Reverend Paul Bailey made his usual report concerning the state of the Church for the 1993 Annual Report of the First Baptist Church of Manlius as he was about to enter his sixth year as Pastor. He wrote, “As we look back at the end of another year we see how God has worked with our dreams and His plans and it becomes evident how
much God is doing in our midst..... One of the most dramatic changes we made was the addition of a second service at 8:30 Sunday morning to create a better opportunity for reaching more people for Christ,” as recommended by the Growth and Development Committee and approved by the Diaconate. Unfortunately the Annual Report does not include any information on the attendance at the early service, but the total attendance for 1992 was 9211 with one service and for 1993 was 9226 with two services for four months. The Sunday School was doing well with an average attendance of 103 students.
Pastor Paul completed his work on the Doctor of Ministry program at the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary during three weeks in June and July and was scheduled to graduate in May, 1994. During the year 1993 in addition to his duties for the First Baptist Church of Manlius, he served as an intern at Crossway Counseling Center, shared in services at Eastside Manor, and conducted a monthly service at Limestone Apartments. The First Baptist Church had members living in each of these apartment buildings. He was also involved in the Fayetteville-Manlius Cooperative Ministries, the Iroquois Association Clergy Group and the Greater Syracuse Evangelical Association.
Our Associate Pastor Gary Baker felt that 1993 was “in so many ways, a great year for our Church.” He was inclined to let others look back and remember the good things that happened in 1992 but felt he should start working and dreaming “about all the great things that can be done in God’s kingdom in the coming months.” He asked the Congregation to join him in giving a little more of yourself, your time, your income, and more time in prayer and Bible study. “God will do his part if we will only do our part.”
As part of a series of biographies of several of the Church Staff (Hannah Whittaker, Joyce McCartney, Kenneth Burrows, Suzi Harriff), the Ministry Support Committee furnished the Church Members a full page biography of Rev. Gary Baker, sixteen months after he became our Associate Pastor. They were pleased with his work with our Church, stating that “his ministry in our midst has been an exciting experience for us. His ready wit, good humor, acting talent and his ability to relate to the Congregation and newcomers is most rewarding.”
Almost every year brings staff changes and the congregation is saddened by the loss of loyal workers who have become good friends. The congregation has been very fortunate, however, in finding worthy replacements. We lost some important members of our staff in 1993, paid and unpaid.
In the 1993 Annual Report of the First Baptist Church of Manlius, Jean Jurick, Church Clerk since 1985, wrote her last report. She and her husband were moving to a retirement home. She had thoroughly enjoyed her position, “a charge which records the
works, the celebrations, the enthusiasms, the revitalization, the growth, and yes, even the grief and losses, which we, as a Church, offer up to our Lord, - a charge which involves the recording of our past, our present, and our future. It is a position which makes one richly aware of our history, our dreams and the members of our Church family.”
Suzi Harriff became our new Director of Music. She was also sharing an internship with us as a student in the Colgate-Rochester Divinity School. Beth Carr, assisted by Marge Shephard, took responsibility for a new children’s choir, the Junior Choir. Hannah Whittaker replaced as Secretary Barbara Rouch, who earlier in the year had replaced Suzi Brown, who had moved to Texas with her family.
The Church membership increased by thirteen members from January 1, 1992, (195 members) to January 1, 1993 (208 members.) During 1992 seven prospective members were baptized and became members; twelve joined by the transfer of letter and one by a correction of an accounting error. Seven members were lost by the transfer of their letters to other Churches.
On June 13, 1993, Children’s Day, the Church celebrated the 41st anniversary of the Carol Choir and honored the Director for all forty-one years, Shirley Mapstone. The Choir presented “David and the Giants.” Doug Greene, a charter member of the Choir presented Shirley with a bouquet of 41 carnations. After the service a reception was held in the Chapel. On June 20, 1993, the much deserved recognition continued with local disc jockey and popular actor and singer Bob Brown paying tribute to his first Choir Director. After the service Shirley was honored at a reception and presented a stereo sound system.
The Trustees were extremely busy with repairs and general maintenance during 1993. Fortunately because of budgetary restraints much of the work could be done on a volunteer basis by the Trustees and many other willing Church members. The Chapel and vestibule were painted by the Lively Folks, a social group comprised of some of the young adult members of the Congregation. Church members on scheduled workdays washed windows, scrubbed the kitchen and bathrooms, painted the front door and entrance, outside windowsills, the wheelchair ramp and the ceiling and pillars on the side porch. In the Sanctuary the redecoration was completed with the installation of fire-retardant drapes and the reupholstering of the pulpit chairs. All of the partitions in the bathrooms were removed and professionally painted. The stairways from the first to the second floor of the educational annex were painted as was the Historical Room. Oak window sills in the educational annex were refinished, brass door plates were removed, polished, and re-installed. A new sink donated by Ken and Ada Phelps was installed in the main custodial room in the basement. Ray Heller, in an attempt to replace light bulbs in the Sanctuary, fell when his ladder collapsed. Ray suffered some painful bruises but was not seriously injured. The ladder was taken away and chopped up for firewood to insure that it would not be used again.
Not everything could be taken care of in 1993. The Trustees gave warning that in 1994 the Church would need to replace the heating system in the old part of the church. Jeff Loope faithfully mowed the lawn in the summer and shoveled snow in the winter. Some of the work required professional help, i.e., a new roof on the educational annex, eaves troughs on the King’s Kids entrance, and the replacement of the side porch pillars by Ed Siegenthaler. Ed donated his time and materials in memory of his father, Bob.
