N.Y. Church Mission Comes to Hightstown to Build More Than a Home

As the Rev. Robert Turton, 73, stands in the burned out 15-by-15 foot bedroom of the Bethany Gospel Mission Home and Chapel in Hightstown, he lovingly looks at the wood paneling–the paneling that his son Billy put up 38 years ago. 

Billy purchased the wood himself, using the money from his first ever paycheck from a summer job. Billy died at the age of 16 following a fatal injury he sustained on the baseball field. Now Pastor Turton is leading the charge of rebuilding the Bethany home following the fire that shut it down on Ash Wednesday eight years ago.

All this week, seven members of the United Methodist Church of Hammondsport, N.Y., are visiting Hightstown, South Brunswick and Manchester for a special trip – a trip for them that is more like a working vacation.

The group, which is called Volunteers in Mission, is a special group and its members volunteer their time to lend a helping hand as part of their ministry.  Whether it is painting or plumbing, sheetrock or scraping, they fulfill a need, spiritually and physically.  During this trip, they are making extensive repairs to the Bethany Home.

Once the home is repaired and rebuilt, it will again assist those who are homeless, or in need of temporary housing.  

Water damage destroyed what the fire didn’t. According to Turton, a great deal of work needs to be completed, including electrical, plumbing and roof repairs. The floorboards creak upon each step and light from the lower floors pierces up through the floor in some areas.

The work being done by the VIM members is important and can be considered a labor of love.  It is critical to the group’s doctrine, says the Rev. Paul J. Rowley, 55, who serves as leader of the Hammondsport congregation.

“We have a scripture verse that says serve one another in love and work so this is part of our Christian faith,” he said. “We care for people spiritually and care for people with physical needs.”

Diane Albright is the coordinator of this project. She said this mission is an important one for more than one reason. “We are doing this (project) to serve one another in love. There’s quite a bit to do here and we’ll do the best we can.” The VIM group is making repairs for the next five days.

The VIM response team arrived on Sunday evening and the group attended services and preached at historic Fresh Ponds Chapel in South Brunswick, which was built in 1840. 

In addition, the group will meet with parishioners on Tuesday evening at the First Baptist Church, located on South Main Street in Hightstown. And, on Wednesday night, VIM members plan on attending services at Building on the Rock Christian missionary Alliance in Manchester, Ocean County.

Their week of worship and work will climax with a Gospel meeting on Friday night, and on Saturday they will head north to return to Hammondsport, N.Y.

Brittany Clark, 16, is part of the group working to restore the Bethany Home. This will be her entire spring break and she said that she is more than happy to devote her time to such an important cause. “I feel it is awesome that this will result in something good,” she said.  “I’m doing this in the name of the Lord.  He told me to come down.”

The same VIM group assisted with rebuilding efforts in storm-torn Louisiana, following Hurricane Katrina and they have also worked to help repair buildings in Mississippi. This group has also worked on rebuilding structures in western New York State.

Rowley, along with his wife Gloria Mazur-Rowley, 55, who is originally from East Windsor, are former volunteer ministry workers who worked with the Bethany Gospel Mission Home and Chapel in central New Jersey for several years.  

Rowley and his wife first met at Houghton College in upstate New York and furthered their ministerial training at the Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kent. Rowley later came to Hightstown and lived at the Bethany Gospel Mission Home and Chapel.  His bedroom at the Bethany Home was the room Billy helped build.

Through the years a strong relationship was formed between pastors Rowley and Turton.

“I consider Pastor Paul and his wife Gloria extended family,” he said. I knew Gloria since she was 6 years old and they are very dear people to me and our congregation.

Turton continued, “Our faith preaches faith, hope and charity and Paul and Gloria are perfect examples of those tenets. I cannot express enough how grateful we are to have the Hammondsport ministry’s support.”

The Bethany Gospel Mission Home and Chapel is in a period of rebirth and transformation, according to Turton, and the group of volunteers who operate the non-profit house, are seeking tax-exempt status. 

The mission cannot receive this status until the home is up to code, he said, but Turton further indicated that the church needs the tax-exempt status so his group can have more funding to finish rebuilding the home.

Turton said that he hopes all the work will be completed by this October so that the group can meet the tax exempt deadline for next year.

Editor's note: Due to personal connections to this story, Editor Geoffrey Wertime did not edit this article.