In April the Council received a major gift of $123,000 from the estate of Gail L. Calkins. Mr. Calkins, of Onondaga County was a staunch supporter of the Council in the middle of the last century. He is remembered as a devoted ecumenist by those with whom he served.

Born in 1885, Mr. Calkins died in May of 1968. His estate was left to his wife, Nellie who died in 1976, upon which time his daughter, Gaile C. McCracken, became heir to the estate.

This is the second gift from the Calkins family to the Council. Along with other recipients listed in the Calkins will, the Council had previously received properties in Bradenton, Florida and on Otisco Lake. The daughter, Gaile McCracken, had life use of these properties. These were distributed to the remaindermen in 1999 and 2000. The properties were subsequently sold and the income distributed in percentages specified in the will. The Council’s share was put into one of the Council’s endowment funds.

After Gaile McCracken died in April of 2005 the estate passed to beneficiaries listed in the will, and the Council received $123,000 in April of this year. This gift is now in a special endowment fund named for his wife, Nellie Calkins.

The “Invisible Church”

The Invisible Church – Its Members

There is an invisible church. It exists within the walls of New York State institutions. Those who worship there are often estranged from family and friends as well as from a local congregation.

Most are in facilities run by the Department of Corrections – among them are youth who have “done” drugs, women who have killed their spouses, men who have abused children, gang members, white collar criminals, people with drunk driving fatality records, and people with mental illness.

But all in state institutions are not there because they have run afoul of the law. New York has institutions that provide care to the developmentally disabled, the mentally ill, and youth in need of supervision – people whose family cannot care for them, those who need a stable consistent routine or those that need round the clock supervision to keep them from harming themselves or others.

What members of “the invisible church” have in common is that their needs are greater than most peoples, and they are out of sight and out of mind of the general public. Despite this, they have a need for pastoral care and (as we all do) to hear the message of God’s love.

The Invisible Church – Its Pastors

Those who pastor the invisible church are clergy who have a unique call to institutional chaplaincy. As institutional chaplains, they not only share life “inside” with their parishioners, they also share the isolation. This is a difficult ministry. It takes special people with special talents to minister in settings where they may be the only one providing hope to those who may not experience it in any other aspect of their life.

Yet the chaplains lack a supportive community which a local congregational pastor takes for granted. Institutional chaplains daily face not only human dysfunction but superiors who do not understand the role of the chaplain. Much of the NYSCC Chaplaincy Coordinator’s work is that of being an ombudsman for the needs of the chaplains. Because the Council is not beholden to the state or its agencies it can be an advocate for the chaplains – a role much appreciated by the chaplains.

A Call To Special Service

To make sure that those with the background, experience and ability to operate as a lone ranger in an often hostile situation can do so, the New York State Council of Churches Chaplaincy ministry follows chaplains through their entire time of service. From the time a clergyperson applies for chaplaincy certification, the Council lets them know that theirs will be a rewarding but not an easy task. The process begins with strict criteria regarding education, experience and Clinical Pastoral Education. Once a candidate has provided that background information and has the endorsement of his or her denomination, the candidate is interviewed by one of three Certification Committees. These committees, made up of present and retired chaplains, recommend certification for roughly half of those that go through the certification process. For others the Certification Committee suggests a career track a candidate can follow to better equip themselves for future certification.

Public Policy Work Party 2007 Planned

Martin Luther King Jr. once remarked, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” As planning proceeds for the annual Public Policy Work Party, Dr. King's words resonate. Along with many others, the New York State Council of Churches has worked many years to encourage community over rugged individualism, peace over violence, restoration over retribution.

We are beginning to see public attitudes shifting. As more people oppose the war in Iraq and question the use of the death penalty, they seek alternative ways to envision society. When the politics of fear wanes, it opens the door for a politics of hope to grow.

The church’s witness can nurture the growth of hope. Through local ministries, regional coordination, and statewide and national advocacy, our efforts on all these levels can be seamless.

The agenda of the Work Party 2007 will include time spent in identifying the steps in social change, understanding our role, identifying which step along the path we are on, defining success, Tdealing with powerbrokers and setting goals to move to the next step.

The Work Party will be meeting from noon to noon, September 21st-22nd at the Pine Grove United Methodist Church in Albany. People who wish to attend may contact the NYS Council of Churches for further details. 

