religion

Peaceful Genesee, a coalition dedicated to making Genesee County a nonviolent community, launched the first in a three-part series of workshops on nonviolence last week at the Office for the Aging.

Each workshop is taught by Barry Gan, Ph.D, above left. He's talking to Rev. James Renfrew of First Presbyterian Church of Byron, and Ed Minardo, center, of Genesee Justice.

Gan is a philosophy professor and the director of the Center for Nonviolence at St. Bonaventure University. He is also the co-editor -- with Robert L. Holmes -- of the book, "Nonviolence in Theory and Practice."

Outside of academia, Gan's experience includes taking part in a nonviolent protest in New York City about 10 years ago, after the police officers who shot and killed Amadou Diallo were acquitted of murder.

He also participates in conferences and interfaith dialogue groups, and has travelled around the world to places that are, for one reason or another, important in the history of nonviolent philosophy.

Recently, the whole violence/nonviolence issue hit somewhat close to home. One of Gan's students -- interestingly, a student in his course on the peaceful philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi -- was beaten up recently by a group of thugs.

"I was talking to him (in the last week)," Gan said, "and I asked him, 'Do Gandhi's words still ring true for you after what you experienced?' He said: 'Yes, because I would have made it worse by resisting them.'"

Questions not only of how to end community violence, but also of how to deal with violence when it occurs are very important to Peaceful Genesee (see April 29 article).

William Privett, a Peaceful Genesee member and regional coordinator for Pax Christi, talked about his hopes for Gan's workshops this way:

"I hope we have a movement expand, over time, where the primary way of thinking (in Genesee County) is to be peaceful and nonviolent. In other words, it wouldn't be just a secondhand thought -- we would like people to look to nonviolence, instead of dominating other people, as a way of transforming society."

How people do this is not an easy question to answer. Gan told everyone, in so many words, right at the outset that he did not intend to oversimplify such a complex matter. 

The topic of his first talk was nonviolence as being at the root of all of the world's major religious and philosophical traditions; one of his first comments was that in each religion, you see references to nonviolence but also instances where it seems like punishment and force are being advocated.

"So I don't want to present what I'm saying as necessarily being 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.'"

Still, he believes firmly in, and finds support in the world's religions for, nonviolence as a way of life and a means of achieving peace.

"I like to use the term peaceful rather than peace," he said. "Because really, everyone wants peace. It's just a question of how we get there."

Wednesday night is the next workshop -- from 7 until 8:30 p.m., Nov. 10. Gan will present different ways people can put nonviolence into practice in personal life, in the community, in the workplace, and at the national and international levels.

"It'll run the whole gamut," he said.

One thing he wants people to keep in mind, though, is that we have to be careful not to be too gung-ho about it.

"I think the temptation to go out there and change the whole world is the greatest cause of harm. Instead, we should ask ourselves, 'What can we do right here, where we are now?'"

Last week, he dealt mainly with the theoretical component of nonviolence. He talked about the teachings and practices of various religions/philosophies -- including Jainism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the writings of Plato and Henry David Thoreau -- demonstrating the importance of nonviolent attitudes and behavior to all of them.

One of the audience members contributed to the discussion by using the phrase "compassionate selflessness" in reference to the single point that all religions have in common.

People who faithfully practice these religions foster nonviolence in themselves by fighting their own egos. In various ways, they try to detach themselves from material possessions, sexual and other pleasures, and even, if necessary, other people.

"The idea is that when you're too attached to something, you become selfish," Gan said. "It makes you less concerned with taking care of others."

Humility is another aspect of nonviolent teaching found in all religions. Again, the aim is to keep the ego at bay so that people do not try to lift themselves up above others.

As you might expect, the Christian teaching of "turning the other cheek" came up, along with Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount and command to "love your enemies."

"One of the dangers is that people can interpret 'turning the other cheek' as meaning we have to roll over and play dead," Gan said.

There seemed to be a pretty unanimous agreement that turning the other cheek doesn't mean taking violence lying down, but rather refusing to cooperate with it -- for example, by exchanging evil for evil (i.e. using violence to stop violence).

Gan referenced a scene in the 1982 movie "Gandhi" where the famed title character, as a young man, is forced out of first-class on a train because he is a "colored person." He resists by grabbing firmly onto his seat.

"He fights by holding onto what he believes in, but without hurting anyone."

