Advocate 2018: Vol. 10 Issue 1: Ministry of the laity

ADVOCATE Upper New York

A publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church

Ministry of the laity

LAITY GLOSSARY | CELEBRATE MINISTRY | SPARKS OF HOPE

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LAITY GLOSSARY

TABLE of CONTENTS

How well do you know your Lay Ministry terms? Take the quiz to find out.

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HANDS FOR HOPE

Learn how a small group of lay members reach out to those who have lost a loved one during the first year of their grief.

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BREAKFAST IN THE BASEMENT

This New Faith Community shares food with the churched and un-churched within the Unadilla community. Learn how they do it.

30 RAMP GUYS

Read about how these 16 retired men demonstrate the love of the Lord by building handicap ramps for their “neighbors-in-need.”

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SUMMER CADETS

The Summer Cadet Cupboard Program’s purpose is to provide weekly supplementary boxes of food to Hilton’s atrisk families during summer break.

The ROAD in Syracuse successfully connects communities. Read more on page 18.

Photo courtesy of Erin Patrick.

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FROM the PUBLISHER

A DVOCATE

Celebrating the ministry of the laity

Upper New York

Upper New York Area

L

ong before there was a United Methodist Church, there were lay and clergy Methodists partnering in ministry. Of course, without the laity, there would be no United Methodist Church, but laity in our Church are expected to be active participants in ministry.

The result for our Church is that there are countless life-changing ministries that have lay leadership rather than clergy or are the result of a partnership between clergy and laity.

This issue of the Advocate will celebrate some amazing ministries with lay leadership right here in Upper New York. This includes ministries with special needs communities, bereavement ministries, feeding ministries, mission work, and much more.

This issue will also explore what it means to be laity in Upper New York and in The United Methodist Church.

Finally, it will explore the vital partnership between laity and clergy in fulfilling our mission to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world.

Stephen J. Hustedt, Editor/Publisher On the cover

United Methodist Men load flood buckets for hurricane victims.

Photo courtesy of Mary Dalglish.

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ADVOCATE Upper New York

A publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church

Ministry of the laity

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Vol. 10, Issue 1

BISHOP MARK J. WEBB Resident Bishop (315) 898-2020 bishopwebb@unyumc.org Editor/Publisher

STEPHEN J. HUSTEDT

UNY Director of Communications (315) 898-2000 x2016 stevehustedt@unyumc.org

Writer/Editor

Social Media/Web

SHANNON HODSON

ASHLEY RIDDELL

Conference Writer/Editor (315) 898-2000 x2019 shannonhodson@unyumc.org

Multimedia/Web Coordinator (315) 898-2000 x2017 ashleyriddell@unyumc.org

Social Media/Web

Video/Design and Layout

SHELBY WINCHELL

MARY DALGLISH

Social Media/Web Specialist (315) 898-2000 x2015 shelbywinchell@unyumc.org

Video/Design Specialist (315) 898-2000 x2018 marydalglish@unyumc.org

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7481 Henry Clay Blvd., Liverpool, NY 13088 (855) 424-7878  www.unyumc.org The Upper New York United Methodist Advocate is a publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church, whose mission is to be God’s love with all our neighbors in all places. It is published four times a year. Materials in the Advocate may not be reproduced unless the item is accompanied by a copyright notation. Periodicals postage paid at Utica, New York 13504; USPS 14025. Postmaster: send address changes to Upper New York United Methodist Advocate, 7481 Henry Clay Blvd., Liverpool, NY 13088. We reserve the right to edit or decline any items submitted for publication.

ADVOCATE Upper New York

A publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church

God’s love in all places

ADVOCATE Upper New York

A publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church

Trusting that God is Enough

ADVOCATE Upper New York

A publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church

Together in prayer

Disclaimer: All photos appearing in

the Advocate, a publication of the Upper New York Conference, have been printed with permission.

LAITY GLOSSARY | CELEBRATE MINISTRY | SPARKS OF HOPE REACHING REFUGEES | DISASTER RESPONSE | MINISTRY TO-GO

YOUR RESPONSES | GRIEF/HEALING RESOURCES | A PROMISED LAND

TECHNOLOGY & PRAYER | YOUNGEST PRAYER WARRIORS | VESPERS AT CAMP

“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

-1 Peter 2.4-5 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we who are many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.”

-Romans 12.1-5

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T

he priesthood of all believers is a key Biblical truth that we claim and seek to live out as followers of Jesus Christ.

This teaching is at the core of our heritage as United Methodist Christians. Part IV of The United Methodist Book of Discipline is entitled, “The Ministry of All Christians” and it boldly defines our mission, the rationale for our mission and how we carry it out. Every disciple of Jesus Christ is called to ministry; every person through faith in Christ, is given at least one spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit that is necessary for the work of Christ’s body in fulfilling her purpose.

While we may not always execute it well, a value of the Upper New York Conference is the ministry of all believers, a partnership between clergy and laity. Our primary task for this season of our life together is to “increase the capacity of Christ-following leaders” – both clergy and lay. We believe that if clergy and lay leaders are equipped encouraged and released for ministry, vital congregations will multiply, people will say yes to becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, and then invite others to that same journey. Those disciples then, through the power of God’s Spirit, will partner with God in transforming the world.

This issue of the Advocate shows countless examples of how God is using all those who follow Jesus Christ in Upper New York to accomplish our mission of connecting others to the life found in Jesus. I give thanks to God for the gifts and commitment of the laypersons within the The Wesleyan movement began because of United Methodist Church. Look at what God is John Wesley’s frustration regarding the seeming doing! Become a part of that amazing work, by powerlessness of the Church of England to reach recognizing God’s call to you for ministry and the great majority of British people. In establish- mission. Continue to go deep in your journey ing a movement that had as its goal to spread with Jesus Christ, recognize the spiritual gift(s) scriptural holiness across the land, Wesley aban- the Holy Spirit has given to you and use them! doned the conventional ministry practices of his The ministry and the mission of the Church day and experimented with innovative ideas. This depends upon it! As Christians, we are all called led to a spiritual revival that swept the hearts to this ministry or priesthood – not just clergy. and minds of people across the land. A foundaEach of us has a responsibility to proclaim the tional approach of Wesley was understanding Good News of Jesus Christ and reach out to the ministry of all Christians, releasing the ener- others with the voice, hands and feet of Jesus. gies of the laity in partnership with the clergy.

May it be so!

In his book John Wesley’s Teachings, Volume 3: Pastoral Theology, Thomas Oden says: “The ministry of the laity is the very purpose of the ministry of clergy in Wesley’s view care of souls is the ministry of the whole laity in the body of Christ.”

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WWW.UNYUMC.ORG

unyumc.org 5

Laity Glossary

3 Laity

An informal poll by the Upper New York Communications Ministry Area reveals the following 11 items as the least known Lay Ministry terms. Can you correctly identify the meaning?

1

nt Lay ser va mber of a United

e ppor tive m er to An active, su gregation who is eag /she A Methodist con . h hurc He rough the c doctrine, th y tr is in be in m ripture, rmed on sc d life of the United is well-info an d to rganization heritage, o urch and is commit te h munit y C m t o is c d h a nd Metho rc u h c h g u d spoken thro inistries an to iniwitnessing m g in iv g care n is willing leadership, . This perso n o ti a clerg y and ic n u comm rship with e tn r a p in y prove his/ tiate ministr ants and willing to im rv other lay se ser vice. r fo ls il her sk worke B A laz y

r

s all the Bible re su e k a m ho must A worker w urch c C lay flat in a h is for the f making le o e rg a h c in The person ser vice D iian worship a aw H l a u n n a

2 Lay member

A The chicken in the producing eg gs

coop respons ible for

B A member of a sports

team that sits sidelines and w on the atches

C An amateur D The voting lay delega

te to an Annua ference sessio l Conn. Each Annua l Conference session is requ ired to consis t of an equal number of lay members and min members. The y may speak an isterial d items coming before the AC vote on all session, with the exception of those relati ng to ministeri membership, al relationships, ordination, an election of cler d gy delegates to Jurisdictional and General C onference sess ions.

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A A perso

n w ho like to lie dow n all th e B From the Lat in wor d me a n ing “lad C A term y� a cong used to desc regatio r n or pa ibe member s of rish D A perso n w ho is f Sunday worship requently lat e to time

4 Certified lay minister

A An individual who goes through a cer tific

ation process to learn how to pro perly lie down

B A cer tified lay ser vant, cer tified lay missioner,

(or equivalent as def ined by his or her Conference), who is called and equipp ed to conduct public worship, care for the congregation, assist in program leadership, develop new and existing faith communities, pre ach the Word, lead small groups, or est ablish community outreach ministries as par t of a ministr y team with the supervision and suppor t of a clergyperson.

