Now Homeless - An Angel's House Burned Down

I was at the place where Sylvia works at where I pay one of my monthly bills. I noticed that Sylvia and Glenda her co-worker was not at the teller line. I mention where was Sylvia and Glenda at, I thought they were taking a late lunch. I was told that Sylvia’s house burned and was still burning as I stood there in the teller line and Glenda took her to Sylvia’s house.

The answered surprise me for you think that as “Saintly” she is that she would not lose her home in a fire.

Whoever reading this blog probably do not know Sylvia but I do. She is one that never said a bad word. She has blessed me with a bottle of cold water and a peach on a hot summer day that I had to walk all the way there to pay my bill.

At times of our life for whatever reason that G-D in his infinite wisdom and love allowed this tragedy to befall Sylvia.

I am with a sad heart that this has happened to such a wonderful friend and fellow servant in G-D.

Many times in our lives, people lose their home, some to fire and some to evil property owners. We may never know why it befalls that person to lose their home. Some lose their home due to G-D’s judgment on their life but for Sylvia I just cry and wonder why.

Life in this town has been hard on me for I am not from here (read my other blogs about this town) many people try to make your life miserable if you are not from here but Sylvia is one of the very few that does make a difference in helping others lives and all I can say is

Why Sylvia’s house L-rd why?

Please say a prayer for Sylvia and those who know here give here a donation to help here in the time of need

You can also send in a donation to our International Mission Headquarters and we will pass it to her.

Your donations are tax deductible for we are a Non-Profit 501C3 organization listed in the IRS website as an Authorized Religious Charitable Organization.

Please send your Donation to:
Sylvia’s Fire Fund
DCW Street Children’s Mission
RIPE for HARVEST Mission #992824 N. Power Rd #113282Mesa AZ 85215-1674

Make the check payable to Ripe for Harvest and in the Memo section write “For Sylvia Fire Fund, Orangeburg, South Carolina. Thank You.

Thanks for reading. We are a 501C3 Non-Profit Org. You may send donations may be sent to:
DCW Street Children's Mission
RIPE for HARVEST Mission #99
2824 N. Power Rd #113282
Mesa AZ 85215-1674
Please make Checks Payable to: RIPE for HARVEST
and in the MEMO section write in: DCW Street Children's Mission or Mission #99
Thank You

Saying goodbye to a friend who loved and served G-D

My Friend past away this week and here is his funeral annoncement taken from the T & D Newspaper . We thank them for giving us permission to post the notice.

Funeral for AME Presiding Elder Willie Baxter to be held Friday at 11 a.m. on SCSU campus
Funeral services for the Rev. Willie J. Baxter, 66, Presiding Elder of AME Church of the Orangeburg District, of 1058 Bramble Lane, Orangeburg, will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 4, 2006, at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Center on the campus of S.C. State University, with the Rev. Preston Warren Williams II officiating and the Rev. Dr. Juenarrl Keith presiding. Burial will be in Belleville Memorial Gardens in Orangeburg.

The casket will be placed in Smith-Hammond-Middleton Center at 10 a.m. Viewing will be from 10 to 11 a.m. There will be no viewing after 11 a.m.
Pallbearers will be Orangeburg District Sons of Allen.

Honorary pallbearers will be Seventh Episcopal District Presiding Elders Council; the ministers of the AME Church; and the ministers of the Orangeburg District.
Presiding Elder Baxter died Thursday, July 27, at MUSC Hospital in Charleston.
He was born Nov. 3, 1939, in St. Matthews, a son of the late Eugene and Beulah Bell Jones Baxter. He received his formal education in the Calhoun County School system. He graduated from Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College and completed extensive Divinity coursework. He held leadership roles within the AME church in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Columbia communities.

Presiding Elder Baxter was licensed to preach at Ebenezer AME Church by the late Presiding Elder B. F. Sumpter. The late Rev. H. F. Bowman was the pastor of the church at the time. He was admitted to the Central Conference and ordained as Itinerant Deacon and Elder by the late Bishop C. A. Gibbs. Presiding Elder Baxter served over 40 years as pastor and Presiding Elder in the Central Conference. He was appointed Presiding Elder of the Wateree and Orangeburg District by Bishop John H. Adams. He served as treasurer of the Seventh Episcopal District of the AME Church.

Presiding Elder Baxter served in the United States Air Force and fought in the Korean war. He was an accomplished pilot and held the position of chairperson of the Orangeburg Aviation Commission for over 10 years.

Presiding Elder Baxter lived a full, joyous life exemplified by his devotion to God and his passion to uplift others.

Presiding Elder Baxter was predeceased by a sister, Margaret B. Stevenson; and a brother, Marion Baxter.

Survivors include his loving and devoted wife, Sarah of the home; one daughter, Gwendolyn (Eddie) Baxter-Oakley of Ayase, Japan; three sons, Quintin, Maurice and James “J.B.,” all of Orangeburg; two brothers, John W. Baxter and Eugene Baxter, both of Orangeburg; two uncles, Otis Jones of Orangeburg and Willie (Liz) Baxter of Brooklyn, N.Y.; two aunts, Katherine Major and Eula M. Baxter, both of Orangeburg; five grandchildren, Quamall Mays, Khylona Baxter, Ariana Oakley, Demenia, Kimberly and Sedaris Mays; seven sisters-in-law; four brothers-in-law; and a host of other loving relatives and wonderful friends.

Viewing will be from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday in the sanctuary of Williams Chapel AME Church followed by a memorial service from 6 to 7 p.m.

There will be no viewing at the funeral home.
Friends may call at the residence and Jenkins Funeral Home of Orangeburg.