That's what Gan wants to see in people: active resistance without harm. But again, he cautioned people not to go too far with the "active resistance" part.

Even civil disobedience should be a last resort, according to Gan. He mentioned that Gandhi didn't turn to it until after he tried everything else.

He will deal more with what we can do in this week's talk.

The final workshop, which is on Wednesday, Nov. 17, during the same time slot, will cover the "myths about violence and nonviolence."

Gan said there are five such myths:

• That violence is primarily physical (In this week's talk, he said that "physical violence comes from a buildup of psychological violence, which you see on television all the time -- even in sitcoms.");
• That there are good guys and bad guys;
• That violence is sometimes necessary;
• That wrongdoers should be punished;
• That nonviolence doesn't work ("We have thousands of years' worth of evidence showing that violence doesn't work, but we haven't given up on that," Gan said.).

All of these workshops are at the Office for the Aging, at 2 Bank St. in Batavia. They are free, open to the public, and interactive rather than just lecture-driven. People with different opinions on the whole violence/nonviolence issue will be able to share and discuss their views.

Contact William Privett at wprivett.paxchristi@gmail.com for more information.

Some of our readers had questions about the Bell Tower Restoration project at St. James Episcopal Church.

After the Aug. 25 article, church officials and committee members were kind enough to answer some additional questions about the nature of the tower's condition, the cost of the project, and other issues addressed by our readers.

They submitted the following information via e-mail:

The deterioration that we’re trying to address is structural in nature. This stems from water infiltration and the use of an overly hard mortar when the Church was re-pointed in the 1950s-1960s. As you can see if you look at the Bell Tower façade, some sections of the stonework have actually fallen off and we have had to rope off the front of the building.

We believe that the first phase of the Bell Tower reconstruction project, which includes rebuilding the top 10 feet of the tower and the roof, will cost no more than $500,000.

After completion of this first phase, we will attempt to address the additional issues relating to the stonework façade of the Bell Tower and the remainder of the Church in a multi-phase process. While the additional costs relating to the façade repair may run twice the cost of the original phase, the additional phases will no doubt take many years to complete.

The reason the cost is so high is that the project is very labor intensive, involves heavy materials and the work involving the first phase must be done at a height of 70 to 80 feet above the ground.

Neither the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, nor the Episcopal Church of the United States are directly involved in the project. Nor under our form of church governance would we expect them to be directly involved.

Even though the building is a source of concern, it does not diminish our desire to reach out to the community to fulfill our missions. St. James’ outreach to the community comes in many forms:

- George Rupprecht Fund: This summer, over 150 girls from 84 families have received school clothing, footwear and school supplies. At Christmas, we will again help the same number of girls with Christmas gifts. Year round, we help pay for extra-curricular activities and work to assure that each girl has a comfortable bed in which to sleep at night. This year, our budget is $72,000.

- Thrift Shop: St. James expanded its shop hours in 2010 to serve the community. Apart from clothing, we sell household items, books, toys, small furniture and lots of bric-a-brac. Persons coming to the George Rupprecht Fund are often given bags of clothing and household items for free. Four times a year, we host clothing giveaways.

- Episcopal Community Services: Serves the underprivileged in the Diocese of WNY.

- Bishop Masereka Christian Foundation: Sponsors children in Uganda to assist with schooling and medical needs.

- Comfort Food Dinners: Two dinners were held at St. James this past winter. All proceeds went to local charities.

- St. James is the local meeting place for other churches in the Deanery.

- St. James donates to the local food pantry, collects school supplies for children and, each Christmas, selects a local charity to support.

- We host many programs in the church so that the community can enjoy the ambience and the musical acoustics of the building, such as the Genesee Symphony, Genesee Chorale, Go-Art! and Crossroads House.

We have made the hard decision to stay at this location because of its viability to the community. St. James would exist and function without the building, but the building needs a caretaker and we have chosen to take on that role.

The alternative would be to leave a large untended building on Main Street. If we did not try to take care of the building, we would not be very good stewards of the building or good members of the community.

For more information, please call the church at 343-6802 or visit its website.

"Save the clock tower! Save the clock tower!"

Some of our readers will remember that line from the 1985 movie, "Back to the Future." Well, Batavia's St. James Episcopal Church has its own version of that plea:

"Save the bell tower! Save the bell tower!"

The tower, pictured above, was built in 1908 and has been showing signs of wear in the last 10 years.