C An individual cer tified to greet people

with leis

D The Sunday school teacher tasked with get all the kids to lie down for a nap

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Lait y Sunday

ting

General tablished by the es ay nd Su l ia ec third Sunday A A sp observed on the be to e nc re fe the celCon nday focuses on Su ity La . er ob ct istians. In in O istr y of all lay Chr in m e th of n tio ebra is observed by es, Laity Sunday ch ur ch l ca lo y man the worship lead all parts of s on rs pe y la ng havi service. le who ring all the peop no ho ay nd Su l ia ever yB A specup to Sunday worship late, in which show late least five minutes one shows up at nts lie hich all congrega ecial Sunday in w sp A C ay worship down during Sund es in The noring all the ladi ho ay nd Su l ia ec D A sp Church

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y L e a de r Conference La d

9

tive of an imar y representa pr ’s ce en er nf co and faith A A role model for Christian discipleship life for the ily Church and in da lived out in The ference Lay on C e Th regation. ng co a of le op pe nce leaders to ith other Confere w ks or w er ad Le Conference and vision of the n io iss m e th ll lfi fu n Hardy is in ministr y. Susa ity la e th s ad le d an Leader.

Conference Lay Y N U t en rr cu e th

A Non-clergy ministr y that includes visitation, lead-

ing a study, singing in the cho ir, ser ving at a lunch program, teaching Sunday sch ool, sending out church or personal prayers, volunteering to clean, going on a mission project, or leading or preach at a worship ser vice.

B The state department in charge of allocat

t Johnson B Dr. Scot

world aders across the le re he w t en ev An annual ter all their C gather to lie down for some rest af hard work in the laying ho leads ever yone w al du vi di in e D Th of hands on

A A group that tells congregan ts wh

churches

D When clergy ser ve lay members an elegan course dinner

en to lie down

and agencies that encompass the life of the lait y across the Upper New York Conferen ce. Members work to suppor t, equip, and resour ce the lait y across the Conference.

C The last board to go up during construction of a church

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District

someone is lying

er Lay Lead

all lay ne where n they u m m o c e A A leaders go to live wh retire tniss n w ho K a The perso spised in “The B Everdeen de ies ames� ser H u n ge r G e all o od w h e r h r o b h ig e T he n e C of the lay leaders liv rson in a ipal laype ts and c in r p e h T en D district who repres istr y in lait y in m leads the

Find the answers to this quiz on page 35.

11

t, five -

y session it a L 0 1 ord for A Another w

B A group comprised of representatives from boards

ing funds

C A ser vant who lays tiles down on the floors of

7 Board of Laity

D A panel of experts who can tell if

Lay Servant Ministr y (Lay Ministr y)

nap time

ference ity at Annual Con A gathering of la s by the B there is an addres session. Usually, collection ader as well as a Conference lay le raises ands Fund, which for the Helping H ew York by the Upper N funds to be used ed of congregants in ne Cabinet to assist financial suppor t. er and gossip omen get togeth w n he W C t g with a therapis ord for a meetin w er th no A D

Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders

A Studied at seminary, this class helps determine the link each Conference and their lay leaders

B A group of clergy that tells the laity wh

bet ween

at to do

C A group that initiates strategies and policies to streng the

n the presence and voice of lait y in The United Methodist Churc h, to enable a mutual ministr y among lay people and clergy alike as set out in The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Ch urch, to exchange information con cerning the lay ministr y of Th e United Methodist Church, and to take any and all action dee med desirable by the Association to promote and suppor t lay ministr y.

D Once you go through laity training, this group determines you fate

r

unyumc.org 7

Laity partner with clergy to fulfill the mission

By Kathleen Christiansen, Guest writer for UNY Conference

T

he mission of The United Methodist Church is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Conference Lay Leader Susan Hardy said laity are in ministry as much as pastors, working equally to fulfill this mission.

“If we did not have laity in our churches, I don’t think we’d have Sunday school teachers; we wouldn’t have choirs; we wouldn’t have ministries going out into the neighborhood; we wouldn’t have funeral luncheons for the families who have lost a loved one – the list goes on and on,” she said. “Pastors can’t do it all.”

But Hardy said the number one thing laity provides are disciples.

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“We are disciples of Christ,” she said. “It would be an underpopulated denomination if we did not have active lay persons in The United Methodist Church.”

Some laity feel called to serve. These people are referred to as lay servants. Lay servants serve the Conference, district, and/or local church or charge in any way in which their witness or leadership and service inspires the laity to deeper commitment to Christ and more effective discipleship. Lay servants are ready to share God’s love and their faith; sense God’s calling and are willing to explore it; are willing to go wherever and whenever God calls them; and commit their time and energy to the service of God. Lay servants care, lead, and communicate.

They encourage, equip, and support others for deeper commitment to Christ and to faithful discipleship, which is the mission of The Church.

As Conference Lay Leader, Hardy’s responsibilities are an extension of the lay leader in the local church. She serves on many teams and committees and tries to connect lay persons to roles that offer them leadership and equip them to be the best disciples of Christ as well as serve the needs of various teams. She also partners with the Bishop, cheering him on at times and holding him accountable if something needs to be addressed.

Laity and Clergy work together in basketball program at Sarah Jane Johnson Memorial UMC. Photo by Shannon Hodson.

Those in Lay Servant Ministry (also known as Lay Ministry) serve in many ways, including visitation, leading a study, singing in the choir, serving at a lunch program, teaching Sunday school, sending out prayers, going on a mission project, or leading a worship service.

Before serving as Conference Lay Leader, Hardy was the Cornerstone District Lay Leader. She said UNY district lay leaders serve as a sounding board for their District Superintendents as well as make their District Superintendents aware of gifted lay persons to serve on the various committees and teams.

Lay servants in the Upper New York Conference provide partnership on the various teams in UNY, including the Committee on Native American Ministries, Board of Trustees, and Council on Finance & Administration.

Within Lay Ministry, there are many lay leaders who serve as the primary representative of and role model for Christian discipleship and faith lived out in the Church and in daily life for the people of a congregation.

North Mainstreet UMC demonstrates the partnership between laity and clergy by hosting community meals.

Photo by Shannon Hodson.

“District Lay Leaders are in a unique position to travel to different churches and get to know people and look for ones with gifts that would be helpful to the Church at large,” Hardy said.

For laity interested in realizing their gifts, exercise their leadership, and obtain skills that will help them anywhere, Hardy recommends lay servant courses offered throughout UNY. For information about these courses in your district, visit www.unyumc.org/events/lay-courses.

Centerpoint UMC’s MusicFest is a team effort between clergy and laity.

Photo by Shannon Hodson.

Editor’s Note: Information from this article came from unyumc.org, umc.org, and umcdiscipleship.org. unyumc.org 9

Called to be a Lay Servant

By Lucina Hallagan, Conference Director of Lay Servant Ministries Upper New York Conference

I

became a lay servant in 1991 because I was encouraged by my pastor to attend a lay servant basic course held at Casowasco Camp & Retreat Center. I have always felt a pull to ordained ministry; however, I was never able to begin the process. All the while, for years Lucina Hallagan really, I still had this deep longing and felt that God was calling me to something. I continued to lead worship several times a year, when asked, at my local church and around the District. Every time I would lead worship I would have at least one person approach me afterward and say, “you have missed your calling.” A part of me believed this too.

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One day, I was reading the story of the Gerasene Demoniac. At the end of the story, the man who was healed begged to follow Jesus and travel with him, but Jesus said no. “No, go home and tell everyone about the wonderful thing the Lord has done for you.” (Luke 8:39). At that moment I felt like God had whispered to me, “no, not the path you are thinking about, but I have a different path for you … to work with and for the laity.” I began to embrace the “no” and look for God’s “yes” to me. It was the year before the Upper New York Conference was formed.

District lines were redrawn; new leadership was needed; new teams were forming and new legislation around Lay Servant Ministries was in the works. I was asked to serve and I said, “Yes!” Now, when someone tells me I have missed my calling, I smile and thank them. Then, I assure them that I am right where God is calling me to be – serving the laity of Upper New York and sharing the wonderful things that God has done for me. It’s amazing to play an important role in clergy and laity working together – equipping disciples so that the world is changed. I am so

grateful that God has placed me in a position to help laity in their discipleship to Jesus Christ as we work, hand in hand with the clergy, to transform the world through his love.

Lay Servant Ministries is one of the most significant lay leadership development programs already available within the United Methodist connection. Through this system of equipping and empowering, lay servants have the opportunity to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ who then go and make other disciples.

A certified lay servant, lay speaker, or lay minister is a professing member of a local church who desires to serve the church and who knows and is committed to Scripture and the doctrine, heritage, organization, and life of The United Methodist Church. This is a person who has received specific training to witness the Christian faith through spoken communication, to lead within a church and community, and to provide caring ministries.

Lay Servant Ministries offers a variety of courses to equip the laity for leadership. The courses are not for lay servants only – they are open to all. Courses range from United Methodist History to Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts, Storytelling, to Leading in Prayer, Preaching to United Methodist Polity, Growing Spiritually through Daily Discipline, to Conflict Resolution, and many more. There is something for everyone.

Upper New York has over 800 Certified Lay Servants, 26 Certified Lay Speakers, and 76 Certified Lay Ministers. Lay Servant Ministries are serving as disciples of Jesus Christ in more ways than you can imagine.

