Minutes of the Living Waters Association Annual Meeting

February 25, 2018
The American Baptist Community Church, Big Flats, NY

1. Introduction: The Living Waters Association of the American Baptist Churches of New York State met on February 25, 2018, at the American Baptist Community Church, 180 Hibbard Road, Big Flats, NY. The meeting began with registration at 2:30 PM. At 3:00 PM, the Rev. Michael Dickinson, Pastor of the American Baptist Community Church, welcomed the delegates and led the delegates in a worship service. Mrs. Bonnie Miller of the Big Flats church led a time of singing, which was followed by prayer and a message delivered by Pastor Dickinson titled, "Love God, Love Others, and Get Up and Do Something," based on Luke 10:25-37. Pastor Dickinson asked us to consider where we might be in that Scripture. Do we consider ourselves the wounded man? The one who needs care or help to get through the day? The priest or the Levite? Sometimes, Pastor Dickinson said, we can be that Samaritan.

Mrs. Charlene Daniels commented that it's freeing to realize we're not in the same position every time a situation arises. Pastor Dickinson spoke about traveling in some of the large cities in China a few years ago—and recognizing that this Scripture represents all we can do in many situations.

The delegates sang "Happy Birthday" to the Association Moderator, Mrs. Ruth Stoddard.

2. Presentations: At this point there were three informative presentations. The content of each presentation is summarized below.

a. The Missional Church Learning Experience of the First Baptist Church of Trumansburg. Mrs. Judith Christiansen presented her churches Missional Church Learning Experience. Their project sought to reach the children of a mobile home park in their community through an after-school program they call "Homework Helper." This program for children in grades 1-6 takes place twice a week at the church. Children receive help in reading and mathematics; the children also receive a snack and often receive food that they can take home with them.

Mrs. Christiansen pointed out that the project "is not for the faint of heart," because the mobile home park houses desperate families and needy children. Residence in the mobile home park has a stigma attached to it. The volunteers have learned to create "stations." About every 15 min. the children move to a new homework help station and to a new volunteer. The children learn, even through the games volunteers use. Even when they help in the kitchen, the children use reading and mathematics skills.

Mrs. Christiansen introduced Mrs. Barbara Fleming, an 84-year-old volunteer. She observed that the Rev. Dennis Christiansen had been working with the children on being respectful of the church. She also noted that children often share their inner thoughts and express things that might be troubling them. "What color was your hair before it turned white?" one child asked. Another observed: "You must be really old!"

In late August, people from the church signed up to provide back-to-school supplies. On Thursdays, a member of the church provides a Bible-based craft. The children also have a chance to meet and connect with a "helper dog." Prior to Thanksgiving last year, a woman in great distress came to one of the meetings, and the Deacons of the church "adopted" her family. Another day, they learned about a family that had no refrigerator, and the Deacons helped them. A mother from the mobile home park, with the help of the church, provided a bake sale for Hurricane Relief in Puerto Rico, and she and the church raised $600.00 through this effort.

In answer to a question, Mrs. Christiansen indicated that the school has cooperated (and followed the law) by allowing children to get off the school bus at the church.

b. The Missional Church Learning Experience of the Reading Community Church.

Pastor David Daniels of the Reading Community Church introduced his church's project, observing that from a church with an attendance of 18-24, eight (8) persons were in attendance at the present meeting. The Reading Community Church, which is located on Route 14A between Watkins Glen and Dundee, has the only playground for children in a 12.5 mile stretch of highway. Some members of the church recall playing on the church's playground equipment 60 years ago.

The church began its project by refurbishing existing playground equipment. They painted some of the playground equipment and put new seats on the existing merry-go-round. Pastor Daniels commented that for the past 50 years every child in the community has played on the merry-go-round, and he noted that one push will now keep it going for at least two minutes.

One concern the church faced was that the playground had become overgrown with weeds. Others worried that some of the existing equipment might be unsafe. Accordingly, they set up a work day and cleared the entire area. Some children thought that they had received a brand new play area. The church also hopes to provide picnic tables.