The Church continued to serve the community as a location for many activities. The Trustees approved requests by the Eastern Star, Young Life, the Methodist Church for volleyball, ABC/NYS Mission Board, Monday Evening Club, Newcomer’s Club, Brownies, Manlius Fire Department, Explorer Post, and several weddings and funerals.
In the spring and summer of 1993 the Church was saddened by the death of Lucy Baker (9/28/15- 4/20/93), John Baker’s beloved wife, who stood at his side and supported him during his fifty plus years of ministry. The Church also lost Bob Siegenthaler, an important leader and worker in the Church and a friend of all (7/19/20-6/18/93.) Bob and his wife Trudy had been honored less than a month earlier on May 16, 1993, for their selfless devotion to our Church, a well deserved and timely tribute.
The Diaconate Board made up of seven men and six women with Bob Mapstone as chairman, was also busy. The Board prepared and served Communion with the women joining the men in serving the Communion Elements. The Diaconate members assisted in the baptism ceremonies and administered the Scholarship Fund. The Diaconate sponsored special events to raise money for their Scholarship Fund, which provides money for young people entering college or vocational school and for adults pursuing continuing education. A concert was presented on July 3 as part of the Homecoming Weekend. “A Mad Breakfast,” a dinner theater presentation produced and acted by Church members, was presented in November. The Diaconate was also responsible for Sunday Nursery Care, the Prayer Chain, greeters for Sunday services, tracts in the narthex, bereavement cards, food for bereaved families, home prayer ministry and plants for shut-ins at Christmas and Easter. The Board administered Fellowship Funds for those members with emergency financial needs, provided food for families in trouble, and help for those in need of assistance. On October 6, 1993, the Executive Committee approved the request of the Diaconate to spend up to $400 to purchase materials to build a moveable stage to be used for Dinner Theater Productions which would raise money to benefit the Scholarship Fund.
The Special Events Committee, formed to provide activities to bring the Church members together socially, was active and planned several well-attended activities for 1993:
The Homecoming Weekend of July, 1993 was an especially big success as many former members, separated by new jobs or retirement, came back to Manlius to renew old ties with the Church and Church friends. Three former pastors and two pastor’s wives were also welcomed- Reverend Janice Green, Reverend Frank Clayton and wife Jean, Reverend George Hammond and wife Glenna.
The Mission Board, interested in keeping new members informed, introduced one Mission Project each month during the Mission Moments of the Church Services. The Refugee Fund, instituted mainly to help the Sin family who left for California and became able to support themselves financially, was designated to be used for other refugees. The Board recommended that $2000.00 be given to Habitat for Humanity and the Balance, $4,452.30 be given to Hazel Roper to be used for children from the Ukraine to be sent to camps in Poland for the summer, and also for Ukrainians in Syracuse.
Vacation Bible School was held as usual in the summer of 1993. However, an experiment was tried and what used to be a morning school was held in the evenings from 6:30 to 8:30. The enrollment was a very disappointing 37 children served by a staff of 20. Needless to say, in 1994, Vacation Bible School reverted to its usual daytime schedule.
The King’s Kids Christian Child Care was doing well financially but gave no indication in their report for 1993 of the number of children or staff involved in the program. The Hillside Pre-School sadly entered its last report in the 1993 Annual Report of the Church. Sally Lyon, Secretary of the Hillside Board, in her annual summary of the Hillside School activities, reported that the Hillside Board regretfully decided to close the School as of graduation in June, 1993. The future financial picture for the school was described as “not hopeful, despite a valiant effort by the Director, Janet McCann, the staff and the Hillside Board.” In October 1993, the Hillside Corporation was dissolved. Fortunately the legal complaint against Hillside by Julia Tien, former Director was dismissed because of lack of merit. The Hillside Corporation was in debt to the Church by $22,524.41, but was absolved from payment by the Trustees and the Church membership.
The Constitution of the Church in 1993 contained a provision for a Pastoral Relations Committee. On the calling of a new Pastor the Pulpit Committee was to serve as a Pastoral Relations Committee for at least six months at which time a new Pastoral Relations Committee would be appointed as stated in the Church By-Laws. This also applied to an Associate Pastor. Other employees of the Church, i.e., musicians, youth directors, secretary and custodian were not covered. The proposed change called for the replacement of the Pastoral Relations Committee with a Ministry Support Committee which would cover all employees (associates) of the Church. The Pulpit or Search Committee would serve as a support committee for a new Pastor or associate Pastor for six months, at which time the Ministry Support Committee would take responsibility. The proposal was accepted by a vote of the Congregation.
A Rally Day for the Church and Sunday School to bring the Congregation together again after a summer of vacations and travel was held on September 13, 1993, at Mill Run Park. Instead of having the members bring meat to cook and/or dishes to pass, a chicken dinner was served to 60 Church Members by Buzzy’s, a local restaurant.
On October 31, 1993, several Manlius Baptist Church Members and the Church Choir made the trip to Rome, N.Y. to witness and take part in the Installment of Reverend William Carlsen, a member of our Church, as Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of New York State. Our Church presented Bill with a new pulpit robe in honor of his new position and in celebration of his twenty-five years of ministry.
