A Sad Day for Oneonta: No More Shows at The Ol' Storefont

 On the same day that we mailed a courtesy letter to our neighbors about the music at The Redemption Movement, the City of Oneonta Code Enforcement Office mailed us a letter ordering our church to "cease all use of the premises as a live music venue." This is highly disappointing news for us and the Oneonta arts scene. Friends, take heart. The Ol' Storefront may be closed for live performances, but this isn't the last song of our movement.

No More Shows? What Gives?

Code violations did us in. To again quote the letter, "Based upon complaints received by this office and advertisements for live music observed around the city, it appears that these activities exceed the use parameters set by the City of Oneonta Planning Commission." The letter goes on to mention violations regarding parking, use of the building as an unauthorized nightclub, building capacity, and the need for the building to be compliant with all codes pertaining to a public assembly.

Can The Redemption Movement Still Meet at The Ol' Storefront?

Yes. The church will continue to meet on Fridays at 148 River St. for our weekly gatherings, and we will use the building for other ministry activities.

What about the Upcoming Shows Scheduled on the RM Calendar?

We've found a home for all three of our scheduled shows on 6-4, 7-10, and 7-13. The generous folks at Susquehanna Trail and Campground have agreed to host these shows, along with other future events that we will want to do. Keep an eye on our blog's show page and Facebook page for the latest information as we confirm details with the bands and make arrangements with the Campground.

What's Next for Music at RM?

We've got several options before us, none of which are cheap or easy. For all the time, work, and expense it will take to have the building meet code requirements for public assembly, it may make more sense to move operations entirely out of the River St. location. There may also exist a route that will allow us to continue to host small shows at The Ol' Storefront without having to do additional work on the building. However, all options point to submitting plans to the city, which involves lots of paperwork, going before committees, and paying for the services of various certified professionals like engineers.

We clearly need a bigger space.

As much as I would like to invest more time and money into fixing up The Ol' Storefront, it feels like a lost cause because we've reached a place with our music where we're booking bands that are used to bigger shows, and after using the space for church ministry for the past year, it's obvious that the out-of-the-way location is negatively affecting the effectiveness of our church. Therefore, instead of putting extra effort into something that's ineffective, our next move may be to put the same amount of effort into fundraising in order to move operations to a downtown location.

A Blessing in Disguise?

In a way, it's a bummer because it feels like we're giving up on a space that we've worked so hard to create, but at the same time, moving to downtown has always been the next step of RM's plans--as evidenced from this 2009 YouTube video where Laura and I drove through downtown Oneonta for the very first time and I made the comment at 3:36 as saw the then-abandoned Bresee's building:

"There's an old department store building that's not being used. This downtown area, I don't know the town very well yet, but I would love to start a church in one these downtown storefronts."

For us, we've always seen The Old Storefront as a starter building. Our ambitions are much bigger than a 25x25 room. In 2009 Laura and I moved to NY; not knowing anybody in our new town, it would have been impossible for us to obtain a space downtown, seeing that the city didn't know us and nobody knew what kind of a church we would start. Now, after ministering to Oneonta for five years, I feel like we have many friends in both the arts and the faith community that would be happy to help us in supporting a move to a better location. Additionally, on 5-6 we had a positive meeting with the city council where we addressed the noise issue by informing officials about all the positives of our music and ministry. After that meeting, I feel like a move to downtown may be welcomed by the deciding powers that be. Basically, this one complaint against us has generated a lot of positive support about our mission, and it would be wise for us to take advantage of it to get us to where we want to go.

Regrets? 

It's regrettable that these wonderfully-positive shows has to end on such a negative note. It's my hope that these zoning violations don't ruin the church's reputation and that the community will see the good that we were trying to accomplish. I wrongfully assumed that the shows we hosted was part of "church use" (which the building was approved for). I also had every intention to submit new parking plans, but that got pushed aside as I became busy with the responsibilities of pastoring, working a full-time job, running shows, and being a new parent. To help make amends with the zoning department, we immediately stopped doing music at our place as soon as we received the letter. And after talking with zoning, we scheduled a building inspection concerning the site plans we submitted from a few years back. Thankfully, we passed that inspection and our building is currently compliant for the purposes that we are using it for.

A worship service during the remodeling.

If I had to do it over again, I would have done things by the book and pushed back the grand opening to give us more time to get the zoning issues resolved. I think this ordeal serves as a trial-by-fire lesson about working with city government. This experience helps me to understand how to be more compliant with new projects going forward. It's regrettable that we violated codes, however, what's not regrettable is all the friendships we made and artists that we blessed over the course of 23 shows in our little storefront between 2012 and 2014.

The End of an Era

Artists and fans lucky enough to have enjoyed music hosted at The Ol' Storefront understand how special of a place it was. It was an all-ages venue that provided the community with more than just another stage for bands to sing their songs; the Ol' Storefront provided people with a positive, unique, and memorable experience.

The Ol' Storefront served as a place that would give new artists a chance to play their first show. For bands that were on tour and had shows in the region cancel on them, The Ol' Storefront was an easy show to book that kept their tour alive. And doing music helped our church connect with college students from SUNY Oneonta's Music Industry Club, some of the most respectful, responsible, and appreciative students that I've had the pleasure to work with.

MIC Students helping fix up the building.