When the church was going through the MCLE program, the Rev. Glynis LaBarre provided them with information about a Pierce grant for struggling New York State churches. They received $5,000 for a playground and for a children's ministries seminar. They intend to add to the existing playground through this grant—and also provide an educational seminar led by Ms. Barbara Van Valkenburg at the American Baptist Community Church on Saturday, April 7th. The church already had a monthly program for children, so this project will enhance that program. Moreover, it helped the church members learn to think "beyond themselves."

c. The American Baptist Men's Disaster Relief Project in Lake Charles, LA. Mr. LeRoy Woodruff spoke on this project, which was designed to relieve folks impacted by Hurricane Harvey in southern Louisiana. This impoverished area had been devastated in the storm's aftermath.

The trip down to Lake Charles took two days and 18 – 20 hours. They took a fully- stocked supply trailer, pulled by a truck, as well as a van. Unfortunately, the tires on the trailer were not meant to carry the weight of the trailer and all of its supplies. They had two flat tires on the way home from the trip, and since the trip, they have replaced the trailer's tires. The Greater Saint Mary Missionary Baptist Church hosted them while they were there; they stayed in the recreation room of the church and slept on cots provided by the Red Cross. They joined a team from Pennsylvania.

Initially, they had a brief conference on mold remediation techniques. They learned to use a demolding machine with a "fogger." The team also used new diaphragm pumps that initially add water to the mud, making it slipperier but also easier to remove.

Mr. Woodruff said that team members had to tear out all of the sheet rock in affected homes and other buildings—right down to the studs. Sheet rock is quite porous and susceptible to mold; unfortunately, it is an inexpensive building material, so it is widely used even if it is problematic in times of flooding. Mr. Woodruff said that he wore a Nomex hazardous materials suit—which became very warm in the hot climate and high humidity of southern Louisiana. Moldy debris was to be placed in sealed bags; most of the time, the bags are buried. Some of the men struggled with heat exhaustion. Each homeowner they helped was presented with a Bible that was signed by everyone on the team—a tradition that the AB Men "borrowed" from the Southern Baptists.

The team also worked with a church known as Mount Carmel—a former grocery store that had been converted into a church. This church required a massive renovation effort and had a lot of mold. They did much of the work in two days rather than in 4-5 days, as was the norm. There was still a lot left to do even when the team concluded their part of the project. One of Mr. Woodruff's photos showed a snake that was residing within the church building. Mr. Woodruff spoke about the crew struggling to get a water line shut off; they finally discovered the shut off valve behind the building.

The team left Lake Charles a day early, because of the forecast of Hurricane Lee. They fixed a shower area and bathroom in the place where they stayed, trying to leave things better than they found them.

"Jesus came, so we come," Mr. Woodruff said. The work is difficult, but it is also very fulfilling.

Mr. Woodruff responded to a question from the Rev. Cedric Cooper. Could women and even children participate in something billed as an "AB Men's disaster relief project." Women did join this project, according to Mr. Woodruff. He also mentioned that the American Baptist Women had been helpful with this and other projects.

d. A Short-term Mission Encounter Trip to Rwanda. Five New York State American Baptists traveled to Rwanda on a mission encounter trip in January of 2018. The Rev. Suzi Harriff presented a report on this trip to the delegates, following a brief introduction by the Rev. Dr. Jim Kelsey. She began with a description of the genocide of Hutus and Tutsis that occurred
in Rwanda in 1994. In that year about 85% of the people were Christians, but on April 7th, a few days after Easter, the President of the country was shot on an airplane. Then, within three months, a million Rwandans were killed. Sadly, some of the most horrific events took place in churches. Part of the problem was that people in Rwanda had only heard a part of the gospel: they had heard about salvation but not about serving others.

The Rev. Harriff spoke about a restoration process called gacaca in which both the accused and the accusers face each other before the elders of the village. The process has taken about 10 years. A woman named Odet, who found the strength and grace to forgive what she had experienced, now leads training workshops on forgiveness.

The process of reconciliation has several dimensions, including:

•   A "Lighthouse" project that shows images and "stations" that bring healing and

  hope.

•   A "Cross Workshop" that helps people write down words that are then nailed to a

  wooden cross on slips of paper that are later removed and

  burned.

•   A couple who met and married; one was Hutu, the other Tutzi.

