By Sarah Kuper The annual Steeple to Steeple 5K and 10K supporting the United Methodist Children’s Home is April 21. Now in its fourth year, the event has a few changes, including a new route. Proceeds also will benefit a new program for the UMCH, a group home for autistic teenagers. The new Overton Home is a collaboration between UMCH and Glenwood Inc. The home serves … [Read more...]
‘Hard Work and Healthy Lifestyle’: Oldest Living Auburn Football Player Nick Ardillo Turns 100
By Rubin E. Grant The oldest living Auburn University football player turned 100 on Feb. 19, and how Nick Ardillo Sr., wound up on the Loveliest Village on the Plains is quite a story. Ardillo grew up on a farm in rural Amite, Louisiana, about 70 miles north of New Orleans, as one of 13 children whose parents immigrated to the United States from Sicily. Ardillo played high … [Read more...]
A Summer Well Spent: Student Ministries Spend Summer Break Serving Others at Home and Abroad
By Sarah Kuper For Over the Mountain students, summer break is the time for lake trips and summer camp. But many area teens add church-oriented service projects to that list. Internationally and locally, teens did everything from paint houses to host summer day camps for disadvantaged children. Hoover Youth Stay in State While Discovering a Whole New World Once a … [Read more...]
Virtual Is Reality: Steeple2Steeple Runners Can Support the UMCH from Virtually Anywhere
By Sarah Kuper For most, the Steeple2Steeple road race is a scenic run from Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood to Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook. But for Rick Batson, two-time board president of the United Methodist Children’s Home, the race will take place in the Smoky Mountains rather than Over the Mountain. “I’ve always helped in the … [Read more...]
Olympic Calling: Trinity Pastor to Counsel U.S. Athletes in Rio
By Lee Davis In his many years as a youth pastor, David Thompson has counseled countless young people about virtually every question imaginable. Later this month, Thompson, who works at Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood, will take his counseling skills to a new world. He will be serving as an athlete service coordinator for Team USA in the 2016 Olympic games in Rio … [Read more...]