REV. DR. LANCE BROWN LEADS NEW TESTAMENT COURSE

Pastor Brown will lead a 5-Saturday series of classes on the core themes, events, theology, and message of the New Testament at North Presbyterian Church.  The series costs $90, and begins on Sept. 19th.   Register through Mary Mohlke at the Resource Center, tel. 631-0979 (Mon. through Thurs.). Click here for a flyer.

CHURCH GROWTH SEMINAR, OCTOBER 1-3

Pendleton Center United Methodist Church is sponsoring a three-day workshop, “Church Growth Seminar,” led by Revs. Tom Kraft and Michael Slaughter, Oct. 1-3 at Pendleton Center UMC.  To register, phone 625-8306, prior to Sept. 23rd.

WINDS OF CHANGE – PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN’S FALL GATHERING, OCTOBER 17

At MacAlpine Presbyterian Church, on Sat., Oct. 17th, from 10:30 AM to 2 PM, Presbyterian Women will sponsor a Fall Gathering.  The keynote speaker is Native American Janis Quinn, PW Church-wide Racial Ethnic Member-at-Large.  Worship will include The Motion Choir from Kenmore Presbyterian Church.
Click here for a flyer.

CHICKEN BARBEQUE AT AMHERST PC, SEPTEMBER 19TH
Amherst Presbyterian Church’s 52nd Annual Chicken BBQ will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2009, from 4:00-7:00 pm, at 151 South Youngs Road (across from ECC North Campus).  Tickets are Adults - $8.50, Children - $5.00.  You may “eat in or take out.”

INTERNATIONAL PEACEMAKER – AMHERST VISIT ON SEPTEMBER 25TH
 
Members of the presbytery are invited to attend a potluck supper and presentation featuring International Peacemaker Dr. Nazeli Vardanyan on Friday, September 25, 2009, at 6:30 pm, at Amherst Presbyterian Church, 151 South Youngs Road (across from ECC North) in Williamsville. 
Dr. Vardanyan is the Director of Armenian Forests, an NGO whose main activities are forestation, reforestation and forest protection in Armenia. She supervises projects on 740 hectares (1829 acres) of reforestation in Armenia, and she has also been coordinator of a working group on drafting of a forest code (forest policy) and national forest plan for Armenia. She is also president of GOY, an environmental/legal NGO whose main activities are environmental education, environmental rights protection, lobbying, public participation in decision-making and access to justice on environmental issues.  She is a licensed attorney in the Republic of Armenia.  She is a member of both the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia and of the International Bar Association.  As an international expert on environmental law, Dr. Vardanyan has testified at numerous international conferences and participated in drafting several international environmental conventions, e.g. the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Aarhus Convention, and other agreements.  She is a lecturer at the Russian-Armenian University in the capital, Yerevan, and coordinator of the Human Rights and Sustainable Development Working Group of the Northern Alliance for Sustainable Development (ANPED).
Please bring your own table setting and a dish to pass!

LINK FOR ONGOING INFORMATION ABOUT GOWANDA/SILVER CREEK DISASTER RELIEF

The following address provides a link for the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) website's information on the flooding in Gowanda and Silver Creek: http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response/usa/ny-western-flooding0909.htm.  PDA
has approved grant money for the Gowanda church and all communities affected.

MATERIAL TO ASSIST IN PREPARATION FOR WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY

Click here for a link to information about World Communion Sunday, Oct. 4th, when congregations across the denomination will promote and receive the 2009 Peacemaking Offering.

INTERFAITH DIALOGUES

Click here for Faithful Dialogue to read about how the number of congregations relating to neighbors of other faiths doubles.

5TH ANNUAL WESTERN NEW YORK ENVIRONMENTAL SUMMIT

Mark your calendars for the 5th Annual Environmental Summit on Saturday, September 26th.  This year's event, "Pushing Forward,” will include speakers and workshops to help you save money and improve your environmental footprint.  It will also offer an opportunity to learn about and network with local organizations and businesses. This free public event is from 9 am-12 pm, at Wick Student Center at Daemen College.  Optional tours of environmentally-friendly buildings and displays will be available from 12-1 pm. A free continental breakfast is provided so registration is appreciated. Visit
http://my.daemen.edu/academics/environmental_summit/form.php for registration link.  There is also a Tour of Solar Homes, Oct. 3rd, 10 am-4 pm.

