news article
Upper New York Volunteers-in-Mission welcomes new coordinators
July 29, 2014 / By Beth DiCocco / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Upper New York's Volunteers-in-Mission (VIM) has two new co-coordinators: Roger and Donna Cullen (above). The couple, who are members of Clifton Springs UMC, take over for Dr. Sylvia Reimer, who had served as VIM coordinator since 2012.
“I’m grateful the Cullens are willing and able to step into this coordinating role," said the Rev. Bill Gottschalk-Fielding, Director of Connectional Ministries. "They bring years of VIM team experience and are known and respected by VIM folks across the Conference. They’re very committed to making a VIM experience possible for every congregation.”
Donna Cullen said that she was drawn to VIM because she was "looking for something meaningful and church-related."
"I wanted to help people directly rather than indirectly," she said.
For Roger Cullen, who worked as a finance manager at Cornell University before retiring, it was a desire to "really act as a faithful disciple."
"I enjoyed working in education because it's important for society, but could not see doing it for the whole rest of my life," he said, adding that he had become involved with Red Bird Mission in Kentucky, which "taught me a lot about the domestic side of things."
"Every one of us has a mission," Roger Cullen said. "Disaster recovery is a way to serve people who are in critical need."
And United Methodist disaster recovery efforts are there long after the media attention is gone, the couple said.
"(UM VIM efforts) stay a very long time and see that as many unmet needs are taken care of as humanly possible," Roger Cullen said.
The Cullens said it was Reimer who helped get them involved in VIM, suggesting that they take some training classes; they began about six years ago.
"(It) has just grown from there," he said. "It seemed like a natural progression, and once Sylvia knew she was leaving, she was anxious to find someone who had been doing this for awhile."
The couple had done trainings with Reimer and knew her priorities and were familiar with the Conference VIM's organizational and administrative aspects, making it a "natural fit to take over," they said.
Reimer admitted to feeling a little "adrift" after stepping down as Conference VIM coordinator, but said she plans to remain involved in VIM; she serves as representative from the Northern Flow District and is already planning a 2015 mission trip to 
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Reimer had served as VIM coordinator in the former North Central New York Conference, and when the merger dissolved the VIM teams, she agreed to help rebuild the structure.
"VIM kept going," Reimer said. "You don't quit just because there's not a structure in place."
“We’ve been blessed to have Sylvia guide the work of our Conference VIM during these first years," said Rev. Gottschalk-Fielding. "It’s been a labor of love for her because hands-on mission work is at the heart of her faith and life."
Reimer said that she had agreed to take the role for two years, and has fulfilled that commitment. Now the retired obstetrician is looking forward to not being tied to her cell phone.
"I feel like we have plenty of capable young people," she said. "If we old guys don't step aside, they don't get a chance to exercise their leadership."
Asked if she had any advice for the Cullens, Reimer said no; "I'm leaving it in very good hands."
For their part, the Cullens said they want to build on Reimer's strong foundation and focus on raising awareness about VIM and how to get involved.
"We hope to make it clearer to people where and how to plug in with whatever skills or desire to help they have," Donna Cullen said. "We want to make it more upfront and transparent (how to get involved)."
One group they want to get that message to is people who are about to retire or have done so recently.
"There's a large cohort of people who are retirement age, but still healthy," she said. "They have a lot of skill to add to the VIM experience. We want to help capture those skills and that huge cohort that's coming off their professional lives, but are still very robust and want to continue their discipleship."
"We'd be missing something if we didn't try to engage those folks," she said.
And engaging them – and other potential volunteers – means telling the story of the work being done across the connection, Roger Cullen said.
"There are so many people involved in mission already in the Conference who may be working without letting anyone knowing what's going on," he said. "For us, for anyone, that's an important story to tell, because once you feel that your mission efforts are appreciated and people are aware of what's happening, they want to become involved and you see the possibility of what can come (as a result of the connection).
"We are more involved in mission than we realize," he said, and "that's a story that needs to be told."
The couple also wants to provide "more timely news of what's happening," they said, and one way they plan to do that is by utilizing social media more.
Within the Conference, they said, flood recovery work continues in the Oneida, Herkimer and Fort Plain areas as well as in the Penn Yan area, and they expect many teams will be needed to address those issues.
"We want to get across to people that you don't have to be a skilled carpenter to help someone to recovery from flooding, you have to be a good listener," Roger Cullen said. "The work we do cleaning up or putting a house back together is the excuse to show up and be a caring presence; that makes a huge difference. Then, too, the house will be okay."
But it's the listening, he said, that's "most critical to the healing process; almost anybody can do that."
Along with its new co-coordinators, the Conference VIM also has a new email address:UNYvim@unyumc.orgthat can be used to reach Roger and Donna Cullen.