Memorials may be made to the W.J. Baxter Memorial Scholarship Fund, 1058 Bramble Lane, NE, Orangeburg, SC 29115, c/o Mrs. Gwendolyn Baxter-Oakley.

They say you are not welcomed here - Hatred of people who are different

They say you are not welcomed here - Hatred of people who are different

Today I had an interesting conversation with a pastor of a traditional liturgical church here in town.

I have been a part of this church for over 4 years. I have been told many times that I am not welcomed here and have been kept from being hired for jobs that my fellow parishioners have had to fill for their businesses etc.

I have done volunteer jobs around the parish without pay as well as never a thank you either.

Many have used the excuse of my being handicap others just show coldness not only to me but to other members of the parish and community as well.

To them I have many faults

#1 First this is state where the War Between the States started and I am “not from here” as they will remind you continually. To them if you are not from here you are a D**M Yankee.

#2 I am an Orthodox Messianic Jew and am not welcome. Racial hatred of Jews is still paramount here.

#3 I am not rich nor well off so I am not capable of donating large sums of money to their “pet projects” They always have a project to send the teenagers of the parish somewhere. They have fundraisers to pay for the trip but there is no one in the parish that cannot afford to pay for their own child, thy act as if they are so poor.

#4 I am somewhat handicap, near homeless and many times without food because they as well as the community here have kept my business from succeeding and me from work because I refuse to go on food stamps or any type of government assistance.

This makes them mad because they think their way is the only way and I refuse, I have preached the same message taking social service, education etc out of the hands of the government and putting it into the hands of private individuals and churches, synagogues etc.

They think since I refuse to go the government easy way that I must be psychotic simply because I believe G-D’s way is the better and only way.

This Pastor as well as I have heard from various people have told them not to hire me for work. He wants to MAKE ME bow down and take government welfare. To put it mildly and I have told him such that I feel like he is trying to rape me, this may be strong words but it is the truth.

I have lost all trust for people of this parish community, and especially this pastor. When he hears I am suffering you can see the abundant joyfulness on his face, this is so sad.

Through all of this I Praise G-D and give Him all the glory and praise, Amen. Long time ago

I have learned to not put your trust in people; they will try to take advantage of you if they can.

I have learned long ago to look for the fruits of the spirit in a person’s life to see if they really have a deep & personal relationship with G-D.

As I see in this parish and at most churches in this town's fruit is rotten and will have a surprise we at the end of their life.

Do I go around and act out hate toward these people? No! I go about being nice to them and encouraging them as the Scripture says in Romans 12:19-21 (King James Version)

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

So this is what I do as much as I can I am still human.

One interesting note, one of the person’s that has tried to get rid of me came up to me one Sunday morning said to me” I don’t belong here. I opened my mouth and literally, G-D gave me the words to speak, I said, “I am sorry you are a bigot but G-D loves me.

She was a gasp and could not say anything I thought of Daniel in the lion’s den. She left and I found the pastor and told him what I said and he congratulated me. Unfortunately, was forced to leave and take another parish for he was not from here and not their cup of tea either.


Months later her husband was going to the same door as me in the parish hall, I opened it for him, and I said have a great day, you could see the absolute hatred on his face, but I smiled and was nice to him. As it says it heaps coal s of fire on him and that week he killed himself on their front yard.

For a church that is over 150 years and cannot get 60 people to show up for service shows the grounded hate that is prevalent in this parish as well as in this community.

The whole town is stranded in cliques, ingrowness and small family churches by people not fully trained who just got up and started preaching
One thing for sure, if you are different than them, they will claim you have mental illness. fraud or what ever to try to discredit you. Of course they are talking about themselves for they are looking a the beam in their eye

Matthew 7 (King James Version)
Matthew 7:1 - 5

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.


The census shows that people are leaving this area even the kids go to college etc, they leave for other parts of the country. It been said that in 20 years this community will be gone unless a real miracle of G-D and people’s heart truly change.

All of this reminds me of Star Trek show where Data put out a do not enter beacon out to keep people from crossing into the area of space that a hidden planet with a dangerous civilization is, this reminds me of this city and state.

Do not worry what the mad haters are doing but watch your back.

Go in Peace and serve G-D. Amen
©2006 by Rabbi Dale All Rights Reserved

Slum Landowners

Isn't it amazing that Slum owners will not fix your house but they want your rent money.

While I am against making more laws on the books, we do need a law against these slum landowners. MAYBE EVEN GIVING THEM SERIOUS JAIL TIME.

In the 5 years, I have lived in this city, all the nine places I have lived have all have been condemned except one, and that one had serious code violations and where I now live, will be condemned after I move out.

I have lived in three mobile homes and all have been condemned and demolished.

The chief building inspector condemned one place, a two-story duplex. The landlady a rich non-white, non-Republican business owner that made the city over rule the chief building inspector and rescinded the demolished order and had the building inspector fired.

When the aforementioned place, collapse due to lack if structure integrity or it catches on fire due to bad wiring etc. I hope that the landowner be held accountable for the deaths of the occupants and destruction of their personal property.

We must stand up to these slum landowners and their agents now or other, landowners will not repair their property until “something” goes wrong!

In our community, we have countless homeless and poor people and even a greater number of abandoned homes that are sitting vacant.

These properties must be bought from the present owners by private funds and sold to these people & enable them to fix up and bring the houses up to code.
Don’t let people that are powerful and rich who may just happen to also be non-white and non-Republican * gets away with substandard and dangerous

(*every landowner I have rented from has been non-white and non-Republican need I say more?)