At a conference I attended I had the opportunity to speak with many lay servants. One gentleman told me about how he goes to a nearby prison once a week and leads a bible study for inmates. Through this ministry, he is answering a call to become a prison chaplain – as a Certified Lay Minister. A woman told me how she, at the request of her pastor, takes the communion elements to the local nursing homes and hospital every communion Sunday. While there, she prays for and with all of the people she gives communion to. She told me how she had taken the Leading Prayer Lay Servant course recently and how it helped ease her fears about praying publically, how it gave her new insights about ways to pray, and how grateful she was for taking it. I have had many local pastors and elders tell me that they began to hear their call to ordained ministry through lay servant ministries.

Some Lay Servants do lead worship and preach the Word, but more often than not, we serve the body in other areas of leadership and caring ministries. Food pantries, community dinners, mission projects, prayer ministries, smallgroup leadership, event planning and organization, and the list goes on. Without any doubt, the lay servants are active “doers” in most congregations.

Lucina Hallagan presents award to lay member, Penny Proper, for her efforts to raise money for Africa 360.

Photo by Shannon Hodson. unyumc.org 11

Hands of Hope

By Janet Bell, Baldwinsville FUMC

H

ands of Hope (HOH) began as a small group of lay members who shared an interest in developing support for individuals in our congregation and community who had lost a loved one, during the first year of their grief.

To begin, we surveyed current grief support, literature, and resources within our church and local community. Our goal was to begin with a one-to-one support initiative (called Grief Partners) that could be sustained within current resources. Once this was well underway, we would add other areas when they could be accommodated.

Grief Partners: We attended a workshop offered by Stephen Ministries and selected their book, Don’t Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart by Kenneth Hauck as the basis to train volunteers to work as grief partners. This book offers practical guidance and common sense suggestions for how to offer helpful care for grieving people while avoiding the pitfalls that add to their pain.

In order to begin this work, we needed to expand our group. We invited interested members to join us. One of our members developed and taught a seven-week interactive course for expanded group and we began the work.

Once a person is referred (clergy etc.) to our group, or contacts us directly, they are assigned a “grief partner.” This individual is a member of HOH and has completed the training to work one-on-one with their partner for the first year of their grief. We are not professional counselors but caring individuals who are willing to help 12 UNY ADVOCATE 2018, Issue 1

Baldwinsville FUMC

the grieving person to begin healing. During the year, the grief partner sends the series of four Stephen Ministries books at 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 11 months after the loss. Each book focuses on what a person is likely experiencing at that point and offers understanding, empathy, compassion, and hope. To date, we have distributed 100 sets of the books. Partners remain in contact in with their partner throughout the year.

Here are some thoughts that people involved with Grief Partners have expressed: “Thank you for your time and leadership for the study of “Don’t Sing Songs”. With this, I hope to become better equipped to help others.” -JW Pray, HOH member “Thank you for all your support through this past year. The books were very helpful and it was a comfort to talk with you over the past year”. -D.B., Grief partner “The Grief Partner Program facilitated by Hands of Hope has become an essential part of the support the BFUMC offers to people in the first year of their struggle to cope and heal from grief and loss. The friendship and relationship often continues beyond the first year. Several grief partners also provide the book series to friends and family members not connected to the congregation who are grieving the loss of a loved one.” -Rev. Laurence Lundgren

Grieving people all experience grief in their own way. They also seek and find help through a variety of ways. Over the next few years, we added to the scope of activities for our congregation and the community, including a Grief Circle and a Service of Remembrance and Hope.

Grief Circle: This nondenominational support group meets monthly at the Methodist Church. A bereavement counselor (a retired Methodist minister with a PhD in counseling ) is present. It is open to the Baldwinsville community and HOH members host and serve refreshments. This tends to be smaller group with people moving in and out over time as they move further along on their healing path.

Here are some thoughts expressed about the Grief Circle: “I am thankful for the group experience because it helped my wife so much. Also, I learned ways to process grief and how people have such different ways and time tables. Good experience.” -J.F. “When my 49-year-old son passed away from a massive heart attack, I was in shock. The grief circle counselors helped me a lot. It was good for me to talk about him and his creative ways. I now have helped other people to grieve and get well.” -D.F.

Service of Remembrance and Hope: We sponsor this service during the Advent season, which can be a very difficult time for people who have experienced a loss. Invitations are sent to individuals in the Baldwinsville community who have lost a loved one during the year. The service provides a place and time of solace and an evening to remember their loved ones. They are invited to bring a photo of their loved one and place that photo on the altar.

During the service, they are invited to come to the altar, speak their loved one’s name, and light a candle. There is a time of fellowship following the service. Attendees find this service to be heart-warming and healing.

Hands of Hope currently has a membership of 15 lay members and the Associate and Senior Pastors.

unyumc.org 13

Pumpkin project at Celebrate social.

Life gives us moments to celebrate

By Janine Thompson, Machias UMC

M

y youngest sister was born with Down syndrome. At birth, the doctors suggested Judy be put in an institution, but my parents wouldn’t hear of it. Judy loved music and beingnon-verbal, she would often scream with excitement when she heard it. Judy came to church with us when she was small, but as she got older, it became more difficult, so my mother decided to keep her home.

After my dad died, Judy had to move. She had no insurance and it was smart to put her into the care of the state, so her medical needs would be met. About 13 years ago, Judy was moved to a home close to mine. As an adult, who loved the Lord, I wished Judy could go to church with me. It was then that He planted a seed in my heart to try and make that happen.

Unfortunately, as hard as I tried, it seemed the churches weren’t interested. Many of the churches were built back in the time when the 14 UNY ADVOCATE 2018, Issue 1

Janine’s youngest sister, Judy.

Photos courtesy of Janine Thompson.

disabled were institutionalized, and although not impossible, it makes utilization of these buildings difficult. I buried that heart seed and it went dormant for over ten years.

Last December, I attended a Christmas Cantata. Afterward, we enjoyed refreshments in the social hall. Suddenly my dream came back to me.

This newly built hall was totally handicap accessible. I decided to ask the minister if I could start

a service there. I received an email in February saying “Yes” to my dream. I excitedly sent out over 70 letters to churches, organizations, and local newspapers.

I felt my dream begin to sprout. In God’s timing, it would be a reality. He brought the name, Celebrate, to my heart. Celebrate would be for all differently-abled to come together in honor, to celebrate and share in the love of our one true God. He created each of us for a special reason, and although it was long in coming, I felt this was mine. Not only did God provide the hall, but He provided a lady to help with the music, as this was the one area He knew I wasn’t gifted in.

Each month there would be a Celebrate service on the first Saturday, and a Celebrate social on the third Saturday. Only a few attended the first service. Since make-and-take paintings were all the latest rage, I decided to do one for the following social.

Paintings of apples were created as a make and take project during a Celebrate social.

I needed something easy enough for a novice painter. I went online and taught myself 10 easy steps to paint an apple. I thought everything was set. The next thing I knew, all my volunteers had other plans for that weekend. I was able to wrangle a few other friends to help out. A few new people showed, and the group that had preregistered showed up at step number five. Although it wasn’t step-by-step after that, we got through. It was a joy to see the many variations of apples painted.

Friends show off their paintings of apples.

You see just like those apples, each one of us is unique. My sister may not have ever walked or even spoke a word, but she helped make me into a stronger person for having loved her. We can reach out to the differently-abled and appreciate what they have to teach us. Sometimes, like my sister, the only thing they can teach is love. That is the greatest thing. Jesus confirms this in Matthew 22:37-40.

It’s not easy starting up a new ministry.

People get busy and volunteers sometimes don’t show up. Some people suggest maybe God doesn’t want you to do this, or it’s the wrong time, or it should be in another place. One day, I admit, a cloud of discouragement overshadowed me and the Holy Spirit came to me saying “If God doesn’t want you to do this, don’t worry, He will stop you.” The scripture Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” is a verse that encourages me.

There is a small group of regulars that have begun attending Celebrate. I’ve sent out more letters to local churches. I’ve asked them for prayers that God will send those who are called to community service to come and take an active part in Celebrate. Recently I told a friend at church that sometimes I feel like Moses. I have to remember that God was always with Moses through the 40 years in the desert. God is with me too. Sometimes it can take a while for things to grow. Even in the desert, dormant seeds will eventually bloom. I’m certain God will help Celebrate bloom and grow, in His time. unyumc.org 15

Teaching children about emergency relief efforts

By Mike Block, Director of Missional Engagement of the Upper New York Conference and lay member of Immanuel (Church of the Bells) UMC in Camillus, NY

I

t is not often that one has the opportunity to share information regarding regional and worldly events with a young audience. As part of the Sunday School “JAM” (Jesus And Me) session at Immanuel UMC, our youth coordinator, Carol Doucette had asked if I could offer some words regarding the flooding and hurricane activities happening in the news as part of sharing who Mosses was.

The 15-minute session was set up using a few props and pictures as well as videos. The props were small toys and some children’s clothes that were soaked in water to simulate a flood.

The pictures were from worksites our team had been on that reflected what was the children saw on TV, websites, and in the newspaper about Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

The sample picture I used was a picture of a flooded home, then a short video of the family being rescued by a boat, then a set of pictures showing an ERT (Early Response Team) working to clear out a flooded basement. The children were then assembled to don their protective gear to conduct their own “Clean Up” (safety classes and gloves were fitted).