The Ol' Storefront also served as a "Band and Breakfast." We enjoyed letting traveling musicians crash on our floor, serving them free meals after the show, and even playing board games with them. Showing musicians Christian hospitality has led to wonderful friendships that made bands want to come back, despite the low attendance at the shows.

The Takeaways, King Django, P-Dub, The Snails

At the shows, we would go out of our way to make them fun. Often times we would serve show goers free food like funnel cakes, baked potatoes, and BBQ, and then there was the time we boarded up the front of the building with old doors and pallets and invited the participants of the zombie walk to bust through. With one show we raised money for a local food bank, and it was always wonderful to see kids in attendance enjoying bands that typically play in age-restricted bars. It's my hope that these kids were inspired by the music to pick up a guitar and drumsticks, and that their passion would fuel an awkward high school band that would go on to do great things and make Oneonta proud.         

Bray unplugged. RM's official house band.

Even though the shows only lasted a relatively short 2-year period, there are too many great memories to list. The music may be shut down at The Ol Storefront, but the memories will live on. And remember, this isn't the end of music hosted by The Redemption Movement. We will get back on our feet and put on bigger and better shows that will benefit the community we love. Keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page to find out how you can help with our upcoming plans, and remember that the building is still open for church use and you're always welcome to visit us on a Friday Gathering or participate in a Sunday Act of Kindness if you want to get involved with our little movement.             

Stacked Like Pancakes

Lila Ignite and Backslashes and Bad Ideas

Poor Jeremy, A Guy Named Guy, Threat Level Burgundy

The Blind Spots and Kardia

Zombies!

The Sheds

No Lost Cause

A Guy Named Guy with SkyanI

Survay Says!

Past Shows

2014
5-3 Bray, The Longest Monday, Everything Ever, Bone Circle, The Bailouts, Danny Cohen, Kyle McElhone 
4/27 King Django, Predator Dub Assassins, The Snails, Baked Potatoes
3/8 Bray, lastdayshining, Ampersand, Au Revoir, Yoma
2/26 The Takeaways, KLOZAPIN, Deadwood
2/8 (Show moved from RM to SUNY Oneonta) Ryan Eldred, No Such Noise, The Best of The Worst, Eli Whitney and the Sound Machine, A Guy Named Guy, Poor Jeremy, Threat Level Burgundy, The Phonies 
1/23 Stacked Like Pancakes, Baked Potatoes, District Radio
1/18 The Longest Monday, Ampersand, Bray, Lift Tom Lift, Veterans of the Cold War, Kyle McElhone
1/5 Lila Ignite, The Original Crooks and Nannies, Backslashes and Bad Ideas, Nice Try Kid

2013 
12/7 The Blind Spots, Kardia, Deadwood
11/4 American Verse, Storm the Bay, Broadside, Bray, Lift Tom Lift
11/2 Entropy, Baked Potatoes, Brian Milligram
10/12 Condition Oakland, Suburban Drag, Home Movies, Lila Ignite, Clayton Ravine, Lift Tom Lift, Surly Dylan Suttles.
10/3 Kills and Thrills, Dirtpope, Gravedancer
10/1 The Sheds, Ignition, Baked Potatoes, Bray
9/21 Deadwood, Ellio Vezza, Dan Rickenback, Frank Funigiello, Kyle Sisco, Kyle McElhone, Chelsea Coreen, Jesse Hermann
7/30 The Wife and Kids, Chris Clark and Nate Purcell
6/28 No Lost Cause
5/23 A Guy Named Guy, SkyanI, Chris Clark and Nate Purcell, Julia Maree, Skyfall

4/28 The Waffle Stompers, Survay Says!, Llama Tsunami, Uncle Joel's Comb
4/3 Placeholder, Eyes Wide, Frank Funigiello, Jesse Hermann, Elio Vezza 
3/24 Art Show: Jim Seymour, Joe Hamilton, Abbey Koutnick, Chris Chase, Jen Jump, Stacy Brock, Donna Wessel, Garland Mallette, Michael Shirk. 
3/16 SkyanI, Laura Carpenter
1/24 Survay Says!, Somewhere Up There, The Pants, Ignition, Louis Pratt

2012

7/21 May Weather

5/15 Lightning Killed My Parents, Atlas Arrows, Laura Carpenter

An Open Letter to Our 6th Ward Neighborhood

Greetings Lower-Deck neighbors!

Over the past year, you may have noticed an increase in activity coming from the once-abandoned storefront at 148 River Street. This activity comes from The Redemption Movement, a nondenominational Christian church, being up and running. In addition to our weekly church gatherings on Fridays, we make the building available throughout the week as a community center for groups and artists that would like to use it. Last summer, it was our pleasure to host a Narcotics Anonymous group and we are open to using the space to bless even more groups. There was a time when the little green building was the hub of the neighborhood; we would like to see this be the case once again.

One group in particular that has accepted our offer is local and regional rock bands. We are thrilled to be able to provide a place where artists and fans can enjoy the music they love without being charged money to use the space--all the other venues in town charge money for space rental*, making it impossible for artists to profit from small shows. We acknowledge that some of the music we’ve hosted has been rather loud, and the crowds may even look suspicious. I’m writing to you today to inform you what’s going on with the music, as well as to make myself available for any questions or concerns.

