November 2015 - First Baptist Church

the Visitor
November 2015
First Baptist Church
607-273-5800; www.firstbaptistithaca.org; email: fbithaca@gmail.com
Congregational Meeting Set
for Nov. 1st to Decide Future
Course of Action for FBC
Following worship on November 1st, there
will be a congregational meeting to decide
which avenue to pursue during the next
year as the search for a new pastor begins.
Contents
Congregational Meeting Set
for Nov. 1st to Decide Future
Course of Action for FBC
How Music Is Used to Help Build
Community and Family
Trustees Fall Work Bee
Transgender Spirit
Psalms & Songs
Finance Update
Save your Labels for Springbrook
Fall Clean-up (more photos)
Prayers for:
Scholarships for Joke and William
One Man’s Refuse is Another’s
Treasure
Enriched Bread
Sister Corita Kent
Report from Zambia
Voices
Thomas A. Dorsey
From Our Coordinating Pastor
Did God Create Our World
Staff / Elected Leaders /
Ministry Teams
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Choices
As Anne Farrell explained during the
September 27th congregational meeting,
there are three feasible choices.
1. Continue as we have been during the
past months with a Coordinating Pastor.
2. Hire a traditional interim pastor (often
a retired minister).
3. Hire an intentional interim who has had
a transition.
Financial Considerations
The prospective costs of choosing each
option will also be presented along with an
Autumn Glory
How Music Is Used to Help Build Community and Family
On Sunday, October 25th, FBC congregants heard Ithaca College Professor Dr.
Baruch Whitehead deliver a message that
interwove his own childhood memories of
growing up in the deep South, the use of
the Bible and spirituals during the history
of slavery and its evolution to its present
power to build community and family.
A Family of Preachers
He told how his grandfather was a
preacher, his mother was a preacher, his
grandmother could recite any Bible verse,
and he was required to spend Sundays
continued on page 6.
Coming Events
Saturday, Oct. 31st, 8 pm: sanctuary
Ithaca Gay Men’s Chorus — Fall
Concert: “Ghouls Can Have Fun”
Wednesdays, 5:30 pm, Oct. 28th and
following, Bible Study with Rich Barron
Fridays, 8:15 am, Oct. 29th and
following, Meditation in the chapel;
all are welcome
Sunday, Nov.1, Congregational
Meeting following worship.
Sunday, Nov.8, Brunch following
worship.
Sunday, Nov.15, 22, 29, Adult
Education: Group reading and
discussion of the Pope’s encyclical
on climate change, Laudato Si, in
the Library following worship
Trustees Fall Work Bee: Gathered at FBC Saturday Oct. 24th for the Trustee’s fall clean-up were, from left to right are:
Linda Caughey, Barb Fry, Debbie Allen, Marlene Sack, Tony Cotraccia, Kris Scott, Cristian Pia-Miller, Adrienne McNair, Bronwyn Evans, Bill Fry, Elizabeth Pia-Miller, David Caughey, Bill Phelan, Tim Dean, Belinda Adams, Bill Abeles, Tony Lister, Rich
Barron and Curt Ufford. Missing from the photo are Tina Hilsdorf, Josie Zanfordino, Judy Kennison, and Doug representing
the Gay Men’s Chorus.
Photo by Susan Eymann
Transgender Spirit
Josie Zanfordino’s testimony delivered
at the Oct. 4th worship service.
This morning I am privileged to reopen a window into my
own and other transgender peoples’ faith journey. When
I say reopen I am referring to a talk I gave in June 2007
on this very topic as part of our church’s Adult Religious
Education program. I’ve held onto it until the right
moment has been created to unfold it once again. The
moment is now.
psalms & songs by David A Caughey
For those of us who have been moved by
David Caughey’s lovely tenor voice and
guitar playing at First Baptist, he has a
treat in store for us with the release of
his latest CD Psalms & Songs. With the
Sweet, Little Jesus Boy, David wrote all the
songs including the two he wrote for the
Ithaca Festival Parade, Better Together and
Walk in the Way of the Lord. Are You Ready
has a call and response chorus (Are you
ready? - I’m ready). You Know My Name
was inspired by a comment during an adult
Sunday school session on prayer. Knocking
Holes in the Darkness
songs that David wrote back in 2000. He
wrote Only in the Darkness in response to
the senseless tragedy at the Sandy Hook
elementary school. Of Whom Shall I be
Afraid is based on Psalm 27 while Prayer
without Words was inspired by Roman
8:26 in which the Spirit is described as
interceding with sighs too deep for words.
