Presbytery of Western New York
E-Newsletter

Rosie "Red" Swan Enhances  Pentecost

  Pentecost in the Randolph United Presbyterian Church is one red Sunday for the Lord and Rosie "Red" Swan does her part and then some.  Swan enhanced the 100 bright Geranium memorial plants as well as parishioners wearing red to celebrate Pentecost.   A wild dresser for the church's special occasions the Pentecost observance brought out the color  and energy of this exciting parishioner. While many of the geraniums were taken home by their owners  the remainder will planted in the church's new flower garden as a reminder of the beautiful Christian Celebration on the Seventh Sunday after Easter.
Photo by Jack Berger

Recital at East Aurora
Brett Shurtliffe, Associate Principal Double Bass with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, will present a recital of solo works for the double bass at First Presbyterian Church in East Aurora, NY on Friday, June 11th, at 7 PM.  Pianist Bryan Boyce will accompany the recital.
Shurtliffe has become a popular performer in the Western New York region. He has presented recitals at Canisius College and in East Aurora, NY. His artistry and imagination create entertaining and engaging programs that include moments of amusement and profundity. Shurtliffe is a past winner of top honors at the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. The concert is highly recommended for all ages.  Students of string instruments may be dazzled by his virtuosity, but all listeners will enjoy the expressive range Shurtliffe brings to the program. The concert is free and open to the public. A free will donation will be accepted. A reception will follow the concert.
First Presbyterian Church is at the corner of Main (20A) and Paine Streets in the village of East Aurora. Parking is available in the lot behind the Main Street entrance.
For information, contact Kathleen Keenan-Takagi, (716) 832-2226  or keentakagi@aol.com or the Church office, 652-0160

Eckhart Tolle at Orchard Park
The next meeting of the WNY Eckhart Tolle study group will be Sat June 12th at 6:30pm at the Orchard Park Presbyterian Church 4369 S.Buffalo O.P. NY 14127 and will feature a guest presenter! Tolle often references Zen Buddhism in his teachings and to that end we have invited Ray Ball, a long time Zen practitioner and leader to present and lead discussion of the DVD entitled “The Still Point: Introduction to Zen Meditation.”
 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 for more information.
 

On May 23, 2010 First Presbyterian Lockport celebrated the confirmation of 10 members!
First Row: Marissa Bleiler, Nolyn Brunner, Lauren O'Brien
Second Row: Peter Traversone, Marshay Logan, Justin Lamont, Michael Lantinen, Alex Gamache, Brennan D'Angelo
Third Row: Brian Smist
Congratulations to all these fine young men and women!
 
Huge Rummage Sale 
Amherst Presbyterian Church will have its Annual “Huge” Rummage Sale, Saturday, June 5th from 9:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. at its church 151 South Youngs Road, Williamsville (across from ECC North campus).  There will be a $3 bag sale the last ½ hour!  Come and find some needed sports equipment, toys, books, house wares, furniture, clothes for adults and kids, jewelry and more.  There will even be some tasty treats to enjoy while you shop!

New from the Resource Center
New resources, (DVDs, CDs and books) recently added to the Resource Center are ready for your use. Click here to see the list. The Resource Center, located in North Presbyterian Church, Williamsville is staffed 9-noon Mon-Thurs. Call and make an appointment to visit at other times. 631-0979, mmohlke@gmail.com.

Presbyterian Leader
Click here for the latest issue of The Presbyterian Leader.

Volunteers needed in Southern Tier
Tri-County Disaster Recovery is in need of volunteers during June (the entire month) for “hard labor” – concrete work, basic carpentry, heavy lifting and general “grunt” work.  They have been given a discount on an excavator for the month and are helping to repair collapsing foundations.  If you and/or a work group are able to provide any time at all, please call Tom Gould, Project Manager, at 716-725-4219.  There are at least 3 big jobs they will be working on and no volunteers are currently scheduled for June.

Renewed Partnership/Global Mission Opportunity
South African Work Group of PWNY
Do you have a heart for global mission?
We are excited to offer the opportunity for involvement in the latest mission trip of the newly revived South Africa Work Group.  The partnership between the Presbytery of Western New York and the Wynberg Presbytery was initiated 25 years ago and is one of the oldest partnerships in the PCUSA.  Further, it is the only one with the South African denomination that gave birth, under apartheid, to the Belhar Confession. The South Africa partnership exemplifies the WNY Presbytery’s goals of enhancing collaborative mission and communication, and in equipping lay leaders and pastors who make the trip to South Africa.
    We have been invited by the Wynberg Presbytery( Cape Town, South Africa) for a late October-early November 2010 trip.
    In a recent conversation with representative pastors from the Wynberg Presbytery, a number of topics for shared learnings were mentioned.  Christian education for young people, youth work, Sunday school, music for choirs, and AIDS education projects were mentioned.  In addition, there was the hope for sharing views on theological issues in an afternoon-evening conference. The focus of our trip is to formally complete our previous conenant obligations or (preferably) renew the ecumenical partnership for a new era- both in the life of our Presbytery and in post-apartheid South Africa, the “rainbow nation”.  The deadline for submission of an application is June 21, 2010.     Questions or concerns?  Email- mlhgeorge@verizon.net - or 316-6968
   
Gratitude for Military Chaplains
Click here to read the new blog from Stated Clerk Gradeye Parsons about military chaplains.

Director of Music (DOM) Hamburg Presbyterian Church
Hamburg Presbyterian Church recently had some “good news/bad news” regarding one of our staff.  The “bad news” is that Josh Fehskens, our part time 20 hour a week Director of Music (DOM) has resigned.  The “good news” is that he was able to find a full time 40 hour a week position with the BPO…we are so happy for Josh.   He has been such a blessing moving HPC gradually to more contemporary music in conjunction with maintaining familiar traditional music.  We are now searching for his replacement as DOM.  Anyone having interest in receiving the job description, please contact the HPC office at 649-1970 or hpc.hpc@verizon.net. Karen Hummel, Co-Chair of DOM Search Committee