped into another stream and made a tiny ripple.

For more information about the work at Red Bird Mission visit their website at www.rbmission.org. Better yet, go for a visit. Best of all, stay for a while and roll up your sleeves. You might notice a tiny ripple.

griendeau.blogspot.com/2011/08/epilogue_07.html

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[Church News]

Churches across the nation show support for Red Bird



In Pitman New Jersey Pitman’s United Methodist Men held a fund raising breakfast Saturday morning (September 24) and a Red Bird Mission craft fair featuring some homemade crafts and furniture from Kentucky. Proceeds from the breakfast, held in the Pitman United Methodist Church, Broadway and Lambs Road, benefit Red Bird Mission.

www.thepitmantoday.com/2011/09/breakfast-buffet-this-saturday-at-pumc

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The twelve member Red Bird Mission organization from a First United Methodist Church in Bridgeton finishes a repairs to Nancy Asher’s home in Beverly, Kentucky. The organization trafficked to a Appalachian Mountains in Aug to correct and share with a a homeowner. Pictured are a members of a team. From left are: Cindy Hepner, organization personality Lee Hepner, Jeannie Burlew, organisation personality on site Roy Burlew, United Methodist Church pastor Betty Mitchell, homeowner Nancy Asher, Kelly Vazquez, Carlos Vazquez, Annie Vazquez, Larry Andrews, Sally Andrews, Josh Vazquez, Karen Gassler, and Nancy Asher’s hermit Willis Asher.

www.curtainsforkitchen.com/serving-the-lord-in-beverly-ky

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[In The News]

Salina Journal
Lynn and Susan Fogleman will be going to the Sudan on a mission
By GORDON D. FIEDLER JR.



Lynn and Susan Fogleman will be going to the Sudan to do missionary work. (photo by Tom Dorsey/Salina Journal)

Lynn Fogleman was a medical school freshman at the University of Kansas when a senior in his Bible study group suggested he might enjoy a two-week medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic. He eventually signed up for the trip and found a calling. He also found a wife. Sharon Fogleman was in medical school at the University of Iowa and just happened to be on the same trip. She had been persuaded by a church choir member, who had lived overseas, to consider working in a foreign country.

Flash forward a few decades, and Lynn and Sharon Fogleman are preparing for a five-year stint in South Sudan, their second trip overseas -- third if counting their serendipitous Caribbean meeting. The United Methodist family physicians will be in Africa's newest country practicing medicine and teaching medical procedures to the Sudanese in the hope that the local health workers will pass on the basic health knowledge to villagers.

They were in Salina briefly this past week speaking to groups in hopes of raising enough money to be able to go to South Sudan after the first of the year. Most recently, the physician pair practiced medicine for 14 years at Red Bird Clinic in Beverly, Ky. Before that, they had worked at Maua Methodist Hospital in Kenya for 10 years, from 1987 to 1997.

www.salina.com/news/story/Doctor-Missionaries-FOR-MONDAY

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[Church News]

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Dentist and Teachers Needed

We are seeking a principal for Red Bird Mission School because Mr. Marcus Collett, our current principal, announced his retirement effective the end of the current school year.

Many of you also know that we cut our faculty in half in 2010 in order to continue the ministry of Red Bird Mission School. Our financial situation has stabilized but not increased to the level that allows us to rehire more teachers to critical areas of instruction. We are issuing a call for volunteer teachers to address these needs, but some paid positions may also be available for the 2012-13 academic year.

We have also been searching for a dentist to carry on the important health ministry of Red Bird Dental Clinic. Dr. Lamar Keiser graciously agreed to serve in a part-time role after his retirement at the end of June, but he cannot continue past the end of this year.

umassociation.org/2011/10/dentist-and-teachers-needed/

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[Church News]

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Jenna's Journeys: What one girl reads

This past week I got to go on my first mission trip with RHCC where we went to KY and worked with a ministry called Big Creek Missions. It was just the most wonderful group of people, and I think we got to experience some cool things together…I’m processing a lot still though, so I’m just going to share a few things I semi-blogged (in a stickies note on my computer) about while I was there......

Read more at:
jennapeyton.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/processing

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[Church News]

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Enid & Loman Young, supporters of Red Bird Mission

LOVELAND, CO - Enid Young, 92, died September 12, 2011. Loman Young, 98, died October, 7, 2011.

They were married November 22, 1941 in Frankfort. Loman and Enid were active members of Trinity United Methodist Church in Hartford City. Enid started the Migrant Ministry Day Care in Frankfort and was active in Girl Scouts directing Day Camp and established camp at Sycamore Valley. Loman was maintenance mechanic for Sinclair Oil/ARCO.

Loman supervised the construction of the Young Community Center in Nome, Alaska and Red Bird Mission School in Beverly, Kentucky.

They participated in many mission workteams with the University of Indianapolis, Kairos Carpenters, Operation Classroom (Sierra Leone & Liberia), and numerous others in Africa, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and all over the United States.

