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.
Best wishes on your new
Best wishes on your new ministry Umtoo. I love seeing the church come to the people. How can we help? A lot of people would probably be pleased to contribute. Please let us know.
Jim, God bless folks like you
Jim,
God bless folks like you who see possibility! There are a few different ways for people and groups to help at this time; volunteer to staff the site a couple of hours a week; contribute supplies such as coffee or toilet paper; or pick up a giving envelope at Umtoo and make a donation (we have a matching grant so every dollar given or raised will be matched up to $10,000!) which may be mailed to the church or dropped off at Umtoo.; and finally but most important, pray for us as we take this bold step out of our comfort zone.
This is one of those rare
This is one of those rare chances to actively help too Jim....
As John Roach always likes to point out on here, people love to discuss solutions and issues. But here is a brave bunch trying to do what they can. They started way too close to me for myself not to get involved. I plan to participate as much as I can, they already call me the informal IT guy as we nurse the computer into life LOL.
Might be a good place for southside residents and any city resident to come. Even if to just chat and socialize, every good thing starts like this. Imagine back in the 1770's how many groups came together like this and started a movement that eventually became the USA?