In Pastor Paul’s Review of the 1994 Church Year (his fifth year with the Church), he compared the Church of today to a Chinese bamboo tree which takes five years of watering and fertilizing and care before it starts to grow. Only in the sixth year does the gardener begin to see and appreciate the results of his labor. Pastor Paul felt that the years from 1989-1994 had been a time of preparation for the Church and that in the coming year (his sixth) 1995 the Church should be in “full bloom.”
For 1994 the Church members were asked to make a special commitment to God to “give a little more of yourself and your time in prayer and Bible study, and a little more of your income. We can never doubt that God will do his part if we will only do ours.”
The second service was continued in 1994. The total attendance for the two services was 9270. (In 1992: 9211 and in 1993: 9226.)The usher’s report does not give separate figures for the early service, so the success of the early service if based on numbers alone could not be determined. The Church Clerk reported that the membership of the Church had increased with seven new members in 1994 and that we had lost three members. The end of the year membership was 211. Although there was some concern that the second service was not significantly increasing our total attendance, the hope was that we were still “planting seeds” and that differences in time and worship style would eventually increase the opportunities for witness and help the Church grow.
In the 1994 Annual Report for the Diaconate it was reported that David Haase had brought the Prayer Chain into the Computer Age. The computer was purchased with most of a gift of $1000.00 give to the Memorial Fund in memory of Charles and Winifred Schwarz, parents of Mary Schwarz. The need for a chain of people, which was often “broken” by the absence of chain members, was no longer necessary. Seriously, the computerized notification system was a tremendous improvement. The Haase’s received messages and sent them out to the Church members quickly and efficiently. The Church was gratified for their service for many years.
Pastor Paul Bailey graduated from the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary as a Doctor of Ministry in Marriage and Family in May 1994. Congratulations, Dr. Bailey.
In addition to his duties as Pastor he served as Field Education Supervisor for Suzi Harrif, led the services in the Limestone Apartments, shared in services at the Eastside Manor and began a Bible study class with Mary Schreiber of Christ Church at Limestone Commons. He continued to meet with the Fayetteville-Manlius Clergy, the Greater Syracuse Association of Evangelicals and a leadership study group. He was program director for the Fall Association Meeting and continued to work with the State Renewal Team. Locally he worked with the Tiger Cubs, part of the Church sponsored Cub Scout Pack.
Reverend Bailey wrote that his focus was on the Church’s Mission Statement whose key themes were hung on the wall of the Sanctuary: Worship, Education, Encouragement, and Mission. The Mission Statement, approved by the Congregation in October, 1994 stated: “In celebration of the Good News shown to us in Jesus Christ, we will invite others to unite with us as part of the family of God, sharing the Gospel through Worship, Education Encouragement of one another and the Support of Mission as we serve Manlius and our surrounding communities.” In his “Behind the Pulpit” column in the Christian Carrier for December 1994 to June 1995, Pastor Paul carefully and in depth explained the meaning of each part of the Mission Statement.
Our Associate Pastor, Reverend Gary Baker, reported on his second year with the Church. He was very up-beat and enthusiastic about his relationship with the Manlius Church and its people and the opportunities to serve that opened up to him. He closed his report with the statement. “God is so good- let us never cease to praise His name.” Reverend Baker soon had even more cause to praise the Lord. In the March 1994 newsletter he reported that he had been called to extend his ministry as half-time Minister of Stewardship and Mission Support for the American Baptist Churches of New York State and would be working out of the Syracuse Office. This would allow him to be “full time in Ministry for the Lord.”
The major effort, structurally and financially, of the Church for 1994 was the Reach Out, Reach Up Campaign, which was started in August 1994. The Fund Raising Committee for the Rise Up part of the Campaign informed the Congregation that “winter is just around the corner and our heating system is over the hill.” They were referring to the sixty-seven year old heating system in the old part of the church. The plan was to replace the now unsafe steam heating system with a hot water system including a new
boiler, new pipes, installation of baseboard heating in the offices and library, and a new Baptismal Pool heater. The total cost was estimated to be $28,000.00.
A problem equally worrisome to the Church leaders was the ministry to our youth. George Baier, for the Fund Raising Committee, felt that the Youth Ministry had worked with the youth for several years with a limited number of overworked volunteers and resources. The plan was to hire a Minister of Youth to work approximately fifteen hours weekly to administer and oversee youth programs for grades 5-12 for ten months of the year and “to develop in our youth a Biblical relationship with God through Jesus Christ and a Godly view of self and others.”