Block simulates the aftermath of a flood to teach children how to respond to emergencies.

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Immanuel UMC

The team learned how to organize and start the cleanup. The tools used were five-gallon work pails and a wheelbarrow. In a darkened room, they cleaned up all the items and placed them into the wheelbarrow. The items the children were picking up reflected some of the things found in a flooded home after the weather related event.

Sunday School JAM session at Immanuel UMC. Photos courtesy of Mike Block.

Now was the time to conduct an end of mission talk/briefing where questions and concerns were addressed. I learned that many of the children did not understand why things could not be cleaned up and reused. I explained that all the items were in water that could have bad or dangerous chemicals or bacteria in it that could make people very sick.

The session went so well that not only were the children pleased in what they learned, but also, they shared this with their families who became very interested and wanted to know more about how they could get involved or trained to be part of an ERT.

Breakfast in the Basement at Unadilla UMC

By Anna Buell, Oneonta District Lay Leader

B

reakfast in the Basement is a New Faith Community that has been active for three years now, and has grown in reaching both the churched and un-churched folks within the Unadilla area. Meeting the first and third Saturdays of each month from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Unadilla UMC located at 73 Main St., Unadilla, this community’s mission to spread the vital message of God’s love that Jesus taught to the surrounding communities.

Breakfast in the Basement is ecumenical in design, in that several of the workers and servers at this event are members of other denominational churches within the vicinity of Unadilla.

Some of the people who prepare and serve the breakfast meal are not even members of any church, but they belong to the mission of this food-sharing community.

Breakfast in the Basement offers a simple devotional theme, an opportunity for participants to examine their own journey in following Christ, and some of the best breakfast items you can imagine: from pancakes and maple syrup, to scrambled eggs, sausage, and even breakfast casseroles. Everyone leaves feeling nutritionally and spiritually full. Breakfast in the Basement serves upwards of 30 breakfasts at each event.

Supported by Pastor Brandi Craver of the Unadilla United Methodist Church and other participants, children’s time begins at 9:30 a.m., intend-

Children’s time at Breakfast in the Basement.

Photo courtesy of Timothy Decker.

ing to bring the children Unadilla UMC into a deeper relationship with each other, their community, the world around them, and ultimately, God. One of the positive outcomes that recently took root as a result of this ministry, was in the summer of 2017, when five children received camp and retreat scholarship support. One child attended a leadership session at Casowasco, two children attended camp at Sky Farm, and two others attended camp at Sky Lake. This was all accomplished from the seeds being planted by the breakfast sowers of this New Faith Community and the support of the Unadilla United Methodist Church.

If you’re ever in the vicinity on any first or third Saturday of the month, stop by the Unadilla United Methodist Church for a warm welcome and some of the best breakfast food you will ever have. Serving breakfast starts at 9 a.m. You won’t have any difficulty finding where you need to be. Just as the name suggests, breakfast is served in the church's downstairs basement. unyumc.org 17

Erin Patrick and the community she creates

By Shannon Hodson, Conference Writer/Editor

E

rin Patrick discovered something she loved about the Methodist Church when she was in fifth grade—she loved the sense of community.

Erin said, “One day my brother started going to church with some of his friends and because he is older than me and way cooler, I thought that I needed to go to….so I went only to hang out with my brother.

It was Dolgeville United Methodist Church.

I really liked the community there—it seemed like one big family so it just kind of fell into place.

I checked out a whole bunch of churches, but I really liked the sense of community that the Methodist church had… I always kind of knew there was a God and I found him at the United Methodist Church.”

Erin is 27 today and is a church planter. She is doing amazing things in the city of Syracuse through The ROAD where she serves as Church Planter, Wholely Grounds Café Manager, and Event Planner. She is fostering that sense of community that helped her find God as a kid and she is doing this for a wide array of populations: the homeless and the hungry, the special needs community, senior citizens, musicians, and more.

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Patrick with brother, Zach.

Photo courtesy of Erin Patrick.

The ROAD was started by the Rev. Becky Laird in 2011; it was the restart of West Genesee United Methodist Church that voted to restart and hand everything over to a new leader.

Rev. Laird said, “My vision was to create a faith community where everyone, no matter their faith background, their economic status, career, gender, marital status, family status, etc., would feel welcome and be able to find a way to connect with God. The other part of the vision was that we were not dependent upon people coming to us, but that we would go develop community where people were.”

One of the major ministries that Rev. Laird started was Open Street Communion. This project involves dozens of volunteers gathering together on Thursday nights and packing lunches to hand out to the homeless in downtown Syracuse’s Perseverance Park every Friday at noon.

Rev. Laird was reappointed in 2016. At the time, Erin had been very involved at The ROAD, particularly with their Wholely Grounds Café located in the building that The ROAD had moved into an Onondaga Hill neighborhood in August of 2014. With Rev. Laird being reappointed, Erin decided to approach the Rev. Dave Masland, Upper New York Conference’s Director of New Faith Communities, to see if she could possibly become a planter for The ROAD. Erin said, “So, I talked to Pastor Dave (Masland) and he said, ‘Take this assessment test and see if you might be a good fit for it.’ So I did, and here we are.

There were six or seven different pages to go through—your spiritual gifts, whether you’d be happy in the church planter atmosphere, your leadership skills, I think maybe how well you might be able to network with people and build relationships.

I know I got 100 percent on the faith one and Dave said that was great, but I was more shocked at the leadership section being high. I have never thought of myself as a leader; I just know that I am a hard worker so I figured whatever needs to be done here, I’ll work hard and we’ll pull through that way.”

Rev. Masland described the assessment he uses; “one of the tools I use in helping to identify and recruit high-potential church planters is the Lifeways Church Planter Assessment. This survey compares potential planters to current planters who are happy and fruitful as church planters all across the country (and across various denominations) in 24 areas. These 24 indices are all related to personality traits and leadership style, and have nothing to do with theological training or perspective. Erin Patrick scored much higher than average in a number of key areas: preparation, persistence, networking with others, service evangelism, evangelistic optimism, ability to recognize and address blind spots, and (higher than all others) in emotional resilience.

Each of these things points to a person with a very high potential for success as a planter of New Faith Communities. Her positive attitude, her persistence even when things do not go as

Erin Patrick

planned, and her ability to relate to and network well with others are things that gave me confidence in her ability to take The ROAD to the next place God was calling it to go.”

And The ROAD was going new places. Erin wanted to keep the ministry to the homeless and the hungry strong, but she also wanted to serve the neighborhood where The ROAD building was located.

Erin said, “There aren’t as many hungry and homeless up here so we really had to switch our minds to look at the area we are in and make connections and find out what they need.

When we first moved in the building, nobody knew who we were. People knew downtown because we’re on the street corner every week.

The ROAD

unyumc.org 19

So, up here, I basically went door to door (handing out flyers) saying, ‘Hey, we’re your new neighbors. Here’s who we are. Would you like to meet us or come join us for something?’

One thing we learned is that there is a huge community of seniors in this area…and many of them have been dropped off and have no family left. They were craving community.”

Serendipitously, 75-year old Michael McCormick happened across The ROAD. A conversation with Erin started an amazing ministry with a retirement community just a couple of miles away from The ROAD. Michael said, “I was at the library on a Saturday afternoon. And I knew that church was over there…it had been there a while.

So I decided to go over and check it out and all these ladies were there for a jewelry/craft show, which I didn’t know was happening.

I saw Erin in the café area and I said, ‘Maybe I’ll have a cup of coffee or something.’ So she made me a sandwich and I had a cup of coffee.

I told her where I was from (the retirement community he lived in) and I said it would be nice if you come over sometime and I will introduce you to the crowd and maybe some people will come over and visit you. I’ll tell them there is a restaurant over here.”

The next week, Erin went to the retirement community and posted a flyer in the community room inviting people to join her for coffee later that week. She said, “So I came over and brought coffee and quite a few people came to

Patrick plays cards with Michael McCormick and Ethel Chekan.

Photo By Mary Dalglish.

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The ROAD hosts a drum circle for the special needs community.

Photo by Mary Dalglish.

meet with me. I asked then what they needed and 96-year-old Ethel Chakan said, ‘I wanted people to come out of their room and hang out with us so here we are two years later!’”

Since then, Erin has brought a Wii bowling game to the seniors every Wednesday from 2:30-5:30 p.m. Ethel, a regular, said, “I just like getting people out of their room and together.”

Erin refers to Ethel as one of her best friends; she visits Ethel often just to play cards. When asked what he thinks of Erin, Michael refers to Erin as “dynamite!” He said, "I knew she was good the first day I met her. You just get a feeling of goodness.”

In addition to her ministry with seniors, Erin has started a ministry with the special needs community. Music therapists were using the Onondaga Hill Library (across the street from The ROAD) for one-on-one sessions with their clients and felt the need to find a better place that had more flexibility with timing. Kat Fathers is one of those music therapists. She began using The ROAD for one-on-one sessions with her clients. She loved the peace and warmth and sense of welcoming that Erin and The ROAD offered so she told every music therapist she knew about it.

