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About the Author:
Biography – Michele Rutledge
Michele was born in Ohio and moved to
St. Louis in 1985 where she completed
her BA and MA in History at the
University of Missouri, St. Louis, and
pursued her doctoral studies at Saint
Louis University. She is the mother of
two bright and engaging daughters who,
upon seeing how fun History is, became
engineers.
Dedication:
As in any work, many hearts and hands
went into the publication of this book.
But the true spirit, and the irrepressible
spark of not only stick-to-it-iveness but
also longterm vision and dreams, goes
to Bob and Donna Puyear. This couple
embodies the true meaning of servant
leadership, and without their unfailing
patience, perseverance and drive, the
history would not have taken the scope,
depth and breadth that it has.
After reading the manuscript prior to
publication of this book, a staff member
said, “Sometime in the future someone
is going to ask ‘who are Bob and Donna
Puyear;’ let’s tell them now. They are
United Methodists who for many years have
been advocates for outreach ministries,
especially to the local UM agencies, at the
United Methodist Church of Green Trails.
In 1986 someone nominated her to the
Board at Kingdom House and he followed
her in 1992. A plaque presented to the
Puyears in 2001 says “Thanks to God who
matched your gifts with our needs.” Twenty-
eight years later, in 2014, they continue to
volunteer regularly.
Preface
Over a decade ago, the Centennial Committee, chaired by Donna Puyear, came
to the then Executive Director Gene Morse and recommended the publication of an
extensive history of the organization. This book would commemorate and celebrate
the upcoming 100th anniversary of the social service agency, as well as capture, in
one work, all of the various people, churches and dreams that had brought Kingdom
House to this significant milestone. I was then a doctoral student at Saint Louis
University, and researching and writing this book was a perfect fit to the research
I was conducting evaluating the intersections of church and state in United States
History through the lens of social service agencies.
This book – born of joint visions of celebration, commemoration, and pursuit of a
PhD – tells the story of the founding of Kingdom House, now a social service agency
annually transforming the lives of thousands of people. From its humble beginnings
as a Southern Methodist Sunday School at the turn of the twentieth century to the
plurality of services it provides today to people of all (and no) faiths, Kingdom House
has truly been the place where “Change begins Within.” But more than a “100+ years
of us,” this book serves to tell the story of people of faith. Of women of vision in the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Of a shoe executive. Of deaconesses. Of the
changes taking place within the south, Missouri, and especially the city of St. Louis
– the 4th largest in the US when Kingdom House began. And: it tells of dreams of
immigrants and migrants who came to this large city – those who came from southern
farms to escape poverty and find jobs in the city, and those who came from across
waters to find democracy and make a better life for their families.
The story is still being told, as Kingdom House remains a solid place of hope,
refuge, education and safety for the residents of the Near South Side St. Louis. The
current building sits only short blocks from where the original House was located.
But the core essentials of caring for one another. Bearing one another’s burdens. Of
giving hope to hopeless and teaching to fish instead of just giving fish…these all
remain. As long as there is a need…there will be a Kingdom House.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1............page 1
Chapter 2............page 23
Chapter 3............page 57
Chapter 4............page 109
Epilogue..............page 140
Footnotes............page 141
Index...................page 143
ii
Alterations have been made
to avoid unfortunate language
usage from the past.