THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY UCC

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1 THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY UCC 9365 Clarence Center Rd, Clarence Center, NY (716) Website: Facebook: Epiphany UCC Family Pastor: Lori Keller Burns Office: 9:30-2:30 M, W. TH September 2018 Recently, while preparing for the start of school, I had a flashback to some first-week-of-school English assignment forever etched in my memory. Write an essay about what you did during summer vacation I remembered taking a deep, labored breath; as a rule, my family did not do anything worthy of an essay during any summer vacation. My father worked and doodled around in the garage and in the yard, grumbling. My mother kept the house clean and complained about the humidity. I confess (now) that I wrote a lot of fiction for those essays historical fiction. However, if I would have that assignment this year, as the pastor of Epiphany UCC, I would not have to resort to fiction! We have successfully collected over 3000 pencils (thus far) for The Teacher s Desk, easily and quickly surpassing our original goal of 2018 pencils! We have successfully collected an overflowing paper case worth of trial-sized toiletries for St. Luke s Mission of Mercy! We have successfully completed Epiphany s first Vacation Bible School in Clarence Center notably, a unique all-adult program which has been lauded by our fellow UCC churches and for which we had the request from participants to do it again (and perhaps more often)! We have started the ReDiscover program which meets twice per month and has already been well attended by Confirmands, their Mentors, and other interested adults! We had one VERY successful work day and are looking forward to a Mulching Party in preparation for Labor Day Parking! Our Teams are busy working on their sections of the Bylaws in anticipation of presenting suggested updates at a future congregational meeting! We had made plans for Rockin Sunday, a unique extravaganza including outdoor worship, a backpack blessing, entertainment, food and vendors! We had made plans for a different style of Stewardship campaign in October, designed to engage members and friends of Epiphany in an exploration of our individual and community gifts! WHO SAYS CHURCH SLOWS DOWN IN THE SUMMER?!?!?1? All this is in addition to the many activities of many of our members and friends! Some have been at the beach; others have been at the lake. Some have been camping and cabining locally; others have been seeing the world (literally)! At least one family moved a new family member into their home, and at least one family added a VERY cute puppy to their family! There have been days spent hiding from the heat and days Spent baking in the sun. Festivals and fairs, reunions and family picnics, ballgames and golfing it is hard to imagine how we ever had time to sit down! I never realized before how much the coming of fall means coming in, coming home, or coming back for so many of us! I too am starting to feel the settle down of fall, as I notice our hummingbirds preparing for departure, and the leave in our neighbor s yard just beginning to turn and fall. Summer vacation is coming to an end; it s time to write that essay! For those of us who find ourselves coming in, coming home, or coming back, WELCOME (AGAIN)! Please don t hesitate to share your experiences! Bring the photos of your adventures to church! Tell the stories of your encounters with the Spirit out there! Tell us where you found peace! Share with us the lessons learned on your journeys! The scriptures say that when one suffers, we all suffer, and when one finds joy, we all find joy! No fiction, just fact: we are the Body of Christ whether gathered or scattered, but it is a wonderful thing when we can be together to encourage and support one another! Blessings, Pastor Lori INSIDE THIS ISSUE President 1 Facilities, Office, Stats & Memorial 2 Sunday School, Women s Fellowship Fundraising, Family Events & Youth Group 3 Outreach, Wear N Share, Birthdays New York Conference My Thoughts 5 September Schedule & Calendar 6 Ads 7

2 THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 2 Fellow Members, I hope you are all enjoying the summer and the beautiful weather we have had. Our family has been very busy and have not been in church nearly as much as we like to be. Whenever we are unable to attend church, our week is not complete. Even though we love summer and the kids being on break, we always look forward to fall and school activities starting. This means church activities, team meetings and attendance is also going to pick up and flourish. It is an exciting time to reconnect with church friends and family. I strongly encourage everyone to prayerfully consider how much you can get more involved at church this fall and going forward. Whether that means joining a team, attending more events or helping out around church. It all benefits Epiphany and truly enriches your life. Being involved gives everyone a chance to make friends and give back to our community and the church provides us with so much love and support. I am proud to say that our family involvement has not only enriched our lives, it has given us some of our best friends. Please find ways to get involved, and thanks to those that already are. It is not only God s way, but it can be life changing in many ways. God Bless and see you soon, Scott H. Howell Epiphany UCC President Sunday, September 9, am 4 pm 10:00 AM Outdoor Worship featuring a Backpack Blessing and local musicians Students (of all ages) and Teachers (of all kinds): bring your backpacks, book bags, and briefcases for a special blessing for the school year! 11:30 AM-4:00 PM Food and Entertainment Chiavetta s Chicken Dinner- $15 ticket (portion of proceeds to benefit Wear n Share) Includes chicken, potato salad, coleslaw and roll. Kid s meals available (presale only) for $5! Call or see a church member for presale tickets! Live Music Under the Tent featuring Crash Pad and other local area musicians Vendor/Crafter Fair located inside the white building, don t miss the basket raffle and door prize! Bake and Beverage Sale featuring homemade baked goods, snacks, soda and water Games and Activities for Children Rockin Sunday End of Summer Bash