Addressing the Noise 

I want to assure you that we are doing everything we can do to minimize the noise level, and we are making improvements as we go. One precaution that we have taken is to cover the front windows with extra-thick sheet rock and foam mattresses for each show. We have also installed an additional layer of sheetrock and sound-dampening insulation on the ceiling and walls during the remodeling process, and we’ve established a 9PM curfew for amplified music. Additionally, we make available free ear plugs for concert attendees.

For our upcoming shows we are trying something new. We will be covering the exterior doors with thick moving blankets and we will enforce a new rule of keeping the South and West doors shut during the playing of music. The only door we will use during the playing of live music will be the back door that does not directly face a residence. If these new noise-proofing measures still do not dampen the sound enough, then we have additional sound-proofing measures that we can try.

Addressing the Crowds 

The fans of the music may look rough with their tattoos and piercings, but I assure you that they are some of the nicest, most appreciative, and even respectful people that you will meet. The shows we host are open to all age groups. There is no alcohol, no drugs, and no fighting. In fact, even the musicians make it a point to not swear during their performance and the bands help clean up the property after the show is over.

For young people, it is a safe environment to make positive decisions. You will find that one big difference between the music at RM and the nightclub environment where music like this is typically performed, is that we’re an artist-friendly venue off the beaten path. The advantage to this is that the people in attendance are not there to drink, they come to enjoy the music. This means that we’re not likely to have people stumble in drunk from a bar next door because a showgoer must make an effort to travel down River St, and few party-goers drink before 9PM.

Building Community 

One goal I have with these shows is to bring the Oneonta community together with all of its wonderful diversity. Therefore, I invite you to stop in for any activity at “The Ol’ Storefront” and take time to meet some of these great people for yourself. In fact, as a neighbor, I want to give you and your family free admission to any show that we host. You can find links on our church webpage (missiononeonta.blogspot.com/p/shows.html) to preview the music that will be played, I would even be happy to work with you to bring your favorite musicians to perform next door.

Not all of the music we host is rock. We’ve been known to host folk music too. Basically, we’re open minded with our music and dislike turning away an artist based on their musical style. This open-minded attitude and artist-friendly setup has attracted talented bands from as far away as California, Texas, and Florida. These are professional and nationally-known musicians that put on very enjoyable shows and attract fans from out of town, as well as out of state.

Communication is Key 

I am available for any questions or concerns that you may have about any activities that we host. You can reach me on my cell at 607.434.2564, email me: kalerandlaura@yahoo.com, or you can just knock on my door. I promise to respond to any concerns with a friendly and cooperative attitude, and I am willing to make adjustments to how we do things to better suit the neighborhood. Also, if you’ve not yet seen the inside of Kay’s old place, I invite you to pop in sometime. We’ve done extensive remodeling on the inside and we have plans to upgrade the frontage this summer.

Thank you for your understanding,
 -Kaler Carpenter
Pastor of The Redemption Movement

Stop by for a visit any time. We'll even bake some cookies for ya!

*There are a few local bars that do not charge bands to play. However, they are selective in only booking bands that will bring in customers. Additionally, they serve alcohol, which poses a problem for young bands and their underage fans.  

1 Year of Serving Oneonta and Honoring God!

Our little church has been open to the public for 1 year!

To honor this big achievement, we're kicking off a new teaching series to correspond with this season of Lent. On Good Friday (4-18), The Redemption Movement will have an actual one year celebration because we officially opened our doors last Good Friday. 

The one year celebration will be on 4-18 and will include an ice cream social, an act of kindness scavenger hunt, along with a Good Friday message. Here's the order of the evening's events:

6:00-7:00: Ice Cream Social
7:00-7:30: 1 Year: A Look Back
7:30-9:30: Act of Kindness Scavenger Hunt
9:30-10:30: Worship and Good Friday Message

What is an Act of Kindness Scavenger Hunt? Combining fun and service, we will divide up into teams, go out into the community, and spend 2 hours showing our city kindness and God's love, going off of a scavenger hunt list of small AoK projects!

At the end of the AoK Scavenger Hunt, prizes and gifts will be awarded, followed by a Good Friday message. Click here to RSVP on with the Facebook event page.

You're welcome to join us in celebrating one year and remembering the sacrifice of Jesus!

Breaking the Cycle of Defeat with 501(c)(3) Approval!

By Kaler Carpenter

We are pleased to inform you that upon review of your application for tax exempt status we have determined that you are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

This if from a letter that The Redemption Movement received on Feb. 28, 2014 from the IRS confirming our status as a 501(3)(c) tax-exempt public charity! Concerning the needs of our church, this is a huge break, and in regards to us first submitting the application to the IRS in the Fall of 2012, this is a long time coming!

For our church, what makes this achievement extra momentous is the fact it's a major step in breaking what I call "The Church Planting Cycle of Defeat." Because we essentially started this church without the support of a national organization, church planting has been extra challenging. As we labored to get the church off the ground, I noticed a "Cycle of Defeat" that we were facing. It goes like this:

No Organizational Support = No 501(c)(3) Status
No 501(c)(3) Status = No Money

One advantage of being a part of a religious denomination or national organization is that a new church automatically has founding paperwork and tax-exempt status given to them from their supporting group. Because we lacked this support, we had to procure this paperwork on our own. We moved to Oneonta in July of 2009 to start The Redemption Movement, and in May of 2011 we had our church chartered with Otsego County, NY as a nonprofit organization.

