Methodist church raises $11,000 for Heifer Project

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – On Sunday, June 22, the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church of Presque Isle celebrated the culmination of a yearlong effort to raise money for Heifer Project International with worship, a church picnic, and lots of fun.
The highlight of the day came when Tammy Wheeler, chairperson of the church’s Mission Committee, presented the Rev. David Williams with a check for $11,000 to be sent to Heifer Project. This touched off the celebration, which included Williams fulfilling his promise to kiss a cow for each Heifer Ark that was funded. Since the congregation funded two arks, that meant two kisses. The family of Mark and Lisa McKenna of Mapleton provided the four-month-old heifer named Penny for Williams to kiss.
Heifer Project International is a U.S.-based organization that combats poverty one family and one village at a time. A Heifer Ark contains 15 pairs of animals (heifers, water buffalos, llamas, geese, chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, beehives, camels, oxen, rabbits, and more) and costs $5,000. Heifer provides families all over the world with appropriate livestock, depending on need, location, etc., and provides that family with training as to how to care for their gift. The animals provide labor, nourishment (milk, honey or meat), fertilizer, and/or income (excess milk and honey, or excess crops that could be planted) to the family.
As part of the program, each family receiving a Heifer animal pledges to give the first offspring of their gift as a gift to another family in the village. This cycle continues with the support and training Heifer provides, thus enabling the village to become self-sufficient and self-sustaining, breaking the cycle of poverty.
For Grant Memorial, this yearlong effort began Sept. 23, with the promise that if the Ark was funded, the pastor would kiss a cow in celebration. The first Ark was raised within 10 weeks, and was subsequently matched by a family in the church with a Milk Menagerie (a heifer, two goats, and a water buffalo) for $1,000. The church quickly set out to fund a second ark, and challenged the pastor to match the first kiss with a second should they be successful. Williams accepted the challenge, and made good on his promise after worship June 22. When asked how he felt following two kisses, the reverend responded, “For what this means to so many families in our country and around the world, I am thrilled.”
What’s next on the agenda?
“We’re planning something called Seven in Seven,” said Williams. “That’s all the information we’re giving away at the moment. But it is going to be a lot of fun, challenge the church in new ways, and change a lot of lives.”
And what is Williams’ part going to be this time?
“Well, we’re still working on that,” he said. “Let’s just say I’m hoping it won’t involve something that slobbers so much.”