Never Alone and Praiseworthy round out
the CD’s collection of psalm & songs.
To purchase the CD ($15), contact David
who has graciously agreed to donate the
proceeds, after production costs, to our
Parable of Talents. Make this beautiful,
professional CD a Christmas present,
not only for youself, but for many of your
friends and family.
Finance Update
ReceipTs
9-30-2015
BudgeTed
To daTe
$104,072
$101,204
28,500
5,670
Back
Pledges
5,500
6,334
Plate
Offering
9,500
4,909
Investments
6,000
3,165
Bldg Use
3,000
1,435
Parable
Talents
5,000
514
Gifts
1,600
840
2014
Surplus
1,593
1,593
ToTal
ReceipTs
$164,765
$125,664
ToTal
DisbuRsemenTs
$186,308
$122,087
balance
(21,543)
$3,557
Pledges
Reg. Giving
Today I hope that you get that the person you see is
renewed in God’s love. I will not be sharing the dark
things on my journey. Only to say that it was through
working with the dark things in the conversations and
readings I did that the person you now see gradually
emerged. I have attempted to write this in chronological
order. I am intending to make a gift to you here and to
make us a stronger group collectively.
In 2005 several things were opened up to me by the
women in my life. From Pastor Wendy Fambro I received
God’s calming love. From her I got that God loves me
and that I have grace and that I can begin to let go of
my shame of being different. From my sister Nan I got
to sustain me and encourage
me along my way. I am
protected and loved and
surrounded by God’s love so
that in my heart I also know
that I am cherished.
My second reading is from
the Christian tradition and
Josie Zanfordino
it is by Doris Klein a Roman
Catholic nun from the Sisters of St. Agnes.
Journey of the Soul
hidden for so long. As we honestly confront our own
shadow and deep fears, we are called to stand with our
arms raised in a cry of naked surrender before a Divine
Presence who sees through our masks to the truth of who
we are. Surrounded by this Unconditional Love, we can let
down our guard as we continue to discover:
a new companion. She gave me the book “The Rule of
Benedict” by Sr. Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun. This
In our nakedness, we are loved,
In this solitary space of surrender before the Holy,
we are never alone.
along with the Bible at the end of my day I began to see
that God’s love is everywhere. The great challenge I faced
was how to pry myself open to bear witness to the certain
notion that everyone is unique and loved.
We often resist using the word surrender because we
associate it with the shame and fear of “giving up,”
“quitting,” “failing” and “being defeated.” Unfortunately,
these negative nuances often distort the richer
I was fortunate in 2006 to attend the International
Foundation for Gender Education Convention in
Philadelphia. I went there to learn and grow and I
gradually came into more acceptance of how my heart
beats every minute. There I met a great woman, Sr. Louisa
DeRouen, who led a session on Transgender Spirituality.
carries a much richer reality: as we let go, we move into
fullness much greater than we can imagine, a fullness
where we receive exactly what we need.
heard who spoke passionately about the spiritual care TG
people need. I was impressed that she took on her local
bishop on grounds similar to what we do here with our
call to Freedom of Conscience.
My talk today focuses on the discoveries I have made
in the rich traditions of Moslem, Christian and Native
American cultures where they uphold TG people.
th
century Muslim
We Should Talk About This Problem
There is a beautiful creature
Living in a hole you have dug.
So at night
I set fruit and grains
And little pots of wine and milk
Beside your soft earthen mounds,
And I often sing.
But still, my dear,
You do not come out.
I have fallen in love with someone
Who hides inside you.
We should talk about this problem –
Otherwise I will never leave you alone.
In this poem the speaker is my creator urging me to come
out from within myself. This transgender journey is a
journey from within us. I am brought gifts from my creator
Page 2
The Grace of surrender invites us to enter into the Mystery,
to acknowledge that we cannot walk alone in this place.
Rather than assuming a stance of defeat, we ask to
be embraced by a Love that is much greater than the
confusion, pain or frustration we are experiencing. We
ask for a profound gift when, in the midst of paradox
and pain, we pray to stand in surrender. The process of
letting go of our challenging and resistance is slow but,
little by little, we learn to trust this gift that supports us
in our unknowing. Once we accept in our heart the truth
of being loved, we loosen our grip on control and are
surprisingly free to act in integrity and light.
