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Post by Local News on Aug 29, 2007 16:39:46 GMT -5
Rev. Ronald Gene Thomas Obituary Strong Supporter of Red Bird Mission The Rev. Ronald Gene Thomas, 66, of Hope passed away unexpectedly at 1:51 a.m. Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at Columbus Regional Hospital. The Rev. Thomas was pastor at Hope United Methodist Church. He was a clergy member in the Southern Indiana Conference, a First Responder for Hope Volunteer Fire Department and had taken numerous mission trips. Memorial contributions may be made to Redbird Mission School, 70 Queendale Center, Beverly, KY 40912. Survivors include his wife; daughters, Kim (Jeff) Finnerty of Carbon, Karen (John) Barker of Morristown and Kelly Jones of London, Ky.; grandchildren, Dylan, Allison and Madelyn Finnerty, Zane and Kaitlyn Barker, Carrie, Thomas and Elijah Jones; brothers and sisters, Sharon (Larry) Hostetler of Wilkinson, Anita Pugh of Brazil, Dee Thomas of Lafayette, Kyler (Brenda) Thomas of Plainfield and Debbie (Rick) James of Brazil. He was preceded in death by his parents. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.normanfuneralhome.net. dotherightthing-cyberpastor.blogspot.com
Civil War - In Song & StoryBY THE LOCHIEL CAVALRY December 24th.–The weather had been very fair and beautiful, except this last day, which was rainy and cold, and we marched out in the rain for Goose creek, near its junction with the Red Bird fork of Kentucky river. Halting in the meadow an hour to give the horses a bite of hay (the first they had for four days, and about all they ever got on the march), we were joined by the Seventh Ohio Cavalry–240 men–from Winchester, Ky., under command of Major Reany. The whole force now numbered 1,000 men, and was under command of Brig. Gen. Carter, having on his staff Col. Carter, Col. Walker, Col. Garrett, Capt. Watkins, Capt. M’Nish, Capt. Easley and others, all acting as aids, assistants, or guides. We now ascertained we were sent to burn the bridges on the East Tennessee railroad, and were expected to foot it half the way over the successive steep and rugged mountain ranges of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, and recommended to cheerfully endure all the hardships and place ourselves on half rations to begin with.
Red Bird Missiontwobecomeone-crumc.blogspot.comThis is a follow-up to Jason's email re: a possible new class mission. This is also something I have 1st hand experience in. I went to Red Bird 2 years in a row with our college Wesley Foundation mission trip. Red Bird Mission, founded in 1921, a non-profit agency located in the Appalachian mountains of Southeastern Kentucky, empowers individuals and advocated justice by providing educational, health, and community outreach ministries to area low-income residents. Red Bird Mission School serves 265 students in grades K-12 and centers on developing the full potential of its students in a Christian atmosphere. The school is operated independently by the Mission and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. Red Bird Mission School provides quality education to students of the Red Bird area regardless of their ability to pay. A licensed primary care center and rural health clinic serves area patients five days a week with a staff of resident health care providers. Patients benefit from a modern outpatient medical clinic with laboratory, x-ray, and a contract pharmacy service on the premises. The Dental Clinic offers a variety of dental services. The clinic provides complete services for approximately 3,000 patient visits each year. The Craft Marketing Program provides economic opportunity for craftspersons within an sixty-mile radius of the Mission. The Craft Program purchases the crafts directly from the artisan and then markets them locally and throughout the United States. The Community Store is able to sell good, used clothing and household items at low prices to residents thanks to generous donations from individuals, churches, and organizations. In addition to meeting the clothing needs for people in the area, the store aides the local economy by providing eleven full-time jobs for community residents. In cooperation with the Community Outreach ministries, furniture, clothing, and household times are made available for people in crisis due to fire, floods, and personal situations. Our ministries are funded through a combination of donations and internally generated revenue. Because of individuals and churches giving to us faithfully each year, we are able to continue ministry in Southeastern Kentucky. You can go to their website to see a complete list of needs under Donations (it's much too long to post)....and of course to learn more about what Red Bird Mission is all about! www.rbmission.org
Red Bird Mission Work Campwriteslikeshetalks.comHere’s info on the Red Bird Mission Work Camp that I went to during my Spring Break in Appalachia experiences, done through GU, when I was a junior and senior. Wow - I have similar pictures but now you can see that mountaintops are partly reclaimed - when I was there, they were just stripped, grey mud. In fact, last week, I met someone at the AAPC conference who was intimately familiar with Red Bird because he lives in KY and is very involved with his Methodist church. I even think Governor Strickland was involved or knows of Red Bird - but I’ve never gotten confirmation of that (he did some work in the Methodist ministries in KY too at some point). Anyway - I wish you could still hear me describe for the radio show, State of Belief, what I said about my life-altering revelation during a Methodist service one day while in Red Bird (the post for that specific show is here). But it appears that the archives only go back to a few weeks after my recording. I ended up on the program because one of its producers at the time was Alex Goldmark who has a graduate degree in public policy from GU and he somehow wound up on my blog and contacted me about having been a Jew at Georgetown and would I talk about that. And I did. Alex does a lot of neat stories for Marketplace so you might recognize his name. Very cool guy. Anyway - it was just your typical, Jewish girl goes into the Appalachian hollers with ten Catholics and a Methodist Mission story. If you’ve heard one, you’ve heard ‘em all.
Redbird Mission Trip a Great Successmillcreekvalleyhfh.org On the weekend of october 13 Dan Dallmer took a group of 14 college students from UC and Xavier down to Frakes, Kentucky to the Red Bird Mission. The trip was their second service trip this fall, and took place during semester breaks at both schools. While they were there, they roofed the 10,000 square foot roof of the Community gym. The gym is in use nearly every weekend with community events, and is “essential to the work of the Mission.” To accomplish their task, Dan’s group used shingles donated by Owens Corning Corporation. He will be taking 15-20 UC students back down to the Mission the weekend of November 10.
