Hinton Rural Life Center Seeks Stories for 65th Homecoming

HAYESVILLE, N.C. — As Hinton Rural Life Center prepares for its 65th Homecoming Celebration this November, the Hayesville retreat and mission center is asking people whose lives have been touched by the campus to share their stories.

The event, titled “Honoring Our Heritage, Embracing Our Future,” is set for Friday, Nov. 13, at the center at 2330 Hinton Center Road. Organizers say the evening will honor 65 years of faith, service and ministry in Southern Appalachia, celebrate lives changed through Hinton’s work, and look ahead to the next generation of its mission.

Hinton opened in the late 1950s after local Methodists, led in part by Rev. H. Claude Young Jr. of First Methodist Church, saw a need for a regional gathering place. The unfinished lodge and land were purchased with help from Velma and J. Walter Moore; Alice Lanier Hinton provided funds to complete the building in memory of her husband, Harold H. Hinton. The center was incorporated June 7, 1961, as an agency of the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The Methodist Church. Today it sits on about 30 wooded acres overlooking Lake Chatuge and remains Clay County’s oldest nonprofit.

Inspired by Jesus Christ, Hinton serves individuals, congregations and rural communities through retreats, education and missional outreach — including Safe & Healthy Home Repair, a firewood ministry, Christmas Care of Clay County, confirmation retreats and volunteer mission teams. Guests’ lodging and conference fees help underwrite that community work.

Staff are collecting memories that show what Hinton has meant over the decades. They are asking:

• Did time at Hinton deepen your faith or draw you closer to God?

• Did it inspire you to serve others or strengthen your tie to community?

• Did it leave a lasting mark on your life or family?

They welcome testimonies of faith, service, growth or transformation; family memories connected to the center; and photos or videos from visits, retreats, mission weeks or other moments on campus.

Submissions should go to hope@hintoncenter.org. Anyone sending photos or videos is asked to say whether those materials may be shared publicly. People who prefer to remain anonymous may request that as well.

“Thank you for helping us celebrate the faith, service, memories, and experiences that have shaped Hinton over the past 65 years,” the center said in its call for stories.

More information about the Nov. 13 Homecoming and Hinton’s ministries is available at hintoncenter.org or by calling 828-389-8336.