Presbyterian Women Attention, women in the congregations of the Presbytery of WNY!!
As women in the church, do you seek meaningful ways to live out your faith in the midst of a caring community of women?
Check out Presbyterian Women (PW)! Click here for our most recent newsletter - Winter 2012.
For more than 200 years PW groups have strengthened the Presbyterian Church and played a major role in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and in witnessing to the promise of God’s kingdom.
All women of the presbytery are invited to become active members of PW, whether individually or in a group.
To learn about active PW groups in the congregations of the Presbytery of WNY, contact Marilyn Koszarek, 694-2769 , the current moderator of the PW Coordinating Team. Click here for a welcome letter from Marilyn.
PW groups across the presbytery are diverse in every way, from their style of organization to their activities, but they all seek to be guided by the “PW Purpose.”
PW PURPOSE
Forgiven and freed by God in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves
• to nurture our faith through prayer and Bible study,
• to support the mission of the church worldwide,
• to work for justice and peace,
• and to build an inclusive, caring community of women that strengthens the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and witnesses to the promise of God’s kingdom.
All women --individuals and groups-- are invited to three presbytery-wide events, called “gatherings,” organized by the PW in the Presbytery of WNY. These gatherings are held in the fall, winter and spring. These events engage the spirit and energy of PW women through workshops, speakers, and worship. Renewed and refreshed, participants return to their local congregations empowered to follow the call of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Upcoming Events: WINTER GATHERING FOR ALL WOMEN in the Western New York Presbytery
WHO IS WELCOME IN OUR CONGREGATIONS?
EXPLORING DIVERSITY
First Presbyterian Church of Clarence
9675 Main Street, Clarence (next to High School)
Saturday, February 11, 2012
10:30 registration and snack --$5 also includes lunch served after worship
Please bring cotton remnants (any size) for the international project “Dress-a-Girl,”
to be sewn by women of Williamsville North Presbyterian and
delivered to Haiti by Sue Robinson of Hamburg Presbyterian.
Beadwork by the women of Uganda will be available for purchase.
Speaker #1: Rev. Dr. Stan Bratton, Executive Director,
Network of Religious Communities
Topic: exploring diversity
Group Discussion: Who is welcome in our congregations?
Speaker #2: Colleen Homer, Program Assistant, Buffalo
International Institute Topic: human trafficking
Worship leader: Rev. Judith Brown Bryan: dedication of our offering and
donated remnants
Worship musicians: Dr. Holly Bewlay and Sun Sook Park of the
New Hope Korean Presbyterian Church
Lunch 1:15
Please reserve by January 31 to your Cluster Leader or to Joyce Bailey 716-662-7380
Leadership Quarterly Memo The current Leadership quarterly memo for Presbyterian Women features a report on the Churchwide Coordinating Team meeting held in September, updates to the Together in Service initiative, and advice on planning a new year of advocacy. Announcements include registration information for the 2012 Churchwide Gathering, to be held July 18-22 in Orlando, and the new option of a digital-only subscription to Horizons.
Check it out by clicking here.
2011-2012 Horizons Bible Study, “Confessing the Beatitudes”
Sunday, August 21, was Chautauqua Day for PW in the Presbytery of WNY. Twenty-five Presbyterian Women gathered in the Presbyterian House chapel for the leaders’ workshop on the new PW Bible Study, “Confessing the Beatitudes.” Elaine Hotelling brought resource materials from Louisville. PWP Moderator Marilyn Koszarek recognized fourteen churches and Geneva Presbytery represented in the room, then she welcomed us all with a warm prayer.
PWP Spiritual Life Coordinator Gladys Gifford led the group through an overview of the PW Study, “Confessing the Beatitudes” written by the Rev. Dr. Margaret Aymer. Looking at the Beatitudes closely, we saw that “Blessed” could be translated “Greatly honored,” which changes our response as Christians. If Jesus honored the marginalized, then so must we.
Each lesson in the study leads groups to engage in writing a confession of faith. Rev. Aymer uses the Accra Confession formulated by the Reformed churches in 2004 as a basic model. We came to see that Confession of the Beatitudes means finding the basic TRUTHS and responding to those TRUTHS. What is true about God? -- about people mentioned in the Beatitudes? -- about all of us? What are we called to do about this truth? Hearts are already stirring to see eyes opened and lives changed as the familiar words of the Beatitudes are interpreted in this way.
We were encouraged to bring confessions from our churches’ study groups to the April 28 PWP Gathering and Annual Meeting next April 28 at Fredonia First.
Participants in the workshop on Beatitudes came from: Clarence, Westminster-Buffalo, North Tonawanda-Third, Hamburg, Kenmore, Deerhurst, Orchard Park, North-Williamsville, Curtis Park, Springville, Silver Creek, Fredonia, Gowanda and University-Buffalo. A visitor came from Geneva Presbytery.
Additional resources for leaders of the study are available at horizons.pcusa.org --reported by Presbyterian Women Coordinating Team
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