Despite this accomplishment, we were still not tax-exempt in the eyes of the IRS. Therefore, one of the first actions of our newly installed board of officers was to pursue this status, which entailed a mountain of paperwork and a $450 fee.

What makes having 501(c)(3) status for a church so important is that people and other organizations are much more likely to donate to you if you have it. This is how we operated in the past concerning giving: We told donors that, as a church and a nonprofit organization, they can legally write off a donation to us on their income taxes. However, if a giver were to be audited, the burden to prove to the IRS that we are indeed a church would be on them, and we have information handy that we promise to provide donors if they were to be audited.

For many, the prospect of having to jump through an extra hoop with the IRS to prove that their donation is tax exempt is enough to deter giving. This is understandable, especially when a person is also being hit up for donations from various 501(c)(3) certified organizations that pose less risk of an audit.

Because we lacked 501(c)(3) status, we targeted our past fundraising efforts towards friends and family--people with whom we had personal relationships with and knew our hearts. In the Spring of 2013, we fundraised over $2,000 via social media to launch the church. This was a wonderful financial boost that allowed for the church to open our doors to the public, but virtually all of these donations were one-time gifts, which meant that our new church had no consistent funding to operate on (the majority of our current church attendees are new to church and tithing is a new concept). And let's face it; nobody wants to go through a second round of directly fundraising to family and friends, especially within the same year.

The solution to this fundraising problem is to have 501(c)(3) status. The IRS was taking their sweet time getting back to us about this, so we looked to the support of a church planting organizations and denominations for help. Only, the problem with this is:

No People = No Organizational Support
No Organizational Support = No 501(c)(3) Status

Laura and I resigned our ministry credentials with our previous denomination in order to church plant in Oneonta. It was a difficult choice for us, but we thought finding another group to partner with would be easy. We were wrong. Over the years, we have looked into at least 6 different groups to partner with, primarily so that we can have help us with obtaining founding paperwork, which includes getting 501(c)(3) status. So far, none of the groups have worked out. Some didn't work because we weren't compatible with their doctrines, which included disagreements on doctrines like women in ministry and spiritual gifts (we are for both of these hot topics).

But the most common disqualification that we ran into with established religious organizations is that they required 20-50 consistent people attending our church before they would even consider processing our application. This is a huge roadblock for us because we essentially "struck out on our own" with just the two of us, instead of being given a team of volunteers from a mother church (as is the most common way to church plant).

I totally understand where these groups are coming from, after all, there has to be policies like this in place to ensure that your organization is backing a church planter that's serious about the work and won't flake out after getting approval. However, for a small church like The Redemption Movement planting in a small town like Oneonta NY, 20-50 people = a successful and solid church in our eyes.

RM Launch 3-29-2013

Most church planting groups think bigger than us. They tend to target bigger and growing communities, and they mobilize dozens or even hundreds of people to see church launch events where hundreds, if not thousands, of new people show up. I have personal reservations about the sustainability and priorities of this model of church planting that I won't go into here. But I will say that our approach to church planting is different, as evidenced by how we launched The Redemption Movement. Instead of spending our launch money on advertising, we spent it on community outreach and we had 20 people attend our launch (a number that I am proud of).        

The need to spend money on advertising brings us to the next leg of our "Church Planting Cycle of Defeat."

No Money = No/Poor Marketing
No/Poor Marketing = No People

My heart is to give every dollar donated to the church to community outreach, but the reality of our situation dictates that we need to use some of our resources for marketing in order to tell people about the church. Our church marketing efforts so far have been pretty miniscule. We've used newspaper advertisements, Facebook, flyers, and a banner, but without a significant amount of money set aside for marketing, that's about all we can do. To properly market the church and gain the attention of more people, we need more money. Scroll up to the first part of the cycle to see how fundraising has gone for us, and now you can fully appreciate what it's like to church plant in this "Cycle of Defeat."

For years, I've referenced this cycle and been optimistic that if just one leg of it broke than the other parts will be sure to crumble. This is why our church finally gaining 501(c)(3) status is such a big deal for us!

What about The Redemption Movement Proudly Paying Taxes?     

This is a fair question because our church makes it a point to proudly pay property taxes as a way to show our local community love and support. In fact, twice a year when the property tax and school tax bill hit the mailboxes, we put out a sign in front of the church building that says "This Church and Property Pays Taxes. We Love Oneonta." We also regularly post a blog article about our stance on taxes to our church Facebook page.

At the heart of our reason for choosing to pay property taxes is to be a witness of Christ' love to our local community that's overburdened with high property taxes. This high tax burden has led to hostility toward local churches by people who don't think that this tax arrangement is fair. Rest assured; we're still committed to paying local property taxes as a way to bring  healing to this situation. It's our hope that an unbeliever who's skeptical or even angry at the church for not having to pay taxes will see our actions, be moved by them, and ultimately consider our message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I think that our church gaining 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status through the Federal government for fundraising purposes is an entirely different situation than our church choosing to pay local property taxes for the purpose of being a good witness. For over three years now, our church has been trying to operate as a tax-paying organization. For reasons noted above in the defeat cycle, you can see how futile it is to operate a church in America without 501(c)(3) status.

