Tenants fill church with good works

BENNINGTON -- In the year after the first non-profit tenant moved into the Nichols Education Building at First Baptist Church in January 2009, three more tenants moved in, filling up the available space.

First, the Bennington Free Clinic opened up on the first floor of the building, located downtown. Next, Project Against Violent Encounters’ Family Time program moved into the building, and the Vermont Center for Independent Living and Easter Seals later followed suit.

The offering of the previously unused building space is the result of a deliberate decision by the First Baptist congregation to reach out to the community as a form of mission.

"We’ve pretty much taken on as a missional church the goal of providing the missing components for basic human needs in the area here. We’re too small by ourselves to tackle any one of these things," said Wayne Kachmar, a member of the church board of trustees. "But this collaborative model of missional church has given us the opportunity to partner with many different groups and to use what we bring to the table: open space, visibility on Main Street -- accessibility, we’re flat, we’re level -- accessibility to transportation."

In addition to providing easy access for those in need, the use of the space by human services non-profit groups also frees up commercial space downtown for economic development, he said.

Tenants filled the available space faster than anticipated. "It’s sort of amazing when a plan comes together that quickly," Kachmar said. "We think that it was obviously (something) that was needed and the affirmation seems to be that our tenants are thriving, the activity levels are high."

Tracy L. Dorman, peer advocate and community outreach specialist with Vermont Center for Independent Living in Bennington, said that it promotes independent living for individuals with disabilities.

"Many VCIL peers are living on limited, fixed incomes and experience overwhelming financial, physical, mental, or emotional challenges," she said. "VCIL working as their partner helps to build their confidence to face those challenges through accessing services in the community, and to their developing and managing their well-being."

Being located in the building next to the Bennington Free Clinic allows VCIL a closer connection with Free Clinic executive director Sue Andrews and the free clinic on behalf of the people VCIL serves, Dorman said.

"In addition, VCIL endorses the Health Care Is A Human Right Campaign," she said. "VCIL’s location in the First Baptist Church allows the local organizing committee and campaign members a more visible presence."

Another advantage is accessibility. "Being located on the Green Mountain Express route going east on Main Street allows VCIL peers to utilize the bus to attend our events, meetings, and appointments," Dorman said. "Our peers enjoy the autonomy that the church location provides.

"It is a welcoming, friendly, supportive environment. This location provides VCIL the ability to accommodate large and small groups that include support groups, community meetings, trainings, and also one-on-one meetings," she said. "The kitchen space has allowed us to offer cooking classes to our peers without having to find alternative space."

First Baptist has helped offer healthy cooking and basic sewing classes and hopes to collaborate in presenting more such activities. "The idea here is it’s not necessarily the First Baptist folks completely doing it. We really seek out partnerships," said First Baptist coordinating minister Jerrod Hugenot, adding that one does not have to be a person of faith to participate. "Collaboration is key. So we work fairly fluidly with folks within the faith community and with others within the larger community."

The church has received a $6,000 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation. "What they were specifically interested in was the collaborative model we’ve put together and the governance structure we had to put around it," Kachmar said.

The grant was for basic support, and part of this is to update some of the infrastructure for common use, such as Internet access, a more energy-efficient heating program, and setting up a hall in the church for interactive conferences, he said.

Though the Nichols Building is full of permanent tenants, "We’re not done, Kachmar said. "We may be full for the time being. But we’re looking at the other options: people who need a temporary facility, people who may need an office for a month or two and being able to come in here and support an activity.

"Finding that in town is not very easy and at this point that’s perhaps the next step that we have to look at," he said.

Hugenot, who is originally from Kansas, said that in studying the history of Baptists in Vermont, he has found that First Baptist in Bennington a century and more ago was always prominent in mission work.

"There’s certainly precedent that mission is very much a strand of the DNA that has made this place tick and thrive and grow over the years," he said. "So in some ways we are reclaiming our roots while also casting out for a different day."

            March is our month to celebrate and support “home mission” as American Baptists.  In the history of our denomination, we developed a strong tradition of supporting the endeavors of missionaries in mission fields all over the world.  At the same time, American Baptists developed ministry and mission fields right here at home. 

            Our “home mission” history is quite impressive.  National Ministries, our home mission society, started just a few years after First Baptist itself was founded.  In 1832, the American Baptist Home Mission Society began, expanding rapidly to serve our growing nation.  (Indeed, the Rev. Jeremiah Hall left his pastorate here in 1836 to help start a church in Michigan, sent as a home missionary by the ABHMS.  Rev. Hall later served as president of Denison University in Granville, OH.)