Rory's Ramblesrorysrambles.blogspot.comIt reminded me (don't ask me why my brain makes these connections) of the time we were going to put in an air conditioner in the Beech Creek church just outside of Manchester KY and part of the Red Bird Missionary conference where I served for three years. The air conditioning guy took some measurements, did some calculations, trying to decide if we needed a three ton sized unit or a 2 1/2 ton unit and so on..Then he wanted to know what kind of church this was. I didn't know what difference that would make? I told him United Methodist. He had heard of us. Then he said we could get by with a 21/2 ton unit because we don't make as much heat when we worship as the pentecostal and holiness churches do. If we were like them, he said, we would need a bigger air conditioning unit..Ok, he had us pegged. We United Methodists don't exactly work up a sweat and make a lot of heat when we worship. And for the most part, we don't have to worry about a lot of spiritual fire problems. Enough said.
Cherokee Tearcherokeetear.blogspot.comDNA has proven that our Aaron Brock is not the one descended from Rueben Brock of England, but was Red Bird a Chickamaugan, a Chief. He married Susan Carolina a full blood Cherokee from the Carolinas. Beside my great +3-grandmother, he also married Henrietta Bolling, a Powhatan descendant of Pocahontas.I am sure their families have merged over the years, but in my case, it was my grandparents Delia Brice and William Matt Asher. My mother, Velva Asher was born at Redbird, in Bell County, Kentucky and moved to Knox County at age 10. I remember visiting Uncle Clinton Brice in Redbird as a child, and walking across a creek on a swinging bridge, perhaps it was the same creek my great (+4) grandfather Red Bird was…well, I will wait to explain that later. Red Bird’s village was Taluegue (a version of Telliqua in the east and Tahlequah in the west). The village, which ran along the Warrior’s Path up Goose Creek to Otter Creek and down Stinking Creek, was located near Fogertown in Clay County, Kentucky. The county lines of Clay, Bell, and Knox have changed since that time. During hunting season, Red Bird’s people would travel to the banks of Red Bird River, named for him, to hunt game, fish and gather plants for medicine and for eating. On May 23, 1791 a petition by the white people lead to a Board of War that allowed the destruction of Chickamauga villages by burning their homes and destroying their food supply, stealing their horses and burning their crops. The War Chiefs Bloody Fellow and Chuquilatague “Doublehead,” which was Red Bird’s uncle, signed the Treaty of Holston, which was a treaty of peace and friendship between the President and citizens of the U.S. and the Cherokee Nation, on July 2, 1791. However, most Cherokee did not like the Treaty and continued to fight for their homes as the white settlers continued to crossed the Cumberland Gap in droves. The Chickamauga who wanted peace and to stay in their homes adopted the white culture trying to survive. Others moved north to join the Shawnee or beyond the Mississippi and westward. Read more at cherokeetear.blogspot.com....
Red Bird Reflectionsbethquick.blogspot.comI got back Friday night from my week at Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky. This was my second trip to Red Bird - I went in 2004 with my church as well. St. Paul's has had a team going to Red Bird for fifteen or so years, and the trip is pretty well supported by the whole congregation. We run a little league concession stand all spring and summer, which mostly pays for the trip. Participants really only need to 1) work at the stand and 2) bring some spending money for the meals there and back and on the 'day off'. This makes the trip an option for everyone - the team strives not to have cost be an issue for anyone. The Fire Department at Red Bird serves ice cream once or twice a week, a dollar a scoop. The sign indicated Tuesday was an ice cream day, but apparently that was a mix-up. So about 75 of us were waiting for ice cream on Tuesday, when it became apparent no one was coming. Finally, one of the firefighters drove in, just to pick up something from the station. He had no plans of serving ice cream. But seeing so many of us there, he had pity on us, and scooped up what ice cream was already in the freezer. I think if he hadn't, there was a serious chance of a riot taking place.
Tsila's Journaltsila1777.blogspot.comDillon Asher became friends with Chief Red Bird along the Holston River when his father William Asher, who was an American soldier, was serving there. Dillon was about 14 at the time. In 1799, he built his home along the Red Bird River, in the middle of Chickamauga hunting grounds. Dillon and Red Bird had a personal treaty of peace because of their friendship and Red Bird’s people honored it. Dillon maintained the first tollgate in Pineville, Kentucky.  This is Dillion Asher's log cabin it still stands in Redbird.
Kentucky governor's racewriteslikeshetalks.blogspot.comI figure that if their gun owners can make such a ruckus in Ohio, the least we can do is link to some info on their gov race. It's odd for me to watch KY politics from NEO because my experience in KY was in Red Bird Mission in Beverly, an Eastern KY Methodist Church locale. Odd, but I guess it's a bit like the difference between how Cleveland looks if you're on Lake Erie and how it looks if you're heading North on 77.
Red Bird Petroglyph in Clay Countrymyoldkentucky.blogspot.com#89001183 on the National Register of Historic Places, is the Red Bird River Shelter Petroglyphs (15CY52) which are located in the Stinson-Rawlings Park of Manchester, Kentucky. This stone is said to display ancient text in 8 old world alphabets. Nobody is certain of its origins.
Ponderous Thoughtsstoriesandfaith.blogspot.comOn March 12, we will have the opportunity to meet a missionary family we have been supporting. Lynn and Sharon Fogleman are medical missionaries serving in the Red Bird Missionary Conference, in the Appalachian mountains in southern Kentucky. They are assigned to the Red Bird Clinic, which each year provides medical care to thousands of people who would not otherwise be able to afford it.
The Latest God Moment in Kentuckybenwitherington.blogspot.comI must admit Kentucky is a strange place to live, even for someone who comes from the nearby state of North Carolina. Kentucky is the state which still brings you snake handling churches, as a fulfillment of the so-called long ending of Mark 16 (the bit that comes after Mk. 16.8), which we now know was no part of the original text of Mark's Gospel. But that is a story for another day. To give you the flavor of some of Kentucky consider the following story told by a Methodist bishop.