My third reading is from the Native American Tradition. It
is taken from “The Spirit Transgender” by Holly Boswell
The “body-heart-mind-spirit” pattern is an age-old,
universal construct. Most of us spend a lot of our lives
in the “body-mind” mode. Some manage to also be in
“heart space.” But how many actually visit the dimensions
of “spirit” even a few times, much less regularly? I have
observed, however, that many transgendered people not
only visit this dimension – out of necessity – but are often
coming from this place.
What is spirit but the impetus that yearns to manifest – in
In traditional thought there are deities portrayed as
androgynous, having both female and male characteristics
as in dress, appearance or behavior. For example, in the
of Compassion. In Greek mythology we have the god
Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who
Fall Clean-up
Transgender Spirit cont.
By Josie Zanfordino on Oct. 4th
became united in one body with the nymph Salmacis.
Examples of more of these deities are documented by Holly
Boswell and are also found in the Joseph Campbell’s book
“The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”
Then we have manifestations of Divine androgyny with Sri
Jeremiah 29: 11-13
I know what plans I have in mind for you, God declares,
plans for peace, not for disaster, to give you a future and
a hope. When you call to me and come and pray to me, I
me, when you search wholeheartedly for me, I shall let you
I believe, Jesus Christ .
Curt Ufford attending to detail
For me, Jesus embraces both male and female. His male
side showed when Jesus was willing to go into his grief in
the Garden at Gethsemane on the night he was betrayed.
Now the female side. As we all know women have an
extraordinary capacity to bear pain. Jesus embraced pain
willingly by dying on the cross. I also notice how he created
community and was tender and nurturing to the people
who came before him.
Along the way sacred scripture has informed my personal
journey. I will share three short readings with you now.
Isaiah 41: 8-10
But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, to
whom I have said, “You are my servant, I have chosen you.
I have not rejected you.” Do not be afraid, for I am with
you. I give you strength, truly I help you, and truly I hold
Isaiah 42:16
I shall lead the blind by a road they do not know; by paths
they do not know I shall conduct them. I shall turn the
darkness into light before them and the quagmires into
solid ground. This I shall do- without fail.
Bill Abels: cleaning the vents
The last step in my transformation I want to tell you about
was brought about by a very close old friend of mine, Sr.
Kathleen O’Connell. She was the nun who introduced me
to the Christian mystic St. Teresa of Avila. In those early
years she encouraged my readings of Teilhard DeChardin,
a Roman Catholic Jesuit who wrote the simplest and yet
most mesmerizing phrase “plunge into God.” I have come
to interpret this simple yet powerful phrase as an invitation
to claim my vulnerability and my creation. When I open
myself to God in every moment I am playing a big game
that is worthy of me
In 2010, in need of a sense of completion, I went back to
see Sr. Kathy in Waterloo to tell her about me … about
Josie! She regarded me with love and tenderness and
then proceeded to invite me to her convent where I was
surrounded by other loving nuns. This is a friendship I
cherish. I was there for the service in celebration of her life
of 50 years dedicated to being a nun.
This happy feeling of fullness I am experiencing right now
comes from being here with all of you.
A heart-felt Thank You!
Save Your Labels for Springbrook
A longtime local mission of the Christian
Concern Team has been to save labels
licensed organization serving more
than 550 people with developmental
disabilities from across New York State
and beyond. For more than 40 years,
Naomi Hollister has been in charge of
collecting box labels and forwarding
them on to Springbook, located in
Cooperstown NY. Baby afghans were
also knit by FBC members and sent to
the home, formerly the Upstate Baptist
Home for Children.
Bill Fry in the trenches
So in conclusion …
Springbrook History
In 1925, Harriet Parish Smith founded
the Upstate Baptist Home for Children
after experiencing personal tragedy with
a child she and her husband adopted.
The home, founded on a working farm,
served orphaned children, and with
tremendous love, many were successfully
placed in new homes. By the 1960s, the
board of directors changed the home’s
mission to serve children with disabilities
— continuing a tradition of making the
difference in children’s lives.
Page 3
Thanks to Contributors
As Naomi turns over the coordination of
this project to Marlene Sack, she wants
to thank all who have contributed both
labels and afghans for this worthy cause.
Naomi recalls that American Baptist
staff at Valley Forge was most helpful
in initiating these mission projects. She
would also like to thank those who saved
their Christmas cards for years to be sent
to one in West Virginia.
