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Batavia First United Methodist Church

United Methodist Church hosting rummage sale on Saturday

By Press Release

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Press release:

Batavia First United Methodist Church, 8221 Lewiston Rd., Batavia, will be holding a Rummage & Estate Sale on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

There will be many estate and household items for sale, in addition to toys, furniture, holiday items, books & fresh produce. 

A bag sale begins at 1 p.m. 

Submitted photo. Pictured are rummage sale helpers Jackie Wilson, Judy Humphrey, Grace West, Gia Mangino and Kathy McAllister.

 

Batavia First United Methodist hosting take-out chicken and biscuit dinner

By Howard B. Owens

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Press release:

Batavia First United Methodist Church, located at 8221 Lewiston Rd., Batavia will hold a Take-Out Chicken & Biscuit Dinner on Saturday, May 14, 2022, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm or until sold out.  Tickets are $12.00 for adults and $8.00 for seniors and children.  Call 343-4708 to reserve tickets. 

Submitted photo: Kitchen helpers Jean Kron and Linda Pezzimenti along with Chef Don Rada.

Photo: Easter Bunny visits United Methodist Church

By Howard B. Owens

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Lauren, 3, and Nathan, 6, of Le Roy, were excited this afternoon to meet the Easter Bunny, as part of an Easter Egg Hunt event, at Batavia First United Methodist Church.

Batavia First United Methodist Church hosting spaghetti dinner on Friday

By Howard B. Owens

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Batavia First United Methodist Church at 8221 Lewiston Road, Batavia, is hosting a spaghetti dinner this Friday from 5 to  7 p.m. or until sold out.

It features the church's "famous homemade sauce."  The meal also includes a chef salad, Italian bread, and brownies.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $7 for seniors and for children.

Call for tickets: (585) 343-4708.

Photo submitted by Diana German. Chef and assistant chef Don Rada and Kathy O’Neil.

Spaghetti Dinner with our “Famous Homemade Sauce”

By Sandra Trimmer

Spaghetti Dinner with our “Famous Homemade Sauce” includes spaghetti with meatballs, chef salad, Italian bread and brownie.  Held September 24, 5-7pm, Batavia First United Methodist Church, 8221 Lewiston Rd, Batavia.  Adults $12, Seniors (65 and older) $7, Children (10 and under) $7.  Drive thru - Take out.  Call 343-4708 to reserve tickets.

 

Thank you and God bless you!

Event Date and Time
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Homemade Christmas cookie sale at Batavia First United Methodist Church, order by Dec. 10

By Billie Owens

There will be assorted fresh-baked Christmas Cookies boxed and ready for pick up at the Batavia First United Methodist Church on Dec. 19.

This fundraiser offers 16-20 cookies in a one-pound box for $10.

Please order in advance by phoning the church office at (585) 343-4708. Orders must be received by Thursday, Dec. 10.

Drive-thru pick up will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 19, at Batavia First United Methodist Church, 8221 Lewiston Road, Batavia.

Additional cookies may be available on the 19th until sold out.

Pack 6069 Annual Pinewood Derby

By Steve Ognibene

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Twenty racers from Cub Scout pack 6069 of Batavia were registered with their cars to do their best in the annual Pinewood Derby held at the First United Methodist Church this morning.

Pack den leader Lisa Brown said she has been with the pack for 13 years of its 48 years of existence. Boys competed in their age-appropriate den. Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Weblos I and II. A lot of parents, grandparents look forward to watching the race and it’s a lot of fun for boys to participate.

Track official Paul Crowley said there are four heats and boys get a chance to race in different lanes. Den Leader heather Crowley said all the kids get a trophy in addition to the first-, second-, third-place finishers.

Sixteen extra trophys were also given out to the boys for best color, most Cub Scout pride, super racer and aerodynamic to name a few.

This fall there will be a new "Lion's" den added for kindergarteners.  

Anyone interested to join contact Cub Master Tony Merica at TONY@koolatron.com  

Pack 6069 meets at Jackson School when in session September through June at 6:39 p.m. on Mondays.

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Terrific Treasures Sale at First United Methodist Church Friday and Saturday

By Steve Ognibene

Press Release:

The Batavia First United Methodist Church at 8221 Lewiston Road, Batavia will be having a "Terrific Treasures Sale" this week on Friday Sept. 29, and Saturday Sept.30th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days.