Essentially, people and businesses are hesitant to donate to an organization without this tax-exempt status. In my personal observation, I find it interesting that the same people screaming, "Churches and charities should pay taxes," aren't donating their money to for-profit groups. Why? Because they can't write it off on their taxes. This is a different cycle of defeat that I think boils down to what's going on in a person's heart; because, when it comes to money, how someone spends or doesn't spend their money shows where their heart is at.

At The Redemption Movement, we're focused on ministering to the heart, and we're figuring out this money stuff along the way.

To Donate to The Redemption Movement   

If you want to contribute to the ministry of The Redemption Movement, checks are payable to "The Redemption Movement." You can mail them to:

148 River St.
Oneonta, NY, 13820

EIN: 45-3027565
DLN: 17053271349002

*Digital payment method coming soon.

3 Run-Ins Our Church Had with the Law

By Kaler Carpenter

Doing church outreach doesn't have to be boring. Faith is an adventure, and sometimes living out your faith means getting questioned by the police at 1AM with a car full of intoxicated bar patrons. This was what happened to me on a cold night in January when doing an act of kindness in Oneonta, NY, and this wasn't the first time my ministry efforts have been stopped by the Five-O. Being questioned by the police really isn't a big deal to me, from my perspective, it's a blessing because I have a very captive audience to share God's love with--which is exactly what I pray for.

When being questioned by the authorities, I think the testing of one's faith isn't in the questions from the police, but the test is in how we respond to the questioning. Doing the work of church planting, I've had three run-ins with the law and they have each turned out well. I attribute this to my faith, which instructs me to be cooperative with the enforcers of the law, and to even to show them honor (1Peter 2:13-14). In each situation, if I had gone with my gut and argued about fairness and fought the law, I am pretty sure that the law would have won.  

For Taking People Home Without a Taxi License

Back to that eventful and cold January night. The outreach was a free designated driving service. This is one of my favorite acts of kindnesses to do because we get to meet so many people, and at the end of the night I feel good knowing that I helped keep the roads safe. It's always a positive experience, even though it might sound a little dangerous (the God of the Bible is good, but not safe).

The way we do this AoK is to have two people go out during a busy bar night, usually it is myself and another volunteer from the church, and we use my personal car. We'll go out to downtown around sometime before midnight, and we'll park the car along Main Street, typically in front of a busy bar or pizza joint. We'll then hang out in front of the car with a chalkboard sign that reads "The Redemption Movement, Act of Kindness, FREE RIDE, Don't Drink & Drive." People will then approach us for a ride and we'll take them where they need to go for free. And when we're not driving people home, we're hanging out and meeting new people on the sidewalk.

Partnering with BASIC

This is an overwhelmingly positive ministry to do. Each time we go out, we get 10-to-30+ people home safe, and we get to meet more people just from hanging out. Many people will walk by and give us high fives. Sometimes strangers will give us money or pizza, and we have even gotten to pray with several hurting people. We do this ministry sporadically, and we have done it for almost one year without incident, with our first time being last St. Patrick's Day. On one occasion, we even partnered with another local church group and used their 16-passenger van, and we have aspirations of partnering with more local churches for this ministry in the future.

So what's the problem? On the night in question, we stepped up our efforts and added a new magnetic sign to the car that read "FREE TAXI." Which worked out spectacularly, as evidenced by people flagging us down for rides. However, it turns out that the City of Oneonta has ordinances in place about Taxi services, so the police pulled us over that night.

We were only one block away from our passenger's home, so they were allowed to exit the car and walk the rest of the way. We explained to the officer who we were and what we were doing. He informed us that he pulled us over because we didn't have a taxi license to do what we were doing. I explained to him that I didn't know I needed a taxi license to perform a free service, and instead of arguing with him about it, I trusted the teachings of scripture and I made efforts to be extra cooperative.

The officer told us to not continue the designated driving outreach until we made arrangements first with City Hall. He let us finish out the night, but his verdict meant that I had to cancel my plans to go out and do it again the next night.

The following week I contacted City Hall about the issue. Instead of making things difficult for us by having us apply for a taxi license, or instead of turning the issue into a city council public debate, the city quickly got an attorney involved who determined that the taxi ordinance only applied to services that charge money. City Hall then notified the police department about this, and the OPD informed their night officers about the law and even offered their protection and support to us for whenever we go out and do it again. We couldn't have asked for a better outcome, all because we were cooperative and honored the authorities God placed in our lives.          

For a Noise Complaint

The taxi license incident wasn't our first run-in with the police, nor was it our first dealings with city hall due to the police. In October, our church hosted a rock show that drew a noise complaint.

Hosting rock shows isn't something that a traditional church does, but it's an activity that a new church has the freedom to. We host rock shows as a way to connect with our community and to make a positive impact with our culture (RM value #6). Plus, they're just plain fun! Doing events like rock shows is also a great way to communicate that the church is people, not a building, and therefore, we have no qualms using our space for community events like shows. And it turns out that there's a need for an all-ages DIY venue in Oneonta that will give up-and-coming local bands a chance to play.