The Great Cherokee Children Massacre at Ywahoo FallsA Historical Narrative by Dan Troxell  Ywahoo FallsOn Friday, August 10, 1810, the Great Cherokee Children Massacre took place at Ywahoo Falls in southeast Kentucky. The Cherokee village leaders of the Cumberland Plateau territory from Knoxville Tennessee to the Cumberland River in Kentucky were led by the northern provisional Thunderbolt District Chief, Beloved Woman/War Woman "Cornblossom", the highly honored daughter of the famous Thunderbolt War Chief Doublehead. In all the earlier campaigns of the Franklintes in the late 1700s, the blood and screams of the Cherokee children were constantly heard throughout the Cumberland Plateau territory from today's Knoxville Tennessee to the Cumberland River in southeast Kentucky to all their adjoining territories. From as far in Kentucky as present day London/Corbin and the lands within the present Daniel Boone National Forest the cries could be heard. The Lands from London to Cumberland Falls were ruled by many war leaders, among them was a great warrior and friend to Cornblossom, War Chief Red Bird called Chief Cutsuwah, descendent of the Great War Woman Cutsuwah that fell during the French and Indian War at Burnside Kentucky. Red Bird was also a close relative to Cornblossom, War Chief Peter Troxell and their descendants. The cries of Red Birds women and children echoed many times in this genocide campaign of the Franklinites to rid the area of powerful Cherokee leaders..... CLICK HERE to read the entire article
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Post by Local News on Apr 27, 2008 11:28:24 GMT -5
CONSPIRACY #109apocalypse8.blogspot.com Everyone loves a good scary story every now and then. so in the september 4, 2007 edition of the clay county times we got a good story about a local ghost story that would make your hair stand up on the back of your neck. CLICK HERE to read the story as it was published in the clay county times and who said a lady named Beth had sent it in.
Catching up with Scott Jenohuntington.news12mytown.comScott Jeno is almost as far away from his alma mater as a person can get. A member of Huntington High School’s Class of 2002, he is in the midst of 27 months of volunteer service with the Peace Corps. He’s living and working in the Cape Verde Islands, located 310 miles off the west coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. Mr. Jeno’s joining the Peace Corps isn’t as surprising as it might seem. As a teenager and later as a college student, he traveled to the Red Bird Mission and Henderson Settlement in Kentucky four different times with the United Methodist Church to renovate homes for the underprivileged. Read the entire blog at huntington.news12mytown.com.
Red Bird, Kentuckybenjaminlemenager.blogspot.comIt may not be on the map, but everyone in kentucky seems to know about it. They know where it is, what it is, and just might work there, seeing it is the third largest employer in the area! The mission, a self running work camp, spans its wings over a large part of the hills in clay county (I believe) and has several different locations. From senior centers, to county stores, food pantry to school, the Red Bird mission founded in 1921 supplies the county and surrounding areas with many of the wealth and resources it needs to survive. The mission dependes on church groups to join them and help with the upkeep of the elderly, sick, poor and needy in the area the mission reaches out to (this spans over miles and miles around the camps location), and the upkeep of the local grounds and buildings. Many brave churches have taken the challange to go and minister to the Clay county area through the misson, and on a weekly basis new church groups join the work. Our church was one of the larger groups attending, with 25 people, in 5 vehicles, 3 trailers. Our mission: to bless the Red bird group, surrounding areas, and to Glorify our God. We accomplished this through many ways, which included: building a duplex, cutting 41 heads of hair, trimming the grounds, leading worship, and much more. It was a fantastic way to show God to many of the people we came in contact with and was also a way to grow in our aweness and faith in God ourselves!
Honeymoon at Red Birdmarkiteight.blogspot.comOur honeymoon was a little different. We stayed here, at the house, the first night. We had told the boys that we would have a “sleep over” with them. They have been waiting for Jessie to stay. And we did not want them to think that we got married and were leaving them behind. We made a big pallet on the floor with blankets and sleeping bags. We made popcorn and watched “Bee Movie.” We left after church for Pine Mountain, KY. We stayed 4 days and relaxed and hiked. It’s a beautiful place, the only place I have seen to compare to Big Sur—lots of rocks, lots of fast-flowing streams. Really a beautiful place. I am not sure most people are aware of how beautiful the mountains of Kentucky are. Nerds that we are, we went to the Red Bird Mission. We saw a sign pointing the way and went. A beautiful drive over the hills and along streams, and a good look at mission in the mountains. The apples were in bloom. No orchards, just apples at every house. We tried to go back a country road. It got narrower and narrower and then we were at the back of a holler. We stopped to ask what was the quickest way back to Pineville. The lady kind of laughed and said, “If you had an ATV you could go up over the mountain into Knox County…” Clear Creek is a stream at the bottom of the mountain, fed by springs (a few of which we found). It’s a trout stream, and I wonder what luck the two guys we saw fishing had. We found waterfalls and wildlife all over the place on the trails. It was just a simple time, simply being in God’s creation. We had fires in the fireplace, a bonfire outside under the hemlocks, grilled steaks, ate wedding cake, and just had a fine time.
the thoughts of a teenage gypsymizunderstoodteenagegypsy.blogspot.comAs i will be going to Kentucky this coming weekend, camp the next weekend, and DA (district assembly) the end of that second week, i will not be able to keep this up. i will keep blogging but for about the next month my blogging will be sparatic. so plz bare with me as i am venturing out and doing new things. As this trip to Kentucky is my first time in that state, I'm sure i will be plzd with the landscape and will have plenty of pics to put on here. I will be going to a place called Red Bird Mission, it is basically a work camp where i will be working to help the ppl around the mission. Also, Teen Camp will b a first for me,although i have had the chance the past four years i have opted not to go. Through the encouragement of a couple of district friends i will be going. DA is not my first, i've been going since i was in first grade, and i will have the chance this year to be elected on to the District NYI Council, which would be awesome.  So plz pray for me as i am heading out this coming weekend, to places i have and haven't been. I'll try to write before i leave, if not look forward to pics and stuff when i get back!
The Humans are Deadwearentrobots.blogspot.com Watch the We Aren't Robots staff perform Flight of the Conchords' "The Humans are Dead" during Spring Break 2008 at the Red Bird Mission in Kentucky.
