Table Talk Ministries to close after 12 years

Having put large amounts of time, effort and money into Table Talk Ministries over the years, local volunteer Bill Hutson will be bringing an end to the ministry that performs home repairs for elderly and disabled residents of the community. Hutson plans to spend time with family and catch up on the rest he's missed out on for the last 12 years. (courtesy photo)

After more than a dozen years and countless hours of work, local volunteer Bill Hutson is closing the ministry through which he served the elderly and underprivileged in the community.

Hutson announced this week that he and wife Pam "are closing the final chapter of Table Talk Ministries at this time." The ministry is no longer taking on clients and will refer people who need help to call the USDA Rural Development Office, as they have a one-time grant of $7,500 for homeowners 62 or older on low incomes.

Table Talk was founded in 2002 to help the elderly and disabled with home repairs they could not afford. Typical projects for Table Talk include remodeling bathrooms with ruined floors from water leaks, replacing roofs and installing wheelchair ramps.

"I have had an absolute great time serving the people in this community for the past 12 years, but, it is getting harder and harder on me physically," Hutson told the Banner Graphic. "With the increased costs of doing this work, I have been having to work even harder to make enough to pay for it all and we were closing in on a half a million already spent."

The physical toll should be no surprise to anyone who knows Hutson personally. For much of the time he spent volunteering his weekends helping the needy in our community, he was also working 70 hours per week as an over-the-road truck driver.

Hutson had worked construction as a young adult before taking a job as a trucker. Once he started Table Talk, he found himself making money as a trucker and then donating his time and effort through his construction ministry.

"God's got a sense of humor because now I'm doing both," Hutson told the Banner Graphic in 2009.

But doing both takes its toll on family time, on tending one's own home, on just resting. Hutson hopes to find more time for all of these.

"My wife Pam and I have decided that it's time to slow down and spend more time with the family," Hutson said. "Maybe now I'll get to take a vacation. Pam says I'll have more time for my 'honey-do' list, which I think is now written in volumes."

Walking away from the ministry does not indicate Hutson no longer has a heart for the ministry, he is just unable to continue it.

"I would love for a church or other group to take over," Hutson said. "If any are interested they can call me at 301-6060."

One such ministry is Servants at Work (SAWs) of the Greencastle Presbyterian Church, which was founded in 2009 to building ramps and low-rise steps for the disabled of the community. As the SAWs grew, Hutson began referring those in need of ramps to SAWs, while he concentrated on other projects.

The SAWS ministry is ongoing and can be contacted at the Greencastle Presbyterian Church at 653-5713 or churchoffice@cinergymetro.net.

To completely fill the void left in Table Talk's absence, another individual or group will need to step up with the same selflessness Hutson displayed for more than a decade.

Anyone wanting to take up Hutson's mantle can learn a lesson from a phrase he kept in mind during the last 12 years: "To the world you may be just one person, but to one person, you just may be the world."

To the dozens and dozens of people Table Talk helped, Hutson almost certainly meant the world at some point.