News & Updates #24 - June 9, 2008

Whew, what a busy week this has been…I keep telling my wife ‘I need to get a ‘real job’ so I can work 9-5, M thru F, and get some time off to relax, this retirement is for the birds…’ but ya’ know, I love what I do and work’n for this Jewish carpenter ain’t so bad. The rewards & retirement are out of this world!! At our Men’s Fraternity gathering I enjoyed sitting around drinking a cup of java and eating a piece of homemade cake discussing some of the challenges of a fellow member. Even though it had nothing to do with the subject at hand from the Stand Firm Devotional we’re use’n, we were able to share & discuss some of his job concerns. Some of the men shared from their experiences, we discussed what the Bible had to say about such matters, and in the end we experienced what brotherly love is all about, caring for one another. Sure, we prayed with this brother and we all left ‘lifted up’ because of the experience.

{sidebar id=1}Chip Mitchell from Homestead Ministries was an unexpected guest that came with Mark Prasek and shared some of what God is doing at Fellowship in the Field. He sent some pictures of their recent Youth Event at the Beau Turner Youth Conservation Center which you can view for yourself at: http://picasaweb.google.com/ChipMit/51008YouthEventPartII . You can also get more information about Fellowship in the Field at: www.fellowshipinthefield.org We partner with them as an extension of “Serving God, Family & Community, one man at a time”.

Mark shared some of the experiences he’s encountered over the years where just being there for a brother helped so much. Mark also practices ‘going beyond the walls of the church’ to reach people with God’s love, not a bad practice, since Jesus spent a lot of time out there too. That is similar to the concept of Men’s Fraternity of Wakulla. There’s a lot of hurting men out there, some are involved in church and some are not, sometimes you just can’t share in a mixed group, giv’n or receiv’n , but the hurt is still there. Hey, we’ve all been there at one time or another. We’re not about guilt & shame, not about point’n fingers, we’re about love & support for each other.

At our gathering last week we also talked some about what kind of an active role Men’s Fraternity of Wakulla would have in Wakulla County’s Disaster Preparedness & Response Teams and the Big Bend COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster). We might be only one pea in the pod, but our role will be vital. We’ll be talking more on this in the weeks ahead.

{sidebar id=1}Just FYI, the meeting Monday with the Emergency Management folks, Volunteer-LEON and LCEM, the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Florida Baptist Disaster Relief and a host of other organizations to form the COAD was quite informative and successful. It was interesting to learn and realize that when disaster hits a community, not only those ‘directly hit’ are affected, but businesses & service agencies are also affected because of the manpower loss in employees. Some vital businesses or services might not be available for several days to help those in need. Consider how you might be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Consider contacting Volunteer-WAKULLA (www.VolunteerWAKULLA.ORG) (922-6290) to see where you might be able to plug in with your experience and training to be a neighbor helping a neighbor. More on that as it develops.

We had 5 men attending the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief Training this past Saturday as first timers who received some training on the basics of Disaster Relief. Although not fully trained in all aspects, they’re qualified to enter and help in disaster areas. We will be working on training teams in the near future with the help of the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief Training Team. There are many phases of Disaster Relief from Child Care for the Volunteers to Transportation of the handicapped or elderly to complete Rebuilding of homes & businesses in a community. If you or your church wants to be a part of these Teams let us know so we can include you in the notifications. ( women & wives are very much included in disaster relief)

Remember: “Emergency Management Officials now require all volunteers to be credentialed by an organization like Florida Baptist Disaster Relief before they are allowed to work in a disaster response area”

In other news & events:

Outback work days; We’re planning on doing some underbrush clearing Outback behind Cornerstone Ministries so our facility will be more visible from the highway. We’ll be working out there after 5:30 p.m. till dark, beginning the 16th through 20th , if you can stop by and lend a hand, that’ll be great. Thanks.

The new Stand Firm Daily Devotionals are in. These are the ones we’re using as our discussion starters each Thursday night. We’ll have them available for a $2.50 donation per monthly issue to help defray costs or you can order them through your church from Lifeway.com. (For individual copies, you can order them through our website (www.byHISgrace.cc/MensFraternityofWakulla), under Study Guides.

Remember, we meet behind Cornerstone Ministries (824 Shadeville Hwy, (Hwy 61))in the doublewide “Outback”, which is behind that big clump of trees & bushes. Swing around to the right of the church and come straight back. We’ll leave the light on for ya’.

Partnering together in HIS Service

Steve Smith, Coordinator
Men’s Fraternity of Wakulla
“Serving God, Family & Community, one man at a time”
P.O. Box 1024
Crawfordville, FL 32326
850-926-3018 (H)
850-508-2560 (C)
www.byHISgrace.cc/MensFraternityofWakulla

This information originally published on June 10, 2008.

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