"Especially in the last couple of years, we've noticed deterioration," said Cathy Judkins, a member of St. James who is also on the committee for the tower's restoration.

St. James Vicar Steven Metcalfe said there has been a "real push" since 2008 toward preserving the tower, which is very important to the religious heritage of St. James Church -- not only because of its historical significance (St. James is one of the oldest religious communities in Batavia and makes use of the old, awe-inspiring cathedral architecture -- see the April 12 article on the stained-glass tour), but also because of what it means to St. James as a family in faith.

"We have a very vibrant, caring and faithful worship community," Metcalfe said. "We want our building to reflect that."

To that end, he also offered this defense of the importance of restoration: "It's like what they say about a house turning into a home: it becomes more than just a building when it's been lived in."

The church and the various fundraising committees dedicated to preserving and restoring the tower have worked hard over the last couple of years. They have hired architects and consulted stonemasons; they have organized fundraising events -- including concerts, a calendar sale during the Christmas season, and fish fries every Friday during Lent; they are starting a Captial Campaign next month, and have applied for four grants -- three from private organizations and one from New York State.

According to Judkins, they have divided the overall project into six phases in order to make it more "financially manageable."

"The first phase is the most expensive," she said. "We're trying to raise about $500,000. We hope to have at least a fail-safe project by fall, something that can hold us together until we've reached our goal."

The church will accept monetary donations from anyone who would like to help out. People can also assist their efforts by supporting and/or attending their fundraisers, which are well-publicized.

Upcoming fundraisers include the second annual "Pedal to Save the Church", which starts at the church -- at 405 E. Main St. in Batavia -- around 8 a.m. (check-in) on Sept. 11, and a theatrical performance of "Tuesdays with Morrie," starring Batavia Players' Norm Argulsky as Morrie, on Oct. 16-17. All are invited to attend.

Additionally, Metcalfe invited anyone interested in lending a hand to come to the congregation and "get to know us." 

Marcia Gann, another member of St. James and the preservation committee, said that this project has garnered "great community support." She gratefully cited the support of the churches involved in the stained-glass tour, Adam Miller's Toys & Bicycles, and Present Tense Books as examples.

For more information on the bell tower restoration project and related fundraisers, please call the church at 343-6802 or visit their website.

Batavia resident Frank VanApeldoorn was positioned on Ellicott Street this afternoon with his religious sign. VanApeldoorn said today wasn't the first time he's stood in front of the former Dellapenna building with his sign. He's also travelled around the region, and even around the country, with his sign. VanApeldoorn, a member of Calvary Baptist Church on Galloway Road, said he likes the Dellapenna's location because it's visible, but still out of people's way and, "It's where God put me."

They are private, and they are public.

They are contemplative, and they are active.

Their ways are ancient, and modern.

They are Presbyterian, but with a Celtic flavor, and with a bit of Franciscan spirituality and the Desert Fathers thrown in.

They are local -- and they are nationally significant.

They are the Seekers of East Bethany's Seeker Community Church, and they have just been named a "New Church Development" in the Presbyterian Church USA.

This group of Seekers was founded in 2007 by Rev. Bill Hockey, a pastor for 30 years and currently a half-time pastor at North Bergen Presbyterian Church.

It started as a spontaneous project between friends (Hockey included) who wanted a new worship experience, one that would let them live differently from the fast-paced and goal-driven culture around them and be present to the people in their lives and communities who needed them.

They modeled their commitment on the New Monastic movement, which is built on the premise that people become more aware of and available to serve the needs of their neighbors by fostering a deep connection with God and His presence in their lives.

As a recovering alcoholic, Hockey appreciates that angle on spirituality.

"I made a lot of connections in the 12-step recovery program," he said. "I found there were a number of people who longed for a place to worship but didn't feel connected to the churches they had been to."

Right now, the Seeker Community Church -- which currently has about 15-20 members -- meets every Sunday at East Bethany Presbyterian Church. But the Seekers will soon have a space to call their own, thanks to an anonymous donor who gave them 22 acres of woodland in East Bethany. There they hope to build a "refuge of prayer" to which the people of the Genesee Valley can come to get away from their hectic lives and "seek the Lord."

While Hockey's congregation is Presbyterian in terms of organization and accountability, their spirituality is in line with the Northumbria Community, which embraces sixth- and seventh-century Celtic Christianity.

