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| Pictured with Senators Stivers and Turner are the newly commissioned Kentucky Colonels of the United Churches of Durham; the Honorables Frederick Huntley, Pamela Huntley, Elven Riggles, David Asplund and Peter Thompson. |
by Rev. Elven Riggles
DURHAM (07/18/2012) -- On July 2nd, 2012, members of the United Churches of Durham's Annual Summer Mission Trip to Eastern Kentucky were treated to a special BBQ dinner at the Magoffin County Health Department in Salyersville, Kentucky, to mark the tenth anniversary of their mission work with LINKS (the Low Income Housing Coalition of East Kentucky). Public officials at the gathering presented the group with formal commendations for their decade of service to the area and its residents, including commissioning five leaders as Kentucky Colonels.
Just six month previous, Saylersville had been hit by a devastating tornado. The 45 members of the church’s mission trip concentrated their efforts this year on tornado relief and rebuilding.
The dinner, co-hosted by members of the Board of Directors of LINKS, including John Rosenberg, Esq., Ned Pillersdorf, Esq., and Justice Judge Janet Stumbo, as well as LINKS Director Brett Davis and LINKS Volunteer Coordinator Bertha Daniels, was also attended by Salyersville Mayor James Shepherd and Kentucky State Senators Robert Stivers (R), the Majority Floor Leader, and Johnny Ray Turner (D), the Minority Caucus Chair.
During the dinner Senators Stivers and Turner presented United Churches' Senior Deacon Tracy Morse with a special commendation from the State Legislature of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, recognizing with gratitude and appreciation the United Churches of Durham’s ten year commitment to the people of Eastern Kentucky. Commendations from the Kentucky State Legislature were also presented to the five members of the United Churches who are the founding members of the church’s mission efforts in Kentucky, and to ten-year veterans of the congregation’s annual work with LINKS.
The Senators then presented Letters Patent from Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear commissioning these five individuals as Kentucky Colonels in recognition of their service to the people of Eastern Kentucky.
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| The 45 members of the United Churches of Durham 2012 Summer Mission Trip pose in front of the Durham Building -- named in their honor -- at LINK's Bonanza, KY, Volunteer Center. |
The Rev. Elven Riggles is pastor of the United Churches of Durham, a federated congregation of the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.