If you give a man a goat.....knoxvilletalks.comChristy Smith’s family land in Southeast Kentucky supports chickens and goats they got for free. The family has named the animals, but they are not really pets. Christy Smith explained they, “use them as meat so we don’t have to buy the high meat right now, and they help us with gas prices because they eat the grass so we don’t have to cut as much.” The community is more than 20 miles of curvy mountain roads from the closest town. There are some small convenience stores between towns, but customers pay a premium for food there. So the Red Bird Farmers Project provides free livestock, garden seeds, and training for families like the Smiths. It encourages sustainable farming in rural Bell, Leslie, and Clay counties. A key part of the program is called Pass It On. Families give away some of their goats’ offspring and also pass on their knowledge. “You get to share your information and what you’ve learned with other families and help them learn and grow,” said Smith. Expanding the resources of the project beyond the initial family participants is important to the growth of the project. “Families can come to their farm that’s already established and they can show them the pitfalls, what not to do, how to approach things and how to get off on the right foot so it’s really a community network, ” said Tracy Nolan with Red Bird Mission. She said a grant from Heifer International will support the program for three-and-a-half years. “It’s going to provide money for experts to come talk about goats and cattle and greenhouses and farmers’ markets,” said Nolan. Selling extra eggs, meat, and vegetables at farmers’ markets is a possibility for project participants. So is getting milk, cheese, and wool from the goats.
Mission accomplished, Red Bird that is.....plentytopraise.blogspot.comWe had a wonderful time in Kentucky on our mission trip. We took a group of 15 adults and youth, almost equally divided, from our church to Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky, which is in the Southeastern corner, very close to Tennessee, actually on our free day we drove from Kentucky to Tennessee to Virginia in 5 minutes...okay, just the tip of each, but that counts right? Red Bird Mission is a United Methodist Mission started in 1921 by the Brethren Church and since then has continued to provide support services to the people of the Appalachia. This area of Kentucky, Bell County, has a very high unemployment/poverty rate, the third highest in the country, due to the lose of the coal industry and people use the services of Red Bird to help them meet their daily needs. They have various services, but the main ones include, health clinic, dental clinic, community store, craft store(most items are made by local artisans), work camp(which is what we did). During our week there are approximately 120 volunteers, mainly from Methodist churches in Ohio, that came to work on community housing through the work camp experience. What we pay to participate goes toward purchasing the materials for the improvements made and of course to feed us. Our group was assigned a mobile that needed various repairs. This family had been moving their trailer to another lot, many people rent their land, when the trailer literally split in half. So they purchased another that was not in very good condition, water damage, and the roof was not in great shape. We spent four days that week making repairs and improvements. First we cool sealed the roof with some wicked smelling silver sealant. We did the underpinning around the outside of the trailer, it made it look so much nicer. Another group worked on replacing the flooring throughout the trailer with linoleum and then put up trim and thresholds where the seams met. I helped to put in a couple new windows and a door and its handles. I also worked a bit on the deck we put up out front, complete with the stairs that one of the youth boys and I finished. We also had some men from another group some help us move another deck to the back of the trailer, and put up the utility pole so they could get their power turned on. Some of the youth girls spent time digging out a trench to put the sewer pipe in.
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Post by Local News on Aug 3, 2008 12:49:36 GMT -5
28th Annual Dillion ASHER Reunionhughw36.blogspot.comDILLION ASHER & HENDRICKSON - Come join in the fellowship and fun of the 28th Annual Dillion ASHER Reunion and the Hendrickson Reunion. Friday, October 3 will be at Pine Mountain State Resort Park Lodge, Pineville KY with a 5:00 pm dinner (buffet or order from menu), followed by 6:30 Business Meeting. Saturday, October 4 will be an all-day "pot luck" picnic starting 11:00 am at the Cardinal Inn (Next to Dillion Asher's Homestead) in Queendale, KY. Please bring covered dish. Entertainment will be the "Asher Jammers" (professionally known as "Mixt Company") featuring Virginia "Monkey" Halcomb Blood and ensemble. At 5:00 pm, come to the Pine Mountain State Park Lodge (Laurel/Azalea Rooms) for a genealogy exchange. On Sunday, October 5, join us at the Little Creek Cemetery, Red Bird (Beverly), KY at 11:00 am for a memorial service, Honoring Deceased Descendants, presided by Rev. Ted Collett and featuring: "Soldiers of the Cross" (Larry & Debbie Green, Adrian and Wes Mason). At 2:00 pm, come to the First Presbyterian Church, USA, Fellowship Hall, Kentucky Avenue, Pineville, KY for the HENDRICKSON Reunion. Updated 2008 editions of all Asher, Collett and Hendrickson genealogy books will be available at all events. Toll free numbers for accommodations: Pine Mountain State Park in Pineville at 800-325-1712; Best Western, Barbourville at 800-528-1234; Holiday Inn Express in Middlesboro at 800-HOLIDAY. Please send your e-mail address to or (606-337-5062).
