July 2015 - First Baptist Church

the Visitor
July 2015
First Baptist Church
607-273-5800; www.firstbaptistithaca.org; email: fbithaca@gmail.com
Bronwyn Evans Named
New Children’s and
Youth Coordinator
Contents
Bronwyn Evans Named New
Children’s & Youth Coordinator
1
“We Care” Listening Visits Planned 1
Farewell to the Hasanis
2
First Baptist Annual Picnic
3
A Word from Our Coordinating
Pastor
3
Finance Update
4
Congregation Votes to Change
Program Year
4
Finance Update
4
First Baptist Choir Picnic
5
Trustee Meeting Notes
5
June Cabinet Meeting Highlights 5
The Power of the Small Church
5
Storyteller Marni Gillard
6
Congratulations to Sally and Izzy 6
Staff / Elected Leaders /
Ministry Teams
6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coming Events
Sunday, June 28th, Rev, James
Touchton, Baruch Whitehead
June 30th, ACT annual meeting:
7 pm, Unitarian Church, presentation
Alternatives to Violence Project
Sunday, July 5th, Rev. Tony Lister
Wed, July 8th, ICAN Picnic, 5:30 pm
Sunday, July 12th, Rev. Barbara Rhudy
Sunday, July 19th, Dr. Linda Nicholson,
Sunday, July 26th, Rev. Cindy Maybeck
Coming in September: Adult Education:
“Who We Are” 11:30 - 12 noon
after worship
First Baptist Family
We look forward to your
presence for the celebration of
our 50th wedding anniversary
August 29th from 1 - 4 pm at
our home in Berkshire.
Rich and Lil Barron
All are delighted to welcome
Bronwyn Evans to the staff of First
Baptist as the new Children’s and
Youth Coordinator. Bronwyn, the
daughter of Pastor Emeritus David
Evans and his wife Grace, has
been a lifelong member of First
Baptist, and therefore brings a rich
institutional history of our church. A
counselor by training, she has also
taken courses at Colgate Rochester
Seminary over the last few years
During the next few month
Bronwyn plans on connecting with
families within the church as she
plans, along with the Children
Education Committee, the fall
Sunday School curriculum.
Bronwyn Evans: “I am very excited to join the staff as the Children
and Youth Coordinator. My vision is that as an entire church
community, we embrace the joy of engaging with our children and
youth, and that we provide for them an enriching and fun Christian
education experience.”
“We Care” Listening Visits Planned for the Summer
At the January Congregational Meeting
a number of parishioners volunteered to
participate in a Stewardship Initiative.
The group began meeting a couple
of months ago, and following several
productive sessions, decided to undertake
an ambitious all-church visitation
program over the summer months.
communities. A group of us volunteered
at the congregational meeting in January
to express our stewardship commitment
to this community. To celebrate and learn
from each other, this group of volunteers
plans to visit all members of First Baptist
this summer, to bear witness to the many
ways we are living as the Body of Christ.”
Listen, Engage, Care
The purpose of the visits is to engage
with each person in the First Baptist
family, to listen to the concerns and
most important, to convey the sense that
First Baptist cares about each of us. The
visits are not intended to be requests
for monetary donations, but simply to
create an opportunity to listen and hear
Unique Opportunity
Therefore, each First Baptist member
and friend will be contacted by phone
to set up a visit by a visitation team
member. This offers each of us an unique
opportunity to express what First Baptist
means to us, what we would like from
and for the church and what talents we
might bring to the church.
Visitation Team
Stewards of God’s Gifts
Group convener Rich Barron writes. “We
are all stewards of God’s gifts, each in
our own ways. We are the church every
day in our expression of these gifts in our
Steve and anne Farrell, alice Grow, tony liSter,
Mark lawrence, MeliSSa GalliSon, HuGH tucker,
adrienne Mcnair, JoSie ZanFordino, Janet cotraccia,
Bronwyn evanS, SHella cHaSe, ricH Barron, Bill Fry
Farewell to the Hasanis Submitted by Amanda Ufford
Hasani Family: From left to right,
Agim, Buki, Jetmir, Liridon and Elmedin who is graduating from ithaca
High School June 25th.
Photo courtesy of Amanda Ufford
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sixteen years ago, in the summer of 1999,
the Hasani family stepped off the plane
in Ithaca. A small group of First Baptist
friends greeted them and helped them
settle in a temporary home, courtesy of
Jamie Dollahite, and then later in a three
bedroom apartment in West Village.