"(Celtic Christianity) has a very simple way about it," Hockey said. "It's Trinitarian, very orthodox, and very much connected to the Earth."

While it may be simple, the spiritual life of these Seekers is appreciably disciplined. They have a regular rhythm of daily prayer, starting with morning prayer and then progressing through mid-day prayer, the prayer of silence and evening prayer.

The prayer of silence is an especially interesting aspect of their worship, and is part of each Sunday service. Meeting at 6 p.m., the congregation spends 20 minutes in total silence. This is not a mandatory part of the service, which officially starts at 7 p.m., but Seekers like to use it as a way to "deepen [their] sense of God's wonder, help to understand [their] own humanity, and make [themselves] aware of Christ's presence within [them]."

This type of prayer is not found very often in Protestant religious life, and some who are of a more conservative Reformed and/or Evangelical persuasion tend to question its value. One of the most common objections to this sort of thing is, "Where is that in the Bible?"

To these individuals, Hockey offers the following response: "Read your Bible.

"We know very little about Jesus's private life, but one thing that's noted for us over and over again is that He goes off by Himself to be alone. And then in the Old Testament you have Elijah, who sits at the front of the cave for days while earthquakes and storms are going on outside -- and he finds God in the silence. You find it in the Psalms, too: 'Be still, and know that I am the Lord.'"

Hockey recognizes that the contemplative stance is not only strange to much of the Protestant community, but also counter-cultural.

"I think there's a kind of fear of silence here in the U.S.," Hockey said. "People don't like it, because they're used to having lives that are very busy and noisy."

As far as their Protestant identity goes, the Seekers are also unique in their use of the Sign of the Cross during worship services. Hockey, who was raised in a conservative Protestant family, admits that he "belittled" this practice for a long time.

"In the end," he said, "it seemed right to draw the image of Christ's Cross on my body, after seeing how He had worked in my life. It's a very ancient Christian practice. It's not supernatural or anything like that, it's just a simple reminder of who we are."

The Seekers Community Church welcomes anyone who is interested in seeing what they are all about. Hockey says that they are a nonjudgmental community that seeks to serve the poor -- which refers not only to the economically poor, but also to the "poor in spirit" -- to be there for, and listen to, those who are hurting, and to offer people a place for prayer.

Anyone interested in learning more can contact Hockey at 591-2657, or visit the Seeker Community Church's Facebook page.

Pictures of the Seekers' new woodland site:

(all photos taken by Rev. Bill Hockey)

Entrance path

Cross on Indian village

Cemetery prayer garden -- old stone wall

Site of Indian village

It's a little hard to imagine stained-glass art still having a place in American churches, with modern renovations such as movie theater set-ups, overhead projectors contemporary band music taking over the worship scene. But on Sunday, a tour sponsored by the Landmark Society of Genesee County took Batavia residents to five local churches where stained glass windows still have an important place.

The "Stained Glass Window Tour" was created in 1990. According to Landmark Society President Laurie Oltremari, this is the first time the tour has been revived in almost 20 years. This time around, it was done in order to raise money for the restoration efforts of St. James Episcopal Church.

"We thought it would be good exposure for the churches and their artwork," Oltremari said. "We hope we can make it an annual event."

The tour started at 1 p.m. and ended at 4 p.m., and tourists could visit the churches in any order they wanted. The five churches spanned several denominations, and the quantity and style of stained-glass art in each location reflected that.

The different sites were as follows:

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, 20 Ellicott St.

Designed by Leo P. Frohe in the early 1900s, the stained-glass windows at St. Mary's demonstrate the Catholic tradition of making sacred art an integral part of worship. As a sacramental religion, Catholicism often uses art and architecture to help remind believers that they are surrounded by heavenly realities and by the Communion of Saints.

All of the windows that run along the east and west sides of the church depict events in the life of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, after whom the parish is named. Catholics believe that Mary's life is about and centers around the life of Christ; accordingly, the majority of the windows illustrate key moments of His life and ministry such as the crucifixion and resurrection (right above the front entrance and to the right of the altar, respectively). Basically, people who go into St. Mary's can see the Gospel narrative unfold in the form of visual art.

The church also includes a window dedicated to Saint Peter -- to whom Jesus gave the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, according to Catholic tradition -- with the emblem of crossed keys, as well as a window dedicated to Saint Paul with the emblem of a sword (symbolic of truth and its victorious power). These windows are paired together and located at the left of the altar.