Reflections from Heidigsumc-redbird.blogspot.com Hello community of faith. We have just finished the fifth day of our trip and our second day of servanthood. Today we accomplished a ton of work. One team laid linoleum in one home while the other team finished the floorboards, and framing three walls. The first home belongs to a man moved to the area to be by family. He is extremely grateful for the help and is very friendly. He spent time talking to the team and sharing his collection of keychains from places he has visited. The second family is a little more shy but come out and watch us as we build. They are becoming more comfortable with us now and will talk for a bit. That house has ten people living there – four generations. The room we are building will be for the granddaughter and great grandson. Just a couple of random thoughts I want to share. First I know there has been a question of why would I want to take the youth clear to Kentucky when there is so much need in our own community. I have wanted the youth to see that there is not really a stereotypical poor person. They have worked in the Denver area with COFU, DENUM and URBAN PEAK seeing how poverty is closer than they thought. They have also seen world poverty through their work with World Vision. Several of the youth did hands on work on a Native American Reservation seeing how poverty is rampant throughout that community. So my goal was for the kids to see how poverty can be generational- much to my surprise I was the one who was SHOCKED at the level of poverty in this community. The Beverly area is the 5th poorest county in AMERICA. The median income is only $19000. The conditions of many homes in the area are complete disarray with windows missing, doors hanging on hinges, mold growing up walls, holes in siding that go through into the house, leaking septic tanks. The house we are working on had an area that had burned down and everything was left lying on the ground. We found broken glass, burnt clothes, toys and rotting carpet to name a few. It was completely heartbreaking. One side effect of the poverty is the absolute feeling of hopelessness by people in this community. After seeing all of this my admiration of the Red Bird Mission has grown. They do so much for the people in this community. Tonight we had the opportunity to tour the Red Bird Mission School which provides a Christian based education for children K-12. The school has 230 students 13 who live in the dormitories. It is a fully accredited school that has a 98% graduation rate and a 68% that go onto higher education. We also had the opportunity to tour the medical clinic that also serves as food bank, GED services, computer classes, preschool and dental clinic. Clients pay on a sliding scale so most services are paid by Medicare, Medicaid or grants. The work they are doing on the campus is truly the light of Christ in a darkened world. My second thought is I want you to know how awesome our team has been. The adults are truly giving of themselves with each other and the youth. The youth have been outgoing and great in meeting the youth from other states and inviting them to play basketball and football. They also volunteered to help an elderly group with dinner clean up even though they had done it the night before. All of this has been on their own without any prodding by the adults. We should all be so proud of what great kids they all are. I pray that you are all fine and I also pray that as a community we be open in our hearts and our minds to the acts of mission that are available to us so that we can keep making positive Christ driven changes in our hurting world. God Bless you all HeidiMore pictures at: picasaweb.google.com/patc303/RedbirdMissionTrip02
4 Sisters Rememberingvickiecole.wordpress.comJohn C. (Burrhead) Bowling was the son of Wright (Wainwright) and Rinda (Marinda) Barton Bowling. He was born September 1, 1861 at the foot of Strawberry Mountain in Clay County, Kentucky. (Strawberry Mountain is located on the Red Bird River just north of the mouth of Big Creek - where the parkway cuts through the mountain, after crossing the Red Bird River.) As told to Ted Bowling, as a boy, by Grandpa Burrhead. Ted is a son of Ott Bowling and Rachel Johnson Bowling, grandson of Burrhead … During the 1860’s your nearest neighbor was miles away. One day Burrhead’s mother told him to go to a neighbor’s house and get a rooster for them to eat. There were no roads and only walking paths through the woods. He walked to the neighbors and they caught a rooster. They tied it’s feet together so that it couldn’t get away if he dropped it on the way home. Burrhead said that he was about halfway home with the rooster, and it was protesting and creating a ruckus, flapping it’s wings and trying to escape. A fox came to the noise and as he was a small boy, Burrhead was afraid of the fox. He began to run with the fox close behind him. He thought the fox was trying to catch him. He said he didn’t have enough sense to know that the fox was after the rooster and not him. Another time when he was walking on that same path on which the fox had ran after him when he saw a large buck deer in front of him. The deer ran to a certain place in the path and jumped as high as it could. The deer would bring all four feet together and come straight down to land in the same place each time it jumped. The deer finally jumped away as if it had springs in it’s legs. Burrhead was amazed at the actions of the deer. When it left, he went on to where it had been jumping. He said that there in the path was one of the largest rattle snakes that he had ever seen. The deer had cut it to pieces with it’s hooves. Burrhead said that when he was a boy, pigeons migrated by the millions into Clay County, where they roosted. (The place is still called Pigeon’s Roost.) He said there were so many of them when they came to roost their weight would break the timber. People would go there at night and with clubs would kill the pigeons by the wagon loads and use them for food. More later.....
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Post by Local News on Aug 17, 2008 6:49:57 GMT -5
Legend of John C. Bowling4 Sisters RememberingThis is another writing I have from Daddy, so I will type it in as he wrote it: “John C. Bowling, born 1860, Clay County, Kentucky. In his early life, two men came to his mother’s house and mistreated her, took her clothes, quilts, and blankets outside and burned them. Later, John shot and killed these two men. To avoid arrest and prosecution he went to the woods and stayed under a cliff, a neighbor man would send food to him by his boys. Finally, he had to flee to another county, Leslie County. As he reached Leslie County, he passed the place of a man by the name of Davidson. This man had some dogs which came out on him. He shot at the dogs and the man began shooting at him and he returned the fire. No one was shot, but he was arrested and lodged in the Leslie County jail. A man by the name of Sam Morgan, who operated a logging outfit in Leslie County went his bond and got him out of jail and gave him a job working in the logwoods and running rafts of logs down the river to market at Beateville (Beattyville), KY. John (nick-named Burrhead) married one of Sam’s girls, Mary Jane, and raised a family. . . . During this time, he was appointed deputy sherriff of Leslie County. One day they received word that three notorious outlaws, Link Smith, Carr Smith, and Bill Couch, were at a square dance on the head of Short Creek. He and the high sherriff got on their horses and rode up Short Creek to within sight of the house, dismounted, and went on in on foot. When they reached the house, they entered. The [high] sherriff entered first leaving John on the long, wide porch. When the outlaws saw the law officers they drew their pistols and began to fire upon the sherriff. He drew his pistol and wounded one of them and fled the house out into the yard. John drew his pistol and stepped beside the door on the outside. Bill Sizemore ran out the door in pusuit of the sherriff. John fired at his head as he came out the door. The bullet passed through the bridge of his nose just in front of his eyes. He fell backwards in the door. Link Smith ran out the door stepping over Bill Sizemore, unaware that John was there. He ran across the porch, put one foot upon the hand rail [and] fired at the [high] sherriff who was in the yard. John fired on him from the door hitting him low down in the spine about the hips and he fell to the floor. By this time, others had joined the shootout. The [high] sherriff had fled into the darkness. John fired from the porch down the steps and went over the top of the rail fence. As he topped the fence, a man fired at him from the porch wit ha double-barrel shotgun, shooting the top rail out from under his feet. He fell into a hog pen on top of a hog.” The writing abruptly ends there, leading me to believe there was originally another page, but this is all I have. I also have a copy of his obituary. I don’t know how to scan things into the computer, but I will type it as is: Rev. John C. Bowling (Isn’t this funny . . . he went from murderer and outlaw to sherriff to Reverend) “Rev. John C. Bowling, age 86 years, passed this life on October 12, 1946, after an illness of six weeks of which three weeks he was bedfast. He died at the home of his son, Lawton Bowling, and burial was at his old homeplace on Hurricane Creek Sunday afternoon. Rev. B.P. Deaton and Rev. Bill Pennington of Wooton and the Masonic Lodge of Hyden conducted the funeral and burial services. Mr. Bowling had lived in and near Hyden the greater part of his life having been active in the ministry for many years. He leaves surviving four sons, Ottis Bowling and Roy Bowling of Hyden, Lawton Bowling of smilax, KY., Pearl Bowling of Hazard, KY., four daughters, Mrs. Joe Feltner, Mrs. George Asher, Mrs. Delmon Hensley, Mrs. Tester Gibson of Busy, KY. Also fifty-three grandchildren and twenty-four great grandchildren.”
