American Baptist Men  of New York State

Building better men - Building better churches

 MAN TO MAN

                        OCTOBER 2006

FROM A VOLUNTEER

On Friday September 22 ^nd I, along with 15 other people from around the state, went to Bainbridge, NY as volunteers to help with the cleanup from the devastating floods that hit the Southern Tier in August. We met at the Presbyterian Church Offices in Bainbridge and spent the evening becoming acquainted with one another.

We were awakened around 6:30 a.m. and around 7:00 we went to the Presbyterian Church in Bainbridge and were provided with a delicious breakfast of breakfast pizza and coffee, fruit juices and coffee cake. We made our bag lunches and headed out to Oxford, NY to a home that needed to have its basement cleaned out. The crew immediately got to work and Rev. John Tharp guided us all until it was almost noon. The homeowner surprised us by going out and bringing back pizza and various soft drinks for lunch. Wow!!!

We really appreciated his thoughtfulness!!!

Our second home was in the village of Ninevah and still had some water in his basement.   My heart went out to him as he spoke to someone on his cell phone and told that person that he probably would not be able to financially recover from the devastation and would probably lose his house. We spent the rest of the day (I left around 5:00p.m.) cleaning out his basement which had a severe mold and mildew infestation.

I write this article with both a happy and a heavy heart. We saw and met two different households that were affected by the floods.  One was picking up and had plans to continue on. The other was pure depression and was unsure of his future.

I gained a healthy respect for the resilience of the people down there.  I also found that when a call goes out for us to respond to a call for aid in an emergency, I am going to answer quickly.  We can only believe that although there are natural disasters occurring throughout the world, we too have people right here among us that are in need too.  I hope that the next time that a call goes out from the Disaster Relief coordinator, that we all respond. May God bless us all.

Brad Benton

   Clif Mikolon has been active in NABA which covers Erie and Niagara Counties. In fact this year he’s on the committee for the annual meeting again and he will have a display for ABMEN/NYS there.

   Clif has been a member of the Cheektowaga Community Baptist Church and its predecessor the Polish Baptist Church of Buffalo NY since 1942. In 1949 he married the former Dolores Kaczmarek. They have 3 children and 6 grandchildren (with emphasis on the grand).

  He has had  jobs in his church ranging from Janitor to moderator and almost everything in between. At present he teaches the Senior Adult Class but has taught the nursery, 3rd & 4th grade, Junior Hi, young married Adults, and Jr. Church. He also had membership and teacher training classes. Among positions held beside those mentioned He has been a deacon, trustee, chairmen of Christian Education, Supt. of Sunday School, and various other boards.

  Also the Mikolon's have  worked together on many of the above jobs. If you would like Clif to speak to your group email him at  clmdkm@buffnet.net     

Man of the year insights

Wow! What a gathering of men and young men, at the 74th Annual American Baptist Mens Conference at Keuka College this year.It was a very inspirational time with God and men from the first planning committee to the end service on Sunday in the College Chapel. It was a time spent with "Men Sent by God". To listen to the message of Jerry Cain, President of Judson College. A man who stayed from the first golf T thru the benediction on Sunday morning. He was truly a "Man Sent From God"

I want to thank the AB Men for the "Man of the Year" Award for 2006. It was an unexpected honor and a challenge to live up to through the coming years.

The gathering of men does not end when we leave each other at Keuka.. AB/MEN in New York State continue to show they are "Men Sent by God" as they serve in their local churches, communities. in disaster and other mission stations

John Place

Rev. Jim Peterson, Klaus Naku and Steve Davie attended the ABMen's Conference at Keuka College in August. We learned a lot and grew together as Christian Men. It was fantastic to have over 20 young men joining us for the  weekend to experience there program on the Ropes Course and to join us in other events like the Concert, Sunrise Service and Meals. A fabulous opportunity to mentor and to be mentored. The ABMen and the ABC/NYS Outdoor and Youth ministries programs to provide better programming for our youth.

  We extend the invitation to all ABMen, "young", "old" and "in-between" to join us at the 75th Annual Gathering at Keuka College, August 10, 11 & 12, 2007. The ABMen's Disaster Relief program has been active in helping out flood victims in New York State. Gary Burch from Hartford responded to the request for help. The team went to Pathfinder to help clean up the flood damage at  our American Baptist Camp. A great mission project! We anticipate that more men will respond to future calls for help with Disaster Relief.

  In the Adirondack Association, the First Baptist Church of Glens Falls has a men's group that meets monthly and is in the process of rebuilding to be more active in the church and community. I am sure there are other "Men's" groups in the association that gather to do God's Work. As the Area Vice
President I'm available to meet with men in the Association to help develop Men's Ministries. We have written and people resources to help revitalize your men's ministries. You can reach me at (518) 638-8871, or shdavie@wildblue.net, or 1385 Coach Road, Argyle, NY 12809 so we can explore ways to activate your men's and boy's ministries.
Steve Davie

 COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE NEWS

REPORT ON ABMEN DISASTER RESPONSE

The call went out for a second response to the central southern tier of New York State. The disaster work is being handled through the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery Office in Bainbridge and in Conklin (near Binghamton). Since our trailer was in Sidney (five miles from Bainbridge) I asked a truss building company to move the trailer to the Presbytery grounds. It will remain there until we move it to Rome for the state biennial convention.

