SPRING EVENT: April 23-25 will be a living history event. Bring your items for sale or trade.
ANNUAL ASSOCIATION MEETING Sept. 12 will be our next annual dinner and business meeting on the grounds.
25th ANNUAL PRIMITIVE CAMPMEETING AND RENDEZVOUS will be Oct. 8-10.
31st ANNUAL SCHOCHOH CHRISTMAS PARADE AND 12TH ANNUAL CANDLELIGHT SERVICE will be December 5, 2021.
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We apologize for not having a newsletter for August 2020, but we were hopeful we would not have to cancel the fall events and yet anticipating that we may have to cancel. To be honest, we just didn't know what to say. Not knowing what this year may hold, the scheduled events are tentative. The year of 2020 definitely taught us not to take planned events for granted. Please check on the website often, because we try to keep it updated on cancellations. We want to thank Matthew Ruley for creating and maintaining the website.
Some have mentioned missing the newsletter last year when we didn't put it out. We appreciate any feedback you have for the newsletter, suggestions, genealogy, and things you would like to add.
HOW TO GIVE: You can donate through Amazon Smile, a website operated by Amazon that will allow it's customers to enjoy the same benefits as on Amazon.com. When you shop on smile.amazon.com the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of your purchase price to a charitable organization of your choice. Please choose Red River Meeting House.
Contributions can also be made to RRMH through Benevity.com. Many companies are part of the American Online Giving Foundation and allow their employees and customers to make contributions through them. See if your company is part of this program and they may also be able to donate matching funds.
Special thanks to all the churches and individuals who support RRMH. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. Your funds go a long way with keeping up the grounds, repairs and improvements. Thank you SO much!
We are still raising funds for the picnic pavilion that will be added onto the restrooms. Many groups have picnics here and sheltered tables would be a blessing for them. Please consider donating to the building fund and if you know someone who would give us a good deal on construction, please give us their information.
SPRING CAMP: There was a new event planned for May 23, 2020, but due to a lack of volunteers and not enough time to finish the research, we postponed it not knowing that a world shutdown would occur soon after the newsletter's publication. However, since many people had already reserved this time for RRMH, we had an unadvertised camp on May 22-24 for relaxation and fellowship like we did April 2019. We will further discuss the cemetery tour and how we can make it happen in the future. If you are interested in helping with the cemetery tour, please let us know at redrivermeetinghouse@logantele.com. We need actors, people with film experience and volunteers to make the cemetery tour successful.
The annual association meeting on Sept. 13 was very different due to the pandemic. President Richard Moore and some of the board members were the only people in attendance sitting in a circle under the shade of the stately walnut trees with social distancing and masks. Who would have ever dreamed that an event that's been with us since 1948 would have to be canceled? What was discussed is as follows:
*Finances.
*Insurance amounts on the meetinghouse and other structures along with general liability insurance on the property.
*The board voted on new security measures to be put in place including motion activated lights, and cameras. Also any additional signage needed.
*COVID concerns and updates were discussed along with any disclaimer information needed on rental documents.
*The board voted to close the historic cemetery to new burials, with one exception. If a loved one is buried in the cemetery the spouse may be buried alongside them. This decision came after much deliberation, consultation and input from funeral directors and persons familiar with historical cemeteries burials. Major reasons included limited space, concern over uncovering unmarked graves and no financial way to generate income for perpetual care. Red River Meeting House & Cemetery never charged for a burial site and it was only in recent years the association asked for a $100 donation to secure a grave.
25th Annual Primitive Campmeeting and Rendezvous scheduled for Oct. 9-11 was cancelled due to rising numbers of the pandemic, also hurricane rain and winds were predicted for the area.
31st Annual Schochoh Christmas Parade and the 12th Annual Candlelight Service would have been on Dec. 6, but these events had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. We greatly appreciated the Dec. 25 posting written by Judy Lyne on the Logan County Genealogical Society's Facebook page. It highlighted previous candlelight services at RRMH including photos. Every day she does a great job keeping us in touch with Logan County history on their page.