There will be a bag sale on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and lots of various items to choose from -- dishes, small appliances, toys, baby items, clothing, furniture, books and baked goods.  

This fundraiser will help benefit the church and promote programs and lunch will be available!

Local Boy Scouts fundraising drive this Sunday

By Steve Ognibene

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Some scouts and Committee Chair Paul Marchese, from Troop 6006 from the First United Methodist Church in Batavia, are pictured above preparing for their fundraising drive this Sunday.  

The troop will be going door-to-door locally in Batavia this Sunday, Dec. 4th, in the afternoon between 1-4 p.m. collecting bottles and pop cans to help support their troop efforts to purchase new gear for future camping trips.

If you would like to make a donation of returnables, you can directly make a donation at Eastown Beverage during normal business hours under the Troop 6006 account or contact Steve Ognibene at 585-409-8358 to arrange a pickup in the city anytime.

Troop 6006 marks 3rd Eagle Ceremony for 2014

By Steve Ognibene

Dylan Scroger shared his long journey to making the highest rank of Eagle Scout this past weekend at the First United Methodist Church in Batavia. This marks the third scout to achieve the highest rank this year for Troop 6006.

Sharing this day with family and friends, he thanked all who have helped him on his journey. A speech was read by Ron Schmidt, Boy Scouts commisioner, which gave a much-detailed history behind Dylan's path to Eagle:

" Dylan Scroger's path to Eagle began in this room. He was a youth member of our church, and both Mr. McAllister and I invited him to join the boys of our troop. He joined the troop in the Fall of 2007. The first merit badge he earned was fishing, which he completed on a campout held at the McAllister pond. Since then he has completed 26 more Merit Badges of which 13 were required and two were historical badges.

During his membership in Troop 6, he has held many leadership positions. He has been an assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, the assistant senior patrol leader, and served a year as the senior patrol leader, and finally he served as junior assistant scoutmaster. He currently is registered with the troop as an assistant scoutmaster. He has gone to summer camp with the troop for five years, as well as going on their High Adventure trip this past summer. He has gone with the group two times to the Cooperstown area camping.

In the summer of 2010, he attended the weeklong junior leader training held at Camp Dittmer. His performance there earned him an invitation to be on the training staff for future years, which he did. In July of 2013, Dylan chose to attend the Firstr National Jamboree to be held at the Summit Bechtel Reservation, the new permanent Jamboree site. Our council sent two troops of 36 boys each. Dylan was elected to serve as senior patrol leader for his troop. Dylan was also elected to be a candidate for membership in the Order of the Arrow, which is considered the Honor Society of Boy Scouts. He completed his Ordeal and became a member in 2013.

This past year, Dylan planned his Eagle Scout project, worked with the troop leadership and committee to get it approved, and then got the help of the boys in the troop to help him complete the project. His project involved building a kiosk for the disc golf course at Darien Lake State Park.  He used my barn and workshop for some of his construction work, and it was fun to stand there and listen to the boys as they visited will they worked. They seemed to forget I was sitting there.  There were some hitches along the way, but he completed the project as he had planned it."

Scout Commisioner Ron Schmidt (far left) pictured below received the mentor pin. Also next to him is Troop 6006 Scoutmaster Ron Bernard and Dylan's family. Lots of church supporters came to the ceremony.

Terrific Treasure Sale - Batavia First United Methodist Church

By Lisa Ace
Terrific Treasure Sale- Saturday, September 20, 2014 • 9:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M.
 
Batavia First United Methodist Church
8221 Lewiston Road
Batavia, NY- (585) 343-4708
 
*We have been collecting treasures all year long*
  • Baseball cards
  • Stamp collection
  • Antique Items
  • Fall produce
  • Furniture
  • Gowns and formal dress clothing
  • Kitchen items- small appliances
Event Date and Time
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2nd Eagle Ceremony for Troop 6006

By Steve Ognibene

 

Doug Gaus assistant leader for Troop 6006 introduced the Eagle Ceremony honoring Nicholas Johnson along with his parents today at the First United Methodist Church. Little did Doug know he would be receiving the Mentor Pin, earned for his help and encourgment to Nick along his trail to Eagle. This marks the troops second Eagle for 2014 and in less than 30 days from when Dennis Alton received his award.  Many prayers were made from Rev. Pamela S. Klotzbach, who led the worship mass along with friends and family who gave their best wishes to Nick before the ceremony started. (Pictured below, Nicholas Johnson)

After Nick recited the Scout Oath, he recognized his dad Tim, pictured below, and fellow scout Tyler, who was there for him as a good friend on his journey through scouting.