On Friday evening most of the volunteers arrived and prepared to spend the night. There were a couple of “bumps in the carpet”. One of the young men had trouble with his car and had to leave it in Tully. He was retrieved with the help of Walter Ketcham, who lives in Tully. One of the men, Harvey Drew, experienced a pain in his stomach, he was taken by ambulance to the Wilson Hospital in Binghamton. Carol and Bob Dickey had traveled with him from Hornell and spent most of the night with him in the emergency room. It was determined that the pain was from a urinary tract infection and they returned to the Presbytery office in the morning. However, they felt it best to return home and did not join us for the work.

We had an excellent breakfast at the Presbyterian Church in Bainbridge and then set out on the day. Our first stop was in Oxford at the home of Josephine and Felix Macklin, who had purchased their home just a day before the flood. A small crew was left there to cut out some of the dry wall and spray potential mold sites. Our second stop was at the home of Aline and Dave Westerguard, where we removed the chip board walls, insulation, studding, and almost all of the other items from the basement, including an old furnace. The debris was placed in the side yard and many of our people worked on pulling out nails so that some of the wood could be reused. The whole basement was pressure washed and sprayed with Shock Wave. It remained damp and I suggested to the home owner that he might obtain a heater from the Presbyterian office to dry out the basement. The homeowner (Dave) provided pizza for lunch, which left the huge question of what to do with the sandwiches we had made and brought with us.

While we were doing this work in Oxford, Harold Files and Doug Howe went to Nineveh to put a new floor in a bathroom at the home of Sean and Rochelle O’Connor. They found that the job could not be finished in one day and stayed over night so that they could complete the work on Sunday. At last report, this was done and Harold reports that a fine new floor is there for this family of six.

After finishing our work in Oxford (about 12:30) most of our group went to Afton to the home of Mary Frisco to remove appliances and take them to the collection site. This did not take very long and then we were on our way to Nineveh, where we went to the home of Theresa Munro. Because of the strange configuration of the basement, due to the fact that it was once a bomb shelter, it took a lengthy time to carry the items out and throw them in the back yard. After about two hours of work, the basement was scrubbed, pressure washed, and sprayed with Shock Wave.

As this work was completed, people began to head home and most of the volunteers had left by five o’clock. Some of us stayed and reloaded the trailer.

I have been in contact with Doug Horne at the Presbytery office. As I understand it, there is little more work to do in their region. Much of the attention is beginning to shift to the rebuilding phase. Some of our volunteers have asked if there is something else they can do. My suggestion is that they contact the:

(October of 2006)

# ONE

Through the National Coordinator of Volunteer Ministries, Victoria Goff, the ABMen of NYS and USA have the opportunity to help with the construction of homes in Gautier, Mississippi.  This village is about two hours east of New Orleans and an hour west of Mobile, Alabama.  The work is being done in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity’s “Operation Home Delivery”.  If you would like more information about this, contact:

# TWO

Flood damage at Pathfinder will require a major rebuilding of the road which descends from the highway to the lake.  The state office is seeking an engineer who could design and oversee suitable repairs.  If you know of such a person, contact:

Booster Club Report:

We are making slow but steady progress in our Booster Club work to help Camp Vick to purchase a tractor for mowing and construction projects. In 2005, we raised $ 4,126 and decided to give the project a second year to help reach toward the goal of $ 20,000.

So far in 2006, we have raised $ 1,535, in spite of getting our Booster Club request out late in the mail. Those attending the Keuka Conference and the Golf Tournament contributed a good portion of this, for which we are grateful. In case you missed the mailing and the annual Booster Club request, your donations for this very worthy cause may still be sent to: ABMen NYS Booster Club, c/o Harold Files, 291 Miramar Road, Rochester, NY 14624.

Thank you for your good work!

Don Lawrence, Booster Club Chair

Right from the start, the men made me feel welcome and not out of place at all. I was touched by the Bibles given to everyone with a dedication inside in honor of my father. He would love that. Among his last coherent words to my Mom and me were to "feed the children." So I am so happy and privileged that I was able to do that by bringing Angel and Isaiah to Keuka for the ABBoys portion of the conference. They want to go back again next summer and so do I.

I tried to sit with different men at meal times to get to meet new people. I enjoyed meeting the husbands of women I know from ABWM NYS. When I got home I emailed the women and told them how welcome their husband made me feel. My life is so hectic, so I appreciated the opportunity to enjoy God's creation and the leisurely pace of the conference. I particularly enjoyed the morning devotion at the lake. What a way to start the day. The men insisted I get in the photograph at the lake with all the conference participants. How welcoming is that!

The banquet was also a highlight for me. I enjoyed the Man of the Year award and think it is a wonderful tribute. Too often we miss opportunities to recognize and thank those people for all they do for the Lord. The message by the keynote speaker at the banquet was also powerful. Those traps brought the message home.

I have to say that whether I was standing on a food line, or walking to a meeting, all the men were friendly and shared their recollections of my Dad with me.  I could definitely feel his presence and again was touched by the warm words about Dad and how everyone made me feel welcome. It was a time of spiritual renewal and rest for me. I know all things are possible with God and that weekend was full of possibilities and challenges. I will be there next year with more boys! (God willing)

So to sum up my experience I felt welcome and accepted. Thank you brothers in Christ.

Thank you for this opportunity for the fish out of water to share just as you men shared God's love and hospitality with me.

Blessings and Shalom,
Joanne