(“good news”) born in 2008, Buki strug-
Family of Five
The immediate family consisted of Agim
Hasani, the father, Bukurije (Buki), the
mother, and their two sons, Elmedin
(newly 3 years old), and Liridon (who
was 3 months old and traveling in his
car seat). They were accompanied by
Agim’s mother, Emine, an important
presence who provided most of the child
care, but who was suffering from several
life-threatening illnesses which added to
the trauma the family was experiencing.
Emine was able to return to Kosovo just
before she died a few years later.
Both Elmedin and Liridon are outstanding
soccer players. All the boys are bilingual.
Over the years, they have returned to
visit their family in Kosovo and Germany
several times. Most of Agim’s and Buki’s siblings also live outside Kosovo in
Europe because Kosovo, still occupied
by peace-keeping forces, is in a state of
In the stillness of the quiet, if we
listen, we can hear the whisper of the
Escaping Home into the Unknown
heart giving strength to weakness,
The Hasanis were escaping from their
courage to fear, hope to despair.
Howard Thurman native Kosovo, which was at war with
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No one has ever become poor by
giving.
Anne Frank
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June bouquet, Sunday, June 14th.
Courtesy of Andrea Staffeld
Three candles, artfully placed on the
communion table June 14th, compleshown above, which was placed on
the nearby pedestal stand.
neighboring Serbia. They had walked out
of tiny Kosovo into Macedonia with what
they could carry. There they joined many
fellow countrymen in a refugee camp
where Liridon, whose name means ‘freedom’, was born. When the opportunity to
come to the US was offered, the Hasanis
chose to join the airlift, then spent some
weeks being ‘processed’ through our immigration and health systems at Fort Dix,
NJ. Church World Service, with which we
had already worked before to settle refugees from Burma, Viet Nam, and Romania, among other places, assigned them
into First Baptist’s care here in Ithaca.
In preparation for the Hasanis’ arrival we
hunted for local speakers of Albanian or
Serbo-Croatian (which Agim spoke) of
whom we found a few. By then Agim
had learned a little English and they
learned it remarkably fast. Buki, in particular, was highly motivated to learn so
that she could communicate the family’s
needs to us.
Work Found
Eventually, Agim found a job where he
could use his old welding skills. He commuted for some years to work at a body
shop in Genoa where he had a sympathetic boss, but a physically stressful job.
After staying home to look after the
family which included a third son, Jetmir
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hopeful in turning her work as a Pre-K
and kindergarten substitute teacher’s
aide into a full-time job.
Family Flourishes
political disputes. Unemployment is rife
Searching for Community
Buki and Agim have loved the peacefulness and beauty of Ithaca and the opportunities for their children’s education,
but, like most non-academic incomers
trying to make their way, they have felt
limited by their job opportunities and the
cost of living in our town. Also, as their
family begins to leave the nest, they are
community as they age. When Agim’s old
boss from Genoa moved to Kentucky to
set up a new business, Agim received a
job offer and sensed a chance to move
ahead. This was coupled with the fact of
having a cousin from Kosovo well settled
in Kentucky who was encouraging them
to move. As oldest son, Elmedin, prepares
to graduate from Ithaca High School and
go to college next year at SUNY, Geneseo,
the rest of the family will take a chance
and make the move to Georgetown, a
town near Lexington, Kentucky.
Delightful Family
The Hasanis are a loving, caring and courageous family. They have had their share
of hardships, illness, and sadness over the
years, along with an element of loneliness as the only family from Kosovo here
in Ithaca and also being Muslims who are
not part of the greater Cornell environment. What Kentucky has to offer them
remains to be seen, but, having enjoyed
their friendship for sixteen years, I hope it
munity and support they are looking for.
I will miss them.
First Baptist Annual Picnic
Debbie Allen with grandson Suraphael.
“A Word from Your Coordinating Pastor”
New Creation Singers, from left to right, Danny Scott, Kris Scott, Marlene Sack, Shella Chace, Judy Kennison, Bill Fry
and David Caughey provided music written by David Caughey at the FBC picnic June 21st.
From Our Coordinating Pastor:
Hello My Friends in the FBC Family,
Triplet Addy, Bai or Kai Alltima?
Ron Drummond (left)and Steve
Farrell listen with rapt attention.