How Box Tops Work
Clip box tops with the UPC bar and
expiration date from hundreds of your
favorite products, collect them in a
plastic bag or container, and give them
to Marlene Sack when a quantity is
collected. Marlene will collect all of our
box tops and send them periodically to
cents for Springbook. Many box top UPC
symbols that begin with 16000, 18000,
36000, 46,000 or 25700 are eligible. To
see a complete list of eligible box tops,
visit:
http:// boxtops4education.com.
Scholarships For Jokebed and William Submitted by Bill Phelan
Please keep in your prayers:
Mudrak family
Emily Young
Nancy Sokol
John Gross
Bronwyn Evans
Grace Evans
Rich Rose & family
Naomi Hollister
John Laney & Joan Yarborough
Ron Drummond
Liz Wilkinson
Judy Kennison
George Damp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations to Gina-Smithson-Compton on the birth of her
son Vaughn on October 11th.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again this year FBC has sent scholarship
money to Mali for Jokebed and William,
the children of Pastor Andre and Mariam.
The funds collected will provide Joke and
William scholarships to a private primary
school along with a stipend for clothes,
school supplies and lunch money.
This allows Pastor Andre peace of mind that
his children are getting a good education
while he pursues God’s work with his
congregation, holding workshops for
pastors in rural Mali, holding summer youth
camps, and ministering to two new churches
not far from the capital city Bamako.
Mariam’s mind is also at ease while she
pursues her ministry running a pre-school
for children in the neighborhood around
the church who would not otherwise have
access to schooling and would just be
hanging out at home or in the streets.
Pastor Andre, Mariam, Jokebed and William
all send their thanks to the FBC for the
support of their education. The Christian
Concern Ministry Team also thanks all of you
for your prayers and your contributions.
William and Jokebed ready for school.
One Man’s Refuse is Another’s Treasure
When the FBC mission volunteers gave a slide
presentation during adult ed Oct. 4th of their weeklong trip to San Lucas Toliman Mission in Guatemala,
Janet Cotraccia told of meeting children in poor
villages that were wearing the same rag tag clothing
as they had seen on a earlier visits. Her story brought
to mind this poignant memory of my own long ago
Peace Corps experience in rural Brazil.
It was time to go. Our two years as Peace
Corps volunteers in Santa Maria de
Jetiba, a rural village in the mountains
were cleaning out our rented house and
packing our belongings. One room of
the house had been relegated as storage
and included several boxes of empty
tins cans. What to do with the refuse
now that we were leaving? Perhaps our
tins? We called the father and his eldest
son over to take a look. Their eyes lit up.
Yes, they could use them. Off they went
carting their treasure trove. A couple of
days later we heard a clatter outside.
Next door, in their swept dirt yard, all
Lily and mom Belinda Adams Oct. 25
with all manner of trains, trucks, pull
toys and other contraptions that they
Page 4
By Susan Eymann
had fashioned from the tins. Christmas in
August has come to this family in the form
of empty tin cans.
New Wardrobe for Children
About the same time I had offered the
mom some of the kettle cloth dresses that
my own mother had made for me in high
school and I had no interest in taking
home. She gladly accepted the gift.
Little did I expect that, a week later, I
would hear a knock on the front door and
the mom shyly asking if she could bring
the children into the house? In paraded
years old. Spic and span, they proudly
stood in a row and showed off their new
boys, blouses and skirts for each of the
girls, all fashioned from the dresses I had
given their mother a week before. She
had taken the dresses apart at the seams
wasted nothing. From the left over scraps
Brazilian children, delighting in toys and
clothes created from our refuse, remains
a poignant memory of my Peace Corps
experience.
You may remember, their grandmother
was struggling to feed and raise 22
orphaned children back in 2001.
Sister Corita Kent
Sister Mary Corita Kent, born Frances
Elizabeth Kent in Fort Dodge, Iowa,
was an American Catholic nun,
educator and artist. She taught
in the Immaculate Heart College
in Los Angeles where her classes
were an avant-garde mecca for
prominent, ground-breaking artists
and inventors
silkscreen Medium
She worked almost exclusively with
silkscreen, or serigraphy, helping to
artwork, with its messages of love
and peace, was particularly popular
during the social upheavals of the
1960s and 1970s. Her collages took
popular images, often with twisted
or reversed words, to comment
on the political unrest of the time
period.