Registered Music Therapist Gail Healy learned about The ROAD from Kat. Gail saw The ROAD as a place to expand her music therapy work far beyond one-on-one sessions. Erin said, “I was introduced to Gail through Kat. Gail told me she had this vision of doing a drum circle.

She asked if she could use the space (at The ROAD) and I said ‘Absolutely!’” Currently, Gail leads drumming circles with adults who have special needs every Tuesday and Thursday morning and afternoon. Each session had up to 15 people with special needs along with their individual mentors. Erin said, “We’ve built relationships with over 100 people in the special needs community.”

Gail said, “Erin is so incredibly giving. Since the first encounter, The ROAD community space has been used for numerous classes, get-togethers, and a safe, comfortable place for individuals with special needs to spend time with friends and to be a part of the community in which they live. Erin humbly declares that we have done so much for her and the mission at The ROAD, when in fact; my drumming classes would not be experiencing this rate of success without the warm community space that The ROAD provides.”

Erin loves welcoming the drumming circle attendees. She said, “I am so in love with this group. When they’re here, I just listen in awe.”

The morning drumming circle attendees and the afternoon drumming circle attendees interact and feel the warm welcome of The ROAD staff during lunch at the café, which takes place between each session.

3-year-old Mackenzie sings with musician, Bryan Dickerson at Open Mic. Photo by Mary Dalglish.

When it comes to events, Erin has a way of creating an awesome variety of experiences at The ROAD so that people from all different walks of life can feel connected to her and connected to others. She has hosted craft fairs, murder mystery dinners, mommy and me tea parties, as well as Alpha courses (a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith).

Community…that is what attracted Erin to the United Methodist Church as a young child and that very concept helps her to create a thriving ministry at The ROAD. Erin said, “Going back to where I’ve come from…I really only kept going back to that church because of the community I felt. So to create a community here In addition to the homeless and the hungry; that connects people from everywhere and helps the seniors; and the special needs ministries, Erin others meet people they would have never met also opens the doors to The ROAD to musicians without this purpose was my vision. I had to every Monday for Open Mic. Many of the musihold on to ‘Community.’” cians are in their 50s and beyond and participate To learn more about building communities at in Open Mics across the Syracuse region every The ROAD, watch the video at: https://vimeo. day of the week. Erin refers to this core group com/uppernewyork/theroad. as the “Old Guys with Guitars.”

When their regular Monday night gig at a nearby venue cut Open Mic from their schedule a couple of years ago, Erin welcomed them to have their Open Mic at The ROAD. A typical Monday will have 15-20 performers ranging in age from their teens to their 70s. Bryan Dickerson, one of the Old Guys with Guitars explained, “This is one of my favorite open mics; Erin is the heart of The ROAD; she makes it very comfortable for us all to be here.” unyumc.org 21

Hardy removes “no” from vocabulary in path to Conference Lay Leader

By Kathleen Christiansen, Guest writer for UNY Conference

I

n her path to becoming Conference Lay Leader, Susan Hardy learned not to say “no.”

In 2007, she began preaching when her church was between pastors. A retired pastor approached her and asked Hardy if she had thought about taking lay speaking classes. A retired teacher, Hardy was curious to explore lay speaking, to learn how to compose an effective sermon.

Hardy then had to nurse her parents through their final illnesses and felt very drawn to Jesus Christ at that time, she said.

“You need something stronger than just human to go through those transition times,” Hardy said.

In 2012, she talked to her District Superintendent, Cornerstone District Superintendent the Rev. Sherri Rood, about how she couldn’t find the response “no” in the Bible.

“No is nowhere in the Bible,” Hardy said.

“When God calls, no doesn’t work. You can run; it doesn’t work. You can delay; it doesn’t work. You can try to hide; it doesn’t work. So, I told her that I was going to say yes to whatever came up.”

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Hardy served on her District’s Board of Ordained Ministry in 2012, and two years later, Rev. Rood asked her to be the Cornerstone District Lay Leader – and her answer certainly wasn’t no.

“I loved traveling to different places and meeting different people,” she said of her time as a District Lay Leader.

When Dr. Scott Johnson, the former Upper New York Conference Lay Leader, discussed stepping down from his post, everyone looked around the room, but Hardy noticed something.

“It looked as though his eyes never left mine,” she said. “As an educator, that struck me because educators look out at the world like it’s a classroom; we’re going to look left; we’re going to look right; we’re going to look front; we’re going to look back. It felt like he was boring right into mine.”

Hardy returned to Rev. Rood and said, “I have never experienced anything remotely like this, but I think I am being called for this role … ” And at the 2016 UNY Annual Conference session, Hardy was elected Conference Lay Leader, a role in which she embraces yes and avoids saying no.

How Clergy and Lay members form a District Leadership Team Niagara Frontier District

By Jessica White, Niagara Frontier District Lay Leader

O

ctober is always an interesting month. We celebrate the work of the laity and appreciate our clergy in the local churches. But sometimes, we do not celebrate the work that is done together.

Neither lay ministry nor clergy ministry will bear much fruit if Jessica White there is no partnership between the two. I truly believe that any successful ministry, at any level of the church is only successful when clergy and lay are working together for the same goal, and are in partnership. It is a very John Wesley thing to do – have clergy and lay work together for social justice, to meet in fellowship, to worship together, to share the burden together, and to be in prayer together.

I have been blessed to see this happen in the Niagara Frontier District and within our District Leadership Team. The Rev. Wayne Butler, District Superintendent of the Niagara Frontier District, and I were intentional in making sure that the leadership team represented the District and was made up of equal members of lay and clergy from all parts of our District. We share our faith stories and lift each other up in prayer, and we work together, with the understanding, that we are all ministers in the eyes of God, just that some are called to ordained ministries and others lay ministries. And all on the team are active participants in the work we have done.

During Charge Conferences in 2016, the District Leadership Team went to each grouping and shared what the team was about. One of the stated goals was that the team would meet regularly with others in the District in prayer and fellowship. We held true to our word. Our first prayer meeting was in May 2017 and held at Cleveland Hill UMC in Buffalo. The District Leadership Team, as a team of clergy and lay, worked together on the presentation and worship service of our first prayer meeting. Lay and clergy took turns telling their testimony on where God is leading us in our District. There were over 40 people there that night. It was powerful to see the Holy Spirit at work.

Our second meeting was in September at Metropolitan UMC. It took place not long after the events at Charlottesville. Our focus on this meeting dealt with the hurt, and overcoming evil with good. The District Leadership Team again prepared the worship. We asked the hosting church to provide two people (lay and clergy) to do a witness on the topics we had chosen to pray about and discuss. We prayed together as a district, as Christians, for healing, for understanding, for peace. Again, we had over 40 lay and clergy together in fellowship, prayer, praise and worship. And the Spirit was with us that night.

Our prayer meetings are just one small part of the work that God is calling our District to do, but there is power in prayer. People are coming together from all walks of life to live in the connection and as Christians. And people are excited to be in prayer and fellowship with each other throughout the District. This is a wonderful blessing! unyumc.org 23

The Cleaning Kit Project: A Caring Response to Flood Victims

By Colleen Farnan, Saratoga Springs UMC

M

embers of the Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church (SSUMC) wanted to do something concrete to help people affected by the recent hurricanes and subsequent flooding.

When news stories described the devastation experienced by people in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, our congregation was moved to action.

The effort started as a conversation in the hallways of the church. “Church members said that we should do something to help the flood victims,” according to Laura LeCours, Lay Leader and a member of the church’s Mission Team.

This conversation sparked the project. Ideas were raised and a cleaning kit project was suggested.

With this project, buckets are filled with 16 types of supplies. The buckets are sent to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee On Relief) and are ultimately distributed to locations that have been affected by natural disasters. Since 24 UNY ADVOCATE 2018, Issue 1

Members of SSUMC assemble flood buckets.

Photos courtesy of Saratoga Springs UMC.

SSUMC has untaken cleaning kit campaigns in the past, people were familiar with this type of project.

At SSUMC, the project got its start when one member facilitated a donation from a local company. Laura said, “The company offered to donate 50 buckets so the challenge was on us to fill all the buckets.”

Church members were invited to donate by pledging money or by bringing one or more items to fill the buckets such as laundry detergent, clothesline, air fresher, dish detergent, or a household cleaner. Financial donations were used to order many of the remaining items including cleaning wipes and garbage bags.

Once the project was underway, the response was “immediate and overwhelming” according to Laura. Dave Gibbs, Co-chair of the Mission

Members of of all ages participated in the assembly.

Team with his wife Betsy, related that “the donations were very generous and involved a lot of people in the congregation.” On a single Sunday, the church received all the financial and donation pledges needed to fill all the buckets. On the following Sunday, people who pledged cleaning supplies brought them to church.

The Saturday night before the final Sunday of the campaign, all the supplies for the buckets had to be moved from another location in the church to Fellowship Hall. The required contents were organized on tables in Fellowship Hall so that members of the congregation would be able to participate in filling the buckets the following morning.