Without a doubt, American Baptists have enriched and transformed the lives of individuals and communities through our “home mission” work.  Neighborhood centers, evangelism outreach efforts, advocacy for social change, scholarship support for colleges and seminaries, and refugee resettlement are just a few “success” stories of our past and present.  American Baptists have a distinguished history, celebrating mission around the world and around the corner!

One reason I support the America for Christ offering is out of a sense of personal gratitude.  Over the years, I have benefited from educational programming supported by National Ministries (my education was supported in part by scholarship aid from our denomination, making possible my studies at Ottawa University and Central Baptist Theological Seminary).  My pastoral library has great resources for ministry and Baptist identity published by Judson Press, our denomination’s publishing house.  I know a number of people whose lives were changed for the better, thanks to home mission efforts.  When it’s March each year, I know it’s time to say “thank you!” through a financial gift to the America for Christ offering.

As a congregation, let us remember that First Baptist has experienced a great deal of “investment return” from our home mission support.  Over the past four years, we have had great consultation and support from Dr. Ronald Carlson, Missional Church Strategist, one of our commissioned home missionaries employed by National Ministries.  Our church has been enriched by Ron’s consultation, NM’s help assembling a great community-wide conference on community conflict transformation in 2008.  Our missional efforts have been empowered by a $1500 grant in 2009 to help fund short-term missional projects. To give to the America for Christ Offering is a great way to say “thank you!” to National Ministries.  Please consider giving generously to our 2010 AFC Offering!

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One final note:

            We join with the ABC V/NH region, mourning the loss of the Rev. Rohn Peterson, acting executive minister, who died on February 17, 2010, after an extended battle with cancer.  Rohn came to our region staff during a time of controversy and transition.  He led us with grace and humor, providing his servant leadership faithfully in our midst.  Rohn was our guest last Pentecost when the General Secretary visited.  He valued the words of welcome and the prayers for his work and his health offered by our congregation.

May we honor his memory through our commitments to further American Baptist ministry and mission in our community, our region, our nation, and around the world.

“To incite more earnest efforts”
Pastor’s Notes (February 2010)

One of the marvels of the digital age is Google’s ongoing project to scan books, journals, and other print materials for persons to view online. Recently, I came across Henry Crocker’s The History of the Baptists in Vermont, published the P.H. Gobie Press of Bellows Falls, VT.  Rev. Crocker was the president of the Vermont Baptist Historical Society, and he was tasked with the job of finishing what was considered a long overdue by the time the book appeared in 1913.  Crocker’s preface recounts the convoluted history of the book’s many setbacks in research and production since a history was first proposed in 1841.  Rev. Crocker worked through reams of source material to produce this book, now long out of print, and now enjoying another sort of preservation as part of the Google Books collection.

            Like anyone else, my first curiosity was to read the section about matters near to mind and heart.  The section on First Baptist, Bennington, (Crocker, p. 102-105) recounts a few familiar facts: a recounting of the church’s origins in 1827, though it was known as the Baptist church in “East Bennington, or Algiers”.  Interestingly, it would be a year later that the first minister, Henry Baldwin would become the minister.  By the time the Vermont Baptist history appeared, First Baptist had been served by twenty-two pastors, the longest serving being the eight year pastorate of Rev. Z. Martin (1885-1893).   Considering the rest of the 20^th-century’s pastoral tenures (including Dr. Towart’s thirty year tenure), when First Baptist had only six settled pastorates over a 75 year period, the thought of twenty-two pastorates over eight-six years seems quite remarkable.  

            The rest of Rev. Crocker’s entry about First Baptist details a variety of “milestones” about the church fellowship perhaps forgotten in our modern day congregation.  In 1832, a temperance movement began in Bennington with a church committee formed to address the excessive drinking of “cider brandy”.   In the 1840s, William Miller, a Vermont-born minister, was invited to address the congregation about his views on the Second Coming (in Miller’s opinion, to take place on October 22, 1844).  Apparently, Miller’s views held suasion, as Crocker reports his speech “wreaked havoc in the flock”, presumably causing some congregants to take up his views as well.  (After this date came to pass, and our Lord did not, the date became known as “the Great Disappointment”.)   The 1850s brought congregational “resolutions disapproving and discountenancing the amusement of dancing” declaring dancing inconsistent with “the Christian profession”.   If these stories are not amusing enough, Crocker recounts the long history of the church struggling to keep a decent church bell.  Apparently, First Baptist had the first church bell in Bennington installed in 1830, however, the original bell was “said to have been the poorest bell ever shipped into the State of Vermont.  The sound of it provoked the criticism of all who heard it” (Crocker, 105).

