Some Background. Hancock County, Tennessee, is among the ten poorest counties in the United States. For that reason, our Bishop suggested in 1989 that Sneedville, Tennessee, be chosen as a Partners in Mission project for our church.
Partnering with the Sneedville United Methodist Church, our church's first project was to send nine of our church members to Tennessee with clothing-laden cars.
From this simple beginning, our church has become a strong supporter of the Overhome Ministries of Hancock County. Each year clothing which is donated to our church's United Methodist Women's spring and fall rummage sales (but which does not sell at the rummage sale) is shipped to the clothing center in Sneedville. All sorts of clean and good quality clothing are sent, but the emphasis is on clothing for babies and school-age children and youth. The clothing center gives the clothing--free of any charge--to children and adults of the community who have been identified to be in need. (Because of the great need, the clothing center also uses some of the money it receives to give each child who visits it three pairs of new underwear and socks for the school year.)
Other Involvement With Sneedville. Apart from clothing, the Mission Ministry and other organizations in our church support Sneedville projects throughout the year. For example, in 2004 a desperate need was made known to us. A community in the Sneedville area had only one source of water, a well that provided contaminated water and had been condemned, but was still in use. Our Missions Ministry, through its Partners in Mission (PIM) fund provided a water filtration system that insured that the community could have clean, uncontaminated water.
Youth Participation. In 2005 and 2006 our Children's, Youth and Family Ministries have organized youth work teams to go from our church to the Jubilee Center in Sneedville. The Jubilee Center is a meeting place for Sneedville youth. The Center has dances, Bible study, and other activities; it is a safe place for teens to be. Each Friday the Center packs and distributes supplies of food to help students who need it through the weekend. The Center also hosts work camps for high school students. At those camps, students help to improve and maintain Center facilities and private houses nearby. Our youth work teams have helped to sort and distribute clothing received by the clothing center; deliver food and milk; and paint, clean, improve, and maintain the Center and nearby houses.
Some Photos from the 2006 Youth Trip.
Below: One of the improvement projects was to design and construct some signs for the Youth Center.
Below: Working on part of the sign shown above.
(Worker is unidentified, but could it be Jan Mistele?)
Below: Putting the sign in place.
Below: Carl Gladstone helps raise another of their signs.
Below: Some of the youth in front of that sign.
Below: Recreation included cards, games, puzzles, skits, eating, and exploring a nearby trail.
Below: Getting some food supplies ready for delivery.
