Presbytery of Western New York
E-Newsletter

June 22, 2010

Camping Scholarships
If you have young people going to camp this summer and you need a scholarship for them, please do the following:  Write a letter with the young person’s name, the camp (the place) they are going, the week of the camp and the title of the camp, the total cost of the camp and the name and address of the registrar of the camp.  Send the letter to the attention of Mary Lee Talbot, 2060 Union Road, West Seneca, NY 14224. The Presbytery of Western New York has funds to help children go to camp and we can provide up to one-third of the cost of the week at camp. As in the past we suggest that one third come from the family and one third from the congregation.  All requests must be made at least two weeks before camp starts. Scholarships will not be awarded after the child has gone to camp.  If you have questions, call Mary Lee at 961-8447 or e-mail at maryleet@pbywny.org. 

Wayside Barbeque
Wayside Presbyterian Church, 5017 Lake Shore Rd (corner of Amsdell), in Hamburg invites you to a drive through chicken and rib barbeque on Wednesday, June 23, 3:30 PM until sold out.  Just drive thru and you will be all set for your dinner.  Cost for 1/2 chicken is $8.50, 1/4 chicken and 1/4 back rib is $10.  Dinner includes your meat, two salads, roll with butter and homemade dessert.  Proceeds to benefit Wayside's Sunday school.

Books for Sale
Maryvale Drive Presbyterian Church has 10 copies of Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life (soft cover) for sale. They are $7 a piece. Please contact Rev. Dorothy Pearman at 892-4426 if you are interested in purchasing them for your church. They are left from our Lenten journey through the 40 Days of Purpose.

Please Join Us
For an afternoon of Pizza, Pop and Praise! The Worship Team, would like to invite you to our contemporary, family-style Service of Worship Saturday, June, 26 2010 @4:00pm @ First Presbyterian Church Tonawanda,149 Broad St. Fellowship Hall. *Worship * Prayer *Music *Fellowship.  All are Welcome!

FOR SALE
3 accordion-type divider doors, 8 ft 4 in. H x 16 ft. L.  Buyer must remove doors and track.  Good condition. Best Offer United Presbyterian Church of Randolph.  716-358-4255 or 358-9405. Questions??  Call Donna at 358-2521.

Elder Karin Zeigler named President of Presbyterian Senior Care
Following twenty-six years as President & CEO of Presbyterian Senior Care of Western New York, Inc., David R. Saunders has announced his retirement effective July 18, 2010.
    Karin A. Ziegler, currently Vice-Chair of the Presbyterian Senior Care Board of Directors, as well as Chair of its Quality Assurance Committee and a member of the Executive Committee, has been appointed the successor to Mr. Saunders, effective July 19, 2010.
    Presbyterian Senior Care is fortunate to have Ms. Ziegler become the next President & CEO.  Her knowledge of and long-standing commitment to Presbyterian Senior Care gives her invaluable insight into the mission of this not-for-profit organization which has been providing a continuum of care and services to Western New York seniors in Buffalo, Williamsville, Kenmore and Lockport for more than fifty years.
    Ms. Ziegler is a physical therapist by training and holds an MBA.  During her long career at the Erie County Medical Center, she held a number of management positions.  As an active member of Deerhurst Presbyterian Church, she has been engaged in a variety of religious and community efforts, including mission trips to third world countries.
    Ms. Ziegler and her husband and two sons reside in Buffalo.

Congo Leadership Initiative founder, Nathanial Houghton is attempting to raise approximately $2,000 in order to make his organization’s first Leadership Development Program a reality this summer in Kinshasa, Congo.  Because no actual marathons fit his travel schedule, Houghton’s solution is to create his own event called, “The Loneliest Marathon in the World,” which takes place in August.  “Registration fee is $0 and only one person is allowed to run in it,” says Houghton.
Nate has already raised over $4,700 toward his goal of $6,447.  Donations are still being sought.  Contributions in any amount can be processed through Friends of the Congo, a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization.
The Leadership Development Program seeks to educate a group of high achieving, Congolese youth from Kinshasa, teaching them how to break free from a culture of dependency and suffering in their country.  “Ultimately, these students have the potential to change the future of the Congo,” Houghton explains.
To make a donation to Nate’s Marathon, visit www.firstgiving.com/congomarathon
or to learn more about the Congo Leadership Initiative, contact him at nathaniel.houghton@gmail.com.

