The roots of Rural & Migrant Ministry began with the personal dedication and lay ministry of Eleanor Benjamin and Richard Barnett. Richard was a holy man who became a powerful force for change in the way migrant workers were treated, gaining statewide respect for his energy and his ability to work with growers to improve the living conditions of their workers. The name of Eleanor Benjamin is synonymous with the vision of compassion and caring. Many have powerful memories of Eleanor from decades ago. She was a presence that continues to inspire participation to this day.

The energy and compassion of these two saints drew together representatives of the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church, Reformed Church in America, United Methodist Church, and the American Baptist Churches. These five denominations entered into a unique covenant in which they promised to commit people and resources to improve the living and working conditions of the rural and farmworking communities. And thus the Mid-Hudson Catskill Rural & Migrant Ministry was born.

In 1981, with an ecumenical Council of appointees from the five Covenanting denominations and a new director, the Rev. Andrew McComb, the ministry moved forward and grew into a ministry that served from Staten Island to the Canadian border.

Building A Home

In the early years the Ministry set out to welcome farmworkers to the Hudson Valley. Andy McComb saw the need for a safe place for the children of migrant workers to be cared for while their parents worked, so in 1983 work began to build a Day Care Center in New Paltz. It was completed in 1985 and the Ministry had its first office space.

At the same time, RMM hired its first field ministers to work in the farm camps with families in Columbia County. Strengthened by the support of the Columbia County Council of Churches, RMM became committed to the working from within the farmworker community.

In 1985, the Council created a subsidiary: The Hudson Area Housing Agency, Inc. in an effort to provide decent housing for 44 farmworking families in the Plattekill area of Ulster County. Continuous confrontations with the Town Board, mountains of requirements and paperwork, and lack of funding soon sabatoged the agency and the dream.

A Deeper Sense of Mutuality

In 1986 Andrew McComb resigned and the Rev. Kenneth Newquist was appointed Interim Director of the Ministry. During the interim, the Council began to question, “How do we get beyond Health Kits and clothes, Thanksgiving baskets and Christmas Parties, and really help people?” The struggle and evaluation of RMM’s work led the Search Com-mittee to seek a new director who would guide us into new fields of a ministry of mutuality.

During the summer of 1987, the Rev. Gail Keeney-Mulligan was called to help us live out our vision of mutual ministry whereby parishes and congregations of the Hudson Valley would extend a ministry of hospitality to the farmworkers through a mission of empowerment and hope. At the same time, the members of the Ministry would look to the farmworkers to enrich their lives with their presence, their culture, and their faith. Gail was relentless in her belief that everyone involved in the Ministry had something to offer and to learn from one another. And thus RMM began to see itself as a bridge bringing together a diversity of communities.

Creating Organizations

A key component of the Ministry during those years was the efforts to empower people to carry out their own ministry and to build their own organizations. The Overnight Camp, Daughters of Sarah, and the Independent Farmworkers Center all had their start. It was during this period that the roots for the Ministry’s current accompaniment and youth empowerment were born.

For several years, migrant children had been welcomed into the summer programs at the various denominational camps throughout the valley. However, summer school schedule, language, and cultural barriers made it difficult for rural and migrant children to attend. And when they did attend, they often felt isolated. In response, Gail and Ruth Faircloth (a former farmworker and community leader) created a one-week camp in 1989 for migrant and rural children at the New York Annual Conference, United Methodist Church’s Camp Epworth in High Falls, NY. “This is my home” said a camper a few years later about the camp. “It is the only place during my year where I know where I will be, and it is the only place that doesn’t try to tell me I don’t belong.”

Ruth and Gail also founded The Daughters of Sarah, a support group for rural women. At the same time RMM began to send volunteer field ministers/ organizers into the duck farms of Sullivan County and the onion farms of Orange County. RMM began to work directly with farmworkers around issues of civil rights as well as working and living conditions.

In August of 1991, Gail left to begin a new ministry in Panama, and once again the search began for a new Executive Director.

A Multi-Faith Ally

The Rev. Richard Witt began his ministry with RMM in 1991. He was joined by several field ministers who brought a wealth of organizing experience and a deep passion for justice.

