WS Chronicle

Mildred Thompson Hash returned to heaven after living a life of service to others in obedience to God with determination, passion and dedication on earth for 95 years, her family says.  Her life was filled with helping others such as the poor, the hungry, the orphaned, the unloved and the needy.

Her family decided to start a scholarship fund to assist homeless women in their education. The Mildred T. Hash Torch Award was born to help others.  And a local chiropractor is encouraging donations to the fund by offering new patients who donate to the fund next week a discount on services. Next week is Family and Friends Week at the office.

Mrs. Hash was a sought after speaker who always brought a spirit-filled message of hope.

Born June 22, 1921, in Jonben, West Virginia, she was the first of 12 children born to Pete and Mamie Thompson.  She married her soul mate, Bishop Reuben Kelby Hash, and they parented 12 children.  During the 1950s, she and Bishop Hash founded several churches in Virginia.

In 1968, Bishop and Mrs. Hash moved to Winston-Salem, to pastor St. Peter’s Church of God Apostolic, which was then on Highland Avenue. Under their fiery leadership, the church began to flourish and grew out of the basement space.

“My parents have been humanitarians for as long as I can remember,” said Francene Hash, daughter of the Hashes.  “They had a community garden before the phrase community garden ever entered the dictionary.  They fed the whole community.  It was just all about community during their era while they also were pastoring a church.”

“St. Peter’s used to be known as the little church in the hole over on Highland Avenue,” she continued.  “But my father always had big visions, and now St. Peter’s World Outreach Center is one of the largest churches in the state of North Carolina.”

One day, Mother Hash had a dream of a field of red dirt where a sleeping beauty in a glass case was laid. She opened the case, and the sleeping woman said, “Where have you been? I have been waiting for you.” Immediately a search committee was formed, and the result was the acquisition of the current property on Old Lexington Road where St. Peter’s Church and World Outreach Center now stands.

Mother Hash lived a consistent life of serving God and serving His people. Because of her magnanimous spirit, everyone felt loved by her and loved her immensely. One of her favorite sayings was, “Put a lock on love” and she set the example by living it.

She was a beloved mother, not only to her own but also to the motherless. She was a peacemaker, psalmist, teacher, preacher, and prayer warrior who served tirelessly alongside her late husband. She was the epitome of a real first lady and a pioneer in the Triad area for many women’s programs during a time when it was not permitted for women to take the forefront in ministry.

Out of her own personal and physical challenges, she was still able to be a blessing to others by praying for those who needed healing, all the while walking out her own healing.  She and her husband touched so many lives by opening their home to the homeless, traveling missionaries, and to the community at large.

“As my mother grew in age, she still always had a heart to help,” said Hash.  “As she got into her 80s, she was no longer able to get into the community, but still wanted to do humanitarian work.” Mother Hash passed on Wednesday, June 7.

Francene Hash said while she and her mother were volunteering at a homeless shelter, teaching personal development classes, someone suggested that they start their own nonprofit organization.  They decided to take that person’s advice and they started Project Up, which is a nonprofit that caters to furthering the education of homeless women. 

Along with the nonprofit, they decided to start a scholarship fund to assist those homeless women in their education ventures and chose to name it the Mildred T. Hash Torch Award. 

“We don’t collect food and clothing for homelessness because my mother and father were big advocates of education,” Hash said.  “We believe that education and changing mindsets is the key to changing homelessness.  The food and clothing programs are wonderful, but they are Band-Aids, and at the end of the day our responsibility is to teach people how to be self-sufficient.”

Send donations to the Mildred T. Hash Torch Award for the Education of Homeless Women and Children at www.TeamProjectUp.org or mail to 380H Knollwood St., Suite 257, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.