men of the church
The Men of the Church was organized in 1958. Since their inception, the men have been an integral and extremely important component in the life of Bethany and the surrounding community. They have had representatives attend many Presbytery and Synod retreats and rallies. For many years they went on their own as a group for a weekend retreat at a camp near the coast of NC. Many “stories” from these retreats have survived and are retold even now! In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s the men participated in a church softball league with several other churches in the area.
The men have always been a huge help with any, and all physical needs of the church, be it funding or manual labor. When extra storage was needed, the men purchased the materials for and built the storage room that is attached to the back of the manse garage. When a rental house was still owned by the church, the men themselves often performed maintenance such as repairing plumbing, replacing flooring, painting, and many other necessary jobs. Their capabilities and willingness to work hard has saved the church countless amounts of money. They have on many occasions gone to the homes of church members or friends of the church and installed handicap railings or made some repairs just to help the person out. The men still mow and maintain the church grounds and provide leadership for church workdays and cleanup projects. They have consistently provided leadership for projects needed at the church, the manse, the recreation building, and the walking track area.
In addition to their physical work, the men have sponsored many different types of fundraisers to help them continue their support of the church and the community. For years, they put on barbecue, or Brunswick stew sales. The food was always cooked and prepared by the men themselves. The men have hosted many auctions, where the whole community was invited. Many donations, including handmade items were donated and put up for auction. These auction events became well attended by local friends and family of the church. Famous bidding wars over specific “cakes” often brought hundreds of dollars alone. These bidding wars became an expected component of Bethany auctions and provided entertainment and friendly competition among some of our members. The funds raised from these events have always been used to perform special projects for Bethany, and to provide monetary assistance to those in the church and in the community who may have fallen on hard times. They regularly donate to a local family-owned pharmacy to assist local residents who don’t have insurance and pay for their prescriptions on credit. The pharmacy selects the recipients from their clients who are having a hard time paying their accounts off, or have high bills and could just use a hand. There is really no way to ever measure the blessings that the Bethany men have been to so very many for all of these years.
The men still support many areas of the church with their ministry. They put on an annual Shrimp-a-roo dinner for the entire church, and regularly cook breakfasts and other meals for church events. Up until the pandemic they met regularly for men of the church dinners. Men from the community join in for the dinners and fellowship as well. Recently they have resumed meeting at least quarterly for dinners. The meals are always well attended, especially for their oyster stew and fish fry meals. The men still mow and maintain the church grounds and provide leadership for church workdays and cleanup projects. They still consistently provide leadership for projects needed at the church, the manse, the recreation building, and the walking track area. Though the men have lost several of their members over the last few years, the hope is to maintain a vibrant and hard-working group well into the future of Bethany.
The men have always been a huge help with any, and all physical needs of the church, be it funding or manual labor. When extra storage was needed, the men purchased the materials for and built the storage room that is attached to the back of the manse garage. When a rental house was still owned by the church, the men themselves often performed maintenance such as repairing plumbing, replacing flooring, painting, and many other necessary jobs. Their capabilities and willingness to work hard has saved the church countless amounts of money. They have on many occasions gone to the homes of church members or friends of the church and installed handicap railings or made some repairs just to help the person out. The men still mow and maintain the church grounds and provide leadership for church workdays and cleanup projects. They have consistently provided leadership for projects needed at the church, the manse, the recreation building, and the walking track area.
In addition to their physical work, the men have sponsored many different types of fundraisers to help them continue their support of the church and the community. For years, they put on barbecue, or Brunswick stew sales. The food was always cooked and prepared by the men themselves. The men have hosted many auctions, where the whole community was invited. Many donations, including handmade items were donated and put up for auction. These auction events became well attended by local friends and family of the church. Famous bidding wars over specific “cakes” often brought hundreds of dollars alone. These bidding wars became an expected component of Bethany auctions and provided entertainment and friendly competition among some of our members. The funds raised from these events have always been used to perform special projects for Bethany, and to provide monetary assistance to those in the church and in the community who may have fallen on hard times. They regularly donate to a local family-owned pharmacy to assist local residents who don’t have insurance and pay for their prescriptions on credit. The pharmacy selects the recipients from their clients who are having a hard time paying their accounts off, or have high bills and could just use a hand. There is really no way to ever measure the blessings that the Bethany men have been to so very many for all of these years.
The men still support many areas of the church with their ministry. They put on an annual Shrimp-a-roo dinner for the entire church, and regularly cook breakfasts and other meals for church events. Up until the pandemic they met regularly for men of the church dinners. Men from the community join in for the dinners and fellowship as well. Recently they have resumed meeting at least quarterly for dinners. The meals are always well attended, especially for their oyster stew and fish fry meals. The men still mow and maintain the church grounds and provide leadership for church workdays and cleanup projects. They still consistently provide leadership for projects needed at the church, the manse, the recreation building, and the walking track area. Though the men have lost several of their members over the last few years, the hope is to maintain a vibrant and hard-working group well into the future of Bethany.
