Presbytery of Western New York
E-Newsletter

May 4, 2010

Blessing of the Animals
Faith Church has scheduled a "Blessing of the Animals" during their worship service at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 16.  This service will be followed by a Microchip Implant Clinic for dogs and cats at 11:30 a.m.  A veterinarian and staff will implant microchips for identification in case a pet is lost.   Cost is $25.00 or $20.00 for two or more pets and/or with a pet food donation.
 
Spring Gathering of Presbyterian Women at Randolph United Presbyterian Church
Presbyterian Women representatives from across the area gathered at Randolph United Presbyterian Church, Saturday, April 24th. Leading the activities was Moderator Marilyn Kozarek (Kenmore Presbyterian Church). Participating pastors included Rev. Dorothy Pearman (Maryvale Drive Presbyterian Church) who was the featured speaker, Rev. Marilyn Hale (Portville Presbyterian Church) who led worship and Holy Communion, and Rev. Leslie Latham (Randolph UPC) who welcomed the gathering. Click here for a photo gallery of the event.

Children’s Disaster Services volunteers provide a calm, safe and reassuring presence in the midst of the chaos that follows disaster by setting up & operating special child care centers in disaster locations.  Parents are then able to apply for assistance and begin to put their lives back together, knowing their children are safe.   The information learned at this workshop can be beneficial to anyone working with children. 

In 2009, a total of thirty-nine volunteers cared for almost 200 children following the airline crash in New York, flooding in several states and wildfires in California.  We are thankful for a "light" year of disasters in contrast to 2008, where over 140 CDS volunteers spent 11,124 hours caring for almost 3,000 children after Midwest flooding & ice storms, Hurricanes Gustav & Ike, the Metrolink train accident and the California wildfires. 

This Children’s Disaster Services Volunteer workshop will train you to understand and respond to children who have experienced a disaster.  Designed for people who have a heart and passion for children, this workshop helps them recognize and understand the fears and other emotions children experience during and following a disaster and how child-led play and various art mediums can start the healing process in children. Participants will experience a simulated shelter, sleeping on cots and eating simple meals.  Once the training is completed, participants have the opportunity to become a certified Children’s Disaster Services volunteer by providing two personal references and a criminal & sexual offender background check. 

Although many volunteers are motivated by faith, CDS workshops are open to anyone over 18 years of age.  Children’s Disaster Services has been meeting the needs of children since 1980, and is a Church of the Brethren Disaster Ministry.

Click here for a poster.

Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship Program: Save the Date
North Presbyterian in North Tonawanda invites you to a special program about the ministry of Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship.   Please save Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 5 PM.  Denise Sciuto, PFF Associate Director from Erie, PA, will be speaking at our Saturday worship service and North Church will provide a potluck dinner following the service.  Everyone is welcome to the service and the dinner.   If you would like more information about this program, please call North's office at 693-7030 or Martha Francis (695-1020).   For information about Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship, their website is www.pff.net.   

Eckhart Tolle Study Group
The DVD “The Secret of Happiness” will be the focus topics at the next meetings of the WNY Eckhart Tolle study group. In this extraordinary teaching session, Eckhart Tolle shows you how to become free of fear, unease, discontent, and other dysfunctions of the human mind, by going beyond identification with content.  These free DVD based study and discussion meetings will be held at the Orchard Park Presbyterian Church on Sat. May 8th 6:30pm and Thurs. May 13th  7:15pm. If you are looking for inner and outer peace in your life this is a great place to start. Contact Dan Hay at 812-0179 dhay1@verizon.net or Carol Murphy at 662-6138 or http://www.meetup.com/WNYEckhart-Tolle/ for more info.

2011 Mission Yearbook Order form
Click here for an order form for the 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, which contains an inspiring mission story for every day of the year. Orders must be placed by August 23, and must be prepaid. The cost is $8.25 per copy.

Eight Complete Preaching Course
Congratulations go to the following people who have completed the 20 hour course on preaching taught by Rev. Howard Boswell:
Fred Cooley and William Devine, Westminster Presbyterian; Beth Fagiani and Isabella Fagiani, First Presbyterian, Youngstown; Lisa Nelson, Deerhurst Presbyterian; Don Houck, First Presbyterian, Buffalo, David Mills, First Presbyterian, Silver Creek and Tim Butler, East Aurora Christian Church.

Healthy Congregations led by Rev. James Brazel
This workshop for lay people and clergy will be May 21 & 22, 2010; Friday: 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Wayside Presbyterian Church, 5017 Lake Shore Rd., Hamburg New York 14075.
Click here for a brochure with registration details. Call Mary Mohlke for more information or to let us know how many resources to order for you. 631-0979, mmohlke@gmail.com

Learn how you as a leader can influence the health of your congregation :
•    How to detect and avoid unhealthy patterns of living together in community.
•    Find out how to keep anxiety from becoming infectious.
•    Gain confidence in responding to challenges, resources, options, and future opportunities.
•    Learn how to put limits on invasive behavior, manage reactivity, and overcome sabotage.
•    Learn to focus on strengths and function as the congregation's immune system.

God's View of Randolph Church
This is the scenic corner in Randolph where women of Presbytery met this past week.  Yes, it's God's view of the Randolph United Presbyterian Church,  the church that beautifully and functionally faces
...a corner. It also shows the new addition to the rear of the church completed  last year.  This aerial view also shows the manse in the lower left.  The photo was taken last summer from a small Cessna by parishioner Jack Berger, then age 87.

     Representatives of Buffalo Presbyterian Churches are invited to meet to network and find out what your Presbyterian Women’s Cluster TEAM of WNY can do for you and your church.

     All it takes to attend this free meeting is to RSVP to one of your Buffalo PW Cluster Leaders, Betty Johnson (MacAlpine) at 886-5097 or Sylvia Volk (Westminster) at 881-1424 or wnyjustice@yahoo.com. Click here for a flyer.