Fundraiser set for Friday to benefit Blue Tassel Farm

Hope area residents are invited out for an evening of delicious food, music and company as friends of Blue Tassel Farm gather at 6 p.m. Friday at WILLow LeaVes of Hope for the Annual BTF Auction and Fundraiser.

For more than 30 years, Tim McNamee and his wife, Kathy, have worked with inner city youth and at-risk populations in and around the Indianapolis area. A few years ago, the couple decided it was time to continue their ministry, but in a very unconventional way.

When the couple moved to the Hope area they had a vision, but God had His own in mind, McNamee says.

In 2016, McNamee and his wife, Kathy, relocated just 35 or so miles outside of Hope with a vision of starting a ministry to help inner-city youth learn about the love of God through creature and creation – those things they’ve never seen before or had any experience with in a relatable, mundane way.

Now, more than five years later, Blue Tassel Farm has grown beyond what the McNamee’s envisioned was possible and the only way left to go is onward and upward.

“We had a three to five year plan to get Blue Tassel Farm up and going,” McNamee says. “But God allowed it to move much quicker than that. We had our grand opening in 2018 and we’ve been doing it ever since.”

Friday’s event is one of two annual fundraisers held to benefit Blue Tassel Farm, McNamee says, with the other being a golf tournament that is held at Clifty Creek Golf Course.

Blue Tassel Farm offers rest and respite from the noise and bluster of city life, McNamee says. His program is geared to at-risk individuals from children to adults, including women who are rescued from sex trafficking and homelessness.

Open to inner city children ages 8 to 18, Blue Tassel Farm works closely with the youth and their counselors to offer a three-day weekend retreat designed to bring at-risk youth closer to God and nature.

“When we were ministering in the inner city we bussed in 400 to 500 kids a week and did kids church for them,” McNamee recalls. “Out here, we believe God wanted us to narrow it down to about 12 kids at a time and spend a lot of time with them rather than do a mass amount of kids.”

McNamee says the kids’ reactions when they arrive at the 10-acre property, which has three Amish-constructed cabins that sleep six people each, are fantastic. Many have never been in the country, let alone have met a cow, seen a chicken, hiked a forested trail or rode a horse. It is not uncommon for the youth to be a bit fearful upon arriving and into that first evening when the sun goes down.

When you are accustomed to city sounds, that lone coyote off in the distance can sound way more menacing than it really is, McNamee says.

“It is surprising how close the kids want to be to you all of a sudden when it is dark outside and the animals are making noises,” McNamee says. “We don’t bring the kids out as strangers, we bring their counselors, too. There’s always an adult and a lot of flashlights.”

As McNamee reflects on the work his ministry has done, he says part of his mission isn’t just to offer a momentary pause in the dysfunction and chaos of the lives of those visiting, but to give them the tools and skills necessary to break the cycle of poverty.

“It is about getting people here to see the farm and experience it,” McNamee says. “I get it all the time, ‘There is a peace and presence here that I’ve never felt before.’”

If they reach just one child and are able to make a difference, that is a blessing, McNamee says.

“Our job is to teach them there is one authority that can help you get out of this,” McNamee says. “We’ve seen them do it. If we have one of 20 kids make it out of the inner city that is a success.”

The farm’s annual operating budget is $140,000, McNamee says. That funding allows for McNamee to serve as a full-time missionary, one full-time farm hand and one part-time office staff.

Historically, Blue Tassel Farm’s WILLow LeaVes Fundraiser has brought in between $10,000 and $15,000 annually, McNamee says. He is hopeful this weekend’s event will rival, and maybe exceed, previous years.

McNamee, a Hauser alum, says he is grateful for how it seems this journey back to Hope has brought everything full circle.

“We do this thing at WILLow LeaVes every year because those ladies are wonderful and I went to high school with them,” McNamee says. “It has been amazing how God has brought us all back together since I moved back to town. It is just amazing.”

Hope singer/songwriter Avery Tallent says he will definitely be in attendance Friday evening as he is offering one of a few artist-autographed guitars for auction, alongside musical colleague Sally Webster.

“I think that is really cool,” Tallent says. “I’ve never been asked to do that before. The guitar may go for face value, but that’s OK, anything I can do to help that’s good.”

Tallent says taking part in the auction is one thing, but it is really about coming out to support McNamee and his ministry.

“I think what he does is awesome,” Tallent says. “I’ve never really known a ministry quite like what he does. I think it is one-of-a-kind and definitely one I want to support.”

Friday’s auction will be officiated by Christy’s Auction House, based out of Indianapolis, McNamee says. Among items up for bid, in addition to the guitars, are nearly two dozen pieces that range from vacations and Disney items to paintings.

The event will also feature two new elements.

First, McNamee will create an acrylic canvas painting while Paul and Jennifer Bunting perform a few songs, he says. He defines this part of the evening as a bit of an “experiment.”

“I have to create the painting within the length of the song,” McNamee explains. “What I do is I paint the painting upside down and no one knows what it is until the end of the song when I flip it over. The auctioneer will then auction it off.”

In addition to painting under pressure, McNamee will debut his first album “Shotgun.”

The album’s title track was written in the wake of his nephew's untimely death from a heroin overdose a couple of years ago, he explains.

During the service, McNamee was approached by his nephew’s two younger sisters who gave him a hug as they always did, but this time was different.

“There was a look of confusion in their eyes,” McNamee says. “He was their hero.”

In most settings, the term “Shotgun!” is used to denote a call-out of sorts for dibs on front seat before a road trip. McNamee says his song is also a call-out – for being courageous and present while taking charge of one’s life.

“The song is about being in the front seat to see everything God has for us,” McNamee says. “Not in the backseat wondering what is my life about, but side by side, I’ve got shotgun. It is about looking up into the sky and knowing God is there, but understanding we still have to go through this hard time.”

Doors will open at 6 p.m. Friday evening with dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. Live music will begin around the 7 o’clock hour with a special moving presentation by McNamee’s daughter, Jaclyn Miller, and the auction will begin at 8 p.m.

McNamee says he is hopeful for the event on many fronts, but most importantly that the message of the ministry and its works are received and recognized as an opportunity to make a difference.

“There is no question about it that we are trying to pull at the heartstrings of people to show them what the need is and secondly, how they can make a difference,” McNamee says. “My hope is always that they see these kids are in trouble and if someone doesn’t step in to help them, they will follow in the steps of their parents and grandparents. When we are working with any of these families, if they show they want more and are serious about getting out of their situation, we help them by giving them the tools to get out.”