            To our ears, these stories of our distant past offer a glimpse of the life of First Baptist no longer in living memory.  The idea of temperance fervor and anti-dancing resolutions might strike us as a product of times gone by.  Certainly, William Miller’s predictions of the end of things in 1844 remind us that modern day Christians chasing after every half-baked “end times” prediction have their antecedents. 

            Studying our past, however, helps us understand our roots.  Given his task of accounting for a brief history of every Vermont Baptist congregation, Rev. Crocker’s account leaves out the congregation’s historic commitment to mission, providing funding for domestic and global efforts, and the commitment to religious education.   The spiritual DNA of First Baptist has a remarkable intertwining of passion for discipleship and the support of initiatives far and wide.

            As with every generation, it is our challenge to live with the best of our past and endeavor to make the future possible.  As we near a century since Henry Crocker’s account of First Baptist, may I suggest we revisit our roots this spring in our religious education?   Starting February 7, 2010, we will explore our Baptist roots, studying the historic distinctive beliefs and practices of our tradition:  Soul Freedom, Believer’s Baptism, the role of the Bible, the priesthood of all believers, local church autonomy, the ministry of the laity, discipleship, evangelism, worship and communion, speaking about issues of faith, diversity, and mission.  Each week, we ponder what makes us “tick” as Baptists.  In the 21^st-century, we American Baptists are part of the most racially diverse denominations in the United States.  We are a people known for having a “wide tent” when it comes to theological diversity, and some of our theological debates make arguments over cider brandy and dancing look pretty tame.

            When it comes time to recount our history, what story would you like to have told about our ministry and mission today?  I am most hopeful we will be recalled as faithful, earnest believers, working for the betterment of our community and growing in faith and love.   Indeed, Rev. Crocker has a good word about the goal of the Christian in search of a past, present, and future.  Near a century ago, Rev. Crocker observed,

It is a satisfaction to know that facts long concealed or known to but few can be known by many, and we may cherish the hope that the backward look will incite to more earnest efforts for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of Christ among the Green Mountains and the fertile valleys of Vermont. (Crocker, 5).

Pastor’s Report

Annual Report for 2009

      The year 2009 began with the wonderings of what the year held for the world’s economy.  First Baptist began its 2009 year with lower than previous pledges. Around the meeting table, lay leaders wondered what the year held.

Wise decision making made 2009 a different story

      As 2009 draws to a close, let us recognize the local and global economy has been challenging, yet First Baptist has held our own, and even progressed!  Our pledges for local and mission were met by the end of the year.  Our financial year-end demonstrated faithful giving by congregants, wise management of our congregation’s endowment for customary ministry expenses and critical capital improvements, and a marked increase in building use revenue.  The latter revenue stream was made possible by our congregation’s affirmation to open the doors to non-profit organizations and expand the church’s identity as a hub for missional activity. 

We end 2009 on a strong fiscal and missional note thanks to the hard work of our congregation, the lay leadership, and the church staff.   Let 2009 be a good word to future generations that intentional governance and congregational strategic planning return great dividends:  revenue to make us less endowment dependent and an increased ability to stay focused on ministry and not maintenance!

First Baptist as a community leader and missional catalyst:

      In 2009, I offered a vision statement for First Baptist:  to be “a place for healing, community involvement, and spiritual grounding”.  First Baptist has grown exponentially in community presence, now well regarded as catalysts and partners for change in our local community. Since mid-2008, First Baptist has become home to four non-profit organizations.  We have continued to develop our facility as a place for short-term projects, meetings, and events, hosting more activity under this roof than in many, many years.