Handchimes for VBS
PWNY owns a set of handchimes, for which Janita Byars can arrange songs for non-music readers. If you would like to borrow the handchimes for the week of your VBS, please
notify Janita (janitab@pbywny.org or 604-6374). Choose the song you want!!

Instrument Loan
Two Djembe drums and an assortment of smaller percussion instruments are available for loan for the last half of 2010. In addition, a complete set of handchimes would be
available after August. Please notify Janita Byars (janitab@pbywny.org or 604-6374) if your church is interested in tapping into these resources.

Faith on the Fairways
Click here for a flyer of the Faith United Golf Tournament on July 31st.

Creating a Vital Small Town Church
Click here for information on the latest Holy Cow! free webinar on transformational churches.

Another way to help Gowanda/Silver Creek recover from flooding
We are still looking for ways to help the families that still need help with home repairs from the August 2009 flood. Sooo here it is!
We are starting a 3000 Club; we need 3000 checks for $50 from our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. GOD is calling youth groups, women's groups, men's groups, church groups, social clubs, school clubs and individuals to step out and show that we are CHRISTIANS not only by our words but also by our actions. Did you ever hear " LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU'.  How about " LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOUR SELF'.
Love In the Name of Christ is on Facebook now and that is how I will keep everyone posted as to how we are doing. "Love In the Name of Christ, The Movement" is the Facebook page. We have a web page www.gowandaloveinc.org and you can reach me by email at gowandaloveinc@yahoo.com
 
FILMS TO TALK ABOUT
continues this month on Friday, June 25 at 7PM at the Orchard Park Presbyterian Church.  Here's a teaser about the film.
 
The Visitor
2007 PG-13 103 minutes
Widowed professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins, in an Oscar-nominated role) finds himself drawn to a different rhythm when he discovers an immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his Manhattan flat and becomes wrapped up in their lives. Hiam Abbass co-stars as Tarek's mother, who forges an unlikely connection with Walter when Tarek is thrown into a detention center. Hope you join the conversation as to who is "the visitor." 
 
Presbyterian World
Click here to read the latest mission news from Presbyterian World.

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

Mission Advocates & Mission Network Leaders Joint Event
There will be a Mission Advocates & Mission Network Leaders Joint Event in Louisville, Kentucky, September 30-October 2, 2010.  It will be a great chance to learn about and to share best practices in mission engagement, as well as to network with other mission leaders from around the country.  For complete information, please see attachment.  For more details, please contact Ellen Sherby at ellen.sherby@pcusa.org.

We Need Your Help to Itinerate Mission Workers
As part of the Mission Advocate and Mission Network Leader Joint Event, many PC(USA) World Mission regional liaisons will be in Louisville this fall, too.  Their presence gives you an excellent chance to invite one of them to visit your presbytery to share the stories of the great work that God is doing in the world today.  For more details, please contact Carol Somplatsky-Jarman at carol.somplatsky-jarman@pcusa.org. 

Vacation Bible School and Skype
Many of our churches have already started working on Vacation Bible School plans.  You can order PC (USA) curriculum at: http://www.pcusa.org/vbs/index.htm.  Many churches are also using Skype to connect with the mission workers they support.  Why not connect the two – VBS and our Mission co-workers?  I think it would be a great way to help children learn about how God works around the world!  Supporting the work of one our Mission Co-workers could be the focus of your Vacation Bible School offering.

Presbytery 100% Challenge
So far, 16 Presbyteries have accepted the challenge to have every congregation in their region to be in a relationship with at least one mission co-worker.  Some presbyteries have adopted a mission to recommend to the congregations.  Others leave that up to the individual churches to decide.  A relationship with a mission co-worker involves –
-  getting to know who our mission workers are and what they do,
-  praying for them on a regular basis,
-  writing letters or sending emails to them and getting on their email lists, and
-  supporting their work financially.
If you’d like to know more about the Presbytery 100%, please contact Bruce Whearty at bruce.whearty@pcusa.org.

