REDWINE GRANTS
It all started with a mysterious letter

By Annette Spence

In the mid-1970s, someone with a spirited surname died and left money for local missions in the Methodist church.

And that's about all there is to tell about the origin of the Redwine Fund for Strategic Ministries. The estate gift has always been linked to mystery, ever since the Holston Conference received a letter in the late 1970s simply addressed to "Board of Missions, Methodist Church, Knoxville, Tenn." At the time, the conference office was located in Johnson City, Tenn., and the Rev. Grady Winegar was chair of the Board of Global Ministries.

The letter came from an attorney, settling the estate of a person named "Redwine" who may have died a few years earlier.

"We never learned much about the family or even if they were Methodist," says Winegar, who now serves as conference secretary in the Knoxville conference center. "But we come to find out it was about $125,000, so we immediately set up an endowed fund."

The Holston Conference Foundation was then headed by the Rev. Ben St. Clair, a believer in endowments that would keep on giving, Winegar says. On Feb. 26, 1979, a committee met at the Holiday Inn in Morristown, Tenn., to write the by-laws for the Redwine Fund for Strategic Ministries. The committee members included Winegar, the Rev. Thomas Chilcote, Ruth Woody, and Annie Allen.

"The allocations for these earnings shall not be used for 'brick and mortar' projects - or for any form of loans," the by-laws stated. "The Fund shall be for impact program ministries."

Why "strategic" or "impact" ministries? "Because we didn't have money for that," Winegar says. "It was hard then, like now, to get money for new programs, and we thought it was a good way to encourage churches to start new ministries."

The minimum grant amount was set at $2,500 ("a pretty good little chunk of change, at the time," says Winegar), with an option for renewal beyond one year.

Today, Redwine grants are awarded by a threeperson committee including the Rev. John Grimm, the Rev. David Green, and Duke Dukeart.

The first grants were awarded in 1980. The first-ever recipients, according to documents provided by Grimm, were Emergency Fund for Buford Hankins ($4,170), Holston Home Art Therapy ($2,500), Three Bells Church ($4,750), and Russell County Cooperative Ministry ($2,500).

Of the 80 grants distributed over the past 27 years, some of the receiving ministries no longer seem to exist.

Others have included the "Galax Hispanic Ministry," which received a $4,000 grant in 1996 before developing into the Door of Heaven United Methodist Church in 2002.

In 1998, a new ministry entitled "Strength for the Journey HIV/AIDS Retreats" at Buffalo Mountain Camp received a $2,500 grant. Nine years later, Strength for the Journey has served 400 campers from all over the Southeast, with retreats held each spring and fall.

From 2002 to 2004, funds weren't available from the endowment, but the corpus has grown in the last two years, Foundation leaders said.

"A whole lot of money has been given out since 1979, more than the principle, and the fund is still there," says Winegar. "That's the story." 2007 winners carry out a creative legacy When Redwine Committee members reviewed 20 requests for this year's grants, they looked for ministries with long-term potential - "not only in the year of the award, but for many years ahead," said the Rev. John Grimm, committee chair.

In all, Holston groups requested nearly $107,000 for strategic ministries. Ultimately, two groups were selected for 2007 grants of $2,500 each: Boone's Creek United Methodist Church in Johnson City District and Bearden UMC in Knoxville District.

3:16 Xtreme Worship was born when Boone's Creek members in their 20s and 30s asked the Rev. Jane Taylor to help them create a unique worship experience. They named the informal gathering after John 3:16, which also designates the start time on Sunday afternoons.

"Young adults really want an intimate setting, where they can just wander in and be casual," says Taylor, Boone's Creek pastor. "But they also want that instant feedback."

On a recent Sunday, 12 participants lolled around tables and sang a few songs. They watched an episode of "Grey's Anatomy," stopping to discuss life lessons and scriptural connections with the Rev. Dennis Loy, Boone's Creek associate pastor.

"The church in general is very intimidating," said Andy Tolley, 32. "That's why I like this service, where I can just come as I am. I don't want people to make a big deal that I'm here, so I don't have to feel bad when I'm not here."



The 3:16 group plans to invite others to join them through newspaper publicity and direct mail. Pond Gap Summer Outreach began as an extension of a relationship established by Bearden with Pond Gap Elementary School in 2005. The church provided backpacks filled with school supplies, adopted families for Christmas, and offered a mentoring program. The school is located in a low-income community within five miles of the church.

But when Donna Lewis learned that 87 percent of Pond Gap students participated in the free lunch program and 74 percent lived in single-parent homes, she wondered, "Who's feeding and caring for these children in the summer?"

Last summer, Bearden offered three weeks of themed camps (sports, art, science) for Pond Gap children. The congregation also offered a Monday morning program and invited the Pond Gap kids to Vacation Bible School. As many as 140 Pond Gap children participated, according to Lewis, director of children and family ministries.

This summer, Bearden will use the Redwine grant to expand the ministry. "We are thrilled that God has chosen us to do 'a new thing' in the Pond Gap community," Lewis said.

How to apply
Application forms for 2008 grants will be available in district offices in July. Applications are due Sept. 30. Awards will be announced in early 2008. For more information, contact the Rev. John Grimm at (540) 980-1349 or ajumcpastor@verizon.net.

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