Brands and spiritual Texts
Her screen prints often incorporated
the archetypical product of brands
of American consumerism alongside
spiritual texts. Her design process
involved appropriating an original
advertising graphic to suit her
idea; for example, she would tear,
rip, or crumble the image, then
re-photograph it. She often used
grocery store signage, texts from
scripture, newspaper clippings, song
lyrics, and writings from literary
greats such as Gertrude Stein, E. E.
Cummings, and Albert Camus as the
textual focal point of her work.
1985 Love stamp
Kent designed the 1985 version of
the United States Postal Service’s
special “Love” stamp. Sister Kent
began using popular culture as raw
material for her work in 1962.
Because of her strongly political
art, she and others left their order
to create the Immaculate Heart
Community in 1970 to avoid
problems with their archdiocese and
moved to Boston where she devoted
the remainder of her life to art. She
died in 1986 at the age of 68 of
cancer.
Information
gleaned from
wikipedia.com
enriched Bread: On October 18th, guest speaker Carol
Hockett from Forest Home Chapel and Coordinator of
School and Family Programs at the Johnson Museum of Art
introduced the congregation to the art of Sister Corita Kent,
a Catholic nun, who turned images from a Wonder Bread
wrapper into a meditation on poverty and hunger that
includes quotes from a Kentucky miner’s wife and Gandhi.
(see sidebar)
Report from Zambia
Reprinted from the ZCF Chishawasha Newsletter,
from Kathe B. Padilla, editor
Peggy, Sharon and Charity
Peggy Njlovu is now married and has
a darling little boy named Bright. She
continues to teach sewing to our 5th and
6th grade girls and is also teaching them
bead work and jewelry design. Peggy’s
younger sister Sharon is being sponsored
and is attending university in South
Africa, while her youngest sister, Charity,
is doing well as a senior in high school.
Benson
Benson Zomba is a chef at the Protea
Safari Hotel and told me that he never
dreamed of being as successful as he now
is. He recently became engaged and is
saving up for his girlfriend’s bride price.
Florence
Florence Chilangwa is the head cook at
the restaurant we opened at the store in
Mumbwa, and also helps run the store.
I returned from Zambia in late July very
happy with all the wonderful things
going on at the Chishawasha Children’s
Home and at our primary shool. The
last couple of years the children in our
school participated in both academic and
athletic competitions in the district just
north of Lusaka.
Thoko
As I reported recently, Thokodzile Kauma
was hired by the Zambian government
I’m really proud to report that our
children and our school came in as the
top scholars in the district as well as the
best athletes. Of course, they do have
the unfair advantage in that they get
three meals a day, go to school from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. and rarely have more than
20 children in each classroom. Our goal
at the Chishawasha Children’s Home has
always been to take in impoverished
orphaned children and give them a
chance to turn their lives around. Our
children have once again proven that
given a chance, children will work their
hardest to make a success of their lives.
I celebrated the 4th of July by having
dinner with most of the children who
are now young adults, that came to
Chishawasha back in 2001 and 2002 when
Wisdom
Wisdom Mozoka has a full scholarship at
the University of Zambia and is getting a
degree in mass communications.
quick update...
John and Paxina
Siyanga (aka John) Makunka was the top
student in his high school and is currently
working on an accounting degree, while
his sister Paxina is going to law school.
Page 5
as a physician’s assistant. She is now
working in Northern Province where the
government is planning on opening a
new clinic and is putting Thoko in charge.
In a country with an unemployment rate
of between 70 and 80 percent, every one
of the CCHZ children who are adults and
up with school or
working.
PS from Barb Fry
Our daughter Katie
works for The
Partnering Initiative,
an outreach effort in
Katie Fry Hester
Zambia. She has been
traveling there for work and went to visit
Chishawasha last month. While there she
asked about students and their college
and work opportunities. The outcome
was that her NGO hired Eunice on a twomonth trial basis. Katie interviewed her
said she did very well and decided to
offer her a job.
Thomas A. Dorsey
Back in 1932, I was 32 years old and
a fairly new husband. My wife, Nettie
and I were living in a little apartment
on Chicago’s Southside. One hot August
afternoon I had to go to St. Louis,
where I was to be the featured soloist
at a large revival meeting. I didn’t want
to go. Nettie was in the last month of
lot of people were expecting me in St.
Louis. I kissed Nettie good-bye, clattered
downstairs to our Model A and, in a fresh
Lake Michigan breeze, chugged out of
Chicago...