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Post by Church News on Sept 21, 2008 7:37:38 GMT -5
Connection Pointsaldersgateyork.comI came home from Red Bird Mission feeling so blessed that I have to share with you some of the blessings and excitement. It is because of your prayers and support that I was able to enjoy this wonderful experience. You have to understand that I went on this mission trip kicking and screaming! I don’t camp, I don’t like to travel more than 4 hours by car, I don’t like bugs, I like my cell phone and my computer to be working all the times, and did I mention, I don’t camp!! As the group of 26 Aldersgate people and friends gathered on Saturday morning June 28th to leave for Beverly, Kentucky, I was feeling quite uneasy about the entire experience. We traveled about 9 hours on Saturday and then completed the journey on Sunday and I had my eyes opened as I saw the beauty and generosity of God as we traveled through the mountains, and yes, they are mountains of Kentucky. This was just the beginning of seeing God’s hand at work. On Monday morning we were divided into three groups and went to work. I was assigned to a crew that was painting the exterior of a house, replacing some linoleum and painting two ceilings. My only disappointment was that the lady who owned the home worked in Tennessee and wasn’t going to be there during the week. By Tuesday, we had accomplished a large portion of the work and I reassigned to the team that was building a duplex to be used as transitional housing. Fires are a frequent occurrence in the mobile homes that people live in and there is a need for temporary housing as people recover from their loss. It was at the duplex that I was able to see God really at work. My heart was changing and I found God using me in ways I never expected. I was able to wire the electrical panel for one of the houses (under Doug’s expert guidance) and finish the second panel as well as change some wiring that needed corrected. It was amazing for me to see how God could use me to do something so different from my usual work. The relationships that were built during the time helped to make the trip very special. Many of the people that were on the team were people that I had not yet gotten to know and that changed while we were in Kentucky. These relationships were enhanced as we worshiped around the campfire on Wednesday evening with the other teams. This was not a “planned” event, it just happened because of God’s grace and the willingness to share the gifts that people had been given. Thursday evening was such a fun time sharing in the talent show that I turned to Merv and asked if we were going back next year? This surprised him greatly because as you remember, I was the one kicking and screaming only a few days earlier. As the week drew to an end and we found most of us working on the duplex, because the other jobs were complete, we experienced God’s grace and wonder once again as Merv fell off the scaffolding and was able to stand and walk on his own. It was sad to leave for home and to leave this wonderful mission work, however I know that the opportunity will be there to return again next year. I hope and pray you will join me then. Grateful to be serving with you,
Pastor Lori
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Post by Church News on Sept 25, 2008 15:37:10 GMT -5
Garden of Granger: Church’s project helps kids find mission spiritBy JUDY A. TOTTS, Religion Editor: medina-gazette.comJust behind Granger United Methodist Church, a choir of sunflowers sings above a row of tomato and pepper plants. A pumpkin vine sprawls around two orange beauties, and further down a small watermelon peeks through the broad leaves that shade it. It’s small, as gardens grow, and starting to lean a little toward autumn, but it’s been a labor of love, start to finish. Kids and dirt just naturally go together, and the 5- to 9-year-olds in Granger’s Junior Church program were no exception as they dug in, sowed, watered and hoed. Children in the summer vacation Bible school also pitched in. “We started the garden to raise the kids’ awareness that missions can be done right here,” said Molly Adams, the power behind the garden. “You don’t just send money, you can do mission work with your hands — and we have a strong mission spirit here. Each person seems to have a passion for a different mission, like collecting the back-to-school supplies for the Open M Mission in Akron, the work for the Joy Center and the Red Bird Mission (in Kentucky).” Although they’ve had the Sunday morning farmers market about five years, the garden was a first. The kids and their parents pick the vegetables and flowers to sell before and after each Sunday morning church service. Their produce is added to the surplus from other members’ gardens. The congregation donates the proceeds and any leftover vegetables to the Medina Community Services Center, where the produce is distributed to low-income families. “It didn’t cost the church anything, it was all volunteer,” Adams said, adding that Gerald Loomis, a township farmer and member of Granger UMC, plowed the plot, and one of the dads, Tom Byerly, tilled the ground. Others brought seeds and plant starts for the kids to work with. “Nobody thought the garden would take,” Adams said as she set out baskets of tomatoes and arranged cut sunflowers in a vase on the sale table in the church hall prior to the 10:45 a.m. worship Sept. 7. “It was too late, too hot, too this or that.” “Molly wouldn’t let us not do it,” said Byerly, laughing as he prepared to go into the sanctuary. But despite their reservations, the garden took off, he said. “We’ll probably expand it next year.” The following evening the group turned out in force to weed the patch and clip more sunflowers for seed. “I liked the planting best,” said Rachel Ferguson, 9, of Granger Township. “We planted a little of everything, and it was really neat.” “Everything always tastes better when it’s homegrown,” said Sheila Ferguson, Rachel’s mom, as they crossed the wide expanse of grass to the vegetable patch. Each family took a turn at weeding and watering throughout the summer. Even 18-month-old Matt Dean got in the act as he dragged a pail of weeds to the edge of the garden. He began to pull them out of the bucket and let them drift to the ground. His mother, Amy Dean, grinned. “You’re supposed to put them in the bucket,” she said, bending down to help him. While the adults cut sunflowers and pointed out which tomatoes were ripe enough for the kids to pick, the discovery of a toad brought shrieks of delight as Emilio Byerly, 8, scooped it into his open palms and carried the critter to the edge of the row. “This has been a big thing for the kids,” Tom Byerly said, watching them yank quack grass from between the rows. “They gotta dig in the dirt.” Paul Ponikvar of Hinckley Township, whose children, Brent, 8, and Tyler, 4, worked on the project, agreed. “They had a good time.” Remarkably, he said, the deer and groundhogs left the garden alone. “There’s lots of bugs, though, and I caught a toad,” Emilio said. “Do you think God blessed this garden?” Kim Byerly, Emilio’s mother, asked. The answer — a resounding, “Yes.” Totts may be reached at 330-721-4063 or religion@ohio.net.