A celebration of life service for Enid and Loman Young of Loveland, CO and formerly of Hartford City will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, November 5, 2011 at Riverside United Methodist Church, 1201 N Wheeling Ave, Muncie, IN.

Visitation will begin at 12 noon before the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Operation Classroom, operationclassroom.org, Operation Classroom, P.O. Box 246, Colfax, IN 46035 or any affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.

www.thestarpress.com/article/20111023/OBITUARIES/110230340

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[Church News]

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Shirley Eileen Chiles -- Red Bird Mission Volunteer



Shirley was born on a family farm near Conneautville, Pennsylvania to Earl and Ethelyn Wheeler on April 5, 1928. After high school she worked as a nurse’s aide until she was able to enroll in City Hospital School of Nursing, Cleveland, Ohio.

Shirley graduated in 1952 and later moved to Seattle, Washington where she worked as a Registered Nurse at the Harborview Hospital in the polio ward. She married Henry L. Chiles Jr. in 1956. She had five children, Peter, Jodine, Scot, Bret, and Jenine. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Shirley was a wonderful mother, homemaker and Methodist women’s volunteer. She was an active bowler and hiker. She served her church for many years as Financial Secretary, member of the hand-bell choir and participated in more than 20 Volunteer in Mission work teams to Haiti, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines and Redbird Kentucky.

She was very proud of the Chiles Family Volunteer in Mission team to Alaska in 2004 with 20 family members. She was honored by the women of Bothell UMC for her work in missions.

A memorial fund has been set up in her name to help nursing students. Gifts can be made to the Shirley E. Chiles Nursing Scholarship Fund at Bothell United Methodist Church.

bartonfuneral.com/2011/11/29/chiles

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[Church News]

Recipes from Red Bird Mission's Grow Appalachia Participant's



This week I have been compiling all of our Recipes from our participants, putting our lending library together, and reviewing 2012 applications. I have decided to share a couple of these recipes on this blog.

Chad Brock

Click on the following link to see the reipes:
growappalachia.blogspot.com/2011/11/recipes-from-red-bird-missions-grow.html

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[Church News]

From the Grow Appalachia Blog.....

Today I have been calling Participants and putting together thier spring fruit order and advising them to be thinking about some desease prevention methods for thier gardens such as crop rotation, pulling all dead plants and burning them and disinfecting thier tools and oiling them. I also have been researching some grant oppurtuniyies for our youth garden programs.

I also learned of an upcoming conference in Lexington,KY. that I am going to attend that I feel would be beneficial to some of our sister sites as well as our participants.

If you have any questions concerning this conference you can contact Jeff Casada @ the Cooperative Extension Office ph.#[phone]. If you would like to attend it may be possible to get transportation and some financial assitance through Red Bird Mission and Grow Appalachia. If so contact Tracy Nolan Ph. # [phone]

See the entire schedule at:
growappalachia.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-have-been-calling-participants-and.html

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[Church News]

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Karen Dial is the new Family Ministries Coordinator at Red Bird Mission



Karen Dial

The New Year brings the opportunity for renewed hope, great expectations, and the chance for a fresh start to apply lessons learned and improve our outcomes in this New Year. To help many individuals and families reach these personal goals, Red Bird Mission is pleased to announce that Karen Dial has accepted the position of Family Ministries Coordinator.

In this position, she will coordinate programs aimed at improving the health and welfare of at-risk, rural families striving to reach self-sufficiency goals. To best accomplish this, Karen will manage both agricultural projects: Grow Appalachia and Red Bird Farmer’s Project, as well as offer individuals growth though furthered education, benefit attainment, and support services.

growappalachia.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-season.html

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[Church News]

Comparing Methodist and Baptist Churches
From the blog "Letters to Ol' Kaintuck".....



My mother's family has closer ties to the Methodist church, largely as a result of the Methodist mission in eastern Kentucky, Red Bird Mission, that provided schooling and medical care for area residents. My grandmother and her siblings boarded at the Methodist school, and my grandmother later attended a Methodist college in Columbia, where she met my maternal grandfather, and where my mother was born. I've read some of my mother's ancestors were devout Methodists, but others certainly were not so much.

So here I am in Korea, attending a Methodist church, that apparently is not so different than the charismatic revival style services I've attended over the years at Baptist churches, Assembly of God churches, charismatic non-denominational churches -- sometimes out of curiosity, sometimes because that just happened to be where I was, either by faith, by family, or by females. Nonetheless, I don't get too worked up about most things among Christian churches, just so long as they are Christian. Here, the Christians, though of a different race, ethnicity, culture, and country, really are more my brothers and sisters than I would have originally imagined.

Read the entire blog at:
gregory-korea.blogspot.com/2012/01/tongues-of-angels-and-of-men.html

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[Church News]

fosters.com
The secret lives of Muriel's dresses sent to Red Bird Mission
By CONOR MAKEM



EAST ROCHESTER — A decade ago, 77-year-old Muriel Witham brought nine or 10 dresses she had sewn to her pastor, the Rev. Cynthia Nickerson. Her church, East Rochester's Bethany United Methodist Church, had a mission in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky and Pastor Nickerson wasted no time in getting the dresses sent out.