Church members of all ages from children on up, were involved with the project. Chase Demick, age 13, along with his mother, Sue Demick and 13 other volunteers helped to organize the stations and sort out the cleaning supplies on Saturday night in preparation for the final Sunday of the campaign. Sue explained, “Chase likes to help people. We had the time and people were needed. We couldn’t go to Houston or Puerto Rico physically. Sometimes, you can’t give money but you can give your time.

That is just as important.” She explained that the project was significant because people affected by flooding would know that other people care about them.

On the final Sunday of the campaign, Pastor Heather Williams and Pastor Drew Sperry incorporated the project in the Children’s Time

segment of the Sunday worship service. This caused a lot of excitement for the children.

The pastors explained that there were empty buckets to be filled. Prior to the service, pastors asked church members who were scattered throughout the sanctuary to hold various items that were to go in the buckets. As the pastors called out the specific items, children walked (ran) to the person holding up the item, and returned with the item and placed it in the bucket.

By the end of the Children’s Time, Laura indicated that the children knew exactly what the project was about.

After the first worship service on that last Sunday of the campaign, the buckets were filled.

The project was laid out well so church members could pick up the empty buckets on their way out of the sanctuary and then move from table to table filling them with all of the required items. At the end of the line, the buckets were checked for accuracy and were then covered.

Once the buckets were ready to go, Will Chamberlin, another Mission Team member as well as Dave and Betsy Gibbs transported them to the Upper New York Conference United Methodist Center in Liverpool, NY. Will related that all 50 buckets were packed in the back of his pick-up truck and they almost couldn’t close the truck’s tailgate. Conference staff greeted the group warmly and appreciated the delivery.

Representatives from UMCOR could then pick up and distribute the buckets filled with cleaning supplies to the area where they were needed most.

All in all, the response of our congregation to the cleaning kit project was overwhelming.

Resources were mobilized in three weeks to complete the project. The organized effort was a collective project involving almost everyone in the church from youth on up. Justice focused outreach is a core value of Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church Saratoga and part of that Springs UMC outreach means that we are all called to help others in need. unyumc.org 25

A Ministr y of Engagem ent

By Anna P. C ampus, First United M ethodist Churc h of Delmar

C a mpu s w ith Syrian K Photos cour te urdish family. sy of Anna Cam pus.

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I

n 1954, this quotation appeared in the Readers Digest by Allen Saunders, the creator of the Mary Worth comic strip. "Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." Just before I retired, I created a list of about 25 things I planned to do such as playing golf, neatly organizing all my photos into albums, writing a novel, and so forth.

Three years later I can point to only one of those goals that I actually pursued, and that was to implement my training as a literacy volunteer.

I began by posting a notice in the Greek Orthodox Church bulletin. I imagined myself offering free English lessons to Greek immigrants who had just arrived, the older ladies dressed all in black perhaps. There were no takers for my offer, but soon after, I received a phone call from one of the church members who happened to be an ESL teacher at an Albany grade school. “Hey, she said, ‘I saw your posting and I need a volunteer in my classroom. We have so many kids coming in from countries around the world, and they don’t know how to speak English. So how can they learn anything in the classroom? They can speak Arabic, or Spanish, or Farsi or Nepali but not English.

And some of them cried on the first few days of school.’”

So my journey began locally where I bonded with so many names and bright faces, kindergartners through fifth grade, boys and girls, all eager to learn. Currently I am in my second year at the Arbor Hill Elementary School, after two years at Albany School of Humanities.

need to actual hands-on, face-to-face practice.

He calls these “Ministries of Engagement” where relationships are formed and needs more deeply understood. Some examples he poses are tutoring in a local school, helping the homeless, and assisting fire victims.

In John 17:18, Jesus calls us to go outside the church to serve, to love and to transform within the larger community, whether it be our local city or across the ocean. God uses us as vehicles of transformation. This act of transformation works both ways, as in Matthew 10:39 “Those who find their lives will lose them” or as expressed in the truism “sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself.” When I was in Athens this fall on vacation, I stopped by the Orange House where I had volunteered in January. There were different people there, both residents and volunteers, but it was like coming home. As I looked around the walls of the room, I felt the ghost of my former self, which had been transformed through my time there.

During a recent Sunday service at First United Methodist Church of Delmar, Pastor Amy Gregory posed the question, “How can we live with joy when others are suffering?” She mentioned Martin Luther King Jr.’s book In an Inescapable Network of Mutuality, which explores the tensions of fortune and misfortune in the world. Like Pastor Amy, I am a devotee of Karl Jung who believed that the union of polar opposites is the way to the divine.

Through these efforts, I became aware of the Syrian refugee community both in Albany and Athens, Greece. In January, I traveled to Athens to teach not only English but also Greek (having been raised in a Greek-American household, I am fluent). The site was a three-story building called The Orange House and this NGO provides a place of residence for women and children, as well as language classes for the neighborhood refugee community. One of the Red Cross International protocols in this sort of activity is that you must not try to impose your religious beliefs onto the people you serve. But it is indeed possible to communicate, through your words and actions, the Christ-like behaviors of love, non-judgement, and generosity.

In his book, Shift, Phil Maynard talks about elevating to the next level of ministry, in other words, moving from passively contributing to those in

Campus stands with Syrian Kurdish brothers. unyumc.org 27

Clothes Clubhouse for Kids Where the slogan is – where God’s love covers every body

By Carol Barnes, Tioga Center UMC lay member Tioga Center UMC 28 UNY ADVOCATE 2018, Issue 1

T

ioga Center UMC’s Clothes Clubhouse for Kids provides free, good used clothing, as well as new underwear and socks to children in the local school district. At back-to-school time, $20 gift cards are given to school-aged children.

The Clothes Clubhouse had its beginnings in 2010 when the church participated in a countywide, back-to-school fair for kids. The kids who attended moved from station to station for giveaways and activities. With the encouragement of our pastor at the time, Donna Taylor Martin, we became US (underwear & socks) for Kids.

Church folks provided new socks and underwear and we were able to give the kids that stopped at our table a bag with two pairs of new socks and two pairs of underwear. With this introduction to the needs of kids in our community, thoughts and prayers turned to the need for clothes and shoes. With prayer and discussion, we determined this was a project that wasn’t just an idea of folks who loved kids, but that we were being called by God. With that affirmation we went to work gathering good, used clothes and funds for new socks and underwear, plus gift cards for new shoes, plus a plan for getting the word out and distribution.

The Clothes Clubhouse has been operating for seven back-to-school seasons! It is open for one or two hours, ten months of the year. Backto-school time is when we are the busiest.

In August 2017, we served 51 children from 20 households. It has been interesting to see some of the children grow over the years. There are usually stuffed animals and books to give away too.

There is a team of at least six women that keep the project running – sorting and storing the clothes plus helping the families select clothing, socks, and underwear. Our current pastor, Rev. Mary Jean Simonin, is always encouraging and helps when she can.

In addition to the clothes, we also try to provide a warm and friendly atmosphere for the families and children. Although the area is small, we have a “play corner” for children and usually have a snack. Most recently, we have been more intentional in our efforts to make sure families and children know that Jesus loves them and so do we. While none of the Clothes Clubhouse families have participated in worship or Vacation Bible School, we are planting seeds.

Grand opening was August 25, 2011. We set up the very limited selection of clothing that we had, but we did have plenty of new socks and underwear plus $20 gift cards for shoes. Twentythree children from six families came that first day. During our first back-to-school season, several $20 gift cards for shoes were distributed.

How is this ministry funded? We were blessed by two grants for starting up–one from a local child-serving foundation and a UNYC mini-grant for new ministries that reach out into the communities. The Clothes Clubhouse would not have started nor would it have continued without the generous giving of prayers, time, energy, and money from folks at our church and the Smithboro UMC. We are able to network with our community.

Many families provide the good, used clothes we give away. The school includes the schedule on the monthly menu and lets us know of a particular need.

Used clothing at the Clothes Clubhouse for Kids.

Photos courtesy of Carol Barnes. unyumc.org 29

The Ramp Guys with ramp number 400.

Photos courtesy of Glenn Davis.

The Ramp Guys

By Glenn Davis, Ramp Guys Coordinator

T

he Ramp Guys are a group of 16 retired men who demonstrate the Love of the Lord by building handicap ramps for their “neighborsin-need.” Most are members of the Avoca United Methodist Church or Bath Centenary United Methodist Church. The group was started in 1998 by the Couples Club of the Centenary Church. Dan Reppert was the coordinator.

When the Methodist Church in Avoca burned to the ground, several members of Centenary offered their assistance to the Avoca men who were volunteering to help build their new church. After the new church was completed, to show their appreciation, some of the Avoca men helped the Centenary men build a ramp for a person in need. The Christian fellowship was overwhelming and the “Ramp Guys” were off and running.

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Avoca UMC

Bath: Centenary UMC

They worked through Centenary United Methodist Church under ProAction, which provided the funding for the materials. The Ramp Guys provided the free labor and their own tools and expertise. During the early years, 10 to 20 ramps were constructed each year.