SYNOD NOR’E-NEWS
Attached is the September 2009 edition of the Synod's Nor'E-News as a PDF file.  This is a one page (front and back) communication instrument we hope you'll use to share information about the Synod's life and mission throughout your presbytery.    It may be used in one or more of the following ways:
1. Print and include with next church newsletter.
2. Attach front and back side by side to one or more bulletin boards.
3. Send as electronic attachment to the church mailing list.
4. Make copies and leave them in prominent places for people to pick up such as in a magazine rack, in the narthex, or at the rear of the sanctuary.
5. Use as bulletin insert on Sunday morning.
6. Print multiple copies for use as placemats during congregational dinners.
The newsletter contains the following articles:

• Madagascar Update:  Rasendrahasinas Returns Home to Lead Church in a Troubled Land
• Presbytery of New York City Honored for Mission Giving by the Presbyterian Church (USA)
• “Hope in Hard Times” ~ 33rd Annual Racial Ethnic Convocation
• Equipping the Congregation for Outreach & Mission
• Who Do We Need to Become in Order to Welcome the Stranger?
• Presbyterians Minister Together in Western New York Presbytery Following August Flooding

The newsletter can be downloaded from the Synod’s website at http://www.synodne.org/mediagallery/album.php?aid=38&page=1.

WAYSIDE (HAMBURG) WELCOMES INTERIM MINISTER
On Sunday, September 6, 2009, Wayside Church welcomed the Reverend James Brazell as interim pastor.  Elder John Davern and Clerk Maria Glass performed the installation ceremony.  A reception followed honoring not only Pastor Jim, but also celebrating Pastor Jim and his wife Westi's thirtieth wedding anniversary. 
 
Pastor Jim and Westi come to Wayside from the Cincinnati area.  He brings us a wealth of experience as interim pastor.   The congregation is excited to be working with Pastor Jim as they begin their quest for a new pastor.

350.org AIR-QUALITY PROJECT
Click here for a letter from David Kowalski describing concerns related to the rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere.  The address for a related web-site is  http://www.350.org/people/faith.  Congregations are requested to engage in consciousness-raising events, such as ringing bells or handbells 350 times.

A BOOK TO OPEN EYES TO NATURE

Lynn McConnell has recently had published a brief but beautiful children's book to open one's eyes and increase sensitivity to the marvels and mysteries of nature.  "Grandma's Tree" is a book of 21 watercolor paintings with a simple, yet meaningful text composed by a gifted artist and writer.  Lynn beautifully portrays the yearly cycle of the crab appletree growing outside her kitchen window planted some twenty years ago in honor of her and her husband's parents.  She reveals the interdependent relationship of the tree with the creatures whose lives are intertwined with that of the tree.  The aim of the book is to awaken in readers, whose lives may be deeply immersed in today's electronic gadgetry, an appreciation of the fascinating wonders of the world of nature which many fail to realize because they are mesmerized by self-entertaining, technological  inventions.  The watercolor paintings with text follow the yearly cycle of a crab appletree from the rising sap in the early spring to its dormancy in winter and reveal how the tree supports the lives of other living creatures.  The book celebrates the quiet, ageless rhythm of life. The book may be viewed as one way of introducing children to the  fascinating world of God's wondrous creation and thus is relevant to Christian education.  With the agreement of presbytery's Council, Lynn's book will be on display and for purchase 
($12) at the next few presbytery meetings.  It may be useful for church libraries or one's own use.

PRE-PRESBYTERY WORKSHOP ON ECUMENICAL RELATIONS

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2:30 - 3:30pm Orchard Park Presbyterian Church

Carlos Malave, Associate for Ecumenical Relations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will be
with us to lead a pre-presbytery workshop to discuss the following:

• What are the major issues keeping the Church apart in our country and around the world?
• What can we do to change this culture of division?
• What are you doing in your community about this?

Please accept this invitation to a dialogue about
Christ’s call to be reconcilers!

GOWANDA EXPRESSES APPRECIATION TO DISASTER-RELIEF VOLUNTEERS

ADDITIONAL DISASTER UPDATES

Disaster relief and disaster preparedness are both valuable resources for PWNY congregations.  The link below will take you to Church World Services’ superb Managing & Operating A Disaster Long-Term Recovery Organization: A Capacity Building Guidebook:
 
http://cwserp.fatcow.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/ltrmanual2009.pdf   

There is still a need for NEW socks and underwear (all ages) in Gowanda and a need for diapers, toilet paper and paper towels in Silver Creek.  You can contact the Presbytery office to make arrangementsfor delivery.  Above all, please keep these people in your prayers. The Long Term Recovery groups are getting established while the immediate needs are continuing to be met.

Click here for disaster relief application information. Please share this information and encourage people to register.  It doesn’t take away from anyone else if you register and you may qualify.  Let FEMA make that decision.  It may also be a requirement for future assistance you may be able to get from the government down the road.  It only takes 15 minutes to register – either by phone or by the internet. Click here for answers to some frequently asked questions.