According to Pastor Jean Main, Bethany United volunteers started taking missionary trips to Kentucky around 2001, where they got to know Ronnie and Angi Hopkins. Ronnie and Angi volunteered for Red Bird Mission and they helped to distribute the dresses throughout the Appalachians.

Read the entire article at:
www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120115/GJCOMMUNITY_01/701159956

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[Church News]

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Hit The Ground Running
Chad Brock, Red Bird Mission

Monday, February 6 , David Cooke, Grow Appalachia Director, Berea College Appalachian Fund Director and Constance Dykhuizen, JP’s Peace Love Happiness Foundation Director, visited us here at Red Bird Mission. We were very excited and extremely honored in welcoming Constance, and David. Especially seeing as this was Constance’s first visit to our site. This also allowed us the opportunity to share our plans and ideals for Grow Appalachia and show them a few things we have going on here at our site. While here, David and I were talking about the warming weather which brought into mention a new, more accurate climate zoning map done by the USDA.

David shared with me a great link to these maps:

planthardiness.ars.USDA.gov/PHZNWeb/AboutWhatsNew.aspx

These new maps have a interactive option, with a map zoom feature providing information down to, and beyond, the users local zip code. Although nothing major, the zones have moved slightly north. This will not have a huge impact on our annual planting but could affect perennials, such as small fruits and fruit trees. I have read that many apple trees, for example, are often planted in the wrong zones resulting in insufficient chilling and poor ripening.

Our site has started its first round of home visits, assisting in the taking of soil samples, offering advice on proper crop rotation and if needed, help with the clearing of their garden plots. We will also be accessing the individual needs of our participants, enabling us to compile an adequate tool list and create a detailed list of the plants and seed needs to allow them to reach their goals. We are seeing great interest in our new Grow Appalachia participants this year and are seeing increased interests in the marketing of their produce.

I feel the strains of the economy have our growers looking forward to an additional source of income. We want to assist them in acquiring all the resources possible to allow them to be successful.

growappalachia.blogspot.com/2012/02/hit-ground-running-chad-brock-red-bird.html

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[Church News]

Dr. E.W. Schaeffer named to Body Recall Board
Former Medical Director at Red Bird Hospital



Body Recall is fortunate to have attracted a team of talented individuals to serve on its Board of Directors and as advisors to the organization. The board, advisors and Executive Director Jeff Rubin are working to build on the strong foundation of Body Recall and ensure that its remains vital and able to fulfill its mission of promoting lifetime fitness.

Dr. E. W. Schaeffer, M.D. (Retired) graduated from University of Illinois Medical School in 1943. He did his residency in anesthesia, then served in World War II from July 1945 until the end of the war and in Hawaii until May 1946. He served as Missionary Medical Director at Red Bird Mission Hospital (operated by the United Methodist Church in Southeastern Kentucky) from June 1946 until July 1984. He then served the Berea College Health Service from 1984 to 1994, when he retired. He and his wife Roberta raised three children and have participated in Body Recall classes since 1984.

Body Recall Inc. is a national non-profit organization founded in 1978 and headquartered in Berea, Kentucky A pioneer in designing and teaching fitness and flexibility training programs for older adults, special needs populations, and youth, we have served as a leader in advancing the cause of health, wellness, and lifetime fitness for more than 30 years.

bodyrecall.org/about/philosophy

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[Church News]

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theropeswing.greenmtn.edu
Our trip to Beverly, Kentucky

We traveled to Kentucky last year, specifically to an area right near Beverly, in a hodgepodge group. College students, high schoolers (age 14), and citizens from Poultney, Fairhaven, Wells, and Tinmouth (or their respective Methodist churches) traveled in a large limo, or van. It was pretty tiresome, we traveled for approximately a day, and arrived in beautiful Kentucky, and were happy We were split into three groups of approximately half a dozen each, and went to three different job sites. At my site, we worked on replacing a floor, ceiling, doors, and windows. The woman from this home was unemployed and her husband worked in a coal factory. She was very kind and seemed very grateful to be helped.

We got up at about 7 AM every day, ate breakfast, prayed (this was a personal decision for each person), loaded vans, arrived on the work site at around 9, ate lunch at about noon, and returned home at about 5, ate dinner, had fun with our new friends at the mission, and went to sleep early! On Wednesday some of us walked around Berea, KY, to check out the college town area. It wasn't the most exciting day of my life, needless to say. We departed on Saturday and returned on Sunday.

This year I am going again, specifically on 3/3/12. There are plenty of other college students, more than a dozen, who are going, and who have financial need. We are currently fundraising and trying to make sure that people who want to help others and get away from home for spring break have the opportunity to go. It should be awesome!

theropeswing.greenmtn.edu/blog/2012/2/21/spring-break-again-alexandra-hilliard.html

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