In the steaming St. Louis heat, the crowd
called on me to sing again and again.
ran up with a Western Union telegram. I
ripped open the envelope. Pasted on the
yellow sheet were the words: YOUR WIFE
JUST DIED. People were happily singing
and clapping around me, but I could
hardly keep from crying out. I rushed to a
phone and called home. All I could hear
on the other end was “Nettie is dead.
Nettie is dead.”
When I got back, I learned that Nettie
had given birth to a boy. I swung between
grief and joy. Yet that night, the baby died.
I buried Nettie and our little boy together,
in the same casket. Then I fell apart. For
days I closeted myself. I felt that God had
done me an injustice. I didn’t want to
serve Him any more or write gospel songs.
I just wanted to go back to that jazz
world I once knew so well...
But still I was lost in grief. ...It was quiet;
the late evening sun crept through the
curtained windows. I sat down at the
piano, and my hands began to browse
over the keys.
Something happened to me then. I felt at
peace. I felt as though I could reach out
and touch God. I found myself playing
a melody, one I’d never heard or played
before, and the words into my head-they
just seemed to fall into place:
“Precious Lord, take my hand,
lead me on, let me stand!
I am tired, I am weak,
I am worn, Through the storm,
through the night lead me on to the light,
Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me
home.”
The Lord gave me these words and
melody. He also healed my spirit. I learned
that when we are in our deepest grief,
when we feel farthest from God, this is
when He is closest, and when we are
most open to His restoring power. And
so I go on living for God willingly and
joyfully, until that day comes when He will
take me and gently lead me home.
Thomas A.D.
For Full Text see:
http://www.fggam.org/2015/09/thomasa-dorsey-precious-lord-take-my-hand/
VOICES Multicultural Chorus, directed by its Artistic Director Lorrene Adams, performed ‘Cherokee Morning Song’ and ‘Deep
River’ during worship October 25th.
How Music Helps Build Community and Family Cont.
in church. “It was an all-day affair and
I hated it,” he recalled. He credited his
grandma with setting out a path for him,
telling him repeatedly him to, “get an
education, get an education.”
messages. In “Go down Moses, way
down in Egypt’s land; tell old Pharaoh to
let my people go,” Moses was code for
Harriet Tubman.
Baruch quoted Colossians 3:22: “Slaves,
in all things obey those who are your
masters on earth...”as one of the Biblical
verses that was used to justify slavery.
He prefers one of his own favorites
from Galatians, “For all of you who
were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ. There is neither
Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor
female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus.” (New International Bible)
During the civil rights movement, they
took the familiar lyrics of the age-old
familiar spirituals and changed the lyrics
to match their march for freedom. “I’m
On My Way To Canaan’s Land” became
“I’m On My Way To Freedom’s Land.”
Songs of Suffering
Baruch explained that the spirituals
that slaves sang were cathartic. They
expressed escape from their sufering,
reunion in heaven, a better way of life.
They won’t about retribution. They
sang songs such as “Roll Jordon Roll”
envisioning a place where slaves would
be free. On Sunday evenings they would
gather in the woods to worship together
with call and response songs and
drumming - the African body aesthetics,
so that they couldn’t be heard from the
house.
The lyrics of the songs often held coded
Page 6
Two Groups after Slavery
Baruch noted that, following slavery,
there were two groups of blacks: those
that returned to their African roots,
and those that attempted to prove to
whites that blacks were just as good
to convey those feelings. He spoke of
Thomas Dorsey’s penning of “Precious
Lord Take My Hand,” to assuage his grief
stricken heart over the death of his wife
and newborn son (see sidebar).
How Would God Sound?
In conclusion, Baruch quoted from
Zechariah 3:17: “The Lord your God is
with you, he is mighty to save. He will
take great delight in you, he will quiet
you with his love, he will rejoice over you
with singing.” “How would God sound?”
asked Baruch. “What is it about music
that builds community and a family?”
From Your Coordinating Pastor,
FBc groups
New creation singers
The New Creation Singers is a small
group of musicians, accompanied on
acoustic instruments and keyboard,
who provide folk and contemporary
Christian music once every 6 to 8
weeks for the services at First Baptist.
Rehearsals are scheduled as needed
to prepare for upcoming services.
New members are always welcome;
those interested should contact Dave
Caughey at 273-7864 or by e-mail at
dac5@cornell.edu.
dinner discussion group
On the 3rd Friday evening of many
months during the year, a group joins
together to share a planned meal,
either at the church or in one of the
members’ homes. This is a gathering
where friendships are forged and
others are renewed.New members
are always welcome. Those interested
should contact Barbara Fry at
barbaraafry@gmail.com.