The rock shows were never part of our original church plan. In the Spring of 2012 we did our first show as part of a community block party, and by the time October 2013 rolled around, we had 12 shows under our belt. In DIY punk rock fashion, I didn't feel the need to check with the city about hosting shows. We have a newly remodeled building that's up to code, and we had the space approved for church use. I just assumed that playing music would fall under "church use."  And out of respect for our neighbors, we make it a point to stop playing loud music by 9PM.

In October, we hosted our first hardcore show, which is a louder kind of music than what we have had in the past. And out of the twelve shows we've previously done, this show happened to be our best attended and drew a rough looking crowd that wore black and had tattoos and piercings--a new cultural dynamic for our quiet neighborhood (with the exception of the Beer Barrel Inn just a few blocks away). I was not surprised when the cops were called on us that night, I'll be the first to admit that it was loud.

The reaction of the two officers responding to the noise complaint was priceless. They stood outside of the building and observed everything through our big glass windows and they seemed thrilled that the crowd was under control and no one was drinking. The police were cool enough to let the band finish their set, and I took talked to them about how we could do shows in the future so that we can avoid noise complaints.    

They told me that we needed to run these shows by city hall by obtaining an amplified noise permit. The next week, I visited the office of the City Clerk and asked about the required permit. It turns out that the permits cost $50 each, and would need to be submitted for each show that we do. This information was disheartening because it would mean an end to the shows. But I've got the stubborn faith of a church planter and a cooperative attitude, and I knew that this combination would bring about a reasonable resolution.

For the next few months, I worked with the city clerk and submitted a permit for each show and I even found a loophole that waived the $50 fee for nonprofit events. In the end, the city lawyer was consulted and it turned out that we didn't need an amplified noise permit for an indoor event. Plus, the city seemed impressed that, in response to the noise complaint, I took sound-cancellation precautions by temporarily boarding up the windows for each show with 5/8 sheetrock layered with foam mattresses--a homemade solution that cost me $100.

Since adding the soundproofing window covers, we've not had another noise complaint, and the city is totally okay with our church using the space to host rock music. This is another perfect solution brought to you by working with the authorities instead of trying to fight them, which makes me think that the Bible is on to something ;)      

For Being Just Plain Suspicious 

The first run-in I had with the law was actually fairly comical and didn't turn into a big deal that required the services of the city attorney. Back in March, I was in the middle of our 30 Days of Kindness campaign, and one of the acts of kindnesses had me go door-to-door offering homeowners free batteries as a way to show them God's love. I've already blogged about this outreach, you can read about it here.

Here's an excerpt from the battery blog telling of my run-in that I had with police while giving away free batteries:

I had a police officer stop me because of a complaint. Seriously. Knowing the ridiculousness of the situation, I answered every one of the officer’s questions with a big smile on my face, I even offered him some batteries. I was more than happy to tell him about everything that I was doing and how much God cares for him, at least someone was willing to listen to me.
After the officer processed my identification and everything checked out, he then reported to the dispatcher in his walkie-talkie, “It’s just a guy spreading happiness and kindness, over.” He let me go and I went on my way.

Living out your faith can be adventurous and even fun, and when you do outreach to your community in ways that nobody has done before, you're going to encounter people that won't initially understand what you're doing and their reaction will be to call the police. But if you're doing the right thing and serving the community with the best intentions, then the police and the authorities will be on your side and will want to work with you. There's no need to fight with the police, complain about them being unfair, and turning a complaint into a crusade against authority. Because when it comes down to it, both the church and the police share the same mission of serving and helping their local community, and I believe a big impact for good can be made when the two groups work together.

The faith the Bible presents is one of submission to our authorities. The presumption to this civic command is that a believer has already fully submitted themselves to God, and therefore, trusting and cooperating with the authorities is a faith exercise in trusting God, who is ultimately responsible for placing the authorities in our lives. From the experiences that I have just shared, I can say that trusting God by cooperating with the authorities instead of fighting with them produces much better results.

At The Redemption Movement, we will continue to pray for the safety of the brave men and women of the Oneonta Police Department and we appreciate their service to our community.

3 Successes and 3 Objections to Public Displays of Kindness

By Kaler Carpenter

It's rare when someone objects to an act of kindness, but we experience this from time to time as our church goes out and performs regular AoKs for our community in Oneonta, New York. At The Redemption Movement, we're not deterred by criticism. On the contrary, we welcome it because it gives us an opportunity to tell people why we do what we do.

Our favorite response that we like to give our critics is "kindness is contagious." What we mean by this, is that kindness is such a powerful force for good that it inspires those who experience it to do good themselves. This is why people that do random acts of kindness will tell recipients to "pay it forward." It's the givers hope that their single act of kindness will spread and the world will become a better place.

Free Sack Lunches for the Staff of a Local Hotel

When we do our act of kindness projects at The Redemption Movement, we hope for the same thing, but we're a little more specific with our acts. First off, our AoKs are not entirely random. We put a lot of thought and prayer into meeting specific needs with our actions. And secondly, instead of telling people to "pay it forward," we tell them, "We're doing this to show God's love." Either way you go about doing an act of kindness, the world becomes a better place and people are inspired to share kindness with others.