      The external evaluation of First Baptist is glowing.  Our church’s community presence has received excellent coverage in the local media, the nation-wide publications of the American Baptist Churches/USA, and even in reports to our denomination’s General Board.  In June 2009, the General Secretary, the Rev. A. Roy Medley hailed First Baptist as one of the growing number of smaller ABC/USA churches that “are not counting their faithfulness by the brick and mortar they possess but by the lives they help reshape and redeem.”  He offered us good words of affirmation when visiting a few weeks earlier as our speaker at our Pentecost celebration.  Likewise, the board of National Ministries awarded a $1500 grant in support of a cooking skills class, noting their affirmation of our continuing work.  Our missional efforts reflect the creativity of our congregants as well as our better engaged and attuned hearts and minds as we seek out ways to serve our community’s needs.  As our missional church consultant, the Rev. Dr. Ronald Carlson has stated, First Baptist is a “beacon” for the community.

      In 2009, I note I was involved in a variety of community and regional efforts in my capacity as minister.  I represented First Baptist as a member of the Bennington Interfaith Council and as a delegate to the annual meetings of the ABC Vermont/New Hampshire region and association. I continued service on the board of directors for the Better Bennington Corporation and completed a one year term on the CAT-TV board. In 2009, I completed two years serving as the organizing convener of the region’s Southwest Association clergy meetings.  During the fall 2009 semester, I served as one of the instructors for Southern Vermont College’s comparative religions course and assisted in interfaith council efforts to establish relationships with our local institutions of higher education.  This year, I published religious life columns for the Bennington Banner and a book review with Sharing the Practice, the journal for the Academy of Parish Clergy.  As noted above, I traveled to Amsterdam in July 2009 to participate in the Emerging Leaders Network (ELN) program of the Baptist World Alliance.

Moving forward into a new day for ministry

      Looking back at the near four years of ministry here, I note we have much to celebrate, and we have much work still to do.  In a recent sermon, I observed we are on the next leg of our journey, and we are realizing the way ahead looks decidedly less than what we have seen in the past.  Living in the least religiously inclined state in the United States and competing with many other claims on people’s time and energy, First Baptist has a few tools and resources from our history and heritage to carry with us, but we cannot forget that the journey ahead is also a bit less defined than we prefer it to be.  We have some work to do in moving ahead, continuing the story of a group of Baptists who started ministry in 1827 while moving faithfully and self-critically into a more challenging century than our 19^th or 20^th-century forebears knew.

As I look at 2009 and look ahead to 2010, I offer the following observations:

Emerging administrative changes--The trustees have designated clearer hiring practices for our staff, and I have been designated as the chief of staff with more oversight of staff performance and evaluation.  These efforts might come as a surprise, as one might have thought these policies and practices were already in place.  In a growing climate of oversight and compliance challenges for non-profit organizations, is important to realize the church has been functioning with no defined policy book or lines of authority.

As an employer with a number of staff, First Baptist needs policies and practices in place that meet legal requirements and ensure healthy and well-managed employer/employee relationships.  In addition to boards communicating more about efforts to fill vacant positions, we are now requiring background checks and increased attention to the hiring and interview process with all staff position vacancies.  To assist my growth in this area, I will be taking a human resource management course this spring term to expand my knowledge base and skills. 

Understanding the changing role of the minister—I note this past year has been an ongoing reminder of how the minister’s role is changing at First Baptist.  I spend more time managing staff, working with our financial process and managing First Baptist’s community relations than I have done before.  These functions are becoming part of the position’s duties, and I do not foresee the minister’s tasks becoming any less complex.  Throughout 2010, I will be working with a consultant to help me manage my growth and development in the changing ministry needs of First Baptist.

The traditional, and very valued, parts of ministry (preaching, teaching, and pastoral care) are carried out to the best of my abilities, however, I find myself often wishing for more organized lay assistance in the care of each other.  Many weeks, I am unable to take a full day off, if at all, as unanticipated care needs arise, and I have no organized back-up help even when on vacation leave, short of calling in a clergy colleague to cover emergencies. 

I also ask the lay leadership to continue with the development of a stronger governance structure, able to equip boards and committees to do their tasks well and be less dependent on the minister or church staff.  I note I was more involved in agenda preparation, administrative housekeeping, and even leading meetings than I feel a minister ought to be doing or is healthy for good and effective pastor/parish relationships and mutual accountability.  I recommend our lay leadership give due consideration to the development of a covenant for all lay leaders, helping better define the expectation, duties, and accountability of board members and officers. 

Wrestling with my self-care—This past summer, I attended the Summer Collegium, a Lilly-funded program of the Virginia Theological Seminary of Alexandria, Virginia.  The program was of especial interest, as this year’s Collegium focused on small church clergy and self-care skills.  A few months later, I look back with the continued awareness that I must I hold myself more accountable in structuring time away from duties to rest, exercise regularly, and maintain healthy relationships with my own household.  The pastoral relations committee is assisting me with making some progress in this area.  I appreciate your support as well!