Standing with Farmworkers

An immediate outgrowth of their efforts was the formation of the Independent Farmworkers Center (known by its Spanish acronym CITA) in 1991. CITA began from two directions. The first arose as a group of duck workers in Sullivan County were forced from their jobs and turned to RMM for support. At the same time, RMM was organizing a soccer league in Orange County. Through discussions with the workers in both areas, the need for a farmworker-led organization that would address the injustices found within living and working conditions became essential.

In the early 1990s, RMM welcomed to its staff Ms. Jean Walsh. Jean began the process of creating an advocacy program. Jean organized people of faith and students to join with farmworkers in their call for the removal of New York state’s legislative exclusions that denied farmworkers many of the same rights as other laborers. RMM also joined with other farmworker organizations to create the Farmworker Advocacy Coaliton. One of the first activities of the Coalition was to create Farmworker Advocacy Day (FAD). FAD grew into a state-wide gathering of farmworkers and their allies, who came together at the Capitol to call for justice. In recent years RMM has stood closely with CITA as it has organized farmworkers. Slowly the advocacy program has evolved into a program of accompaniment as RMM organizes people of faith and students to accompany farmworkers as they work for justice through organizing, legislative advocacy and civil rights litigation.

Youth Empowerment

The receipt of a bequest from Katherine Hirt in 1996 enabled the ministry to build upon the overnight summer camp and begin a federated Youth Empowerment Program (YEP). RMM welcomed Alan Weeks as its first Youth Coordinator. Alan immediately inspired teenagers from across the Hudson Valley to create the Youth Arts Group and several other leadership programs. Perhaps the truest sign of the effectiveness of the program is the fact that in 2001, twelve of the volunteer staff members at the overnight camp were former Youth Empowerment Program participants. YEP participants have become leaders not only in the farmworker movement, but in their own communities, schools and colleges.

While the Ministry devoted a great deal of energy to living out its mission in the 1990s, the organization also paid a great deal of attention to strengthening its structure, building its capacity, and enhancing its diversity. Working with consultant Anne Gardon, principal of Strategies for Change, RMM developed a resource development plan which led to a three-year grant from Trinity Grants Program. The grant enabled RMM to hire its first Resource Development Coordin-ator, Mr. Terry Henry. Through the plan, RMM broadened its resource base. Working with graphic designer, Linda Gluck, the Ministry was able to unify its graphic identity and message. The result has been a tremendous increase in public consciousness and support. In turn, RMM has attracted support from the Dyson and Public Welfare Foundations to expand the Youth Empowerment Programs. And finally, in 2001, Trinity Grants extended another grant in order to expand the Accompaniment Program.

Capacity Building

During these years the Council of RMM also grew, both in focus and size. The Council began to welcome At-Large members who brought a variety of experiences in organizing and justice work. The Council also welcomed two new covenanting denominations: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, and New York Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends. RMM also welcomed to its Council Rabbis from the Reconstructionist and Reform traditions.

Expanding the Mission

In the early 2000's organizations working with farmworkers in western New York asked CITA and RMM to move to western New York. After a great deal of thought and exploration, both organizations agreed to expand to the western part of the State. RMM was blessed to have Barbara Deming, a long time organizer and activist in the Brockport area agree to volunteer to carry out the initial steps. In 2002 we were able to welcome Bill Abom as our first western coordinator. This expansion forced the Council to reexamine its structure and its process for carrying out its work. As a result, the Council formed a Board of Directors, to be made up of two regional councils. Each Council would be responsible for carrying out the mission of RMM in their part of the State. In turn, the combined Councils would form the Board of Directors.

Each Executive Director has tended to the roots of Rural & Migrant Ministry. Each Council Member and staff member who has been called to serve, and hundreds of faith communities and individuals, have nurtured the dreams with their energy, financial support, and prayers. Together all have made a difference in the quest to create an organization which has been a beacon of hope, a prophetic voice for justice, and an ally for empowerment.

An apple picker with her child.

Farmworker housing is sometimes dilapidated and unsafe.

A summer camper at the annual RMM week-long overnight camp, at Camp Epworth in High Falls, NY.

Hudson Valley congregants and farmworkers building the bridge of dialogue.

The CITA contingent at Farmworker Advocacy Day in Albany, a day of demonstrations and legislative visits seeking justice for farmworkers. They are accompanied by Youth Empowerment Program members with the banners they painted.

Two Youth Arts Group members speaking out against injustice at FAD in Albany.

A Youth Arts Group member developing arts skills with the support of Alan Weeks, the first YEP director.