Unique craft fairlinglestownpa.blogspot.comI’ve been to dozens of craft fairs during my married life. My wife loves to go to them in hopes of finding something unique to decorate our home, and I usually serve as her chauffeur. To me, if I've seen one craft fair, I've seen them all. But a notice crossed my desk today about one that just might go way beyond what normally is offered at local events. Check this out … Linglestown Life church will host the Red Bird Mission Appalachian Crafts Fair this Saturday, September 27, from 9 am to 2 pm. Red Bird Mission, started in 1921, serves over 14,00 residents in the Appalachian mountains of Southeastern Kentucky each year by providing educational, health, and community outreach ministries. The mission's craft program helps artisans that live within a sixty-mile radius of the mission in marketing their crafts and increasing their income.
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Post by Local News on Oct 5, 2008 20:11:36 GMT -5
Well, they finally got mebmwlt.com Trailered my '05 Yamaha R1 down from Chicago to Lexington, KY with 3 other buddy's. We like to sport ride all the good roads from mid, Kentucky down to North Carolina and hit all the curvy stuff in between. Rt 66 is an awesome little gem of a road the runs from Oneida to Straight Creek. About 45 miles of 25-35 MPH indicated corners with the odd 15 MPH hairpin every so often. We had been runing for about 150 miles that morning and were really cooking on rt 66. I was leading and passed a huge coal truck and then knifed through a tight left that opened up to a downhill short straight. As I viewed the upcoming 15MPH decreasing radius left I felt a little flutter in my gut as I noticed the 4x4 foot caked on pool of oil right at the end of the straight. I thought to myself.."stay of the brake till you pass the oil" I managed to do that and tried to brake hard and then let off and take the left. I was probably doing about 35 when the front end hit the coal dust which I couldn't see and wouldn't have mattered if I did...no more road anyway. Went down hard on my left side and slid a good 20 feet into the brush. Strange thing is even after I came to a stop I still heard that awful sound of scraping of a bike sliding on pavement.....turns out my buddy Ricky was doing a great imitation of my little get-off. Buddy number 3 saw the whole thing and decided to run wide to the left and stopped in the opposite lane...lucky for him there was no oncoming traffic. Number 4 was taking it easy and was able to stop before the oil slick. Got up and felt ok except for the shooting pains in my shoulder. Bike was damaged lightly on the top and side fairings and a slightly bent shift lever. We got both bikes out of the ditch and pointed them back North figuring our trip was over and we needed get back to the trailer that was about 3 hours away. Not sure how I managed to ride it back(Xrays the next day showed a broken collar bone). I could ride one handed ok but reaching down to clutch for starts and stops was pretty painful. (My buddy didn't go to the doc for a week and then found out he separated his shoulder). We got the bikes back on the trailer and drove home. We talked a lot about this accident. Last year a couple guys lost it in a sandy corner and the year before two others went wide in a corner. All of us have extensive sport bike experience with multiple track days and instruction. Tires are always near new and we ride in full gear. The problem it seems is you can not predict what the next corner will entail. On the track you can see them and you know it is clean. On the street.....we all agreed that you just can't run at these speeds without the very real chance of getting into an unmanageable situation. Looks we may have to slow it down a bit and save the top speeds for the track. Posted here so others may think twice on that next trip to the twisties. Ron
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Post by Local News on Oct 20, 2008 20:30:29 GMT -5
Jesus In The Hillstheruraldemocrat.typepad.comIf you really don't want to hear about Shawnee prophecy and Jesus Christ, tough. Something is lurking in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, something that may change world history. Call me a cook and fine with me, but some archaeological evidence exists possibly linking the ancient Hebrew and or Greek writing people to Appalachia. Is it just a coincidence that our history in Appalachia has been steeped in the story of ancient mysterious cultures living here in the 17th century, the so called, Melungeons. I do not buy into the modern adaptation of the Melungeon. Some leaders of the Melungeon movement went a little batty and the far fetched was the only truth to them. Most dark skinned people of, particularly Southeastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, have a Native American heritage. But strange artifacts have been discovered here and I think it gives credence to the Melungeon theories, objective Melungeon theories. The Red Bird Rock that rolled off of a mountain top in Clay County contains rock carvings that appear to be Hebrew and Ancient Greek. The First Century Christian monogram on the rock reads in Hebrew and Greek letters. It means "Jesus Christ Son of the Father." Another carving on the same rock is a Ogam rebus in the Gaelic language it means, "THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD". Another discovery of a stone extracted from a Tennessee Burial Mound contains a Hebrew phrase saying, "People of Judea". And yet another find in a West Virginia Burial Mound in 1838 uncovered a controversial stone tablet that supposedly reads "The mound raised-on-high for Tasach This tile (His) queen caused-to-be-made." The script is Iberian and the language Punic. That language was not completely understood in 1838, so try and explain that one. In 1709 French explorers found a people of fair skin to dark skin with blue eyes living in the Appalachians.The language they spoke was supposedly Elizabethan English, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess they are descendants of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. The History Chanel did a special DNA study and supposedly discovered a Payne descendant, the same Payne family that disappeared in lost colony. Most of these people are of the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina. And yet another Lost Colony family being studied is the Bennett family of Chowan North Carolina. That family could be the Bennett family that migrated to Whitley County Kentucky, they were called the Bennett's Creek Indians in the early to late 18th century. But the presence of Indian/English still does not explain the Hebrew discoveries in Appalachia. But most of those findings have been disputed. I have been told all my life that something exists in these hills that will change world history. What is that something is a mystery. Our Shawnee oral history says these mountains are sacred, some places are more sacred than others, God always finds a way to make sure these places still exists today, hopefully. But I believe a discovery is near, I believe someone will find something that will garner worldwide attention,