•   A new Rwandan flag that was created in the midst of the

  reconciliation work.

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 Rwandan churches have adopted Isa. 60:3 as a theme verse: "Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." They also speak of kwibuka, a word for "remembrance," so that they might not forget what has happened in the past.

A member of the short-term mission encounter group, Ms. Karen Walter, happened to be an occupational therapist and had the opportunity to meet with children who had disabilities. One photo showed a child who goes to school and has learned to write...with her feet. They also visited a center for adults with disabilities called the "Jesus Place." One of the founders of the Jesus Place was a man named Frederick, whose arms were disfigured and injured during an horrific incident in which he refused to kill fellow passengers on a bus.

Ms. Walter showed us an ingeniously constructed doll who's name meant "Unity."

Rwandans are creating community gardens throughout the country. In some of them old tires are stacked and used as containers in order to grow plants and food.

Reconciliation Villages are places where people who had formerly been enemies have come to live together.

The Iroquois Association (near Syracuse) has purchased a motorbike that will allow a Rwandan pastor named Pastor Rendiro to travel and minister more effectively. When the Hillview Baptist Church, also formerly part of the Iroquois Association, closed some years ago, Bibles were taken from the church and were later distributed in Rwanda.

Rabagirana Ministries is a key ministry supported by the Revs. Suzi and Jim Harriff.

A new kind of stove has been developed for Rwandan households. Its design allows for cooking with fewer toxic fumes.

What can we do?

•   We can pray for the churches, the ministries, and the people of Rwanda.

•   We can bring pressure to bear on our own governmental leaders to provide

  assistance.

•   We can take a short-term mission encounter trip to Rwanda and learn from what

  we see and experience there.

•   We can support other people who go.

•   We can purchase fair trade products and seek to purchase locally made products.

•   We can help financially: $2.50 donation will purchase a pump-operated

  flashlight; $250.00 can facilitate a micro-enterprise loan.

  3. Prayer: At the conclusion of these presentations, the Association Moderator, Mrs. Ruth Stoddard, asked the delegates to stand, and then she led the group in prayer.

  4. Roll Call of Churches, Delegates, and Visitors: The Rev. Jeremy Spencer, Secretary of the Association, led the roll call. The results are tabulated as follows:

*The present Constitution and By-Laws of the Association provides for three voting delegates from each church: the pastor or stated church leader and two other persons. Other persons may attend our meetings as well, so I have counted these persons as "visitors" for the purpose of recording attendance.
The Rev. Spencer indicated that a quorum was present to transact the constitutional business that would come before the Association later in the meeting.1

5. Minutes of the February 26, 2017 Annual Meeting and the September 24, 2017 Delegates Meeting. Minutes of these meetings had been distributed to each church by mail. In addition, the Secretary had posted the Minutes of these meetings on the Association's web site. And he had also made some copies of these Minutes for the delegates who attended the present meeting. The Minutes of both meetings were reviewed by the Delegates. It was moved by the Rev. David Daniels and seconded by Mr. Leroy Woodruff that the Minutes of both meetings be accepted as read. The motion carried.

6. Treasurer's Report: Mr. Paul Miller presented a Treasurer's Report by means of Power Point. He also provided a printed report. His report covered the Fiscal Year from March 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018. His report showed receipts of $6,251.00 and disbursements of $6,640.76, for a net loss of $389.67. His report showed actual contributions from 22 of the Association's 25 churches. Mr. Miller also presented a proposed budget for the 2018-2019 Fiscal Year, reviewing each item line-by-line. Mr. Miller moved that the budget be adopted; the motion was seconded by Martha Henry and carried.

7. Constitutional Amendments:

a. Changes Proposed for Adoption at the Present Meeting: The Rev. Jeremy Spencer presented two proposed changes to the Association's Constitution and By-Laws. In accordance with the existing Constitution and By-Laws of the Association, proposed changes had been presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association on February 26, 2017. The first proposed change would change all expressions concerning the "Program Board" in the existing Constitution and By-Laws to "Assembly of Delegates." The second proposed change concerned Article IV, the article concerned with the Executive Committee. The Rev. Spencer moved that language concerning the "Assembly of Delegates" be adopted and that the proposed language of Article IV be changed so as to coincide with an amendment to the By-Laws previously adopted by the Association in September of 2016. Prior to the meeting, a letter mailed to each

1 ARTICLE V – Amendments
This constitution may be altered or amended upon written notice of proposed change(s) having been given at one Annual Meeting, with the vote taking place at the next Annual
Meeting. A minimum of 50% of the member churches must be present, with a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote necessary to effect change(s). There shall be no proxy votes.

