Men's 710 of 2006 Each second Tuesday of the month, Zion Lutheran Church hosts a Men's Fellowship, which includes a complimentary breakfast and a special guest speaker beginning at 7:10 a.m. in the Fellowship Building to last about an hour. Visitors are always welcome to leave early if work schedule requires. Men's 710 Fellowship, open to all men. - Click to Enlarge. Men's 710 - December 12, 2006 Former Cape Canaveral Engineer Dwight Collier was the guest of Zion Lutheran Church's December Men's breakfast meeting. "How did you get into engineering," I said. "Well, it just turned out that way. I really started out as a technician when I got out of the Navy in 1954." Thus began the saga of Dwight Collier, born in Silverhill but citizen of the world and jack of all engineering trades, especially aerospace. He saw major engineering innovations in our space program during his watch! He retired as an aerospace engineer in 1987 from RCA-GE, but then went into environmental chemical engineering at the Baldwin Testing Lab. He ultimately got back into aerospace engineering as a telemetry specialist with Ford Aerospace. He even put time in working on rain station automation with Lorell Aerospace before working as a senior engineer for the space station with Lorell out of Huntsville. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - November 14, 2006 Zion hosted Hiram Johnson, author of TRAGIC REDEMPTION: HEALING THE GUILT AND SHAME. Hiram shared his story of how he discovered "God’s peace and forgiveness for the unforgivable." A moment in time can color a lifetime. What happens in a split second can change a life forever. Hiram Johnson explored the path he has walked and discussed steps of growth that brought him God’s peace and forgiveness. Hiram is an ordained United Methodist minister with over a dozen years of counseling and ministerial experience. He practices as a licensed mental health therapist at Crossway Counseling Center in Daphne, AL. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - October 10, 2006 Crop-Dusting Pilot Steve Vasko spoke to October's gathering of "Men's 710". Pictured at right is Steve Vasko and Steve's wife Becky. “It’s hard for a newcomer to get into crop-dusting, just because of insurance. It’s now very hard just to get the basic hours in to be eligible for coverage.” The implication? You have to have insurance to get into this life-game! Silverhill resident Steve Vasko, long-time crop-duster in Baldwin County, ought to know. He discussed how he got involved in those bouncy little planes that seem to go up and down and around the fields of Lower Alabama. He operates out of his own landing strip on his acres in rural Silverhill. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - September 12, 2006 Zion hosted Pastor Dave Johnson, Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church of Silverhill in September. Pastor Dave, tongue in cheek, stands next to "archaeological artifact recovered from Elat" on visit to Israel earlier this year. Elat is on the southern tip of Israel at the Red Sea. "There is a lot more to Israel than what you see in TV news clips," according to Pastor Dave. The Johnson family returned from a tour of Israel in May, shortly before the recent Israeli altercations with Lebanon began. "Compared to 30 years ago, the Israeli society has become more secularized, but there has been tremendous archaeological work connecting the present with the religious sites of the Bible." He discussed sites and status of Israel from an evangelical perspective as he showed slides from his tour. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. You will also find a link to view the slide show. Men's 710 - August 8, 2006 Silverhill Police Officer Stephen Killian (l) and Chief Alvin Coggins (r) explored Silverhill growth and public safety issues with the August men's gathering. The Town of Silverhill is on State Highway 104, the only unobstructed and straight route connecting major Highways 59 and 98. "Traffic through Silverhill has tripled in just the last four years. It is steady all day and thins out only after 8 or 9 in the evening," Coggins noted. Come August 10 and the start of school, the traffic virtually doubles until the end of the school year. Chief Coggins, originally from Birmingham, and Officer Stephen Killian, from Fairhope, are concerned with public safety in Silverhill, along with traffic issues, and crime. They explored a variety of police concerns relating to local growth. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - July 11, 2006 Former Silverhill Mayor and car buff Frankie Kucera was our July guest speaker. Kucera’s interest in classic vehicles is revealed in his display case to his right. What does Silverhill, antique cars, and support for the town library have in common? It is Frankie Kucera. He is a former Mayor of Silverhill and organizer of Silverhill’s Antique Auto Show, a fund-raiser on behalf of the historic Oscar Johnson Silverhill Memorial Library. A long-time resident of Silverhill, Frankie Kucera discussed the history of Silverhill and directions for growth for the community and Baldwin County. He brought his unique perspective on building support to the area’s culture and activities with his own unique interactive discussion. