The Friday Finish – November 22, 2024
Thanksgiving Blessings Continue at Community Outreach
Family to Family pantry recipients were excited to pick up their monthly food boxes this week because there was a turkey and extra ingredients included for a Thanksgiving meal next week. Although the temperatures were above normal on pick up days, new winter coats remaining from a donation last year were distributed to those needing a coat this week in advance of the winter temps and snow that came our way on Thursday.
Red Bird Elderly Ministries put on a Thanksgiving meal at the DeWall Senior Center on the Beverly Campus Wednesday. Some brought dishes to share to add to the meal prepared by the staff. Special games were played including a Thanksgiving bingo. Memories and good times were shared after the meal.
Sharing Feeds and Provides Warmth
Partnerships with organizations like Family to Family and churches that provide new winter coats, baby supplies and food for our emergency pantries are making it possible for Red Bird Mission to meet the vast basic needs in our surrounding mountain communities. These distributions could not take place without financial partnerships, too. Red Bird depends on charitable giving to pay the utility bills for refrigeration and freezing of perishable items. It also takes financial giving to cover the full time staff that welcome and serve families with food while connecting them to other supports helping them move towards sustainability.
During this season of Thanksgiving, the opportunity to sustain the outreach of Red Bird through a gift ensures that families have a place to come for basic needs. Your giving to Red Bird now and on Giving Tuesday helps families take hold of opportunities that can move them from dependence to self-reliance which is the core of the Red Bird Mission Vision Statement – “Building healthy, sustainable communities in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky.”
Look for our schedule of Facebook Live broadcasts on Giving Tuesday, December 3rd. We’ll publish it in next week’s “Friday Finish” and on most of our Facebook pages. You can join in the giving on Giving Tuesday, or make you gift today. You can also make your gift a monthly gift to sustain us through the year.
A Taste of Winter
We’ve enjoyed a warmer than normal fall, but our first taste of winter rolled through Thursday and today. The Red Bird Christian School Civil Air Patrol Cadet Squadron didn’t let the the snowflakes stop their planned drilling on Thursday afternoon. However, RBCS and most area schools cancelled classes on Friday as more snow fell overnight and temps remained around freezing early Friday.
“Honest Abe is my favorite president”
“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” ― Abraham Lincoln
Last Friday, the Red Bird Christian School (RBCS) 3rd through 5th Grades joined the RBCS High School U.S. History students for a much anticipated field trip to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum in Harrogate, Tennessee. The museum, dedicated to the life of Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War, is an ideal destination for our Social Studies and American History students. The Abraham Lincoln Museum includes one of the largest private collections of Lincoln and Civil War artifacts in the world. The class explored several engaging exhibits and sections that provide insights into Lincoln’s life and legacy.
The “Log Walls to Marble Halls Exhibit” traces Lincoln’s life journey from his beginnings showcasing an entire pioneer village and a replica of Lincoln’s childhood cabin with various historical artifacts that reflect the lifestyle of early settlers.
Syrus Stone, a 3rd grader, said,
“The pioneer village was my favorite. I got to see an old time smokehouse and a one room schoolhouse. That was really cool. Things were so different back in those days than today.”
Bristol Smith, 5th grader and Abraham Lincoln admirer, commented after touring “Lincoln, the Constitution, and the Civil War Exhibit” highlighting the constitutional challenges faced by President Lincoln during his presidency:
“Honest Abe is my favorite president because he stood up for what’s right, no matter what. He wanted to end slavery because God says all men are created equal, and to love your neighbor. I love the museum!”
After touring a couple of the last exhibits, “The Last Days of Lincoln” showcasing Lincoln’s final months in office and “The Dr. Carroll Rose Collection” of rare Confederate weapons and medical instruments from wartime, Syrus added,
“There were so many guns! The guns were really old and used in the Civil War. That was a long time ago so these guns are ultra-rare!”
Patty Vance (4th and 5th grade teacher) said,
“Seeing students interact with artifacts about Abraham Lincoln after studying his life in the classroom is incredibly rewarding. It’s a moment when abstract lessons come alive allowing students to connect emotionally and intellectually with history in a way that lectures and textbooks can’t fully achieve.”
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