Availability through Conference Calls or Skype!
I am available to attend your presbytery mission committee meetings by speaker phone or Skype.  If you think that it would be good to have me ‘present’ at one of your meetings to answer questions about missionary sending and support, to take part in the discernment process for selecting a mission co-worker, or simply to hear your advice for PC (USA) World Mission, please feel free to contact me at bruce.whearty@pcusa.org and we’ll see how our schedules mesh for your meeting times.  
      - Bruce Whearty, PCUSA World Mission Church Support

Film and Conversation

Women of the Presbytery: all circles, all groups, come one, come all to view the documentary “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” followed by table conversations Thursday  11/11/10  5:30 p.m.
Nichols School, Flickinger Theatre, 1250 Amherst Street. Buffalo NY 14216

Please join women from across our community to view “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,”  a documentary by filmmakers Abigail Disney and Gini Reticker.  It is a moving and gripping account of Liberian women who in 2003 prayed their way to peace in a country that was being torn to shreds by decades of brutal civil war.  Beginning with a dream of one Lutheran woman to organize the women of her church for prayer, the film depicts how Christian and Muslim women put aside religious differences to come together for peace. Relying on their faith, wisdom, intuition, creativity, persistence and will, the women prayed, protested, demonstrated, danced, sang, and agitated for peace. 
While international media failed to cover them, they were successful in prompting peace talks and the eventual, peaceful exile of President Taylor to Nigeria.  The women continued their activism, and in 2006, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, was elected President - the first woman to be elected president in Liberia (or any African country for that matter).
We believe the film matters because it celebrates the extraordinary things ordinary women can do when they come together to pray.  It speaks to the power of women who transcend religious and ideological differences for a greater good. 
Few know this story and it is one that needs to be heard. We have much to learn from our Liberian sisters about vision and fortitude and courage.  And we can learn from one another and hearten one another in our commitment to the well being of our homes, religious institutions, communities, nation and world.  We hope you and your group will want to be part of the event in November.

Contact Persons:
Rev. Judith Brown Bryan 832-8580
Cornelia Dopkins 884-6621
BuffaloWomenGather@gmail.com

Summer Seminar from Alban Institute
Click here for information about “The Power of Story to Transform Your Leadership” on July 27-29.

Presbyterian Media Mission
Click here for news about Presbyterian Media Mission.

Island Church Celebrates 50th Anniversary
The Island Presbyterian Church celebrated its 50th Anniversary on June 13. Below are pictures of the event. The Rev. Dr. Lance Brown preached and celebrated communion with the Rev. Diane Phinney.  The Rev. Hal Tyson, founding pastor, and his wife Kay were special guests. At least 5 founding members were present.   

The doors to the Old Stone Church are open in Lewiston
A special Father's Day service was held in "The Old Stone Church" of First Presbyterian Church of Lewiston on Sunday, June 20th. Rev. Robert Bellingham led a multi-generational
congregation (and, for a brief time, also a cat that wandered through the open door) in a tribute to fathers and a reflection on the responsibilities of fatherhood. The choral
selection "What Makes a Dad?" also focused on the topic of Father's Day. The service included baptism of Dylan Jeffrey Brooks (son of Jeffrey and Jeryl Brooks) and Sophia Rose
Campaine (daughter of Joseph and Elaine Compaine).

Second Presbyterian Church of Lockport inaugurates summer series
The first of a series of outdoor Saturday evening worship events at Second Presbyterian Church of Lockport was held on Saturday, June 19th. Worship began at 5 PM, followed by a
potluck dinner. A program was held at 7 PM featuring the Fuller Center Bike Adventure and Biblical storytelling. A group of cyclists, sponsored by the Fuller Center for Housing,
shared in all events of the evening. They are riding 2500 miles this summer - from Niagara Falls to New Orleans - to raise $250,000 for housing. Pastor Barbara Wallace
demonstrated Biblical storytelling with stories about the leper healed by Jesus and about Jonah.