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - June 13, 2006 "Men's 710" breakfast for June 13 hosted former Rosinton Pastor Joe Curtis who discussed the practical concerns of living with cancer. Joe Curtis was a United Methodist Church pastor for 24 years, some of those years in Rosinton, so Pastor Joe is familiar to many in Baldwin County. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1993 then multiple myeloma. His cancer has been in remission since last September, but painful compression fractures have resulted from the cancer's bone complications. There came a time when "I couldn't preach any more--I had to give it up in December 2004". An Alabamian from Luverne just south of Montgomery, Joe has been married to Michelle for 15 years and they have two daughters, Kristen and Erin. The family resides in beautiful Silverhill. With a strong interest in church history, Pastor Joe has served on the UMC General Commission Archives in History (one of only nineteen from around the world) as well as serving on the Conference Archives Committee and other history special interest groups. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - May 9, 2006 Dr. Phil Bell who practices with Providence Family Physicians in Robertsdale explored his own faith journey and an interesting “Christian” analogy with the men's May meeting. He is a graduate of USA’s College of Medicine and has specific training in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine. Like the Dr. Phil of TV, our Dr. Phil Bell seeks to share his understanding of how to succeed in this world of ours, how to draw on the wisdom of the Christian life experience to understand ourselves and our relationships. Dr. Phil is a member of “The Faith Family” at Spanish Fort. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - April 11, 2006 "Butterfly Ministries" Maria and Allen Bechle of Colorado shared their stroke education ministry at the April meeting. Because of the universal interest in stroke issues, Zion invited the ladies to this unique event as well. “Broken minds and broken bodies make people mad! Simply put, disability brings anger. But anger is a choice. Our God offers grace to overcome brokenness and anger.” Maria Bechle speaks softly from the perspective of a background of childhood polio. Husband Allen, whose first spouse suffered long-term consequences of stroke, points out that “we really feel that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing we share when we bring a stroke education event to any group. Jesus changes things.” Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - March 14, 2006 New Camp Dixie Director, Marty Miller, spoke on “The Challenges of Church Camp Ministry in the 21st Century”. He discussed the potential of summer camp ministry changing lives. Although summer camp is the kind of camping most of us grew up with, there is more to camping these days. Marty explored the developing Camp Dixie retreat ministry and how it will impact related church and community services. Marty has served on the staffs of Camp Omega (MN), Camp Pioneer (NY), Camp Lakeview (IN), and now Baldwin County’s Lutheran Camp Dixie. Hailing from the North Star State’s Brooklyn Park and graduating from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Marty found and married Kim from Mayer, MN, and of course they are both now down on Perdido Bay at beautiful Camp Dixie. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - February 14, 2006 February's speaker, Retired Special Agent Bob Pawson, began serving in the United States Secret Service in 1969 after leaving army intelligence. Bob Pawson was at this Secret Service business for twenty-six years, conducting financial crime investigations, and protecting Presidents, former Presidents, and Foreign Heads of State visiting Armerica. He has traveled to twenty-four foreign countries on Presidential, Vice Presidential and former Presidential Protective Details. Bob was assigned to the White House for Presidential Protection during the Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter Administrations, and was later assigned to former President Carter in Plains, GA. He ultimately transferred to the Birmingham office of the Secret Service and retired there in 1995. Recently he relocated to Daphne. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. Men's 710 - January 10, 2006 Silverhill Mayor Allen Green explored big changes in local community response to catastrophic events. Silverhill suffered the same problems as other communities in Baldwin after Ivan and after Katrina. Mayor Green and other elected officials have been scrambling to address issues raised by these catastrophic storms. Click here to read more about this fellowship meeting. All men of Baldwin County are cordially invited to a complimentary light breakfast and a speaker of interest to men each month. The men gather in the newly constructed church fellowship hall of Zion Lutheran Church, located one block south of Highway 104 at the corners of 7th Street and 4th Avenue in beautiful Silverhill. Information concerning Men's 710 can be obtained by calling 945-5209. Click here to see past gatherings of Men's 710 from 2005. Click here to see past gatherings of Men's 710 from 2004.