Maybe it was just an ordinary land transaction. I hope so. But this is a church. How did he get the opportunity to buy it?”

It seems a bit much to be suspicious of how we came to possess the church. Congregations dwindle down to closing all the time.

It may seem somehow endearing that he followed his grandfather’s wishes, but that doesn’t change the fact that any Catholic church building would be de-consecrated before it was sold off. His Baptist grandfather comes from tradition unlikely to have understood that. He just happens to own an old building that once housed a congregation. It isn’t actually a ‘church’ any more than a bar or doctor’s office in an old church would be a ‘church’.

Rate this comment: 0  0

If he does indeed have a space reserved …I wish to hereby claim full ‘e-credit’ for any posts titled …”The Plot Thickens.”

@ Twain on Hooligans via topix.net ….2007.

I’ll give any after profit royalties to The Nature Conservancy. (www.nature.org)

Rate this comment: 0  0

8th-graders pitch in to keep bus riders dry

By Ashley Wilson
AWILSON@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
November 14, 2007 12:15 am

ASHEVILLE — Instead of sitting in a classroom, the eighth-grade class at Emmanuel Lutheran School spent a morning last week hauling wood, drilling screws and using a staple gun.

Twelve students at the school participated in the Top-A-Stop program, where community members help build shelters for bus stops throughout Asheville. As their monthly service project, the students created a shelter on the corner of Depot Street and Oakland Avenue.

“It’s just fun to help the community out,” said Jesse Debruhl, 13. “It’s just a good thing to do. This thing will help people. If they are sitting waiting for the bus and it is raining, this will help them not get wet.”

Asheville Councilman Carl Mumpower initiated the program two and a half years ago after visiting Pisgah View Apartments one morning and seeing three people waiting for the bus in the rain. Since then, the program has helped build 36 shelters. The goal is to get to 50, Mumpower said.

About four months ago, members of the Western Carolina Rescue Ministries took over the program. Three men from the ministries have built eight shelters so far. In addition to the students at Emmanuel Lutheran School, members of the Kiwanis Club of Asheville have helped the men build a bus stop. They hope that more volunteer groups will come out and help.

“It teaches kids how to give back,” said Craig Roberts, counselor and chaplain of the men’s program for the ministries. “The purpose of having kids out today is to give them a chance to do something they have never done from a service point and a hands on point.” Roberts’ 13-year-old son, Devin, attends Emmanuel Lutheran School.

Volunteer groups have helped build 28 of the shelters. Funding for the program comes from donations, primarily from the Chaddick Foundation, which funds innovative projects for hospitals, social agencies and universities.

The program tries to focus on bus stops that are used frequently. They have also built two shelters on Old Haw Creek Road, one in Black Mountain.

Rate this comment: 0  0

Rate this comment: 0  0

Rate this comment: 0  0

But you guys oughter be nicer to Carl. He’s a great guy and his politics are a lot closer to the majority than you might think.

Gee… that’s kinda scary, huh?

Rate this comment: 0  0

That was probably one of the best higher education moments I’ve experienced.

Rate this comment: 0  0

Rate this comment: 0  0

Rate this comment: 0  0

You’ve done a fine piece of journalism here and it is good to look for “the silver lining” occasionally.

But then again the newspaper headlines would scream “local politician bulldozes old mountain church”.

But as most journalistic pieces include Who, What, Why, When, Where, How….could you look into the “how” part? You’ve covered the rest. Why not find out under what circumstances Mumpower came to possess this property? HOW did he become the owner of this church? Surely it’s a matter of public record.

Maybe it was just an ordinary land transaction. I hope so. But this is a church. How did he get the opportunity to buy it?

But I truly hope he goes there to find solace and ask for forgiveness.

Rate this comment: 0  0

We didn’t find out about Carl’s church from Carl. We first noticed it in the News and Observer. And we wouldn’t have known the story of the church at all if friendly Vince hadn’t enlightened us.

Rate this comment: 0  0

Rate this comment: 0  0

In other words – Mumpower has a strong sense of respect for his grandfather and for the faith tradition of a rival sect of Christianity. He could have bulldozed the place and put up a nice cabin or simply remodeled the existing structure into a loveshack. Instead he restored the church.

I think it’s cool and respectable for a Baptist to restore an historic Catholic church in Sodom Laurel. That’s the point there.

The rotten politics are a different matter. I’ve already said a lot on this virtual page about Carl’s views on immigrants, Cherokee, law enforcement priorities, and more. I haven’t found anything on which we agree except this: Restoring old churches in Sodom Laurel is good for the soul. Like Arratik said, the folks up in Sodom didn’t much care for Carl’s politics either, but they “knew his heart”, and they respected him.

I think it bodes well for our Congressional race. I’d rather have two honest men fight it out over the issues than have a liar or two battle for dirtiest tactics. I think we might have a respectable race this go ’round. May be I’m just another optimistic naif, but that’s the happy place that Carl managed to take me to.

Rate this comment: 0  0

To me this just spells PR stunt, and not because he is a politician, it is just self indulgence for anyone.

A good person does things so nobody knows – like a friend of mine who passed away a few years back, at his memorial service over 2000 people showed up that did not know each other and most were not know to the family of my friend. It was amazing to witness how he had touched so many peoples lives in a good way and nobody ever knew until his passing.

Am I to cynical?

Rate this comment: 0  0

The occasional kudos does nothing to detract from your scrutinizing exposure on the bad stuff. In fact, it gives it more credibility.

Thanks for stomaching the long and winding road.

Rate this comment: 0  0

I’m sorry but I’ll need to have this explained, just exactly what do engaging in rotten politics and restoring a church say about a man’s character?

Rate this comment: 0  0

Say what you will about Mumpower’s rotten politics, but restoring that Catholic church out of respect for his grandfather and the church’s builders says a lot about his character. We came away liking Carl more than we had, and that’s a good thing.

Rate this comment: 0  0

I’m not even sure what were were going to find when we got there, but I can tell you that we left with a slightly different perspective. By no means does this earn him a free pass from us, or even from a higher spiritual authority. But for us to overlook what we consider a positive would be unfair.

Rate this comment: 0  0

Rate this comment: 0  0