Working Behind the Scenes

History of New York State Council of Churches in Disaster Response

Within the last ten years the New York State Council of Churches has become involved in disaster response. Major involvement began following the 1998 Northeast Ice Storm the Council was approached about being the fiscal agent for long term recovery efforts. After the recovery efforts were over unspent funds were given to the Council to create a fund of last resort – a place where people could turn when all other forms of help were exhausted.

Disaster Response - Local, Governmental and Non-Governmental Agencies

Disasters create needs so great that local, government and non-governmental agencies need to work together to respond. These responses begin with local emergency efforts. When a disaster can overwhelm the capacity of local emergency providers the area is declared a Federal Disaster Area which opens the door for state and federal emergency management agencies (SEMA and FEMA) with their vast resources to step in. No one could make it through these initial days without the help of SEMA, FEMA and the Red Cross, but their presence is time limited.

Some needs go on well past the deadline so the response efforts move to providers who specialize in long term recovery. Much of this work is coordinated by Church World Service and denominational disaster teams – volunteers from within their constituency with resources available from the national bodies.

The Council is listening and discussing with these providers how best to assist them in their work. Members of the team coordinating these efforts are: Joann Hale (Church World Service), Eileen Dearborn (United Church of Christ), Clint McCoy (Presbyterian Church USA) and Chick Straut (United Methodist Church). Other parties interested in being part of the team are encouraged to call the Council Office at 518-436-9319.

The Council will also be continuing to

• provide information about disasters to denominational units to share with their constituencies. (This was used so broadly following 9/11 that AOL shut down the Council account thinking the Council was sending spam, but they rapidly restored it when they learned what was being sent and why.)
• promote awareness about disaster response by disseminating information about trainings and other educational information to encourage participation by faith communities.
• advocate, when needed, for legislation that will help the work of disaster responders in New York State.

Peace and Poverty Mission 2007

One day shorter, one month later, and a new way to kick-off the event -- all helped shape Peace and Poverty Mission 2007.

Monday, May 7, 2007

Participants arrived in DC Monday afternoon, May 7th and checked into the Capitol Hill Suites which would be their home away from home while on “The Hill”. It’s location at 200 C Street SE was within walking distance for everything they did.

The first gathering was on Monday evening for dinner followed by a time of reflection and discernment led Bishop Marie Jerge and Linda Chidsey. Participants shared scriptural passages that had meaning for them in relation to issues that would be addressed in briefings and visits.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Tuesday was a busy day, beginning at 9:00am with briefings. The briefings took place in the NCC Conference Room located in the Methodist Building at 110 Maryland Avenue. The Methodist Building is at the heart of Capitol Hill nestled among the Senate Office Buildings, the Supreme Court and the Capitol grounds. Many of the denominational offices are located in or near the same building.

The briefings were arranged by Mark Harrison, Program Director, Peace and Justice Ministries of the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church. Briefers included:

• Jen Smyers, Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Policy on Immigration,
• Tom Andrews, Director, Win Without War, on Iraq,
• John Hill, Program Director, Economic and Environmental Justice, General Board of Church and Society/UMC on the Federal Budget and poverty,
• Leslie Woods, Domestic Poverty and Environment Issues, PCUSA Washington Office, on health care,
• Joe Volk, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation, on Iran, and
• Cassandra Carmichael, Eco-Justice Program Director, NCC, on the environment. 

Visits with both NY Senate offices were also scheduled on Tuesday. At noon, the entire group met with Senator Clinton’s Chief of Staff, (a PK whose father had been pastor of a large NYC Presbyterian Church). The Senator herself stopped by and greeted the group, briefly answered a few questions and had her picture taken with them. Following the afternoon briefings, everyone met with an aide to Senator Schumer.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

It has been general practice to break into groups of four or five to meet with members of New York House members who are on committees dealing with legislation relating to Collegium concerns. Visits began at 9:00am and were scheduled on the hour and half hour through about 2:30pm. One of the most interesting visits was with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, who had recently been on the trip with the Speaker of the House to the Middle East. She shared with the group what she learned while there.

As always, “palm cards” were prepared so those visiting could refer to details quickly and would have material to leave in Congressional offices. And of course, follow-up letters were sent to those with whom we met, expressing appreciation for the time and gracious hospitality we received and reiterating points made during visits.