BeachyAM.org--Faith Mission Home

Faith Mission Home

Faith Mission Home (F.M.H.) is a residential training facility for mentally handicapped children and adults. Located in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Faith Mission Home has been home to more than 225 residents F.M.H. was featured in the December 3, 1990 issue of People magazine.

F.M.H. was established in 1965 during the height of Beachy Amish-Mennonite church plantings and missions. Its purpose is to provide the mentally handicapped with the highest quality of life possible by teaching them life skills in a structured Christian environment. Faith Mission Home is staffed by volunteer families and young adults from supporting churches and operates under the joint direction of Amish-Mennonite Aid and Mission Interests Committee.

Today, around 50 volunteer staff care for around 50 residents. Many of the voluntary staff are single young adults. While many residents live in the main building, some of them have learned enough skills to exercise moderate autonomy. Six cottages house small groups of capable residents, who are cared for by live-in staff.

The home was once a clinic operated by the Episcopalian church (St. Anne’s Preventorium) but sold to the Beachy Amish-Mennonites because of the exodus of mountain residents in the years after the establishment of Shenandoah National Park. A plaque on the stone bell tower reads: In memory of ELIZABETH PORTER, August 7, 1932. IN MEMORY OF ALL MINISTERS, TEACHERS, LAY WORKERS, CRAFTSMEN, AND LABORERS WHO SINCE THE YEAR 1888 SO WILLINGLY CONTRIBUTED THEIR SERVICE TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE WORK OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THIS MOUNTAIN AREA THAT COMPRISED THE ARCHDEACONRY OF THE BLUE RIDGE IN THE DIOGEGE OF VIRGINIA. THIS MEMORIAL IS GRATEFULLY ERECTED BY THE MISSION HOME MEMORIAL CEMETERY ASSOCIATION IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1967.