Association church had outlined the reasons for the proposed changes, and each church had also received a copy of the proposed change. The language of the proposed change is below:

ARTICLE IV — Executive Committee

1. The Executive Committee will plan the agenda and the program for the meetings of the Assembly of Delegates and will coordinate any programs or projects initiated by standing or ad hoc committees. It will be responsible for the ongoing work of the Association between meetings of the Assembly of Delegates.

2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Moderator, Assistant Moderator, Secretary, Treasurer, representatives from auxiliaries (AB Men, AB Women, and AB Youth), and the chairs of standing and active ad hoc committees. The Association's representative to the Regional Board of Mission shall serve on the Executive Committee, and other persons representing the Association at a Regional level shall serve as well. A person who has responsibility for Communication on behalf of the Association, either as a Committee chair, or as a person to whom that task has been delegated, shall serve on the Executive Committee.

3. The Executive Committee shall meet regularly and at least once prior to each meeting of the Assembly of Delegates to plan the agenda for the meeting, to initiate and plan for Association programs and ministries, and to conduct any other business that may be required.

4. The Executive Committee shall have such other responsibilities as the Assembly of Delegates shall assign to it. Further and more specific responsibilities are outlined in the By-Laws of the Association.

The motion was seconded by the Rev. George Norton, Jr. and carried by voice vote.

b. Changes Proposed for Adoption at Next Year's Annual Meeting: The Rev. Jeremy Spencer presented two proposed amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws for possible adoption at next year's Annual Meeting. The first was a proposed Article V on the Dissolution of the Association. He stated that he hoped this would never happen, but he indicated that it was his belief that we would need Article V, or something similar to it, in order to apply for a 501(c)3 designation by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit entity. The Internal Revenue Service wants to know that, should a non-profit dissolve, any remaining assets would be used for non-profit, benevolent purposes. Receiving approval as a 501(c)3 non-profit would, in turn, facilitate possible grant applications.

The second article, a proposed Article VI on Amendments, would change the language of the existing Article so that Amendments to the Association's Constitution and By-Laws could be made more easily. Under the existing Article a proposed Amendment is presented in one year for possible adoption the next year. By the time delegates finally vote on a proposed constitutional Amendment, the reasoning behind the proposed change may have been forgotten. Moreover, the existing procedure seems slow and unnecessarily cumbersome.

If the proposed Article V is adopted, then the article for Amendments would be changed to Article VI, and the language of that Article might be changed as well.

The language of these proposals is presented below. (Copies of the proposed language and the reasoning behind them had been sent to the churches of the Association, and each delegate received a copy as well.)

ARTICLE V — Dissolution of the Association

Section 1: The Living Waters Association of the ABCNYS may be dissolved by a vote of 2/3rds of the Association's delegates at any regularly scheduled Annual Meeting of the Association. A quorum of at least half of the active member churches belonging to the Association shall be represented at a vote to dissolve the Association. An active member church is a church that has donated to the Association during the past year or has been represented by at least one delegate at an Association meeting during the past year.

Section 2: Notice of the intent to vote to dissolve the Association as well as the time, place, and date of the Annual Meeting shall be mailed by the officers of the Executive Committee of the Association to the churches belonging to the Association (and conveyed to churches by any other convenient means) more than sixty (60) days prior to the Annual Meeting of the Association.

Section 3: In the event that a vote to dissolve the Association succeeds, any monetary assets the Association may possess, including real assets, equipment, and other tangible assets (or the value of the same, if sold), shall be conveyed by the Treasurer of the Association within the next ninety (90) days by all convenient means to the American Baptist Churches of New York State; to any non-profit religious organization or corporation that shall happen to succeed the American Baptist Church of New York State; or, in the event that no such organization serving the American Baptist churches of New York State exists, to the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., or to a successor organization. If the Treasurer of the Association is unable to fulfill this task, the Moderator of the Association, the Secretary of the Association, or another member of the Association's Executive Committee shall do so.