Picnic bouquet, courtesy of Andrea
Once again, I feel privileged to be
serving as your Coordinating Pastor. My
responsibilities have largely been to see
that there is a worship experience each
week at our church, or in the case of our
church picnic, a worship experience in
the park. I trust that you have enjoyed
our experiences with Marni Gillard on
the 7th of this month, and our own
Hugh Tucker on the 14th. Our preacher
for the 28th of this month will be the
Rev. James Touchton, Protestant Chaplain
at Ithaca College. The worship leader
for that day will be our own Baruch
Whitehead, with Meg Gillard doing
the time with youth. Let me give you
a “preview of coming attractions” for
July. Our own Rev. Tony Lister will lead
the worship service and preach on the
5th. The Rev. Barbara Rhudy, Chaplain
at Longview will be our guest preacher
on the 12th. Dr. Linda Nicholson will be
our guest preacher on
the 19th as she shares
with us the story of
how God is using
her in a remarkable
way to mentor some
inner city students
from Chicago. And
rounding out the
month of July will
be the Rev. Cindy
Rich Barron speaking about
Maybeck, a personal
Zacchaeus June 21st.
friend, and a talented
pastor and story teller who kept us
spell-bound when she was with us in
March. Please know that Tony Lister, Tim
Dean, and I will do our very best to see
that one of us is available if you have a
pastoral need. In the event that you have
a pastoral need, please let the person in
how to get in touch with one of us to be
there for you.
Blessings in Christ,
Bible Presentation: Meg Gillard, right, presents Suraphael Barton with a Bible in
keeping with FBC tradition of giving youth a Bible when they are in third grade.
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Rich Barron
Linda Caughey in a moment of
Please keep in your prayers:
Heather Swift, Brian Baker
& family
Mudrak family
Emily Young
Nancy Sokol
John Gross
Ron Drummond
Naomi Hollister
Ithaca Talent Education Heifetz Violin Ensemble : Congregants were treated to music June 7th by the Heifetz Violin
Ensemble of the Ithaca Talent Education directed by Sandy Reuning and accompanied by Joan Reuning on the piano.
Congregation Votes to Change Program Year
The Interfaith Climate
Action Network (ICAN)
invites everyone to
July 8th at 5:30 for a
dish-to-pass picnic, a
hike in the woods and
discussion about how to
better protect creation.
For more information
contact: Louise Mudrak
(lfmudrak @twcny.
rr.com)
Finance Update
rECEIPTS
5-31-2015
BudgETEd
To daTE
$104,072
$65,452
28,500
2,970
Back
Pledges
5,500
6,051
Plate
Offering
9,500
3,078
Investments
6,000
2,009
Bldg Use
3,000
670
Parable
Talents
5,000
488
Gifts
1,600
150
2014
Surplus
1,593
1,593
ToTal
ReceipTs
$164,765
$81,461
ToTal
DisbuRsemenTs
$186,308
$73,647
Pledges
Reg. Giving
A Congregational Meeting was called
to order June 14th following worship
by Moderator Bill Fry to vote on a
amendment to the bylaws to move the
church’s program year to July 1st to
July 1st. The recommendation had been
made at the January congregational
meeting by outgoing Moderator Tim
Dean who observed that the church’s
program year tends to follow the
academic calendar year, so election of
officers in January interrupts the cycle
mid-stream and may contribute to a loss
of momentum and program continuity.
Budget Update - The Facts
However, a budget update was the first
item on the agenda. Treasurer David
Caughey distributed a single page
update on the church’s finances with
a graph and table (next column). The
graph illustrates the our unified budget
(income minus expenses [cash balance])
this year in comparison to last year.
David explained that there is usually a
healthy cash balance during the first
months of the fiscal year because a
number of parishioners pay their entire
year’s pledge at the beginning of the
year. He projects that, if giving for the
remainder of 2015 reflects the pattern
of 2014, the unified budget will end
the year with an approximate $17,000
shortfall. David presented the pledge
history table to provide an explanation
for the reduced church revenues.
Unanimous Vote
The vote to move the program year
to July 1st to July 1st was unanimous
following an explanation by Moderator
Fry that this would not change the fiscal
(budget) year which would remain the
same, Jan. 1st to Jan. 1st. There would
be at least three yearly congregational
meetings: one in January to vote on the
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budget, the second in late spring to
elect church officers and leaders, and
the third in September to review and
begin the budget process. The terms
will extend through to June 30th 2016
program year will begin their duties.
Update from Stewardship Team
The third order of business at the
meeting was an update by Rich
Barron from the Stewardship team in
which he introduced the all-church
“We Care” listening visits that the
team plans on conducting throughout
the summer months (see story on
page 1).
