Proceeds from the Chicken BBQ will support the client incentive rewards program, which recognizes clients’ achievements and compliance with program and Parole mandates; the incentive program is supported 100% by individual donors and the church community.  If you are not able to attend the BBQ but are interested in making a donation to support the rewards program, please contact our office!

SGM Elmira continues to solicit monthly church and private donor support for the purchase and renovation of a facility as well as to support ongoing program operations of “Grace House” Elmira, targeted to open by fall of 2012.  For more information about the Elmira project or to schedule a meeting or presentation about the “Grace House” program, contact SGM Elmira at  (607) 398-0746 or via e-mail at SGMofElmira@sgmworld.org.

The Good of Buffalo

To Rev. Terry King, Executive Director of Saving Grace Ministries, Inc., to all of the clergy here today, to the guests, the staff and to the persons that are being served by this wonderful organization, I greet you in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

It is truly an honor to be here with you today as we celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  I must say that I was and am a bit surprised and taken aback by the invitation to speak here today in front of an audience such as this.  It has always been my place to be on the other side…. out there with you in the pews when I am in the company of the clergy… I mean, these people do this for a living so they have to be a tough audience!  So pray for me.

 Just to share a little bit about me, I have been a member of the BFD for the past 28 years… 11 ½ of which, from 1985 – 1996, I spent right here working in this  firehouse…  In 1998 I was promoted to CFA, in 2004 I was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Personnel, and in 2006 I was appointed to DC of Emergency Medical Services.  In January of 2010, Mayor Brown appointed me as Commissioner of Fire.

I have been married to my beautiful wife Cassietta for the past 27 years and we have 4 children and 6 grandchildren.  I have lived in Buffalo just about all of my life and have seen and benefited directly from the struggles and work of many, especially the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.

Had it not been for those who went before us, those who fought against the injustices of their day, this day would not be possible. When we were but small children and my father worked at LL Bergers in downtown Buffalo making $50 a week for a family of 6, he aspired to be a police officer.  I remember him trying to avail himself of the process and get information on how to apply.  But back then, he wasn’t even allowed to get an application, let alone apply for the position.  Yes , I am fully aware that I stand before you today only because MLK Jr. and the people of that day, including my father and mother, did not accept the injustices of their day… did not use them as an excuse for our situation… and most importantly… did not think it a waste of their time to work and plan for a better day. 

And what I find to be significant is that they understood that the work they were doing and the sacrifices that they were making were not going to fulfill their immediate needs for justice and equality, opportunity and respect…. But they did it anyway and found it worthwhile to lay down the foundation so that future generations – yours and mine - might have the freedoms that they were being denied.  Has anyone ever planted a seed in the ground in the hope of growing something? After you decide what it is you want to grow and get your seed, you have to find some fertile ground to plant it in.  And after it is planted, you have to nurture it by continuing to water it and make sure that it is protected from the dangers of it’s environment, keeping unwanted things from growing up around it and covering it or surrounding it to keep others out.

Now all of this is done in the hope and belief that one day your labor will be rewarded and that seed will manifest itself as that which you were trying to grow… it will bear fruit.  This is what Martin Luther King and his generation did for us.  We are reaping, harvesting the fruit of their labor for they watered and nurtured those yearnings for freedom that were always bottled up within them and they planted the seeds of justice and equality in the conscious of America and the hearts and minds of future generations…  What are we planting today?  Or are we just reaping and living off of the sacrifices of our forefathers?

Martin Luther King, in his famous “I‘ve Been to the Mountain Top” speech, showed that he understood this principle.  He understood that he might not live to see and enjoy the fruit of his labor, but he knew that what was important was that someone had to plant the seed and nurture it and that one day it would bear fruit.  Thanks be to God that he had the vision, the courage, and a faith in God that allowed him to plant those seeds. That he understood the redemptive power of love and that in spite of his challenges, he was committed to do the work of God.  Like Moses before him, he would lead his people out of bondage but not be allowed to go into the promised land.  He understood what his role was and we can learn a valuable lesson from that.

