February 8th Roser Memorial Community Church hosted a Retirement Party to honor Rev. Gary Batey and his wife, Karen for their 14 years of commitment to the church

             Rev. Batey’s involvement in the community resulted in Roser Church being recognized with  the “Citizen of the Year Award’ by the City of Anna Maria in 2010. In an effort for the church to lead a Christlike life within the community, Rev. Batey encouraged many of their programs including the annual Thanksgiving day meal that is prepared for about 200 each year, the Bethlehem Walk and two Christmas Eve services. During the remodeling of the Anna Maria Island Community Center the church welcomed their After School Programs in the Fellowship Hall.

            Other pursuits  initiated by Rev. Batey included a mission trip to hurricane devastated areas, involvement with the Family Promise program, and work with Habitat for Humanity. Within the church he was active as a teacher in the Stephen Minister program in addition to leading two Bible Study groups. Through Gary’s tenure, the church also welcomed the meetings of the local Garden Club, 

Alcohol Anonymous and recently served as the voting place for the City of Anna Maria.

            Following the dinner a second Power Point Presentation was shown featuring photos of the Bateys upon his graduation from Seminary and photos of nine churches he served in Ohio before going to Roser in 2000. There were more specific shots from his first service at Roser until his last. From there the program moved on to a skit performed by Jill and Mark Morris who portrayed a Search Committee as they tried to find a replacement minister for their church.

           At the conclusion of the skit, brief comments were made by Rev. Bruce Merton, President of the International Council of Community Churches and Cornelia Zanetti , President of All Island Denominations . Following that the Bateys were presented with a Book of Memories and a Gift of Love in the form of a generous check.

Gary served the community on Anna Maria Island and the community came together to make the evening very special. Special thanks go to…

• The Anna Maria Island Community Center Director Dawn Stiles, Assistant Director Scott Dell and the Board of Directors for the use of the center and the Community Center Staff Members for assisting in so many ways. 

• To the Anna Maria Garden Club for creating and donating the beautiful floral center pieces.

• To the Sandbar Restaurant for catering a delicious meal.

• And to the Key Club volunteers of Manatee High School for assistance with parking!