PlEdgE HISTory 2013 - 2015
Total Pledged
2013
2014
2015
$159,788
$147,856
$112,302
60
64
50
Median Pledge
$1,420
$1,100
$1,300
Average Pledge
$2,663
$2,310
$2,246
No. Pledge Units
Decrease in pledge income may be attributed to:
Reduced number of pledges (15% from 2013);
Reduced average Pledge (16% from 2013).
The graph plots the cash
balance (income minus disbursements) against the months
in the year.
FBC Choir Picnic: Marlene Sack and Judy Kennison hosted the FBC choir and spouses at a year-end picnic June 18th at
their Hector Street home. In the front row, from left to right, are Meg Gillard, Marlene Sack, Belinda Adams with daughter
Lily, and Adrienne McNair. Standing from left to right are: Marge Hansel, Bill Fry, Andrea Staffeld, David Caughey, Shella
Chace, Tony Lister, Rich Barron, Jose Zanfordino, Tina Hilsdorf, Myra Fincher and Anne Farrell.
Photo by Bill Staffeld
Trustees Meeting Notes Abstracted from Bill Fry’s meeting notes.
Hostess Judy at the grill
The FBC Trustees met on June 7th following
worship. Present were Rich Barron, Steve
Farrell, Mark Lawrence, Tony Cotraccia, Michael
Clark Bronwyn Evans, Marlene Sack, Bill Fry.
Bronwyn Evans has been offered and has
accepted the Children & Youth Coordinator
position. There was discussion of who would
be the supervisor of the person in the position.
It was agreed that Rich Barron would initially
assume that role.
authority for authorizing one-time building use
if the request meets the Building Use policy.
Music Room: Marlene agreed to help Belinda
organize the music room. Trustees asked if other
groups also use the music room.
Requests for Reduction in Building Use fees:
- Approved for Tom Peters for July 25th, 6 - 8
pm, in exchange for his offer to play for
worship when Christopher is not available;
- Denied for Orphan Wisdom School sponsorship of
speaker on death and dying Aug. 2nd
Church Maintenance
Rod Turk reports that windows are not locked
Quotes to repair stucco on outside of building: due
to confusion, Marlene will solicit another quote.
make repairs for items less than $100 such as the
toilet seats in the women’s bathroom.
Boiler pump control. Repair will be postponed until
Donahue Halverson does preventative maintenance
on the furnace at the end of the summer.
Sanctuary carpet near the piano is in bad shape
and needs to be repaired.
Ceiling leak. Rod Turk will also provide a quote.
Quote from Brian Colgan: $672
Dave Hopkins requests that materials in north
hallway be moved.
June Cabinet Meeting Highlights Abstracted from Clerk Rich Barron’s meeting notes.
The Power of the Small Church
The Reverend Hugh Tucker above
preached June 14th at First Baptist
on the power of the small church.
He enjoined the congregation to
celebrate what we do and quoted
from theologian/lawyer Frank Wlliam
Stringfellow, “The quality of one’s
its outreach.”
One sustaining “behind the scenes”
First Baptist outreach has been
Amanda Ufford’s support of the
Hasani family throughout their 16year sojourn in Ithaca (see Amanda’s
write-up on page 2).
The First Baptist Cabinet met June 8th with 11
members present.
Dave Caughey reported on the church’s
projected shortfall, see (graphic, page 4).
Ministry Team Updates:
- Pastoral Relations (Jose Z): Committee
recommends a COLA increase for the
pastor for the coming year.
- Youth Education (Meg G): Recruiting
teachers in order to split classes into age
groups next year; Adult Ed (Sue E): plans
underway for adult ed offering in the fall.
- Worship (Barb Fry): inquired about
advertising Jenson scholarships.
Stewardship (Rich B): Explained “We Care”
every member visits during summer months.
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Upcoming Congregational Meeting: Agenda set.
Budget Planning: Bill Fry reported that he will
convene a meeting of an appropriate group to
Church Structure Revision: Bill Fry informed that
Alan Newton has several suggestions for ways to
streamline our church’s governing structure, and
is willing to meet with a small group to discuss
these ideas. A lengthy discussion followed that
called for a thorough evaluation of our present
structure before we entertain changing it. Also
discussed was the need to have an evaluation
process in place for the pastor when he returns
from sabbatical. There was consensus that clear
expectations regarding the pastor’s leadership
must be formulated and articulated to him.
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 July 20th for the August 2015
issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What does the Lord
require of you?
