Where did we go?

Feeling stupid because you haven't heard from us lately? It's not because we're not listening to you but because we're reorganizing around here. Please bear with us during this time of transition. A lot is changing since we last posted, but underneath our commitment to you and the community we serve has gotten even stronger. We're completely updating our websites and have now moved our Grapevine newsletter and integrated it within our main website at www.hisbranches.org. Check us out, then visit our new Grapevine (link is under the "Home" tab) and sign up to get regular email notices when we post. Thanks for being patient with us!

K-Love/EO Interview

A full half-hour radio interview with Diane Braun, Webster Center Director, spotlighting Embracing Options aired this past Sunday evening Jan. 26 at 8:30 pm on both 88.1 and 104.9 K-Love and was not only very informative but a great success! Click here to tune in to Diane's interview with Peter Kratz, Regional Public Affairs Manager for K-Love.

Merry Christmas!

Glory to God in the Highest!

Thanks for all your amazing support this year!
We're looking forward to sharing 2014 with you.

  Dr. Bill & Susan Morehouse

Click here to read our Christmas letter.

Caroling in the Park

Last night we had a wonderful time of Christmas Caroling in the Arnett Bird & Butterfly Garden, led by a delightful quartet of Dickensonian singers from the Eastman School of Music called the Park and Hark Carolers.

Special thanks go out to the Arnett community members who braved the snowy weather to join us in an old-fashioned Christmas celebration! Despite the look of the weather, we were actually kept rather toasty thanks to a roasting fire, hot chocolate and warm hearts. Merry Christmas to you all!

Ray Dutcher. 1958-2013

In Memory of
Raymond E. Dutcher, Jr.

Our beloved brother, Ray Dutcher, passed away this Tuesday, November 26, 2013 surrounded by family and close friends, after a valiant struggle with cancer. He was a valued and faithful member of the Embracing Options Advisory Committee for years and also served as Lay Leader at UMC of Webster and had also been actively involved with Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, and Stephen Ministry. Ray leaves his wife, Laurie; children, Raymond III, Jeremy and Caitlin Dutcher; parents, Raymond and Barbara Dutcher; sister, Rhonda (Alan) Dole; brothers, Roger (Sandra) and Robert (Julie) Dutcher; and several nieces and nephews. An anointed funeral service and celebration of Ray's life was held today at the United Methodist Church of Webster.

Dutcher, Raymond E., Jr.

Webster: Tues., Nov. 26, 2013, age 55. He leaves his wife, Laurie; children, Raymond III, Jeremy and Caitlin Dutcher; parents, Raymond and Barbara Dutcher; sister, Rhonda (Alan) Dole; brothers, Roger (Sandra) and Robert (Julie) Dutcher; nieces and nephews; father- and mother-in-law, Larry and Norma Leisten. Ray had served as Lay Leader at UMC of Webster and had also been actively involved with Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, Embracing Options and Stephen Ministry.

Friends may call 2-4, 6-8 Fri. at Willard H. Scott Funeral Home, 12 South Ave., Webster. Funeral 11:00 AM Sat. at United Methodist Church of Webster, - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/democratandchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=raymond-e-dutcher&pid=168210540&fhid=13401#sthash.gYBBDMnd.dpuf

Open-Air Drug Market

Shootings and homicides are often just the fruit of the tree called crime. The roots are usually in drugs. Dr. William Morehouse has been helping people for 35 years at Grace Family Medicine on Arnett Boulevard. But how he and his wife Susan need help to save their neighborhood from the drug dealers right outside their front door.

"Is there a real safety issue here," I asked him.

"The patients certainly think that there is. They're very worried when they get out of their car and they see people like that and they have to walk past them or through them," Morehouse answered. "You battle it and you fight it and you say no not here. We've got patients coming in, we've got little kids; and they go away and then they come back," Susan said.

Empty bags of marijuana litter the sidewalk in front of the clinic. We showed them to Rochester Police Officer Ben Caruso.

"Why this quantity? Is is so they can't get into trouble," I asked him.

 "Well the folks out here are dealing in the hand-to-hand stuff. It's a difficult arrest," Caruso answered. "As fast as they're arrested on this charge, they'll be released on it just as quickly."

So how can a small inner-city medical clinic fight back against drug dealers? What is at stake if they lose?

Kevin Doran for WHEC-TV, Channel 8 News, Rochester, NY, November 12, 2013

RYO Indiefest 2013

Rochester Youth Outreach hosted its first collaborative TWISY (The World Is Still Young) all-ages music event at the Vineyard Community Space on South Clinton Avenue this past Saturday, October 25th, as part of the city-wide Indiefest. Our youth lined up and showcased 6 different young bands, including 2 of their own, and entertained over 85 participants through the evening. From organizing, to setting up, to performing and taking down, the whole event was a great success!