Morgantown Mission Celebrates 25 Years of Service

Tue, 10/13/2015 - 8:00pm — Diane Dyer

Rev. Gene Vaughn, Rev. Sue Job, and Garry McKinney, Mission Director

The Morgantown Mission celebrated 25 years of service with a reception on Sunday, October 11, at the Mission Ministry Building on Main Street. Fred Tate, chairperson for the Mission Board, welcomed everyone and former Mission Director; Bro. Gene Vaughn gave the invocation.

Garry McKinney and Fred Tate
Current Mission Director Garry McKinney recognized past and present workers, volunteers, and board members.
“So many people have been and are involved in the Mission. There are too many to name, and several have passed on but I want to say thank you for your time and tremendous effort. God has choosen to bless Butler County with the Morgantown Mission. I love what I do and want to thank everyone for this opportunity,” said McKinney.

On behalf of the Mission Board Fred Tate presented Bro. Gene Vaughn and his wife Evelyn with a plaque in honor of their 25 years of dedicated service to the Mission.

Rev. Gene Vaughn and wife Evelyn
“This is truly an honor. There are so many people in Rochester and Morgantown to thank for holding me accountable and expecting my best as I was growing up. It is wonderful to have been a part of so many lives through the Mission,” said Vaughn.

On behalf of the Butler County United Methodist Women, Phyllis Tate presented the Vaughns with Special Recognition Mission Pins signifying a donation in their honor.

Rev. Gene Vaughn and Rev. Sue (Proctor) Job
The lady, who started the Mission, Rev. Sue Job, now of Sanford, North Carolina, was also in attendance.
“Morgantown Mission was begun by God’s vision and God’s power out of God’s love and for all of God’s people. Through the years, I have heard people say, “Sue Job started the Mission.” I always have a certain sense of accomplishment when that is said, but the true statement about the formation of Morgantown Mission is that I was the person that God honored to be the initiator; the one that God chose to receive the vision and carry out the tasks. Those tasks included a way for the Mission to be structured and organized to provide it with stability so it could continue for years,” said Job.
Job stated that she was also the one God honored by providing her with a life-long best friend in Anita Southerland, who kept her grounded in reality as they talked for endless hours about God’s vision for the Mission.
“It was also God’s work in my life that resulted in an acute awareness of the economic inequalities and social injustices that were taking place around me, as Morgantown at that time had on or the lowest educational levels and one of the lowest per-capita income levels in the country. But overarching all of this was my concern about the rigid social stratification in the culture that kept people apart; even apart in the churches, with the result that they were in ministry with the middle class residents of the county, not the poor. The compelling sense I had that something had to be done to empower those persons in the community living in need in order for them to have a better quality life, intensified as Morgantown was chosen as the location of some of the largest public housing complexes in South Central and Western Kentucky,” added Job.