In times like these, what is our role?  In the City of Buffalo, the city of Good Neighbors, we have some very troubling things going on.  Buffalo is one of the most racially segregated cities in America, it has one of the highest dropout rates of high school students and one of the lowest rated school systems.  It is one of the poorest cities in America and has some of the highest unemployment among its minority population.  It has a high rate of illiteracy, one of the highest rate of AIDS among young people in the country, specifically in the 14215 zip code… Teenage pregnancy, and some of the highest rates of heart disease, MS, stroke, cancer and other maladies that can be found anywhere in the country.

Can our young men who are being incarcerated, disenfranchised and written off on a daily basis see the good?  And can the women who are left to raise children that will never know their fathers see the good in Buffalo?

What is our role… do we have a dream? And if so, are we willing to work for it, to trust God and to go in and possess the land, or are we like the Isrealites who were afraid of the giants of their day?  All generations have giants to deal with, but not all have the courage to deal with them. Martin Luther King inspires us because he had the courage and faith to deal with the giants of racism and hate that permeated his day.  What will we do with our giants?

In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, he wrote “…the question is not whether we will be extremists, but rather what kind of extremists we will be…”  This is a direct challenge to us today. Will we accept the extremes of the injustices and inequalities that seem to permeate every aspect of our lives today, or will we, as Dr. King did, develop the kind of relationship with God that allows us to love our enemies, that empowers us to find and to use that voice inside of us to cry out for change?

You know, sometimes we ask God for things not fully understanding what we’re asking for, and when He manifests them in your life you’ll wish that maybe He hadn’t heard you, at least that time!  In my current position, and I am sure in many of yours, it is sometimes a struggle to what God’s will is for you.  We know that He has blessed us and we know that we ought to be using the things He’s given to us to do His will but we can’t always see the connection between that and the trouble of the day.  Sometimes all we can see is the trouble and sometimes it looks like there is no end.  But we have to remember the lessons of Dr. King, that he had gotten to the point that he didn’t care what was up ahead, he just wanted to do God’s will… to have the hope and faith that we need to do the work of today, we must remember where God has already brought us from.

God has been good to us and the same God that brought us through the past and gives us today holds our tomorrow. Therefore I submit to you that our tomorrow is bright. God is calling for His people to find their voice and to stand boldly before the giants in their lives.  The Bible says that if we hold our peace, the stones will cry out.

Dr. King said “This generation will have to repent, not only for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but also for the appalling silence of the good people…”  Are we appalled by the evil of this day, or is God appalled by our silence? What are we doing to fulfill God’s will in our lives?

On this day, Dr. King is calling us to renew our since of justice, to find our voices and to loudly proclaim that “we hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator, not man, with certain inalienable rights.”  That we shouldn’t judge men by the color of their skin but by the content of their character… and not only should we be able to overlook the color of their skin… but we ought to be able to forgive them of their past transgressions just as God has forgiven us.  You see, none of us are perfect and all of us have fallen short of the glory of God.

The brothers and sisters that are clients of this wonderful ministry present an opportunity for us to show compassion and to use those things that God has blessed us with to help them find their voice for we are inexorably tied together and Jesus said that as you have done unto the least of these, you have done also unto me.  Your lives are as fertile ground and the seeds have already been planted.  We as a community must stop sitting back in judgment of others and start nurturing those seeds that all of us have inside of us just waiting to manifest themselves.

I have talked about a number of negative facts about Buffalo and surely we have many giants to contend with. But I don’t want to portray a negative and hopeless Buffalo - quite the contrary. Our generation has been given an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference.  It is our season if we but recognize it.  Our children, friends, family, neighborhoods and God are waiting anxiously for us to find the voice that is in all of us.  The one that calls us to action.  The one allows us to put down our differences, for they are our giants, and pick up our cross… and it is our cross.

On this day, let us commit to keeping the dream alive every day.  Let us daily abhore these things we know to be unjust, and let us not do so in silence, for to quote Dr. King, “nothing is more dangerous than sincere ignorance or conscious stupidity”.

The mere existence of this facility is evidence that something is very wrong in our society and we thank God that you have recognized that we can no longer afford to just sit in judgment of others but that we must reach out and in doing so raise up our brothers and sisters as we have been raised up.

