Pastor also is working on new ‘Jobs for Life’ ministry for Orleans County

Photo by Tom Rivers – Tim Lindsay has led Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion since the church started in 1987, first meeting in the former Firemen’s Recreation Building on West State Street. In 1991, the church moved to 560 East Ave., where Lindsay is pictured.

ALBION – Tim Lindsay was turning 50 and celebrating 20 years as a pastor in Albion in the fall of 2007. As he reflected on his ministry, he did the math and realized he had preached about 1,000 sermons in Albion.

He thought about enduring principles he learned in those 20 years and preached about them in a sermon series he called “1,000 Sundays.” Members of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion gave Lindsay good feedback about the sermons.

Lindsay’s 20 years have now turned into nearly 26 years of commitment to the Albion community. He often preaches about the importance of “finishing the race,” of staying faithful to God.

Lindsay has had a few years to think about the “1,000 Sundays.” He was encouraged to expand on those principles and write about longevity in Christian life and ministry. He spent a year working on a manuscript.

The result is a 219-page book with 19 chapters. In “1,000 Sundays and Counting ” the pastor writes about his Albion church and some of the life principles he has learned. The book came out last month and is available locally at Bindings Bookstore in Albion.

“It’s not a how-to manual,” Lindsay said. “It’s a book about character.”

Lindsay grew up in Hilton. He and his wife Laurie have five grown children and five grandchildren. They were attending Golden Heights Christian Center in Brockport when that church decided to plant a new church in Albion. Lindsay was asked to lead the effort.

The Christian Center Church of Orleans County held its first service on Oct. 25, 1987 at Albion Firemen’s Recreation Building. The church was there for four years before buying a building a 560 East Ave. The church later changed its name to Harvest Christian Fellowship.

It has been influential in establishing the Orleans County Christian School and the Care Net Center of Greater Orleans, which provides free pregnancy tests and ultra-sounds, as well as support in a crisis pregnancy.

Lindsay also serves as chaplain in the Orleans County Jail and has served as a missionary to Africa. He just returned from Ghana and Togo. He distributed 200 copies of his books to Christian leaders in the countries.

Some of the principles in the book include:

Let God use the difficult circumstances of your life to form the character of Christ in you.

Leave a godly legacy for future generations.

Keep your heart tender and sensitive to Jesus even in the midst of trials.

Live for something bigger than yourself.

Find and maintain healthy relationships in the body of Christ.

Fulfill God’s vision and purpose for your life.

Lindsay is working to launch another ministry in the community, “Hands for Hope.” That initiative will partner with local businesses to connect residents to jobs that match their skill levels. Hands for Hope will run “Jobs for Life,” an eight-week job training program.

Hands for Hope includes representatives from several local churches. They want to connect residents with mentors, “who can help people when there are bumps in the road.”

Hands for Hope is aimed at unemployed and underemployed residents. Lindsay said 400 sites in the country are running the Bible-based program right now.

The churches and mentors will stress soft job skills, such as showing up to work on time, keeping a good attitude and conflict resolution skills.

“It boils down to character,” said Lindsay, who will be site leader for the project.

He believes good jobs can help lift many people out of generational poverty.

“This can help them get out of that cycle,” Lindsay said.

He welcomes businesses, churches, mentors and other participants for the program, which is expected to launch in January.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Patricia Crowley, project director of Orleans United through GCASA, has worked with the agency since 2000 to reduce substance abuse locally. She is pictured outside GCASA’s office in Albion, the former Knights of Columbus hall.

ALBION – She has led a coalition of law enforcement agencies, faith-based groups, health-care providers, parents, youths and businesses, about 100 people working together to reduce tobacco and substance abuse in the community.

“We all help and do our part,” said Pat Crowley, project director for Orleans United, a program run through GCASA, the Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.

Crowley said the group’s efforts over the past five years have resulted in reduced rates of teen smoking and drug use and experimentation.

Crowley is also a member of the Medina Village Board, and is active with the Medina Area Association of Churches and the First Presbyterian Church in Medina.

The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce honored her with a “Community Service Award” for 2013.

“I just love it,” Crowley said about her many roles. “Orleans is a great place to live. No matter where I live, I’ll always be involved in my community.”

Crowley grew up in Hornell. She began her career working with at-risk youth in Elmira. For 10 years she worked with kids in foster care and a group home. She then worked three years with at-risk youth in Orange County near Poughkeepsie.

In 1990, she her husband Tim moved to Medina when Mr. Crowley, a counselor with the state Department of Corrections, was hired to work at the Orleans Correctional Facility in Albion. Mr. Crowley is a Medina native. He now works at the Albion Correctional Facility, the women’s prison.

It didn’t take his wife long to get to know the community. She worked for the Arc of Orleans and the Head Start before taking a job with GCASA in 2000 as a prevention educator. She went into local schools, sharing an anti-drug and alcohol message, and meeting one-on-one with students who may have been fighting an addiction.

In 2004, she helped start the drug-free coalition. Four years later, the federal government approved a $125,000 annual drug-free communities grant for Orleans. The funding was for five years.

The coalition planned family-friendly activities, including roller skating at the YMCA, miniature golf and other events, including prescription drug take-back days, where the unused prescription medicine could be left at the Holley Police Department, Orleans County Public Safety Building and Medina Fire Department.

The grant also funded a survey of sixth through twelfth-graders in four local school districts about their drug, alcohol and tobacco use. The survey is done every two years.

“You need the data,” Crowley said. “The grant allows us to look at the data and assess where we are.”

The coalition just learned last week the federal government did not renew another five-year grant to fund the prevention effort in Orleans County. Crowley said the coalition will continue, and will find another way to promote its mission.

“We have people that will support us, we’ll just have to do it with less money,” she said.