By Cathy Farmer

_Jason Dunlap and his grandmother process deer harvested by Henry County hunters to help feed women and children living at Damascus House, a local shelter for battered women.

Dunlap and his grandmother, owners of Dunlap’s Processing in Henry County and believers in the state-wide program Hunters for the Hungry, process the donated deer for only $25, half their normal fee. According to Rev. Alan Trull, Dunlap said he processes the deer because he wants to do his part in feeding the hungry.

Trull, pastor of the Dexter-Hardin Charge in the Paducah District and a deer hunter himself, says he personally harvests about 25 deer per season. In the past, Dunlap has helped him find people who will donate the $25 processing fee.

“When I learned (Jason) was in the Hunters for the Hungry program, but had no funds (for processing), I called you folks (the Memphis Conference committee for Hunters for the Hungry),” Trull said.

Dr. Jim Byford, committee chairman, immediately contacted Chad Whittenburg, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s state coordinator for Hunters for the Hungry. Whittenburg checked donations that had arrived from United Methodists in the Henry County area and immediately forwarded $427.75 to Dunlap, enough to process 17 deer.

Since United Methodists were introduced to Hunters for the Hungry at a 2004 event at UT Martin called “Men Hooked on Christ,” the program has really taken off in West Tennessee and Western Kentucky, according to Michael Butler, the executive director of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.

Donations in 2005 from churches, clusters and individuals totaled over $21,000. Taking into consideration all monies raised during the year through golf tournaments, fish frys, wild game cook-offs and more, Memphis Conference volunteers have accounted for more than $45,000 earmarked for local processors.

And every dollar of the money underwrites local hunters harvesting local deer that are then butchered by local processors to feed local people.

As Jim Byford is fond of saying, “It’s a win-win proposition.”

By December 15, 2005, 48 local processors had signed on to Hunters for the Hungry to process deer at a reduced rate. Whittenburg said many of the new processors were recruited through the efforts of United Methodist volunteers.

The problem now, if it can be called a problem, is an urgent need to find a place to store excess meat until it can be transferred to local soup kitchens and food banks. Many food banks are short on space for extra freezers to hold the meat--though long on compassion for the needy.

Byford’s committee recently met at the Conference Center in Jackson, Tenn. to listen to Whittenburg’s update on progress and debate how best to proceed.

Larry Ross from Bolivar First UMC told the group that working to raise money for Hunters for the Hungry has rejuvenated his church’s men’s group.

“Even the ladies ask me every Sunday how we’re doing,” Ross said. “Once people hear what it’s for, they’re sold.”

To date, United Methodists and friends have donated enough money to process at least 1125 deer. That means that the women and children at Damascus House, among others, will have protein in their daily diet. •

More for information about Hunters for the Hungry, or to schedule someone to talk to your church about the program, contact Byford at jbyford@utm.edu or call 731-881-7250.

VIM teams still needed in Ocean Springs

 The Rev. Gail Gaddie, pastor of Lambuth Memorial UMC in Jackson, Tenn., loads her sprayer to work on a house on Simmons Bayou Road in Ocean Springs.

By Daphne Moses

VIM coordinator

Volunteer in Mission teams are still needed to help in the clean-up, sanitizing and rebuilding of homes in Ocean Springs, Miss. Please read the updated material below. Needed are:  

• Teams of 9-12 people with 2-3 people with basic construction skills per team. If teams are larger than 15, divide into two teams, each with a team leader. The fee is $60 per person for the week which includes 3 meals per day.

• If you do not have enough people to make a full team, a group of 3-8 people will be combined with other team members in Ocean Springs.

• Clean-up, sanitizing teams will be moving furniture, tearing out insulation, sheet rock, hard wood floors, carpeting, and then sanitizing the homes where flooding has occurred.  Rebuilding teams will help in the construction phase.

• Important:  The clean up/sanitizing teams will be in homes where mold is growing. People with allergies to mold, dust, etc. should talk to their doctors before volunteering.  Team members should be in good physical condition.

• There are additional jobs that include helping around St. Paul’s UMC.

• Youth must be 16 or older.  There must be 1 adult for every 5 youth. Important: most adult chaperones of youth teams should be 30 years old or older.

• Teams will stay in a ‘tent city’ on the church property. Three meals per day are provided. Tents are air conditioned, heated and have cots. Showers and port-a-potties are available. 

• Teams are responsible for all their own expenses which include travel costs, meals during travel days, VIM insurance, items listed below that are required for each team member and tools brought with the team.

• Team members will receive an orientation once they arrive.  (Orientation is at 8:00 P.M. on Sunday nights and on an as needed basis at other times.)

• Teams will work from approximately 8:30 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday with a break for lunch.

• We recommend that teams travel on Sunday, work Monday through Friday and return home on Saturday.  Teams can go for a partial week if necessary.

• All teams should register with VIM ($10 per team member) and purchase accidental insurance through VIM ($11 per team member for a week).  See www.umvim.org for copies of the necessary VIM forms. Or the team leader can contact Daphne Moses by phone at her office,  731-668-0617, at home, 731-668-9057, or by email at   daphnemoses@charter.net.    Health insurance for the week can also be purchased through VIM.  Call the VIM office at 404-377-7424 for more information about health insurance.

• Each team member must complete a Memphis Conference Release form (available at:  www.memphis-umc.org) and mail to Daphne Moses before the team departs. 

• It is critical that teams go to serve with great flexibility!  Situations and conditions may not be exactly as planned. 

Requirements for each team member working in the homes: Work boots or sturdy shoes, Work gloves, Respirator has to be worn each day if teams are working in the clean up and sanitizing of homes (You can rent a HEPA approved respirator for $10 per person for a week on site at St. Paul’s UMC in Ocean Springs), Sleeping bag / pillow / extra blankets if it is cold, Up to date tetanus shot.

Team leaders should contact CORE at Ocean Springs to schedule a date:  228-875-3568 or 228-875-3416. Web site is www.corebasecamp.com.  

If you are interested in going with a team to Ocean Springs, but don’t have at least 3 people to make a team and would like to join with others, contact Moses.   Also contact Moses if you have questions about the VIM forms and/or accidental insurance through VIM.

Each registered VIM team with 7 or more people going to Ocean Springs will be given $500 from the Memphis Conference to be used for supplies, tools, transportation costs, etc., as long as the donations for Katrina relief given to the Memphis Conference last. Teams of 3-6 people will be given $250. 

AFTER the team leader has secured the date with CORE, the team leader should contact Daphne Moses to request the conference funds. •