To my brothers who are with us and a part of this program, I want to encourage you.  There is much that you can do to help us deal with our giants.  You are perfectly positioned to be a part of our solution.   

In his beyond Vietnam Speech, given exactly one year to the day before his assassination, Dr. King recognized the injustice of poor, disenfranchised African Americans being sent to Vietnam to fight and die along side white men whom they wouldn’t be allowed eat with or live next to in America.  Your circumstances are not all that different.  We still continue to send our young men, who are undereducated and without fathers, jobs or hope, to prison and war in disproportionate numbers. Further alienating them and ostracizing them to the point that the only place they and we can feel comfortable is for them to stay in prison. 

We need you. We need you to be fathers to your children. We need you to tell some of these young brothers how it is on the other side. Somebody needs to see how God has  picked you up and turned you around… you have much to give also.

 The Good in Buffalo… it is in all of us… let us find our voice.

February 7, 2012: Members of the Board of Directors for the Patrick P. Lee Foundation present the grant check to Alyssa Gross and Rev. King. Grant funds will support the SGM, Inc. client GED program.

Saving Grace Ministries, Inc. has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation, in support of the SGM, Inc. GED Program.  The award will assist more than 40 individuals in preparing to obtain their GED. 

The GED program, begun in 2011, provides individualized tutoring and support to assist clients in preparing to take the New York State GED exam.

Located in Key Largo, Florida and Amherst, New York, the Patrick P. Lee Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to providing support to non-profit organizations that empower families and communities with the resources needed to create positive change in areas of education, medical treatment/research, mental health and human & community services in parts of Dade and Monroe Counties in South Florida and Erie and Niagara Counties in New York.

For more information, visit www.patrickpleefoundation.org.

SGM, Inc. is still seeking additional volunteer tutor/mentors to work one-on-one with participating clients.  Scheduling is flexible and all client contact and communication is coordinated through SGM, Inc. staff.

SGM, Inc. staff has been overwhelmed by the support and response of our church supporters and private donors.  Western New York Shares, a partner of Kingdom Bound Ministries, Inc., donated enough toys, books, and games to provide gifts to all of our residents’ children.  The Chapel at Crosspoint women’s ministry has pledged to supply gifts for the women of “Grace House,” and St. Bart’s Anglican Church is going to be supplying gift cards for the “Grace House” clients as well as gifts for the men of “Grace House”.

The community of faith built “Grace House” and has supported SGM, Inc.’s efforts to touch families and change lives for over ten years.  We are grateful for the continued support of area churches and private donors, and look forward to continuing to serve in 2012.

For additional, updated information about any remaining needs we have for our Christmas outreach events and activities, please feel free to call our office at (716) 893-1840 or e-mail us at info@sgmworld.org.

We’re updating regularly with events, ways to connect with our ministry, and ongoing opportunities to get involved in impacting the men and women we serve.  Be sure to “like” our page to stay up to date on news, events, and volunteer opportunities!

Purchased from Teen Challenge Training Center, Inc., the new facility will provide aftercare/graduate housing for individuals who have completed the primary “Grace House” Transitional Residence Program in Rochester.   Its proximity to the existing Norton Street location will allow SGMR staff to continue to provide ongoing case management, aftercare, and oversight to the Baird Street residents that they received while in program at the other “Grace House” locations.

Prospective residents have already been identified and are expected to begin moving in immediately.

- Addition of “children’s church”: upwards of a dozen children are now attending the church and participating in weekly children’s church activities, led by Sheryl King, making use of the newly-renovated classroom and community space at the SGM, Inc./GCGC Outreach Center.

- Baptism and membership of 7 new members, including an entire family, on November 16th

- Continued community outreach and increased community participation (Hallelujah Halloween event, summer picnic and outreach activities, planned gift outreach for Christmas)

We begin each service with a time of worship and fellowship, followed by brief announcements and then a short message.  Services are held every Sunday at 9:30am at 2025 Bailey Avenue (corner of Bailey Avenue and Doat Street); those looking for a new church home or interested in getting involved in the many outreach and discipleship programs and activities we have are encouraged to visit!

 Recognizing that this is a difficult time of year for many of our clients, SGM, Inc. sponsors several holiday activities, not only to give a sense of hope and belonging to those who have no family to spend the holidays with, but also to allow clients the opportunity to begin rebuilding those fragile relationships in a safe, family-friendly environment. 

