We all had a wonderful time at the Cumberland UMC Homecoming in our Harlan County Cluster on the weekend of Oct. 1-3, along with all the fun events of the "Swappin' Meetin'" at the college. Special thanks to Pastor Barry Leonard for inviting us to the weekend, and also to Jacqueline Coldiron and her Planning Team for all the wonderful preparation. Jacqueline served as the former Web Servant of our Corbin District Web Site (www.corbindistrictumc.org).
On our drive over, Judy and I visited Nathan Doughton at the Knox County Hospital in Barbourville, where his Dad is pastor of the Barbourville UMC. Nathan battles juvenile diabetes, and we pray for him to be well. It was good to be with Nathan, and his Dad, and Delila Miller, pastor of the Campground/Trace Branch UMC and also on staff at the Barbourville UMC. We had a good time of prayer and fellowship.
In Cumberland, we had a good visit with Mrs. Jo Hogue in the nursing home, as she recovers from a broken hip. Good time of prayer and fellowship with Jo and her husband, Buddy, and their son-in-law, Dan Midkiff.
The weekend was packed with FLOWS (Fellowship, Learning, Outreach, Worship, Service) in all the wonderful meals and worship experiences. We didn't know that Ward Wilson was such an excellent singer and guitarist, as he blessed us all on Friday evening in leading the worship service. It was a joy for me to preach on Saturday evening, and Sunday morning, and also preach at Benham UMC on Sunday morning. Judy and I greatly enjoyed staying in the Benham School House Inn, a very unique place.
 |
It was wonderful being with former Cumberland UMC Pastors, Albert Hughes, and Wayne Sparks and his wife, Carol. Great to see Betty Gamble, who grew up in the Cumberland UMC, and also, Larry Nichols, Kentucky Conference Evangelist who was preaching in revival at Lynch UMC. It was great to meet Chuck Tanner, whose late Dad had also served as pastor of Cumberland UMC. We made so many new and wonderful friends during the weekend. |
| One of the highlights of the weekend was hearing Allen Layne give his personal testimony. His late father, Harold Layne, was pastor of Cumberland UMC for 11 wonderful years (1976-1987). Allen was only 10 years old when he moved to Cumberland, and it was here that he literally grew into a "man of God". |  |
 |
On Saturday, Judy and I enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch with Greg and Becky Wingo and their sons, Aaron and Michael, at the Kingdom Come State Park and a hike up to Raven Rock. Greg is our pastor of Harlan UMC, and we have known him and Becky for over 20 years, when they were active in the Mt. Sterling UMC, where we served from 1980-1985. Wonderful memories.
God is good... all the time! |
