Gainer honored for years of service

GILMAN -- For her lifelong dedication to ministry and efforts to alleviate suffering or distress in others, Connie Gainer, co-pastor of The Refuge Church of Gilman, received the Chapel of the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award in a ceremony conducted recently at the church.

The award is named for four U.S. Army chaplains -- Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist minister; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish rabbi; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic priest; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed minister -- who gave their lifejackets to crew members aboard the USAT Dorchester after it was torpedoed by a German submarine on Feb. 3, 1943, during World War II. The chaplains linked arms and prayed as they sank beneath the waves in the incident that claimed 675 lives.

Presenting the award and conducting the induction ceremony was Elkins Marine Corps League Commandant Roger Ware, a recipient of the Chapel of the Four Chaplains' Legion of Honor, Humanitarian Award and Bronze Medallion Award.

"With her brilliant smile and encouraging words, Connie is an advocate for the less fortunate, the homeless and the disabled, and works diligently with a sincere heart to fulfill whatever needs may arise," according to Ware.

In 1990, Gainer and her husband, Kevin, established The Refuge Church, formerly on Lavalette Avenue in Elkins and presently located on a hilltop in the Gilman community near Stalnaker Run Road.

In the past 32 years of ministry, Gainer has worked alongside her husband to use her carpentry skills to construct wheelchair ramps, complete home repairs for neighbors and for the widows of their church, and fix damaged homes and area churches after storms. In addition, she has cooked and delivered meals to provide food for needy families in several counties, provided transportation to individuals for medical appointments and comforted family members whose loved ones are seriously ill.

Gainer established the House of Mercy pregnancy crisis center in Elkins and was the manager of the Christian Faith Bookstore, providing a selection of quality religious materials to the area's faithful. She served as youth leader at Hart's Chapel Methodist Church in Kerens, which incorporated a ministry of visiting the elderly, as well as youth pastor at Alpena Church and Sycamore Grove Church in St. George.

She and her husband organized a group from West Virginia that traveled to Gulfport, Miss., to construct a house later donated to a family left homeless after Hurricane Katrina. She also helped to establish a church in India and to supply water for a church orphanage in Africa.

The daughter of the late Robert Chesley and Mary Lou Carr England, Gainer is a lifelong singer and organizes all the music for the Refuge Church. With her mother, she provided songs and music for funeral services throughout the area.

She has donated her time and money to assist charity fund raisers and weekly bingo games for the local fire department and helped organize a fund raiser to purchase a recliner for a disabled military veteran.

As a Legion of Honor recipient, Gainer's name will be listed on permanent record at the Chapel of the Four Chaplain's interfaith memorial chapel in the Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.