In March of 1995, I attended a weekend training seminar sponsored by World Servants for team leaders of upcoming short term mission trips. This was the first time I met Ruston and Donna Seaman.

Upon returning home, I put together a team for a week-long trip to Philippi WV. The team was selected and trained for a trip in mid-July 1995. Our team, along with other teams, were assigned to a small church in Browntown, WV—a 10 mile drive from where we were staying. Our assignment at the Brownton church was to install new windows and to crawl under the church to shore up the wooden foundation.

As part of the week’s events, a community cookout was planned for Thursday evening. This provided an opportunity for the local community to meet the missionaries who were working on their church. One of the activities for the evening was that Ruston would give a sermon. Just after Ruston got to a part in his sermon where he mentioned thunder and lightning, we experienced a loud clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning and heavy rain! The party was over but I do remember his sermon! We returned home on Saturday, different people than when we arrived.

In early November of 1995, Ruston contacted me to ask if I could put a team together for a one day mission trip on a Saturday to help finish a project that was started during the summer. This began what is now known as our “One Day Mission Trips.”

For a few years we did one day trips to the Philippi area. Some time in the early 2000s, we began one day mission trips to Morgantown where we partnered with Pastor Johnny Whitehair. I met Pastor Whitehair when he worked for Ruston Seaman as part of the World Servants staff. We continue to do one day trips to Philippi or Morgantown as needs arise. We also support Pastor Whitehair’s Storehouse of God by collecting Christmas toys.

Since the fall of 2011, we have been working in Philippi at the Chestnut Ridge Community Center, reconstructing the second floor from a large room into five bedrooms and two shower and bathrooms so that missionaries can have some privacy and bring more family members.

Here is another way our church supports the ministry in Philippi. In 1986, a non-profit was created to foster community development and to assist under-resourced communities. This non-profit is Appalachia Community Care (ACC).

Sometime in the late 1990s, I was asked to become an ACC Board of Directors member. Since joining ACC, I have held the office of Board Secretary for six years. Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church currently has two seats on the Board of Directors. They are held by Mr. Earl Bennett and me. We serve at the pleasure of the Board in two year terms.

ACC is not only a spearhead in community development but it is the custodian of the ACC building complex at Chestnut Ridge. The complex consists of one home, the 10,000 square foot Chestnut Ridge Community Center and two warehouses. The community center is utilized for such programs as how to have a more productive garden, how to properly can the garden produce and rental of the center for family events like baby showers or receptions after funerals. The center is used to host weekend and weeklong mission trips. Lodging and food are provided for the mission groups. Work projects are provided for the groups.

ACC as a non-profit can be the host to foster the beginning of other non-profits. They were the sponsor for New Vision small engine repair seminars and a grass mowing enterprise. ACC acted as a catalyst for the Fleming Community Center in Fleming WV and Brownton Community Center in Brownton, WV. Due to a lack of local community support the Fleming Community Center closed after five years of operation. The Brownton Community Center has gone off on its own as a non-profit.

Currently, New Vision has started two new endeavors. The first endeavor is the manufacturing and installation of solar panels for homes and institutions. For a cost of approximately $7,500, a solar system can be installed in a home which can reduce the electric bill of the home owner. The home owner pays for the system from the savings they get each month on the electric bill. So in five to seven years the home owner has paid for the solar system with the savings and might even have free electricity for their home.

The second endeavor is making biofuel from used cooking oil. Individuals and non-profit groups are trained how to make it from used cooking oil. This biofuel can be used to power diesel engines or oil furnaces. The desire is to reduce energy costs for the recipient. For under-resourced families, energy costs can consume a big portion of their income. These efforts can reduce the energy cost, giving the family more money for other family needs.

Ruston is a graduate of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Masters Degree in Christian Faith and Public Policy. Early on he established Appalachian Community Care, a grass roots outreach tutoring children and providing basic adult education and computer skills training. He served as the executive director of World Servants, an international short term mission agency, for six years. Ruston subsequently directed the rural work in the US for World Vision, one of the largest relief and development organizations in the world, for twelve years. He is the Senior Pastor of People’s Chapel Church and has held a variety of positions over the past three decades of service to the church.

Ruston has served as a board member of the Christian Community Development Association and currently as an advisor on rural issues. CCDA assists other non-profit organizations providing support to under-resourced families in communities across the country.

Ruston, his wife Donna, and their two children both live and work on Chestnut Ridge right outside of Philippi WV.

This Sunday, the Rev. Ruston Seaman is preaching the sermon “Light It Up.”  The Rev. Seaman is from Chestnut Ridge, WV, just outside of Philippi. A short biography is posted on our web site. The scriptures for this Sunday will be Isaiah 9:2-6 and Matthew 5:13-16.

The bulletin cover photograph is titled “Sunshine at Dunstanburgh” and is by Christopher Down. Mr. Down has made this photo available through the Wikimedia Commons.

This is Gifts of Women Sunday and communion will be served. The Rev. Darlene Hann is preaching the sermon “Beautiful Women Who Do Beautiful Things.” The scriptures for this Sunday will be Proverbs 31:10-31 and Luke 2:21-35.

The bulletin cover artwork is titled “Mary Magdalene” and is by He Qi. The artwork is used with his permission. His web site is http://www.heqigallery.com/ and is worth checking out to see his amazing artwork.

The following information should also be e-mailed by May 24 if you would like to be included in the June 3rd bulletin: Graduate’s name, school, future plans, i.e., college you will be attending, major; for college grads the name and type of degree received, career plans. Questions? Call 412-655-2000 x131.