First Baptist Reading group
Monthly, a reading group meets to
discuss a book that members have
read. Discussions are lively and informative. If interested in joining the
reading group, contact Jud Kilgore at
judkilgore@yahoo.com.
Flower committee
ers from our home gardens, or roadside blooms each Sunday. On Easter
and Christmas, when special displays
of lilies, palms, poinsettias, lighted
trees and evergreen swags transform
the sanctuary, memorial gifts are
welcomed. Throughout the year we
care for plants that add freshness
and peace to our sanctuary. If interested in becoming involved with this
ministry, contact Tina Hilsdorf, Andrea
Staffeld, Marianna Morse or Barbara
Fry to learn more.
Most of us do not like change, though we
can count on it throughout our lives. I have
Hebrew servant of the Persian emperor,
who was sent by that emperor to Jerusalem
to rebuild its walls following the Babylonian conquest of Judah, the destruction
of Jerusalem, and the years of Babylonian
exile. When the Jews were given their freedom by Cyrus the Persian emperor and
allowed to return to Judah, they found
their native land in rubble, including the
the walls, Nehemiah had his work cut out
for him, as the saying goes. In addition to
the massive rebuilding project, he found
that many of the people who had been
living in the destroyed city didn’t want the
walls rebuilt. So Nehemiah and his helpers
had to work to rebuild with one hand, and
hold weapons in the other to be ready to
completing the project. As I said, most of
us do not like change.
We First Baptists have just been through a heart-wrenching change with our
pastor’s resignation and its aftermath. And I look for any hope that I can discern for
rebuilding our precious church family. Over this past weekend I must say our church
showed up on Saturday morning for the semi-annual church building clean-up, the
ed, and I think we all left the experience knowing that our future is secure, even if
challenging. Then, today (Sunday, October 25), the multi-cultural choir, Voices provided the music, and our own Professor Baruch Whitehead took the pulpit to share with
us his experience of African American music and spirituality. And when I went to talk
with our young people, I was surrounded by children and youth, as I had been in the
past. It was a wonderful feeling. If you haven’t recently taken part with us in worship
and any other First Baptist activities, come join us and see for yourself.
Blessings,
Rich Barron, your Coordinating Pastor
Did God Create Our World By Dick Fielding
Many versions of Gnosticism suggest
that God didn’t create our world. “The
Apocryhon of John” describes how
Sophia, the spirit of wisdom, sought
to create an absolute likeness of the
Divinity. Instead of a likeness, she created
an incompetent god called Ialdabaoth.
In the “Gospel of Truth” Sophia wants to
nothing. Her cries of grief became the
components of our world.
Fall decoration by Andrea Staffeld
Coordinating Pastor Rich Barron; bouquet by Andrea Staffeld
“The Bahir” states that God withdrew
from the kingdom of light. Into the
resulting darkness, the Divinity cast his
Page 7
light. The reaction led to the creation of
our world, which was a mix of good ad
evil, beauty and ugliness.
Why did God allow natural forces to
create our world? If God had intervened
in our world, and resolved all problems,
man would have no reason to exist.
SOURCES
The Gospel of Truth and the Apocryphon of John are found
in The Nag Hammadi Library. The concept of Tsim Tsum is
described in The Bahir.
Robinson, James M, general editor The Nag Hammadi
Library, San Francisco 1990 Kaplan, translation,
introduction, and commentary The Bahir Boston, Weiser
Books, 1989.
Visitor Submissions
As our Baptist tradition calls
all of us to be ministers of the
church, each of you is invited to
be a contributor to our Visitor.
Please send announcements,
news articles, features, pictures
or other items of interest to:
susan.eymann@transonic.com
by Nov. 20th for the December
2015 issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What does the Lord
require of you?
To do justice,
Love mercy and
Walk humbly
with our God
Micah 6:8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The whole idea of compassion is
based on a keen awareness of the
interdependence of all these living
beings, which are all part of one
another, and all involved in one
another.
Thomas Merton
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sarah Zipfel Honored: Following worship October 4th, the Children’s Education Team honored Sarah Zipfel for her eight
years of helping out with the children. From left to right are Carole Fleming, Meg Gillard, Bronwyn Evans, Kasieum PiaMiller, Larissa Wolfer, Kasieum Pia-Miller, Sarah, Cooper Pia-Miller, Mamadou Bah and Cristian Pia-Miller. Hans Bump, of
the Christian Education team is not in photo.