To do justice,
Love mercy and
Walk humbly
with our God
Micah 6:8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONGRATULATIONS
SALLY AND IZZY
On Thursday, June 25th, Sally
Phelan and Izzy Romero-Hall will
both graduate from Ithaca High
School. Sally is one of four youth
from our church that will be
traveling to Guatemala in early July
on a mission trip. Izzy is heading to
Storyteller Marni gillard: On June 7th, Meg Gillard’s sister Marni Gillard shared stories about her Catholic upbringing,
and schooling and the Roman Catholic tradition and understanding of the intent and meaning of communion.
First Baptist Staff
Pastor: Rich Rose
Coordinating Pastor: Rich Barron
Secretary: Shella Chace
Christian Education Coordinator,
Bronwyn Evans
Organist: Christopher Morgan Loy
Choir Director: Belinda Adams
Custodian: David Hopkins
Elected Leaders
Moderator: Bill Fry
Vice-Moderator: Bronwyn Evans
Membership Clerk: Tina Hilsdorf
Recording Clerk: Rich Barron/Andrea
Mooney
Treasurer: David Caughey
Assistant Treasurer: Marlene Sack
Financial Secretary: Julie Costie
Board of Trustees
Mark Lawrence, Bronwyn Evans, Steve
Farrell, Tim Dean, Tony Cotraccia, Rich
Barron, Marlene Sack, Susan Eymann,
David Caughey
Church Archivist: Linda Caughey
graduate Sally Phelan
ABC-USA: Mark Lawrence, Mellisa
Gallison
ACT: Marge Hansel
AWAB: Shella Chace, Josie Zanfordino,
Adrienne McNair
Baptist Peace Fellowship: Meg Gillard
Cornell Protestant Campus Ministry:
Sarah Schneider, Bronwyn Evans
Kitchen Cupboard: Amanda Ufford,
Sue Hemsath
Rochester Genesee Region: Ossie
Heath-Crump, Anne Farrell
Tompkins County Workers Center:
Barbara Fry
Pastoral Relations
Josie Zanfordino: chair; Rich Barron, Jan
Butler, Tony Lister, Elizabeth Pia-Miller,
Debbie Allen
Nominating Committee
Leslie Schultz, Andrea Mooney, Louise
Mudrak
Circle of Care: Amanda Ufford, Sue
Hemsath, Linda Caughey, Liz Wilkinson, Judy Kennison, Barbara Fry,
Louise Mudrak, Susan Eymann, Andrea
Mooney
Flower Committee: Barbara Fry,
Mariana Morse, Tina Hilsdorf,
Personnel: Anne Farrell, Dave Putnam, Andrea Staffeld
Tim Hembrooke
Parable of Talents: Shella Chace,
Marlene Sack, Janet Cotraccia
Ministry Teams
Worship Ministry
Barbara Fry, co-chair; Debbie Allen, cochair; Andrea Mooney, Bill Abeles, Bill
Staffeld, Josie Zanfordino, Edie Reagan,
Michael Clark
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
Education: Meg Gillard, Hans Beck,
Carol Flemming, Leslie Schultz, Sarah
Schneider, Mark Lawrence, Edie Reagan Library Refurbishing Team
Anne Farrell: chair; Julie Dean, Barbara
Christian Concern Ministry: Steve
Fry, Andrea Staffeld, Linda Caughey,
Farrell: chair; Bill Phelan: co-chair; Sandy John Harty
MacArthur, secretary; Louise Mudrak,
Baruch Whitehead, Lynne Glase, Susan Visitor — May Issue
Eymann, Tony Lister, Ange, Jameson & Editor, publisher: Susan Eymann
Izzy Romero-Hall, Amanda Ufford, Beth Proof readers: Alison Coluccio, Judy
& Matt Wolfer, Dana Murray-Cooper,
Kennison, Tony Lister, Sarah Schneider
Adrienne McNair
Contributors: Rev. Rich Barron, Amanda
FBC Green Team: Louise Mudrak: chair; Ufford, Bill Fry, David Caughey
Lynne Glase, Linda Nicholson, Anne
Photos: Susan Eymann, Bill Phelan, Bill
Farrell, Barbara Noyes, Tony Lister
Staffeld, Amanda Ufford
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finance & Endowment
David Caughey, Marlene Sack, Janet
Cotraccia, Judy Kennison
Let us be grateful to people
who make us happy, they are the
Hospitality Ministry: Anne Farrell: chair;
charming gardeners who make
Shella Chace, Meg Gillard, Alice Grow,
our souls blossum.
Tina Hilsdorf, Barbara Noyes
Marcel Prost
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