He spoke highly of both of them being important roles that kept him motivated and willing to succeed.

A reception followed the ceremony where more than 30 people attended to celebrate the occasion. Many scouts and leaders from the Troop attended also. Pictured below is Scoutmaster Ron Bernard, Assistant Leader Doug Gaus (who received the Mentor Pin), Nicholas, mom Lisa and dad Tim Johnson.

2nd Eagle Ceremony for Troop 6006

By Steve Ognibene

 

Doug Gaus assistant leader for Troop 6006 introduced the Eagle ceremony honoring Nicholas Johnson along with his parents today at the First United Methodist Church.  Little did Doug know he would be receiving the mentor pin which he helped or encourged Nick along his trail to Eagle.  This marks the troops second Eagle for 2014 & in less than 30 days from when Dennis Alton received his award.   Many prayers were made from Rev. Pamela S. Klotzbach who lead the worship mass along with friends & family who gave thier best wishes to Nick before the ceremony started.  (Pictured below Nicholas Johnson)

After Nick recited the scout oath he recognized his dad Tim pictured below and a fellow scout Tyler who helped him be there as a good friend on his journey through scouting.

He spoke highly of both of them being important roles that kept him motivated and willing to succeed.

A reception followed the ceremony where more than 30 people attended to celebrate the occasion.  Many scouts and leaders from the Troop attended also.  Pictured below is Scoutmaster Ron Bernard, Assistant Leader Doug Gaus (who received the mentor pin) Nicholas, mom Lisa & dad Tim Johnson.

2nd Eagle Ceremony for Troop 6006

By Steve Ognibene

 

Doug Gaus assistant leader for Troop 6006 introduced the 2nd Boy Scout Eagle ceremony honoring Nicholas Johnson along with his parents today at the First United Methodist Church.  Little did Doug know he would be receiving the mentor pin which he has helped or encourged Nick along his trail to Eagle.  This marks the troops second Eagle for 2014 & in less than 30 days from when Dennis Alton received his award.   Many prayers were made from Rev. Pamela S. Klotzbach who lead the worship mass along with friends & family who gave thier best wishes to Nick before the ceremony started.  (Pictured below Nicholas Johnson)

After Nick recited the scout oath he recognized his dad Tim pictured below and a fellow scout Tyler who helped him be there as a good friend on his journey through scouting.

He spoke highly of both of them being important roles that kept him motivated and willing to succeed.

A reception followed the ceremony where more than 30 people attended to celebrate the occasion.  Many scouts and leaders from the Troop attended also.  Pictured below is Scoutmaster Ron Bernard, Assistant Leader Doug Gaus (who received the mentor pin) Nicholas, mom Lisa & dad Tim Johnson.

Photos: Troop 6006 Eagle Ceremony

By Steve Ognibene

Boy Scout Troop 6006 had its first Eagle Ceremony of 2014 Sunday afternoon at the First United Methodist Church on Route 63, Batavia. Dennis Alton received the highest Boy Scout award he could achieve. Pictured above from left are Brian Mcallister who received the "Mentor Pin," Troop Scoutmaster Ron Bernard, Dennis and his parents.

Dennis held off his special day so brother Ken who just returned from the service in Afghanistan could be there. Pictured below are Dennis and Ken. The last photo is with his family who celebrated the event. Many scouts and assistant leaders came today to show support for Dennis.

Photos: 'Umtoo' grand opening

By Daniel Crofts

Today was opening day for "Umtoo," a new outreach of Batavia's First United Methodist Church (see Wednesday's article, "'Umtoo' to serve city residents in need," for more info).

According to volunteer Sandy Kramer, they had a total of 34 visitors between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. -- 21 were church members and the people they invited, and 13 were non-members.

Here are some pictures from the event, including some "sneak peaks" at free stuff and what Umtoo will have to offer:

Will and Julio (musical entertainment)

Volunteers Doug Niebch, Dorothy Taylor and Kramer

Some free snacks

A jar full of Bible passages for people to pick out at random.