Strengthening our discipleship—In 2009, Baptists marked the 400^th anniversary of our origins in the Reformation era.  I served as a panelist at the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Amsterdam as one “emerging young leader” reflecting on the present and future ministry of Baptists.  While sharing the story of First Baptist (and I note your story was well received by our global family), I heard a recurrent lament among even our younger global Baptist leadership.  There is a concern for churches to strengthen their discipleship efforts, helping persons know Christ and grow in faith.  

As part of our congregational work in 2010, we will explore our Baptist identity in February and March, giving these two months over to church-wide reflection on the hallmarks of our heritage.  It is my hope that our congregation will give appropriate focus on the strengths of our Baptist roots as a people who are diverse, dedicated to mission, and engaged in living in the world as intentional disciples of Jesus Christ.

Concluding Thoughts

First Baptist has an exciting journey ahead of us.  Keep encouraging one another as we travel together, all along the pilgrim journey.

Grace and peace,

The Rev. Jerrod H. Hugenot, coordinating minister

In September, Southern Vermont College launched a new Tuesday evening comparative religion course. In previous years, comparative religion courses focused on broad introductions to majority religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism), attempting to give a general sketch of a tradition and then compare/contrast the beliefs, rituals, and ethics of the traditions. The Interfaith Council suggested a new perspective and methodological approach for the course, which introduces briefly various religious traditions (including traditions previously left unconsidered: Baha’i, Nature/Earth religions, etc.) and spends most of the semester engaging questions that humanity asks of itself and how religious traditions vary (and even harmonize) in their responses to the big questions of life.

Rather than speaking about religious experience in “textbook” fashion, we are helping the students become engaged in questions of life answered from religious perspectives as well modeling the benefit of interfaith dialogue. For example, an Episcopal priest and a Buddhist priest stand side by side and talk of religious answers about suffering. Along the way, they engage in dialogue about their religious traditions in an conversational, respectful manner. One recent evening, a lecture explored Judaism and Christianity’s general beliefs and then allowed time for the lecturers (in this case, Rabbi Joshua Boetigger and myself) to speak of the complicated past history and the prospect of a new story to develop in Jewish/Christian relations. The course allows local clergy to interact with students of one of our local institutions of higher learning. I am enjoying this opportunity to teach, as it allows me the ability to encounter the wonderful students of Southern Vermont College. The SVC students also embody some challenging demographic realities for the interfaith community.

The average young undergraduate in today’s colleges was born in the late 1980s and reflect a generation rising up in the United States who have a markedly different perspective on religion. A recent survey documenting U.S. religious preferences notes a dramatic change in persons who note “no religious preference” or “none” when asked if they are a person of a particular faith. In 2008, thirty-four percent of Vermonters claimed no religious identity, earning Vermont the title of “least religious state”. A straw poll of the SVC classroom indicated the same result: one-third of the class, or one in three students, claimed no religious identity. While today’s student has an appreciation for religious diversity, a level of distrust for institutional forms of religion also exists within the classroom and the present day U.S. context. The class instructors appreciate that they are teaching faith traditions in a time quite different than ever a couple of decades ago. It is sobering to see one-third of the hands go up when the religious identity straw poll is conducted.

As the semester unfolds, I am hopeful t I will be of help to the students, speaking a fair and even-handed word about our faith tradition while demonstrating respect and engagement with the other religious voices in the room. We can safely say First Baptist is an interfaith-minded group of people. We live out this commitment through our participation in the Interfaith Council and our support of ongoing interfaith initiatives such as at the Food and Fuel Fund and the Bennington Free Clinic. Congregants give time as Free Clinic volunteers, provide Council leadership, and help with initiatives such as the Empty Bowls event.

We should celebrate our ability to be rooted in the Baptist tradition and live out our calling as Christ’s disciple while doing this critical interfaith witness and work. We recognize our blessed uniqueness: we are Christians willing to be in the midst of the pain of the world, working together with persons whose faith convictions differ from our own.

Together, in our diversity, we speak to a new day emerging where even as religious interest has waned, the faith communities of Bennington, including the gathered people called “First Baptist”, offer a peaceable witness that faith can enrich and enliven.

Grace & Peace- Rev. Jerrod H. Hugenot