rgr highlights 2002

ABMen/RGR

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2002

American Baptist Men of the Rochester/Genesee Region held a prayer breakfast on February 23, 2002, at the Fairport Baptist Homes, with about 100 people in attendance. We were delighted to see quite a few boys and young men at the breakfast. Tom Argust, Commissioner of Community Development for the City of Rochester and member of Lake Avenue Baptist Church, gave a PowerPoint presentation at the event. He spoke about the economic “health” of the city, urban spawl, and the role of churches in keeping neighborhoods stable.

On March 24, the First Baptist Church of Fairport hosted our annual Palm Sunday breakfast. Harold Files and Bob Dilger gave their reflections on what it was like to go down to New York City as part of the ABMen disaster relief crew in the wake of the World Trade Center attack.

On June 1, the ABMen/New York State’s Disaster Relief Trailer was on display at the First Baptist Church of Fairport as part of Fairport Canal Days.

Several men from RGR attended the ABMen of New York State conference August 9-11 at Keuka College. The theme was “Masculine Spirituality with a Mission: The Mentoring Connection.” The guest speaker was Tim Schwartz, National Coordinator of AB Boys and Young Men.

“Masculine Spirituality: Bringing it Home, Making it Known… How to express your faith as man of God — and how it relates to God’s mission around us.” This was the topic of a workshop held on September 21 at Waring Baptist Church. About 25 men from 9 area churches attended this event, at which Dave Cross, president of ABMen/NYS, was the keynote speaker. Everyone at the workshop realized the importance of having an active men’s fellowship group in each church — and how the interaction between men leads to interaction between those men and the children/you i their church and community. The discussion focused on creating men’s groups and strengthening those which already exist. A men’s group must have Christ at the center. It must be a comfortable, non-threatening setting where men can share the struggles and their joys. We also stressed the need for boys and young men to have Christian role models.

In the coming year, ABMen/RGR will continue stressing the need for men to be mentors, and will continue its support of the Disaster Relief Trailer.