Night lights

Fiction and nonfiction books on a variety of topics

'Umtoo' to serve city residents in need

By Daniel Crofts

Batavia First United Methodist Church volunteers John Fox, Sandy Kramer and Grace West spent time Tuesday setting up the church's new walk-in mission dubbed "Umtoo," on the corner of Ellicott and Liberty streets in Batavia.

"Umtoo," according to church pastor Pam Klotzbach, is a cryptic re-spelling of "UM-two," which stands for "United Methodist two."

Klotzbach said Umtoo will be a place for the unemployed, homeless and underprivileged of Batavia's Southside to come and enjoy free coffee, tea, juice, wrapped food, fellowship, conversation, games such as checkers, and also get help with computer skills, job hunting, homework, laundry and other needs.

For those unsure of how to get the assistance they need in other areas, Umtoo will provide referrals and even, in some cases, make calls on their behalf.

They also hope to start a weekly Bible study in the next couple months, as well as informal worship services.

"Our intention is to show Christ to people in a non-threatening way," Kramer said, adding that they plan on getting to know the people and then tailoring their approach to the needs of the community.

Klotzbach had this in mind when she first introduced the idea.

Previously a pastor in Fillmore, Klotzbach was moved to Batavia by the Upper New York State Conference of the United Methodist Church. The Conference assigned her to the local church at 8221 Lewiston Road after seeing how involved she was during her pastoral tenure in Fillmore. She was not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty.

"(The church) got bounced out of the City of Batavia during the urban renewal days," Klotzbach said. "It used to be near the YMCA. Without sidewalks near us or buses (for transport), we have to come to where the people are."

She has been amazed at the eagerness and generosity of church members, who have put a lot of time and effort into building up and preparing Umtoo.

Umtoo will host its grand opening for the public on Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided, along with entertainment from Will and Julio. It shares a space with "Amy's Fluffy Friends" pet grooming parlor at 238-240 Ellicott St.

Mission hours will be:

Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Friday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Sunday, noon until 5 p.m.

Call 343-4708, ext. 11, for more information.

Renowned Batavia surgeon weighs in on health care -- part 2

By Daniel Crofts

This entry concludes Sunday's article on the comments of Victor DeSa, M.D., who spoke to senior citizens at Batavia's First United Methodist Church last week.

Please remember, this is a summary of DeSa's presentation and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Batavian:

Medicare, Medicaid and senior services

By requiring insurance companies to expand coverage, the new health care law will drive costs up, according to DeSa. The government has told consumers that these costs will be offset by subsidies for people making less than $80,000 per year.

These subsidies will be coming, in part, from a $500 billion cut from Medicare -- and that's where senior citizens and others eligible for Medicare should be concerned.

But this is not the only problem. Both Medicare and Medicaid, which DeSa called "the original two public options," have met with disaster. Medicaid has already failed, and Medicare is on the brink of failure.

"The government has no idea how to handle the rising costs. Their idea of handling the costs is to take a machete to (the programs) and cut."

The result is the "doctor fix," a 21-percent cut in doctors' reimbursements. This could be disastrous in a system where the cost of providing services is already greater than what the doctors receive in compensation.

For that reason, many doctors no longer accept Medicare. The Mayo Clinic in Arizona has already determined that because of the new health care legislation, it will no longer deal with the program.

"So Medicare patients are going to have fewer and fewer choices of who is going to take care of them."

With fewer doctors available, waiting periods will increase. So the direction Medicare is taking presents seniors with a double disadvantage.

The government "carved the 21-percent doctor fix out of the bill" in order to avoid upsetting America's seniors, but that doesn't mean they've addressed the cost. They are simply pushing it to the side and will have to deal with it later.

"Six months down the road, they have to still come up with a fix for this 21-percent cut that they are going to make on Medicare payments to the doctors."

So that's the story with Medicare and Medicaid. As far as insurance for retired citizens goes, people who worked in the public sector should be okay (although DeSa said it's not impossible that this could change, because "anything is possible" with what the government is doing), but people in the private sector should be concerned.

What to do?

When asked how we can change the course we've taken, DeSa answered: "We've got to kick out the guys who did this."

He appealed to the power of senior citizens -- which he became two years ago -- who are "feared in Washington because we vote."