The pledges for the heating system were a disappointing $14,328.00, approximately half of what was thought to be needed. The pledges for the Youth Director were much better. The members pledged $7,337.00, very close to the $8,000.00 goal to cover a salary of $7000 plus $1000 to cover Workmen’s Comp. Insurance, FICA, etc.
The Trustees forged ahead with their plans, despite the shortfall in pledges. Volunteers, led by Gordon Noble and Ray Heller, removed the old radiators and piping and did other work involved in the renovation. By autumn the new system was in and warming the Church.
As part of the heating plant upgrade, the system was made more efficient by placing additional insulation in the ceiling of the entire church facility. Approximately sixty ceiling tiles in the educational annex that had been water stained because of a leaky roof were replaced and the roof repaired.
By December 31, 1994, $15,218.30 had been collected in the Heating System Account. The cost of the boiler and the installation was $17, 417.55 (less than expected), leaving a negative balance of -$2198.65, which was paid from the Capital Fund.
In 1994 Church Members interested in a strong Baptist Youth Program for the Manlius Church made a study of area Churches Youth Programs. Based on their findings and discussions with Pastor Paul and the Christian Education Board, a “Youth Leadership Team” was established by the Christian Education Board. Its job was to develop a Minister of Youth proposal and a program plan for the 1994-1995 activity year. The youth leader plan was approved by the Church. The committee consisted of:
During the search to find a leader, the youth activities continued. The Junior Highs, led by Pastor Paul and assisted by Joelle Zimmerman, met on Wednesday nights. The Senior Highs met every other Sunday night in the homes of the members for a
video/discussion series. Nine of the members attended the Youth Convention that year, made and sold hot pretzels on several Sundays to defray the cost, sold First Baptist
T-Shirts and continued to their Compassion Project Child Rafael.
The Vacation Bible School for 1994 was held during the first week of August and was directed by Joelle Zimmerman. The theme was based on Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience.” A total of 45 volunteers worked hard to make the VBS a success with over 80 children attending.
A major event of the year 1994 was Celebration Sunday on September 4, 1994, when Reverend John Baker came back to Manlius to honor all of our fifty year and up members. The honored fifty year members who were present at the celebration were:
Robert Mapstone Katherine Loope Elsie Bex Dorothy Benor
Marjorie Lincoln Lora Shanahan Jean Gaudio
Reva Burt Leah Stark Annette Andrusyszyn Those unable to attend were:
Donna VanTassel Foote John Everingham Willard Harter Anna Slentz
Bessie Todd Lynn Mapstone Susan Rowley
Kenneth Goodfellow Judith Phelps Deveau
Reverend Baker told the fifty year members present that there were several ingredients that go into making a good productive fifty year Church member. The most important is the ingredient of commitment. (It take commitment to make anything work.) The other ingredients are understanding (we are enriched because you have recognized
what each person represents,) and sacrifice (of our own opinions, our own ideas, our own desires) and love, which makes all of the other ingredients viable.
“God has enfolded you in that love, and now by His grace you are able to reflect on fifty happy years of ministry in the spirit and name of Jesus Christ.” - John Baker, Pastor Emeritus
In our Congregation there were several older people who would ordinarily be alone at home after Church. They found it a joy to “eat out” together after the Church Services on Sunday. They referred to themselves as the “Cane and Able.” They got together after Church, decided on a destination and carpooled. “Whether you are single or married, you are welcome to join us. Don’t wait for a personal invitation-- just ask, ‘Is anyone eating out today?’ The obvious answer is ‘yes!’” Margaret Vermilya, Erman and Laura Ferris, Lucia Ernst, Martha Trivelpiece and Olga Schmidt were some of the members.
For late October and early November, 1994 the First Baptist Church Gymnasium was the place to go for very reasonably priced food and entertainment. On October 29, 1994, the Church was advertising in the Christian Carrier a Harvest Festival. For $1.00 admission the guest could enjoy refreshments, food, fellowship, fun, square and line
dancing, games and a best pie contest. On November 11 to 13 , 1994, the Church was presenting its annual Dinner/Dessert Theater to support the Scholarship Fund. On the11th Dessert Theater in the Evening; on the12th Dinner Theater in the Evening; on the 13th Dessert Theater in the Afternoon. The play was “Any Body for Tea.”