Oltremari led the tour of St. Mary's Church; she pointed out that it is "the oldest Catholic Church in Batavia."

St. James Episcopal Church, 405 East Main St.

Stepping into this church is a lot like stepping back in time to another era!

Batavia native Robert North built St. James Episcopal Church in 1908 after living in England for a year to study English Gothic architecture. As is common in the Gothic style, the inside of the church is shaped like the inverted hull of a ship and features a plethora of Anglican-styled windows.

Because it is close to the Catholic tradition, the Episcopalian denomination places a similar importance on artistic depictions of Christ, the saints and Christian symbols.

"It helps to remind people of why they are in church in the first place," commented Jeanette, the St. James tour guide.

Right when you walk into the church, a huge window right above the altar will catch your eye. It depicts Christ on the cross with angels above him and his closest followers below him, mourning his suffering and death.

The windows along the sides of the church feature the symbols of various saints from the Judeo-Christian tradition, ranging from the Old Testament prophets to Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland.

The church's Chapel, which branches off from the altar and features even older church architecture, has two windows devoted to the Virgin Mary and her Child and one to the church's namesake, St. James. The latter window is called the "Pilgrim Window," and shows the saint carrying a bag labeled with a scallop, the sign of pilgrims (Saint James is believed to have travelled all the way from Israel to Spain to spread the Gospel).

There are also many stained-glass windows in the upper part of the church, in addition to a window dedicated to the "Four Evangelists" (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) right above the front entrance. This particular window is built into the tower and is what people see when driving past the church.

St. Paul Lutheran Church, 31 Washington Ave.

The windows at St. Paul's were made by Henry Keck, a Rochester-based glassmaker, in the 1950s. They are based on the Lutheran theological tradition, which keeps the sacramental and liturgical forms of Catholicism while at the same time eliminating other aspects of it -- the intercession of the saints, for example -- in order to try to portray a more one-on-one relationship between the believer and Jesus.

The windows on the east side of the church are illustrations of the various names of Jesus. Examples include:

• Jesus the Good Shepherd

• "I am the Door" (to eternal life)

• Christ the Friend of Children

• Christ the King

On the west side of the church are stained-glass windows with images that narrate the life of Christ from His nativity to His ascension into heaven.

The large rose window over the altar shows Jesus in the center, with a young family on the left and an elderly couple with an ailing son on the right. The purpose of this is to announce Jesus as the Great Healer toward whom all people should come.

Directly across from this, in the church loft, is the St. Paul Window -- dedicated to the church's namesake -- which has an open Bible with a sword over it. Symbols of the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity are also included in the window.

Other window images in St. Paul's include depictions of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, the Martin Luther Rose (symbolizing the four tenets of the Lutheran Church) and the symbols of the four evangelists and the 12 apostles.

One of the tourists who is also a member of St. Paul's said that the stained-glass art is important because "we [Lutherans] need history and tradition, and to be reminded of our roots even as we make certain changes with the times."

First Baptist Church, 306 East Main St.

The windows of First Baptist Church were designed by Pierce and Dockstader, an Elmira-based architectural firm, in the late Nineteenth Century. There are only two of them, and their content is less obviously religious than the previous churches' windows. Baptists emphasize the believer's interior connection with Christ, so the artwork of the windows is meant simply to help inspire an attitude of worship.

"It [the stained glass] presents an environment that calms our hearts and minds and gets us ready for prayer," said Wendy, one of the tour guides.

Carol Wade, a second tour guide and a deacon at the church, said that sometimes, when she finds her mind wandering during a sermon, the windows help her to refocus her attention.

"There's something about the blend of colors and the sun shining through them that just makes you feel this warmth," she said.

First Presbyterian Church, 300 East Main St.

First Presbyterian is one of the oldest churches in Batavia, and no one really knows who made its stained-glass windows.

There is an artificially lit rose window above the altar that was added to the church in 1954 by Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Schultz. This is the most elaborate illustration in the church, featuring a dove -- which is the symbol of the Holy Spirit and a common feature of all the churches involved in this tour -- along with the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ, a cup symbolizing the Last Supper, the Bible, the Ten Commandments, and seven candlesticks that represent God's Church and other Biblical symbols.

The other stained-glass windows have heraldic designs and flowers, but nothing too elaborate. Because it has roots in the tradition of the Calvinist reformers, the imagery and symbolism in traditional Presbyterian art and architecture is pretty minimal.