How can you help?

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Each year, local churches provide gifts for each of the clients, as well as gift cards in small denominations to area fast food and other restaurants or to local stores.  Clients who have never received a Christmas gift of their own are handed a wrapped package to open that contains a brand-new gift that was purchased just for them.  In order to provide the men and women we serve with the same opportunity to experience receiving a Christmas gift, we will need donations of the following:

 64 gifts for men

            – sweatshirts in various sizes

            – men’s socks, underwear, t-shirts in various sizes

            – new winter coats in various sizes (including 2-3 in XXL or larger)

            – shaving/bathroom/hygiene kits for men

 6 gifts for women

            – sweatshirts or tops in various sizes

            – women’s socks, underwear in various sizes

            – new winter coats in various sizes

            – shaving/bathroom/hygiene kits for women

Gift cards ($5 or $10) for McDonald’s, Tim Horton’s, Dunkin Donuts, Wal-Mart (every resident will receive 1-2 gift cards in addition to their individual gift)

CHILDREN’S GIFTS

 SGM, Inc. also provides gifts for the clients to take to their children on Christmas Eve; to assist in that endeavor, we are accepting toys or other children’s gifts for various ages (up to 18).  If gifts are wrapped, they need to be marked with the gender and age group they are for (ie. boy, age 3-4).  Based on prior years’ numbers, we anticipate needing the following:

 25 gifts for children under 5 (books, games, stuffed animals)

20 gifts for children ages 6-9 (boys’ and girls’ gifts, or unisex games, books, or toys)

20 gifts for children ages 10-12 (boys’ and girls’ gifts, or unisex games, books, or toys)

15 gifts for children ages 13-18 (unisex games or gifts)

Gifts need to be received at our offices by Monday, December 19 ^th to be sorted and distributed in time for Christmas.  Please call our office at (716) 893-1840 to make arrangements to drop off donations, or to arrange to have one of our staff members pick them up.

The breakfast served a two-fold purpose: to share current trends, needs, and statistical information about the young offender population in Western New York; and to present a new young offender reentry project, “1490 Jefferson,” developed by the St. John CDC and SGM, Inc.

Dale Zuchlewski

The event began with opening remarks and a brief presentation by Dale Zuchlewski, Executive Director of the Homeless Alliance of Western New York.  Dale provided some startling statistics about the increase in homelessness among the young adult population, and urged area elected officials to support programs and initiatives geared at preventing homelessness among young adults, reminding those present that young adults who experience an episode of homelessness are more likely to lapse back into homelessness later in life, becoming heavy users of public services and (in the case of young offenders) re-offending at a higher rate than individuals who received early intervention and case management.

Vanda Seward, NYS DOCCS

Vanda Seward, from the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, emphasized the need for services that meet the needs of the entire family unit, identifying a young offender’s family as the key arena for intervention and long-term change.  Ms. Seward encouraged multi-disciplinary participation in any young offender initiative, pointing out that no single agency or service provider acting alone can address the needs of the young offender population.

Rev. Darius Pridgen

Rev. Darius Pridgen spoke about his personal experience in working with young adults, and emphasized the importance of reaching out, especially to those young people who do not have the family structure or support to make positive decisions.  Rev. Pridgen stressed the responsibility of all community members in seeing that young people are successful.

Rev. Michael Chapman

Rev. Michael Chapman, Senior Pastor at St. John Baptist Church and consultant for the St. John Fruit Belt CDC, presented the 1490 Jefferson Young Offender Reentry Initiative project, encouraging the assembled elected officials and their representatives to support the project as a tangible solution to address the needs of the rising young offender population in Buffalo.

Councilman Demone Smith

Councilman Demone Smith closed the program with a statement of support for the 1490 Jefferson project and reiterating the importance of involvement from government, churches, service providers, and community organizations in addressing the needs of young offenders.

The legislative breakfast was a well-attended event, and SGM, Inc. and our co-sponsors extend our deepest gratitude for all who attended, participated, spoke, and continue to support our efforts to improve the quality of life in Western New York and to serve those most in need.