Join us for 1st Sunday service and fellowship every month at 3 p.m. The first monthly service was Jan. 3 with Frank Jarboe (Parson John) bringing the sermon and leading us in communion. It was a very special time of hope for the new year and gratefulness for the continual presence of God throughout 2020. Parson John preached his weekly sermon from the meetinghouse many times in 2020 and has a Bible study on Wednesday nights. You can find him on Facebook and Youtube under the name: Parson John and Maggie. He brings historical facts into the sermon and if he is located at another historic site, he will introduce that history to the viewers. It is greatly enjoyed by all who watch and a good sermon from the Word of God, too.
CORRECTION to our February 2020 newsletter: Jane Sanford died in September, 2019, not December. As her niece said, “...I'm sure her spirit is looking after one of her favorite places at Red River.”
Steve and Laura Gove met with the Russellville Rotary to share the history of RRMH on Feb. 12, 2020. We truly appreciate their willingness to share the history with groups that are interested in RRMH.
RRMH was a busy place during the summer of 2020:
In June, Wildfire Ministries had a week long revival. It was planned to be a one-day praise and worship event, but when word got out there were preachers and worshippers from all over the United States who wanted to be part of it, so it was extended. The power of God was moving, blessing, healing and transforming lives. Chris Board returned for another revival Oct. 2-4 at the meetinghouse, which was also a wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Brother Brad Rogers made a preaching video from the grounds.
A marriage vow renewal in June.
Ryan Carney and Rebecca Doyle were married in a beautiful outdoor wedding in July.
Bob Thomas brought a group from Nashville for several Saturdays to have prayer and worship.
CrossPoint.tv filmed their pastor preaching inside the meetinghouse and on the grounds on July 22, 2020. It was broadcasted on Aug. 2.
Richard and Darlynn Moore met with a WKU student for an interview regarding RRMH history for her class in December of 2020.
Larry Jernigan of Franklin visited the cemetery recently and is related to Tennesee Jennings Turner who is buried in our cemetery. Larry has given us permission to include his address and phone if any other relatives would like to contact him. It is as follows: Larry Jernigan, 323 Monterey Road, Franklin, KY, 42134, 270-776-1001.
PRESIDENT'S CORNER: 2020 will forever be remembered as the year that our regular events were cancelled. There were so many unknowns during the year that the need to keep everyone safe was a top priority. Despite this pandemic, the Lord continued to work as others called to come and use the meeting house as a time of praise, worship and prayer for the health crisis, our nation, and the world.
Over the years and in particular 2020, as people visited the meeting house and left their comments on the registry, people were in one accord asking the Lord for another awakening. There are statements such as these; “Praying for the 3rd Great Awakening”, “Another awakening, Wake up church!”, “Do it again Lord! Pour out your spirit!”, “Praying for honesty and truth in America & A Third Great Awakening”, and many more. Let us not forget that God is all seeing, all knowing, all powerful and we must not forget Him.
James McGready came to this territory in southeastern Logan County in the late 1700’s bringing the gospel message to a place known as “Rogue’s Harbor”, an area known for murderers, thieves, counterfeiters, and the like. Did he form a committee to see what needed to be done? No. Did he give up? No. But most important he had God on his side as he asked his three congregations to pray and agree to a very solemn covenant.
Every Saturday evening, every Sunday morning and one whole Sabbath of each month, for a year, was to be observed as a season of special prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Logan County, Kentucky, and throughout the world. To this covenant he obtained the signatures of his church members.
2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If MY PEOPLE who are called BY MY NAME, will HUMBLE themselves and PRAY and SEEK my face and TURN from their wicked ways, then I will HEAR from heaven, and I will FORGIVE their sin and will HEAL their land.”
Are we ready for the challenge? Are we committed?
God promises healing.
President Richard Moore
2459 Trimble Road
Adairville, KY 42202