Please contact the Landmark Society of Genesee County by mail -- P.O. Box 342, Batavia, NY 14020 -- for more information on the history of these churches and their architectural features.

Photos by Howard Owens

St. Mary's

St. James

FIrst Baptist

First Presbyterian

Who knew that walking around in circles could actually be a good use of time?

Since Wednesday, Batavia's First Presbyterian Church has had a labyrinth -- a pattern consisting of multiple paths leading to a center -- for people to walk as an exercise in prayer and meditation. The following video includes interviews with pastor Roula Alkhouri and two of the brave souls who chose to give the labyrinth a try.

The remaining dates and times available for walking the labyrinth are as follows:

9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23
9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24

Anyone interested should contact First Presbyterian by phone (585) 343-0505 or e-mail the pastor at roula@rochester.com.

Fr. Gus Calvo has been all over the place. He was born in Cuba, lived in Spain and Puerto Rico after his parents fled Cuba's Communist dictatorship, and finally settled with his family in Long Island as a child. He has done missionary work in countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras, Nigeria, Peru and Sudan. And now his journey has led him to the Anglican Community Church in Batavia!

Fr. Gus was assigned to the 101 Richmond Ave. church after having served at St. John's Episcopal Church in Stockport. He is no stranger to the area, having lived in Buffalo for two years in the early 1990s and having spent time in Brockport, where he met his wife, Noel.

At the opening of his first sermon this morning, Fr. Gus told the congregation how happy he was to be a part of their community and how much he looked forward to the "good things that God has in store for us."

Fr. Gus said that his overall mission and hope for his pastorate and for the ACC reflects today's gospel reading, Luke 4:14-21.

"Our mission as Christians," Fr. Gus said, "is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, to bring hope to people, to really live out our call as people of faith and to discern our identity as children of God."

His lively, enthusiastic and highly personal first sermon made a clear impression on the parishioners, one of whom called him "a welcome addition to our community."

Fr. Gus attributes his worship and life styles - including how he relates to others - to what he calls a "sacramental" view of the world.

"My faith helps me to see God's presence in the world and in other people," he said. "To me people are not just beings who exist for no reason -- they matter. And my goal is to reflect the inward grace of God to them in my life."

Anyone interested in the mission and activities of the ACC may visit their website by clicking on the ad featured on the left-hand margin of The Batavian's home page.

Two members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Batavia who were on a mission in Haiti when Port-au-Prince was struck by an earthquake returned home yesterday.

WBTA's Dan Fischer was at the Buffalo airport when Zach Ashley and Sharon Wolf returned safely with the rest of the missionaries. He spoke with Wolf at the airport (mp3).

More coverage.

The Lutheran mission team, which includes two Batavia residents, that was in Haiti when the 7.0 earthquake hit Monday has made it safely to the Port-au-Prince airport, according to Jason Christ.

Yesterday, WBTA's Geoff Redick spoke with Rev. Allen Werk (mp3), pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church, who described the plan for the group's return.

Werk said once the group reached the Port-au-Prince airport, a military aircraft would take them to either Florida or the Dominican Republican, and from either of those airports, they could take a commercial flight home.

The big challenge was transportation from Les Cayes to Port au Prince. The group regularly depends on a bus driver based in Port au Prince, which is where the driver was when the quake struck.

"Somehow or another he found gas in Port au Prince for his bus and is right now on his way from Port au Prince to Les Cayes," Werk said yesterday.

On the trip from Batavia are Sharon Wolf and Zach Ashley.

One of the team members from Tonawanda, Sue Steege, occasionally updates her Twitter account with the group's status.

Apparently, at least two members of the group are still awaiting visas.

A group of Western New Yorkers, including at least two Batavians, on a mission to Haiti are safe according to a report on a blog following  a massive 7.0 earthquake that struck the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.

WBTA reports that Sharon Wolf and Zack Ashley, both of Batavia, are on the mission and are safe. Both are with St. Paul Lutheran Church.

This post by Sue Steege lists all mission members and says Wolf and Ashley are on their first mission to Haiti, while some mission members have made the trip as many as five times.

The mission is being led by Pastor Chuck Whited of First Trinity Lutheran Church in Tonawanda. He wrote about his arrival in Haiti on Saturday in this blog post.

According to this post, the mission was scheduled to return home on Jan. 18. That return date is now uncertain, according to WBTA.