Many seniors were suspicious when the government said that $500 billion had to be cut from Medicare to cover health care.

"If they really addressed costs the way we asked them to do, a person making $40,000 a year be able should be able to afford health care coverage without subsidies, don't you think?"

Failure to address the problem of cost in the current system was one of DeSa's main critiques of the health care bill. He said that in looking for alternative plans, we need to look for one that does address them.

Counting the costs 

There are three main factors driving health care costs:

1) Overuse

Back in the old days, when there was usually only one doctor in town and he had to go to patients' homes to treat them, people only went to the doctor when there was something really wrong.

Now, with easy access to medical examination and treatment, people will go to the doctor -- and even to the emergency room -- whenever they have a minor health concern.

"We have to change that if we want to truly address the cost of health care."

But it's not just patients -- doctors sometimes overuse the system, too.

"I hate to admit it, but there's greed in every profession. There are bad apples in every bunch, and you've got to admit it."

2) The fact that people have insurance in the first place

Strange as this may sound, this can be a problem.

"Insurance is like a credit card, but you don't have to pay every month. So there's no incentive for you to be prudent with the costs. You don't even want to know what the cost is, you just want the health care."

DeSa believes that while insurance cannot be eliminated altogether, people should reduce their dependence on it. For health purposes, they should only turn to insurance in times of emergency.

Generally speaking, the way people take care of this part of the cost is by having "skin in the game."

"If you shop around for a car or a house, why shouldn't you be able to shop around for a doctor? Especially in this day and age, with the Internet and everything."

3) Liability

"Everything from a Band-Aid to a heart valve has a mark-up depending on the risk."

In other words, the more dangerous the a product or its failure can be -- and, therefore, the greater the likelihood of a lawsuit -- the more expensive the product.

Because the liability cost is factored into the price of the product itself, "the little guy gets it in the neck every time."

DeSa fully supports the patient's right to sue when a doctor has done something wrong or is incompetent, but he also believes that the whole liability issue should be looked at when considering the cost.

Government out, skin in (the game)

Costs are going down for procedures that are not covered by insurance (Lasik surgery is one example). The reason?

Competition.

"Costs come down if there are market forces in place."

DeSa saw this in his native India, which had a socialized health care system until the early 1990s.

When he was studying at Jabalpur University in the mid '60s, the Indian government had total control of health care and sent all competing forces out of the country.

The effect of this was what DeSa called a "brain drain."

"The best and the brightest (doctors) were all leaving the country."

He sees the same thing happening here in Western New York, where there is a serious shortage of doctors.

"Over 80 percent (of young doctors surveyed at Western New York teaching institutes) say they'll train here, but they're not going to stay in New York to work. We are known as one of the most heavily taxed and over-regulated states in the country."

Our response to this situation should mirror the response taken in India back in 1990. At that time, India began to default on its World Bank loans. Finance Minister Monmohan Singh -- who is now India's Head of State -- saw that the system was not working and started the country on a different path.

"He got rid of the government, encouraged entrepreneurship and lowered taxes."

Above all, the patient must take responsibility and be in control of his/her own health care. It can't fall to the federal government to make important decisions regarding people's health care, no matter how well-intentioned they might be.

Déjá vu

In addition to drawing from the experience of his native country, DeSa also discussed two other examples of what he sees as a health care system set up for failure.

The U.S. government's new health care model is based on the Massachusetts health care model, which DeSa called "an abject failure." He cited problems related to his comments about young, healthy citizens abusing health insurance.

"Just Google 'Massachusetts Health Law -- success or failure?'"

Socialized health care has proven disastrously ineffective in Britain as well.

"Just this month, Britain recognized that its system is a failure and said they are going to change the whole thing."

Part of that change will be a shift in power from bureaucrats -- of which there are 1.5 million overseeing the United Kingdom's National Health System -- to the doctors. As good as this sounds, DeSa fears it may be too late for it to work.

"The doctors (in the UK) have no business experience. Up to this point, the government has been taking care of everything."

His concern is that U.S. doctors will share a similar fate. As his presentation drew to a close, he told everyone that under the government's new plan, there will be over 120 new bureaucracies controlling health care.

DeSa admitted right at the start of his presentation that he had a bias as a health professional. He encouraged everyone to do their own research and decide for themselves whether or not the new health care reforms are to be welcomed or feared.

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