First Baptist Staff
Coordinating Pastor: Rich Barron
Secretary: Shella Chace
Children’s and Youth Coordinator:
Bronwyn Evans
Organist: Christopher Morgan Loy
Choir Director: Belinda Adams
Child and Youth Performing Arts
Coordinator: Belinda Adams
Custodian: David Hopkins
Elected Leaders
Personnel Committee
Anne Farrell, Dave Putnam,
Tim Hembrooke
Ministry Teams
Board of Trustees
Tony Cotraccia (chair) Mark Lawrence,
Steve Farrell, Tim Dean, Rich Barron,
Marlene Sack, Susan Eymann, David
Caughey
Education: Meg Gillard, Hans Bump,
Carol Flemming, Leslie Schultz, Mark
Lawrence, Edie Reagan
ABC-USA: Mark Lawrence, Mellisa
Gallison
ACT: Marge Hansel
AWAB: Shella Chace, Josie Zanfordino,
Adrienne McNair
Baptist Peace Fellowship: Meg Gillard
Cornell Protestant Cooperative Ministry:
Sarah Schneider, Bronwyn Evans, Julia
Dean
Kitchen Cupboard: Amanda Ufford,
Sue Hemsath
Rochester Genesee Region: Ossie
Finance & Endowment
David Caughey, Marlene Sack, Janet
Cotraccia, Judy Kennison, Curt Ufford,
Steve Hilsdorf, Bill Fry and Julie Costie
Pastoral Relations Committee
Josie Zanfordino: chair; Rich Barron, Jan Hospitality Ministry: Anne Farrell: chair;
Butler, Tony Lister, Elizabeth Pia-Miller, Shella Chace, Meg Gillard, Alice Grow,
Debbie Allen
Tina Hilsdorf, Barbara Noyes
Nominating Committee
Circle of Care: Amanda Ufford, Sue
Leslie Schultz, Andrea Mooney, Louise Hemsath, Linda Caughey, Liz WilkinMudrak
son, Judy Kennison, Barbara Fry,
Moderator: Bill Fry
Membership Clerk: Tina Hilsdorf
Recording Clerks: Rich Barron/Andrea
Mooney
Treasurer: David Caughey
Assistant Treasurer: Marlene Sack
Financial Secretary: Julie Costie
Church Archivist: Linda Caughey
Cristian Pia-Miller cutting cake.
Heath-Crump, Anne Farrell
Tompkins County Workers Center:
Barbara Fry
Worship: Barbara Fry, co-chair; Debbie
Allen, co-chair; Andrea Mooney, Bill
Abeles, Bill Staffeld, Josie Zanfordino,
Edie Reagan, Michael Clark
Christian Concern: Steve Farrell: chair;
Bill Phelan: co-chair; Sandy MacArthur,
secretary; Louise Mudrak, Baruch
Whitehead, Lynne Glase, Susan Eymann,
Tony Lister, Ange, Jameson & Izzy Romero-Hall, Amanda Ufford, Beth & Matt
Wolfer, Dana Murray-Cooper, Adrienne
McNair
Stewardship Committee:
Steve and Anne Farrell, Alice Grow,
Mark Lawrence, Melissa Gallison, Adrienne McNair, Josie Zanfordino, Janet
Cotraccia, Bronwyn Evans, Bill Fry, Rich
Barron, Tony Lister
Page 8
Louise Mudrak, Susan Eymann, Andrea
Mooney
Flower Committee: Barbara Fry,
Mariana Morse, Tina Hilsdorf,
Andrea Staffeld
Parable of Talents: Shella Chace,
Marlene Sack
Facility Planning: Tim Dean, Dan Lamb,
Louise Mudrak, Mark Lawrence
Myra’s Ministry: Myra Fincher
Interior Decoration: Barb Fry, Julie
Dean, Tina Hilsdorf, Bill Abeles, Anne
Farrell, Andrea Staffeld, Susan Eymann
Library Refurbishing Team
Anne Farrell: chair; Julie Dean, Barbara
Fry, Andrea Staffeld, Linda Caughey,
John Harty
Visitor — November Issue
Editor, publisher: Susan Eymann
Proof readers: Alison Coluccio, Judy
Kennison, Tony Lister,
Contributors: Dick Fielding, Marge
Hansel, Lil Barron
Photos: Susan Eymann