After ProAction discontinued the ramp program, Steuben County Office of the Aging took over the funding. Today most referrals come from New York Connects, a division of the Office of the Aging. They have several sources of funding, including donations, and provide the majority of the funding for the materials. In 2012, Dan stepped down as Coordinator and Glenn Davis took the reins. In recent years the need for ramps has increased considerably. As the

population ages and more emphasis is placed on keeping people in their own home, the need for ramps just keeps growing. We now construct between 25 and 50 ramps each year. They are intended to be temporary and are designed to be reused as many times as possible.

The ramps are made with all pressure-treated lumber and held together with coated deck screws. This construction allows the ramps to be easily removed when they are no longer needed. Some have been in place for years, some for only a few days, and most have been reconstructed in several different locations. The last task is to install cedar-colored roofing to the ramp so it will not be slippery when it is wet or has snow on it.

The Ramp Guys are very dedicated Christian volunteers who truly love the Lord. They share so much love, enjoy the fellowship, have fun and really show what Christian Love is all about.

Ministering to the people they help is most important to them. About half-way through the build, the Ramp Guys take a break starting with a Prayer Circle. We invite the recipient to join us if they are able. After some refreshments and fellowship, we go back to doing the Lord’s work.

To date, 470 ramps have been constructed all over Steuben County. Most ramps are built for senior citizens, but some have been for young children. No matter the need, the Ramps Guys will be there to help people with accessibility to their homes.

Ramp number 469.

The State Building Code states that a foot of ramp must be built for every inch of drop from the door sill to the ground. A typical ramp is 24 to 36 feet long, although some are as much as 100 feet or more. Normally, with a crew of 8 to 10 men, a ramp can be constructed in a little more than a half- day, although depending on the terrain, some long ramps require a couple of days to complete. In 2015, 45 ramps valued at $25,909.87 were constructed. Only $14,421.27 of new materials was purchased. Thirteen ramps no longer needed were taken down, reconditioned, and the used materials were utilized to reduce costs. 2016 was a little less demanding with only 26 ramps built. So far in 2017 (at the time of writing this article (Oct. 2017)), 32 ramps valued at $22,671.83 requiring $8,938.40 of new materials and 1397 man hours have been built. There are still 14 ramps on the “to do list” and 11 ramps have been recovered.

God is good! Every time someone who is not eligible for any funding needs a ramp, a used one becomes available. He has always provided what is needed. And as for the Ramp Guys, our pay is when we see someone using a ramp crying “I am free;” “I can safely exit my home without help;” “I can now enjoy my patio;” or “I no longer have to be a burden to my family.”

Ramp number 465.

Most of the Ramp Guys are in their 70s and 80s, but they are determined to help as many as possible. unyumc.org 31

Hamburg UMC

By Linda Sentz, Hamburg UMC

G

reat things are happening in Hamburg! God is on the move.

Hamburg United Methodist Church sits in the center of the charming village of Hamburg, NY and has been a pillar in the Southtowns area for more than 100 years. A leader in outreach and ministering to the poor and afflicted, HUMC also sits in the midst of the heroin and opioid epidemic that has ravaged Western New York.

There is tremendous human suffering in the community as a result of addiction. Families are devastated and torn apart by opioid addiction.

The conversation among churches has been evolving through meetings, conferences, and workshops for clergy. Rev. Jan Hubbard, interim transitional minister at HUMC and licensed social worker, began her work with other members of the clergy over the winter of 2016-17. A small team of volunteers from HUMC has been working feverishly since the late spring of 2017 to implement programming for families and individuals on site at the church in the Sparks building. The team has reached out to other denominations in the community through Churches in Action in order to build a faith-based coalition to support and participate in this ministry. Clergy and lay people are coming together, laying the foundation to launch Sparks of Hope.

32 UNY ADVOCATE 2018, Issue 1

Sparks of Hope volunteers, Jonathan Sentz (Left) and Bob Shaw (Right) install sign on opening day.

Photos Couurtesy of Linda Sentz.

Partnering with community organizations is crucial in order to best serve the community.

To date, partnerships have been established with Western New York United Against Drug & Alcohol Abuse, Hamburg Drug Free Communities Coalition, Town of Hamburg Court, Village of Hamburg Court, Hamburg Central School District, and BestSelf Recovery (formerly Lake Shore Behavioral Health).

As a church family our goals are: • increase awareness through educational programs for families • prevent at-risk young people from falling into addiction through youth mentor groups • provide support/help for families of the addicted through support groups • offer faith-based recovery support services for recovering individuals

At-Risk Youth In order to prevent addiction, young people who are at risk need intervention. Youth who have been identified through school or court processes have begun meeting regularly at Sparks with a counselor who provides selfesteem building activities, life skill activities, and fellowship. Family support workshops and classes are being developed for implementation in 2018.

Family Support Support groups for families of the addicted will be another offering through Sparks of Hope.

Preparations are underway for support groups to address family members experiencing issues caused by addiction. We seek to provide comfort, information, and hope. Programming will operate in a comfortable manner supportive of family members and those in recovery.

Classes and workshops will be open to family members and their loved one in recovery as an opportunity to strengthen family bonds that may have suffered during the addiction crisis in the family. Class attendees will not necessarily know whether other classmates are recovering addicts or family members of addicts. The focus of the classes and activities is returning to normalcy and learning to live life fully, free from drugs.

Endless Possibilities Through volunteers, there is virtually no end to what can be offered to the recovery community through Sparks of Hope. Pursuing interests and hobbies, becoming healthy, finding true passion for life and enjoyment in daily life will help restore wholeness to individuals who are recovering their life, finding their way back from addiction. Finding joy in simple pleasures and learning how to find a new normal are all important and achievable goals.

• During recovery, it is necessary to maintain good health, nutrition, and wellness. Sparks of Hope can offer a great variety of yoga, cooking, and exercise classes; • Art, music workshops that promote selfexpression are expected to be incorporated into Sparks as well as opportunities to share creatively with the Sparks community as well as the outside community; • Career counseling and job-seeking is a vital aspect of resuming life after recovery as a contributing member of society; • Budgeting, preparing taxes, balancing a checkbook and learning many other facets of drugfree living are vital to complete recovery.

Individuals in Recovery For more information about Sparks of Hope Why a recovery support center? Individuals or to join the faith leader coalition for Sparks of in recovery need a hand up, a hand welcomHope, please email Lynda Sentz at: ing them back to a new normal. They also need sparksofhopecenter2017@gmail.com. spiritual care. The target population of Sparks of Hope Recovery Support Center are young adults and adults who have been treated for opioid/ heroin or other addictions and who are seeking reintegration into the community and into a healthy lifestyle of recovery in a healthy and sober manner. The goal is for the center to be driven by the needs of individuals in recovery.

A recovery coach will oversee the center and be available to share the good news of Christ’s love and salvation with anyone who walks through the door. A schedule of pastoral care is Sparks of Hope committee members: Rose Caldwell, under development as well through the partnerJudy Black, Pastor Jan Hubbard, Beth Stefani, Lynda ship of local churches. Help and hope are key Sentz. Missing from photo: Bonnie Bonavito and Deacon Vivian Waltz. components. unyumc.org 33

Helping hungry children with the Summer Cadet Cupboard Program

By Lara Schuler and Manuela Groth, Hilton UMC

Hilton UMC

34 UNY ADVOCATE 2018, Issue 1

I

n the Spring of 2015, the Missions Team of Hilton United Methodist Church started an outreach program to help local families in need. The Summer Cadet Cupboard Program’s purpose is to provide weekly supplementary boxes of food to Hilton’s at-risk families during summer break.

These families have been identified by counselors at the Hilton School District elementary and middle schools. The children are provided with food in their backpacks during the school year and many of them receive free or reduced lunch.

The summer months can be a great time of food insecurity so the Hilton United Methodist Church is responding to this need. This program runs with no cost to the District or the participating families.

What is in the boxes?

The weekly supplementary boxes of food contain staple items such as bread, cereal, milk, juice, eggs, peanut butter, jelly, rice, pasta, pasta sauce, along with fresh produce donated by local farms or gardeners. In addition, the boxes also contained household items such as dish soap, hand soap, laundry detergent, etc. These provisions were either donated by the volunteer families, our church family, or purchased through monetary donations and grants through Foodlink.

When does the program run?

The program runs from the first week of summer break and continues all the way through Labor Day weekend. The families will pick up their supplementary boxes every week at HUMC. If pick-up is not possible for a family, the boxes are delivered by volunteer families.

How many people do we serve?

During the summer of 2017, we distributed approximately 10,000 pounds of food to the most food insecure students and their families in the Hilton area. Additionally, we partnered with various other churches and volunteer members to provide each student with a book bag full of school supplies for the upcoming school year, free haircuts, and special drop-in times at the Hilton Baptist Church Clothes Closet. Special safety information was also shared with our

Suplementary boxes are packed with food and household necessities.

Photos courtesy of Hilton UMC.

families at the Back to School Bash by The Center for Missing and Exploited Children and bounce houses and games were provided, in addition to dinner. All in all approximately 100 children and adults received support during the summer months.

We ended the 2017 season being able to make a sizable food donation to the Hilton School District Cadet Cupboard Program to help kick off their school year program. Additionally, we check in with our families periodically throughout the school year and provide assistance if needed again during each of the major school breaks as well as the holiday season.

