Thanks to the combined efforts of Church of the Epiphany parishioners, members of Southeast Christian Church and Kosair Charities, the children of Churchill Downs backside workers have a new place to gather.

The trio of benefactors has been working for several months to buy one of the “Tumblebus” vehicles from the New Albany, Ind., couple who started the exercise bus program.

The bus, which was re-painted and refurbished, will be parked year-round adjacent to the chapel in the racetrack’s stable area. When backside workers gather for Monday evening worship services, their children are now able to have supervised activities in the bus, guided by certified child-care volunteers.

The germ of an idea for buying the bus was planted in August 2008 when R. Brayton Bowen, a member of the Men of Epiphany group that has spearheaded much of the parish’s outreach work on the backside, discussed the possibility with Ursuline Sister Larraine Lauter, social responsibility minister for the parish.

“Our presence on the backside began about seven years ago, but we’ve been increasing that presence recently,” Bowen explained. “At first we would go once a year; then it was up to three times a year and now we’re out their more frequently on Monday evening’s for the worship services.”

During that August 2008 visit, Bowen recalled, Sister Lauter said she “wished we had a better situation for the children” of those backside workers who came to Monday services. The children usually gathered in the foyer of the backside chapel.

“We thought we could look into bringing a Tumblebus to the track,” he explained. “So I called the Tumblebus people and said we were looking for a used bus and it just so happened that they had one to sell. We visited, stepped inside and the floors are padded for gymnastics and Sister Larraine said, ‘I really like this.’ ”

Then the economy went into the tank, Bowen noted.

But with some constant attention and prodding and legwork, the plan to bring the bus to the backside took shape. Bowen approached Kosair Charities and they offered a grant of $5,000 — “seed money, really, to get the project going,” Bowen said. The original asking price for the bus was $10,000, though that was later lowered to $8,000, he said.

“Then some friends at Southeast Christian heard about the project and they donated $5,000,” said Bowen. “The people of Epiphany have contributed another $2,000, and the money we have over and above the cost of the bus will be used to repaint it and to develop a curriculum for the program.”

There was also the cost of insurance for the bus, which won’t be taken on the road except for fuel and to replenish the generator and propane supplies that operate its air conditioning and heating systems.

The bus isn’t just “repainted,” either, Bowen added. Local artist Bob Lockhart has helped to design graphics for the vehicle.

“It will be used as a classroom for the children,” he explained. “We’ll have lessons on health and hygiene. It’ll have electronic capabilities so we’ll be able to show video tapes and DVDs that are Biblical in nature — and bilingual.”

All the volunteers who will guide the children will have background checks and will be trained and certified in child care. “We’ll have two people with the children at all times and a third to transport them back and forth to the rest rooms,” Bowen said.

“What’s really neat about this is that what was essentially a Men of Epiphany project became a project for the entire parish of Epiphany, and then grew to include Southeast Christian, too,” he noted. “It’s now truly an interdenominational project.”

The bus is currently registered in the name of the Church of the Epiphany, but that ownership will soon be transferred to Churchill’s Backside Ministry program.