The criticisms we've faced with our AoKs isn't from spreading goodwill, or even serving in God's name, but the biggest objections we've heard are from people that are annoyed with how we show kindness in such a public manner. I will address this objection along with others at the end of the article, but first I want to highlight how one of our recent AoKs spread beyond the people that directly experienced it and impacted the world for good in a big way--because kindness is contagious!

The AoK that made such a positive impact was our outreach to retail workers having to work on Thanksgiving. We made 50 handmade "Thank You" cards that included an encouraging message and a $2 bill, and on Thanksgiving we went to various stores and passed the cards out to workers with a smile and message of God's love. In addition to the cheer that was spread, we have seen three more ways that this one AoK has successfully impacted the world.

Success 1: Our Local Community Took Notice

As soon as we got home from passing out the thank you cards, I wrote a blog article about the experience and posted it. I also submitted it to Oneonta's newspaper "The Daily Star," because I thought, "Hey, you never know." To my surprise, I received a call from a reporter the next day. She interviewed me about the AoK, asked me questions about other service projects that we have done, and she even inquired about what our goals are for these AoKs. Sure enough, the story was printed in the newspaper the very next day, on the front page!

Here is an excerpt from the story. You can read the full article on The Daily Star's website.

“As Christians, we are to show others the unconditional love of God, instead of displaying a holier-than-thou attitude and being insensitive with our religious practices,” Carpenter explained. “Ultimately, it is not about religion, it is about a personal relationship with God, lived out in a community of people known as the church.”

As a new church trying to get the word out to our city about who we are and what we are all about, we couldn't have asked for a better story. For years we have struggled to communicate to our community who we are, and with one AoK and a nice write up, this was achieved in a grand way. In fact, the article was better publicized and more attractive than if we had spent money on any form of marketing.

Success 2: A Long-Distance Friend was Inspired to Show Kindness

While we were making the cards for this Thanksgiving outreach, I  posted our plans and our progress on our Facebook page. One of my friends living over 2,000 miles away in New Mexico saw the post and felt inspired to perform an act of kindness in her local community for people having to work on Thanksgiving. She lives on an Air Force base and decided to bake cookies for the servicemen and servicewomen on duty during the holiday. There is no doubt that many people were cheered up upon receiving the kind gift, and I am amazed to think that those cookies in New Mexico wouldn't have been baked if we kept our kindness a private matter.

Success 3: Holiday Shoppers Were Reminded of God's Love

With the AoK receiving front page treatment in the local newspaper, the story was fresh on people's minds for the holiday shopping season. Speaking of shopping, one consequence of the Thanksgiving AoK is that we injected the local economy with fifty two-dollar bills. We chose two-dollar bills because you don't see them very often, which makes you pause and look at it when you come across one, and even think twice about spending it. With all of these bills being passed around during the holiday shopping season, you can bet that many shoppers came across a two-dollar bill and thought about the AoK our church did to show God's love. I got confirmation of this a few days after the outreach when a coworker approached me with a two-dollar bill he got back as change.

Kindness is contagious. We make extra efforts to tell of the world of our kindness in order to spread God's love and make the world a better place. I think that the objections we see with our public displays of kindness come from a misunderstanding of our motives. To clear things up, I want to address three specific objections that we have come across.

Objection 1: Public Acts of Kindness are Selfish

Some of our critics think that public acts of kindness are a selfish grab for attention, and that only kindness shown in private is acceptable. One woman posted this comment on our church Facebook page in response to our designated driving outreach. "Instill daily living participation in society is what's needed. Why does the generation born in the 1980s think they rule the f***in world?" And there was another young man (intoxicated) that scoffed at us when we gave him a free ride and handed him a kindness card with our contact information. He said, "I give people rides all the time but don't give out cards."

Giving Free Rides to Oneonta College Students

The point that these critics are making is that doing something nice for a person on a personal level is superior to doing it publicly. My response to them is this, of course doing quiet and regular acts of kindness is a good thing. At our church, we teach that kindness is a lifestyle and we encourage our people to show kindness every chance they get, in both big and small situations. And we're not trying to do public AoKs in an attempt to "rule the world;" on the contrary, we're trying to help bring healing to the world by making as big of an impact as possible with our service.  

Objection 2: The Bible Says that Good Works Should be Done in Secret

There are some Christians that will frown on public displays of kindness because of Jesus' teachings in Matthew 6 that says, "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." To put this verse into context, Jesus is talking about being discreet when giving money as a worship offering to a religious institution, not about doing good deeds in God's name.

Money complicates things and people are sensitive about it. This is why all of our AoKs are free (not fundraisers). We serve others for free so the message of God's love will come through clearly. Plus, Jesus is highlighting how Heaven's spiritual economy works by teaching that God rewards giving done in secret. This is in direct opposition to making a big public announcement about how much money one gave, which was the religious practice of the day. Also, Ephesians says that "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works." This truth, paired with Jesus' teachings to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven," makes it very clear that churches are to be loud and proud with their public displays of kindness.

Objection 3: Acts of Kindness do not Grow the Church or Get People Saved So they're Not Worth Doing

I have talked with some church leaders that will not consider doing AoK outreaches because they don't believe it will lead to people coming on Sunday morning. To be fair, these pastors are correct. It's a rare occurrence when we do an AoK for a person and then see them at our next church service (even though they often say they will come). But at our church, AoKs aren't a marketing gimmick to bring people into the fold. Instead, we do AoKs out of obedience to God's command to love the world, and we feel this command was given primarily to the church body, which is why we prefer to go out as a group representing the church instead of lone wolfing it.

