Habitat for Humanity: A happy ending, a hopeful beginning
By SANDRA STONE On Aug. 27, two ceremonies were held on Ruthie Court. The first ceremony was the dedication of the Christina Russell home. The second was a ground-breaking on the ninth Habitat for Humanity home to be built in Meade County. Mark Jones, Meade County Habitat for Humanity president, welcomed those gathered to the celebration and dedication of Russell’s home. “I’m proud to be a part of this community,” said Jones. “Look around you,” he said, gesturing to the nearly 100 people who had gathered to share in the occasion, many of whom had given their time and talents to build this home. “These people helped make it all possible, and I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.” Jones introduced the Habitat for Humanity board members which include vice president Doug Stone, secretary Bill Niederst, treasurer Martha Claycomb, immediate past president Ronnie Joyner and members Tim Gossett, Jennifer Bridge, Judy Applegate, Sharon Pace and Pat Niederst. Jones also introduced Karen Hofmann, a former board member whose efforts were legendary. Also present at the dedication were the Philip Pate family and Denise Wilson, both owners of Habitat for Humanity homes. Joyner gave a brief history of Habitat for Humanity in Meade County. It was organized in 1991 by a sister at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church who saw a need in the community. In 1992, Joyner, Gossett and Linda Whelan joined the board. Gossett and Joyner have remained on the board; Whelan is now a member of the family selection committee. The chapter built five homes in fairly quick succession before experiencing a lull in activity. Following a renewal of purpose in 2003, the Pate home (number six) was completed in late 2004. Work on the next two began in the summer of 2005, spurred on by a weeklong visit by a mission group from Ann Arbor, Mich. Of those two homes, Christina Russell’s is the seventh to be finished and dedicated with the eighth expected to be finished in the very near future. The road to the completion of Russell’s house began nearly five years ago when the family selection committee recognized the need of Russell and her two daughters, one in high school, the other in elementary school. The older daughter, Cassie, graduated from high school, and still Christina Russell waited patiently for her home, putting in her sweat equity hours on the homes of others and on her own home and working with her nurturer, Jennifer Bridge, to ensure she would be ready to take possession of her new home when that day arrived. Although the wait was long, “It’s in God’s time that you have this house,” said Bridge to a chorus of “amens.” “I’d like to thank everyone who worked on this house,” said Russell when asked to share her thoughts, “and give Ronnie Joyner a very special thank you.” Rev. Tom Bridge asked a blessing on the Russell home and presented a Bible to her as he encouraged her to delight in the Lord. With that, Russell received the key to her new home. But the party was far from over. “Today, you people are going to get a treat,” said Joyner. “You’ll get to see the end result and the beginning.” Across the cul de sac from Christina Russell’s home is the ninth Habitat for Humanity home to be built. This one will be a joint venture between Brandenburg United Methodist Church and Meade County Habitat for Humanity. “As important as we feel our mission work in the world is, we felt a leading to do something in our backyard,” said Leona Cannady, team leader of the Brandenburg United Methodist Church Habitat for Humanity team. In answer to that leading, the team approached the Meade County Habitat for Humanity chapter with the offer of a partnership in building a home. Habitat welcomed the opportunity for partnership, and it was made official Aug. 2 with the signing of contracts and the announcement of the family selected, JoAnn Miller and her two granddaughters, Angelica Miller and Brianna Rybarczyke. Before groundbreaking day, however, volunteers from both organizations had been hard at work, preparing the site, pouring footers and laying the foundation. “The way things have gone on this project, this has to be a God thing,” said Cannady, who encouraged other churches to consider such a partnership with Meade County Habitat for Humanity. Linda Wood, who has been chosen to be the family’s nurturer, was asked to come forward and introduce the family. She presented them with a remembrance of the day and joined them at the pile of dirt spiked with shovels in preparation for the ceremonial groundbreaking. Two small red shovels were provided for each of the girls, and JoAnn Miller took the place of honor behind the gold, bow-bedecked shovel in the center. Dirt was turned to a great round of applause, and it was official: it’s time to build a home. Work on the house will continue throughout the week. Members of the carpentry program at the Meade County Area Technology Center will be constructing walls, and a group will be working at the site to prepare the floor before the walls arrive. A big push will take place over the Labor Day weekend with workdays scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 2, and Monday, Sept. 4. An aggressive – but achievable – goal is to have the house framed and under roof by the end of the day Sept. 4. All volunteers are welcome. Lunch will be served both days. For more information about the BUMC/HfH project, call the church office at 422-2810.
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Photo by Sandra Stone
Photo by Sandra Stone