Lait y Glossa r y Answer K ey (pg. 6 -7) 1. Lay servan t: A 2 . Lay membe r: D 3. Laity: C 4. Certif ied la y minister: B 5. Laity Sund ay: A 6. Conference lay leader: A 7. Board of L aity: B 8. District lay leader: D 9. Lay Servan tM 10. Laity sessio inistr y (Lay Ministr y): A n: B 11. Associatio n of Annual C onference Lay Leaders: C unyumc.org 35

Personal Hygiene Closet supports Syracuse Northside residents

By Sally Tartaglia and Mickey Webb, Lay members of Gethsemane UMC

Gethsemane the products can be carried easily.

UMC

T

he Gethsemane United Methodist Church has provided Syracuse’s Northside with a “personal closet” for many years. When parishioner Marilynn Wuster was widowed and left with limited income, she realized how difficult it was to afford (sometimes very expensive) personal items.

Her own experience sparked an idea to initiate a program where those in need could obtain personal items at no cost. Support from the church, as well as enlisted volunteers, set the plan in motion.

Gethsemane UMC provides a room to store personal items and a space for volunteers to work and distribute items to individuals who come to pick them up. In order to sustain the personal closet, parish children pass a can during services to collect change to support this ministry. Members also participate in a reciprocal agreement with Bellevue United Methodist Church, exchanging work in a food program for donations of personal items. In addition, church members donate money and personal items and volunteers spend many hours organizing, ordering, and maintaining this much-needed program. To bolster the program, the church itself budgeted funds to enable this program to continue.

The personal closet is open every Friday from 10:30 a.m. until noon. Identification and verification of Syracuse Northside residency is required.

Each month, 55-72 needy individuals and families benefit from this service. At the time of this writing (October 2017), 430 people or families have been served. Some items supplied through this program include: toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shampoo, feminine products, soap products, toilet paper, deodorant, etc.

There are no other programs in this area that provide this type of service. Volunteers see a greater need this year than last year. More supplies have been going out than coming in. Admittedly, it is a struggle to keep the shelves filled. Each week, fewer items are available to distribute. The need is always there and appears to be increasing. Nonetheless, this program would be impossible without the amazing support we receive from the laity.

The personal closet functions in an organized fashion: • A volunteer orders supplies from local stores.

• Another volunteer picks up the items and delivers them to the church.

• Others stock the shelves, fill bags for distribution, and assist in handing out supplies.

• The local Tops Market donates bags so that 36 UNY ADVOCATE 2018, Issue 1

Volunteers provide supplies for families in need.

Photos courtesy of Gethsemane UMC .

Lay Leaders gather for the annual meeting of the Northeast Jurisdiction Association of Conference Lay Leaders.

Photo courtesy of West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

What it looks like when lay leaders across the Northeast meet

By Drew Griffin, Lay Leader of the Binghamton District

O

n Sept. 29, 2017, Conference Lay Leaders, Associate Conference Lay Leaders, and District Lay Leaders from all around the Northeast Jurisdiction gathered in Morgantown West Virginia for the annual meeting of the Northeast Jurisdiction Association of Conference Lay Leaders.

For three days, this connectional group shared in worship, learning, and mission work. The West Virginia Annual Conference and Suncrest UMC were the hosts for this year’s meeting.

On Friday evening at dinner, Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, Resident Bishop of the West Virginia Annual Conference, provided an update from the Commission on a Way Forward. After dinner everyone gathered in the sanctuary for worship and Holy Communion with a message from Bishop Stiner Ball entitled “Moving Forward.”

Saturday morning found the group in worship again; this time the message “Sharing Our Faith” was delivered by the Mon Valley District Superintendent Rev. Rick Sale. Later that Saturday morning, a thought-provoking training session was led by Upper New York’s own Conference Lay Servant Director, Lucina Hallagan, on “Telling Your Story.”

After lunch, the group took a field trip to a local mission site, Scott’s Run Settlement House, located in Osage, WV. The folks at Scott’s Run Settlement House provide services to those most

in need in Monongalia County. Tens of thousands of people are served each year through the food bank, baby basics pantry, backpack feeding program, and a variety of seasonal outreach services.

When volunteer assistance is available, there are also programs and services that meet additional needs, such as literacy training, home repair, and weatherization. Scott’s Run also provides fellowship programs for residents 55 and over.

A weekly “lunch and learn” is offered the first, second, and third weeks of the month; the fourth week of the month is a covered-dish gathering.

While visiting this site, the group of Lay Leaders were blessed with an opportunity to help Scott’s Run mission work by preparing approximately 900 weekend backpack meals for their backpack feeding program.

After dinner Saturday evening, each Annual Conference represented at the gathering had an opportunity to share “their story.” The focus of these stories were centered around mission and disciple-making ministries taking place in their respective conferences.

The gathering concluded with the group celebrating World Communion Sunday with the wonderful folks at Suncrest UMC. In addition to World Communion Sunday, the morning was also made special with beautiful music provided by a full symphony orchestra.

Meetings like this fully represent the richness of the Connection in the United Methodist Church. unyumc.org 37

Lifetree Café

By Sue Dunlap, Pennsylvania Avenue UMC

L

ifetree Café, an outreach ministry of Pennsylvania Avenue UMC and its Fresh Start Faith Communities, provides a new interactive opportunity that invites people to gather weekly to explore life and faith. Dubbed as a “Conversation Café,” this nationally-syndicated program distributed by Group Publishing features real stories of real people, guided conversation, Biblical insights, prayer, and time to build relationships, laughter and fun all in one hour each week!

There is no membership, no preaching, no singing, and no cost for the participant. Each week, the Lifetree Café Values are read aloud…

“You’re welcome just as you are. Your thoughts are welcome. Your doubts are welcome. We’re all in this together. God is here, ready to connect with you in a fresh way.”

We first started Lifetree Café at our Fresh Start Corner in Arnot Mall in Horseheads, NY four years ago as a way to connect with people in a secular setting. Currently, we host Lifetree Café on Thursdays 7-8p.m. at our Fresh Start Church House, located at 206 Fourth St. in Watkins Glen, NY, and this has proven to be a positive way to establish a foothold in the village as we develop a New Faith Community.

38 UNY ADVOCATE 2018, Issue 1

Lifetree Cafe

We believe that God is at work in everyone’s life all the time. Our goal is to help, not hinder, and to bring people from all walks of life into relationships with each other and with Jesus Christ.

Doug Pollock writes in his book, God Space: Where Spiritual Conversations Happen Naturally, “Both Christians and non-Christians have very real perceptions about one another that keep us from interacting in redeeming ways. It’s been said that the only thing more difficult than getting the Church to go to the world is getting the world to come to us….I believe God wants Christians to make the first move….If not-yet Christians are convinced the Church is not a safe space to experience community or inquire about their spiritual yearnings, where is that space? And what does it look like in a world that increasingly says no to our traditional God spaces?”

Lifetree employs methods that Jesus used: • He befriended.

• He met real human needs.

• He welcomed nonbelievers and outcasts.

• He engaged people in conversation.

• He asked questions. He listened.

• He told stories.

• He let people grapple with the meaning of His stories.

• He patiently let people discover who He is: their Lord and Savior.

And Jesus used regular everyday people to carry out His work. Likewise, Lifetree Café relies on everyday followers of Christ to carry out its mission, to lead the program and associated activities, to participate in Lifetree conversations and to shine the light of Christ.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) Lifetree Café provides a welcoming atmosphere for everyone, even those with questions, doubts, opposing beliefs…and we’re there to serve them, love them and to demonstrate to them the love of Jesus. How? First we pray!

Then we create a cozy, coffeehouse atmosphere with tables for four–the ideal number for some real conversation and sharing. Next, we gather a

Discussion groups at Lifetree Cafe.

Friendship Team- a small group willing to setup simple refreshments and drinks, be ready to welcome our guests, sit at a table, and be a part of the conversation and build friendships. And we pray some more! When the hour begins, a ‘Host’ introduces the topic and asks a prepared ice-breaker question from a script provided with the monthly materials…and the Lifetree Café begins! The hour continues with excerpts from the weekly topic, interspersed with group questions.

Lifetree Café tackles the topics that most people deal with—topics about the big (and little) stuff that shapes our lives: Family. Friends. Fears.

Busyness. Balance. Money. Materialism. Health.

Heaven. Peace. Purpose. People are encouraged to share their stories, with their own group of four, and sometimes with the larger group, and to listen to others stories.

At Lifetree, faith isn’t a subject to be mastered. It’s a relationship to be nurtured. We plant seeds. We water them. But the miracle of growth is God’s to perform. Lifetree Café simply creates an environment for the Holy Spirit to work.

Refreshments are made available to those who attend the Lifetree Cafe discussions.

Photos courtesy of Sue Dunlap.

Lifetree Café discussion groups are hosted in a variety of venues, such as coffeehouses, cafés, pubs, restaurants, community centers, and churches. For additional information on starting your own Lifetree Café, contact the website: www.LifetreeCafé.com. unyumc.org 39

7481 Henry Clay Blvd.

Liverpool, NY 13088

www.unyumc.org