The RM Kindness Team Moving Students into Dorms

I've also had conservative church leaders express disapproval to how we show God's love with our AoKs. Because we're not carrying Gospel tracts or trying to get the person saved right then and there, to them, this ministry is not valid, and to show love without an invitation to salvation is "liberalism" (btw, God liberally loves everybody, "for God so loved the world"). To be clear, we care about salvation and feel the need to evangelize the lost, but we don't feel the need to push salvation in every situation. We believe that salvation is a process, and for many of the strangers that we meet while doing AoKs, we understand that showing them God's love and proving to them that not all Christians are pushy and judgmental may be the first healing step needed for them to eventually come to faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the preacher with a Gospel tract.

We've been doing AoKs for a few years now, and yes, we still have the smallest church in town, but that's not what it's about. For us, doing AoKs is about showing God's love in a practical way. While we can't boast of record-breaking attendance, we can tell you story after story of all the good that we've seen happen from showing kindness. And in the end, isn't that what kindness is all about?

To hear more act of kindness stories, you are welcome to visit The Redemption Movement's Friday Evening Gatherings. Doors open at 6pm at 148 River St., all are welcome. Or you can join us on Sunday to volunteer for the week's AoK project.

How $100 Cheered Up 50 Black Friday Workers

By Kaler Carpenter

"Working on Thanksgiving is no fun. We appreciate your hard work. Here is $2, we hope this act of kindness brightens your holiday. God bless, from your friends at The Redemption Movement."

This was written on the inside of 50 handmade Thank You cards given to Black Friday workers in Oneonta NY, along with a $2 bill and another card about God's love. With Black Friday sales pushed back to Thanksgiving, we saw an opportunity to do an act of kindness for workers that had to spend the holiday away from their families.

This AoK was near and dear to mine and Laura's hearts because we have both worked a combined 11 years in retail, including our share of Black Fridays. In preparation for this outreach, our new church spent the two previous months doing weekly acts of kindnesses that didn't take money from the outreach budget (like leaf raking and giving free rides to downtown bar patrons). We also raised additional funds from social media. Come Thanksgiving we had saved up $100 for this act of kindness!

We broke the $100 down to 50 two-dollar bills, and with the help of volunteers, we handmade fifty Thank You cards. When Thanksgiving rolled around, we put the cards together and went out to brave the crowds.

Our first stop was Stewarts' Shop at the end of River Street. We gave a card to the cashier, who admitted that he was bummed out today and this really made him feel better.

Our next stop was the epicenter of Black Friday shopping, Walmart.

Thanksgiving 2013 at Walmart, Oneonta, NY

It was 7pm on Thanksgiving and the parking lot was so full that the customers were parking on the grass. We right away begin giving Thank You cards to the workers pushing carts and directing traffic in the 20 degree weather. They were appreciative and I enjoyed reconnecting with some of my former coworkers.

Sharing God's love in the dairy aisle.

We then entered the store and began approaching Walmart workers; who were easy to spot due to the bright yellow vests they were wearing for the occasion. Most of the workers were very appreciative, yet there were a few that turned us down because it's Walmart's policy to not accept tips. To avoid future turn downs, we folded the money so that it wasn't sticking out of the card. This strategy worked and we ended up passing out cards to 35 Walmart workers in one hour.

The best experience I had at Walmart was with an old coworker and friend who had been following the activity of our church on Facebook. Upon seeing us, he got excited and began telling his coworker about our church and all the different outreaches we do for the community. It was really encouraging to talk with someone that's excited about the ministry I do week-in and and week-out. The encourager received encouragement!  

Laura showing the staff at McDonalds God's love.

Before leaving Walmart, we payed the McDonalds inside of Walmart a visit. Laura gave four cards away to workers that looked busy due to the Black Friday rush.

It was now 8pm and the Southside Mall across the parking lot was beginning their Black Friday sales. Laura and I took our 10 remaining cards and gave them out to workers in JC Penney, The Shoe Dept., Olympia Sports, and Subway.

For the most, all the workers we gave cards to were appreciative as evidenced by the smiles on their faces. But the best reaction we got was from the worker we gave our 50th card to (a sign to me that God was guiding our steps). When I gave this young lady the card, her countenance instantly changed from "retail-friendly" to "awww, holding back tears."

She then put out her arms, gave me a big hug, and told me about how hard today was because she was unable to spend it with her family. She then asked me lots of questions about the church and exclaimed how much better this made her feel!

The most difficult part of the night was having to stop because we ran out of cards and money. This act of kindness was a fun and powerful way to share God's love with 50 people, and we really look forward to doing it again next year with more funds and more volunteers so we can reach even more people.

The Redemption Movement does a different act of kindness every Sunday. If you want to help, be sure to check out Friday's post on our Facebook page in order to find out what AoK we're doing next. Or you can hear about our outreach plans firsthand by attending our weekly Friday Evening Gathering, as well as hear a testimony about how the previous week's AoK went. Serving others with kindness is a wonderful way to share God's love. You are welcome to join us. Feel free to contact us for more details.