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Post by Church News on Dec 20, 2008 9:02:06 GMT -5
Bailing out on the Dreamland…And Returning Homenewgeography.comMy father, who was from eastern Kentucky, headed with millions of other Appalachian people for the “promised land” after the great depression. The promised land in that day consisted of cities such as Dayton, Detroit, Gary, and Cincinnati, out of which rose great factories that employed thousands on giant “campuses.” They thrived through the vigor of this transplanted workforce – uneducated like my father but full of gumption, tenacity and work ethic. My father tells of begging for a job: when turned down by Personnel, he went running, not walking, to see the foreman who put him “right to work that night.” It was in those factories that my dad and other “immigrants” found good middle-class pay…if little in the way of inspiring work. But, he and the others were not picky, as necessity was the mother of this invention. Today the world is different. Many of the workers who left for jobs in other cities are returning home to Appalachia – and not entirely by choice. Many of them are being laid off from the auto factories with little else to turn to but family and ties to “place”. This creates a new challenge to areas like Appalachia and my region, eastern Kentucky. These are no longer inevitable geographies of distress; certainly they are no more challenged that those of the former dreamscapes up north around the Great Lakes. The media will be slow to see this change. Recently CNN focused on the poorest of the poor in Clay County, Kentucky in ways that fit the media stereotype as a home to the ignorant, the racist and the sexist. They even quoted a Clay County woman who observed that “Hillary’s place was in the home.” The media is not the only group stuck on the old images. From Kennedy’s famous tour to LBJ’s announcement of the War on Poverty in 1964 from a front porch in Inez, Kentucky to John McCain’s visit during the primary, the region has proven to be an enigma to presidents and policy makers who abhorred the intractable poverty they saw there. It just wasn’t right that an America of plenty would have that “other” “third” world so resistant to the policies and dollars designed to provide transformation. CLICK HERE to read the entire blog at newgeography.com
Women's Ministries Christmas Letter 2008I remember my family's first Christmas in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. My dad was the preacher at the Bear Creek church; to make that Christmas special for the people who lived in the hills and hollers of that remote part of the Red Bird Mission, he and Mamma went to work putting together a children's pageant of the Christmas story. They found large pieces of cardboard and painted a cow, a donkey, a sheep with a curly horn, and two doves. They had discovered that the mountain children knew an old carol called "The Friendly Beasts," and planned to have the children sing it between Bible story readings. CLICK HERE to read the entire newsletter at rca.org
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Post by Church News on Mar 16, 2009 19:25:43 GMT -5
Red Bird Missionary Conference convenes in Maytommysimpson.wordpress.com United Methodists meeting in this year’s annual sessions will vote on 32 proposed constitutional amendments, many of them related to the denomination’s structure as a global body. Delegates to the 62 U.S. annual conferences and the 73 conferences in Africa, Europe and Asia will consider 23 amendments approved earlier by the 2008 United Methodist General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative body. The amendments, proposed by the Task Force on the Worldwide Nature of the Church, are for the creation of regional conferences to establish a uniform denominational structure. The legislation would make it possible to create a U.S regional conference in the future. Each annual conference would belong to a regional conference that will be able to organize into jurisdictional conferences if the amendments are passed by the 2009 annual conference sessions. The remaining nine amendments are related to church and conference membership; annual and jurisdictional conference composition, including boundaries; inclusiveness of the church; representation of newly created conferences at general, jurisdictional and central conferences; the judicial council; episcopal elections; fiduciary responsibility; and clergy participation in the election of delegates to general, jurisdictional and central conferences. The first session of 2009 conference gatherings was held in January when the Gwaten Conference of the United Methodist Church of Nigeria convened. The U.S. gatherings begin in May when the Red Bird Missionary Conference convenes May 1-2 in Big Creek, Kentucky, and will conclude June 28 with the adjournments of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference. CLICK HERE to read the entire article at tommysimpson.wordpress.com
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Post by Church News on Mar 21, 2009 22:19:49 GMT -5
ASB 2009 - Appalachiaasb2009appalachia.blogspot.comFor Spring Break, this brave group of students will be headed to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky to repair and build on behalf of a local organization. Today began with a sense of uncertainty as we realized that a 30% chance of rainfall would affect our plans to paint a local lady's wheelchair ramp. The woman, a widow, welcomed us with a warm "good morning" to start off our day's work. The air was humid and chilly as we opened our paint cans; and as we began to cover yesterday's paint job, it was obvious that the weather was not going to make today a good painting day. As we brushed away, we realized that our paint was tacky and refusing to dry. Two hours later, after covering almost the entirety of the ramp, the first drops of rain began to fall. Fortunately, the weather did not stop us from completing our first coat. We worked as a team - talking, laughing and bonding along the way. Though the rain sent us back to the Kentucky Mountain Home office, our efforts were not for naught. CLICK HERE to read the story at asb2009appalachia.blogspot.com
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So plz pray for me as i am heading out this coming weekend, to places i have and haven't been. I'll try to write before i leave, if not look forward to pics and stuff when i get back!