Section 4: The Linnie E. Carmer Fund, which provides scholarship assistance to persons from churches in the Southern Tier of New York State, shall be conveyed upon dissolution of the Living Waters Association of the ABCNYS to a non-profit Baptist organization, whether to the American Baptist Churches of New York State or to some other succeeding organization, that shall be able to maintain the Linnie E. Carmer Fund in accordance with its stated purpose.

Section 5: The Secretary of the Association or any member of the Executive Committee shall convey any existing Minutes and records of the Association to the American Baptist Historical Society.

Section 6: It shall be the intent of the Association to follow current New York State Religious Corporations Law, section 140, in the dissolution of the Association. It shall be our policy that the conveyance of any remaining assets of the Association upon dissolution of the Association shall continue the non-profit, religious, and charitable purposes of the Association.

ARTICLE VI — Amendments

This Constitution may be amended or altered upon written notice of the proposed change or changes having been given at a meeting of the Association, with the vote taking place at the next meeting of the Association, provided that at least one hundred and twenty (120) days shall have intervened between the formal presentation of the proposal and its possible adoption. A minimum of 50% of the member churches

must be present, with a two-thirds (2/3rds) majority vote necessary to effect the amendment or change to the Constitution. There shall be no proxy votes.

No action on this matter was necessary at this time, since these Amendments are proposals for consideration at the next Annual Meeting of the Association.

8. Election of Officers: The Executive Committee of the Association, functioning as the Nominating Committee, proposed two persons for election at this meeting:

For Secretary: The Rev. Jeremy Spencer, the Pastor of the Odessa Baptist Church in Odessa, NY.
For Treasurer: Mr. Paul Miller, a member of the American Baptist Community Church in Big Flats, NY.

The Rev. Scott Greene moved that these persons be elected to these offices; the motion was seconded by the Rev. Cedric Cooper and carried.

9. Announcements:

a. Information provided: Delegates had been provided with information about the summer schedule at Camp Vick and Camp Pathfinder. Moderator Stoddard encouraged the delegates to take these home.

b. American Baptist Women: Mrs. Betty Lou Rutledge of the Corning First Baptist Church announced that the Steuben American Baptist Women would meet in mid-May. The women planning for this evening event were uncertain who the missionary speaker would be.

c. American Baptist Men: Mr. Leroy Woodruff of the Waverly First Baptist Church reported that the Men's Conference would be at Keuka College in August. The musical group, Copper Coins, has confirmed that they will perform at the conference. More information will be forthcoming.

d. Lay Studies Course: It was announced that the Rev. John Tharp would teach a Lay Studies Course on the Old Testament at the First Baptist Church of Corning. The course would begin on March 19th and conclude on May 21st.

e. Children's Ministry Workshop: The Rev. David Daniels indicated that he would be sending each church a flyer concerning a Children's Ministry Workshop to be offered at the American Baptist Community Church in Big Flats on April 7th. Ms. Barbara Van Valkenburg would lead the workshop. She has been a missionary in England with Bible Club Ministries International.

f. Request for Information: The Rev. Dale Kee, Pastor at the Bath Baptist Church, asked for information from our churches about involvement in prison ministries. Delegates were asked to contact him if interested in participating in a ministry of this nature.

10. Adjournment and Next Meeting: A delegate moved that the meeting adjourn. The Rev. Michael Dickinson offered a concluding prayer as well as a prayer for the meal to follow. The meeting adjourned at 5:45 PM. Our next Delegates Meeting will be on September 23, 2018, at the First Baptist Church of Corning. The Rev. Dale Edwards, Executive Minister of Vermont and New Hampshire, will be the presenter. The next Annual Meeting of the Association will be on February 24, 2019, with the place to be arranged.

Respectfully submitted,

The Rev. Jeremy L. Spencer Secretary

File: Living Waters Association Annual Meeting Minutes 2018.02.25