3 THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 3 Stewardship.. The UCC Stewardship Theme is What Shall We Bring? - a theme which allows us to focus some attention on time and talent as well as treasure. The Stewardship Campaign will be presented the entire month of October, leading up to Stewardship Sunday on November 11th. The October Newsletter will be dedicated to Stewardship. It will be reduced and include the most pertinent pages so all Stewardship materials could be included in this newsletter. If anyone in the congregation does not receive the newsletter, their Stewardship packet will be mailed. We will also have extra Stewardship packets in the back of the church. Look for your Stewardship materials in the October Newsletter! What Shall We Bring to this Stewardship Campaign! VITAL STATISTIC 07/16/ /15/2017 Please report any changes you may have in your address/ phone number. This will save the Church money. Thank You Change of Address: Lorrie Siper Harris Hill Nursing Facility 2699 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY Funeral: 07/17 Daniel Trietley MEMORIALS 07/16/17-08/15/17 DONATIONS TO BUILDING FUND: In Honor of Our 55th Wedding Anniversary to the David Wells Scholarship Fund From: Bud & Emmy Hess In Memory Of: Daniel Trietley to the Building Fund From: Jeannette Noel MEMORIAL GIFTS HOW DO I MAKE ONE? If you would like to remember someone with a gift that is shared with your church, you may do so through a donation to any designated fund that you desire. Your donation can be made in memory of OR in honor of someone. Please call the office and the Pastor can discuss your options with you. Spiritual Growth and Sunday School. Rockin Sunday September 9th Backpack Blessing- All Teachers and Students should bring their backpacks to be blessed on Sunday, September 9th. BUILDING RENTAL Both the Community Outreach Building (COB) and our sanctuary are available for rent. If you have an event that is getting too large for you to have at your home...why not consider having it here. There is now a kitchenette in the COB, plus tables and chairs available and you don t have to worry about the weather. The price is reasonable too, just a $50 donation for members and a $75 donation for non-members. We also ask for a security deposit (that will be returned) to hold the date. Please see Emmy for more information and the forms. You can also call the office for the forms and to check availability.

4 THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 4 Outreach News. September Outreach News.. Let s not think of September as the end of summer, but as a beginning of a ROCKING time for the work of the Outreach Team! We will have a reorganization meeting on Tuesday, September 7 pm at Church At this time we will be discussing coming activities for 2018 & If you have any suggestions for new programs or charities that we may consider participating in, please contact Helen or helenmatthews@aol.com. Also, a sincere THANK YOU to all who contributed to Holy Joe s Café. Our active serving military are always in our thoughts, and your generosity is always appreciated! Pencil Drive Update As of August 20th, we have collected 3,380 pencils!! Can we hit our new goal of 4,036 by Rockin Sunday, September 9th? We will bless the pencils along with backpacks, briefcases, etc at Rockin Sunday. Keep the pencils coming!! WOMEN S FELLOWSHIP Women s Fellowship will meet Thursday, September 6th at Ruth Degener s. Callers meet at 10:30 am and the meeting begins at 11:00 am. Bring a lunch. Dessert and beverage will be provided. Rockin Sunday Information Set up for Rockin Sunday will be September 8th, Time TBA. Please bring your camp chairs for outdoor worship on Rockin Sunday! Pam Burns will be in the foyer greeting before and after church on Sept 2nd with a table full of Rockin Sunday materials! She will have tickets for food, sign up sheets for volunteers and bake sale donations! You may also call the office at for tickets! Team News We are looking for members for All Teams. There are immediate openings for Leadership and Spiritual Growth and Facilities after the 1st of the year.

5 THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 5 ReDiscover the UCC Schedule for ReDiscover the UCC September 16, September 23, October 7, October 21, November 4, November 18, December 2 and December 16. All sessions will be 6:30-7:30 pm. Travel Sized Toiletries Collection Our collection for St. Luke s Mission of Mercy is going well! The donation box in Pastor Lori s office is overflowing. We will continue to collect travel sized toiletries until September 16th. We will bless the donations that Sunday and deliver the following week! Thank you to all who have already made donations!!! September Birthdays HAPPY BIRTHDAY! If we have missed your birthday, please give our office a call Adults 05 Patricia Jarmusz 08 David Brockner 09 Gary Degener 10 Shirley Wollenberg 10 Howard Schnaufer, Sr. 12 Norma Jeanne Petroff 17 Phil Buckholtz 26 Shauna Karas 27 June Schnaufer Children 08 Cassidi Howell 16 Zoe Schnaufer 28 Andrew Augustine The Birthday money collected is going into our Building Fund to help with our mortgage payments. Have your coins, dollars or even checks ready for the Celebration on September 9th! Upcoming Events Keep checking the Bulletin and Newsletter for Upcoming Events such as Halloween Party, Hanging of the Greens and Breakfast with Santa! Share Your Good News!! If you have any news that you d like to share with your Epiphany Family, please let the office know and we will try to have the information included in our next newsletter.

6 THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 6 Happenings Around Our Conference (as stated in the weekly online editions) Or to read the actual weekly newsletter My Thoughts reprinted from August 8, 2018 My Thoughts from August 15, 2018 Between Needs and Wants Recently I have been struggling between things I want and things I need (Maybe you have been here?) The bible has Jesus saying clearly to his disciples Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25). Truly this is a call to live a life not consumed by wants, but a focus toward those things in life that matter beyond our tangible, bodily, earth-bound needs. How big a leap of faith does one have to take to not fear the doubt that comes with being without something. Part of our humanity is to deal in the tension of life; between scarcity and abundance, between not enough and too much, and between blessing and curse. All these things given in time and seen through the lens of patience. Yet We live in a world and society that is saturated with wants, so much that if you don t have enough wants, marketing companies try to create wants for you. Many of us want perfect cars, bathing suit bodies, homes that could be seen in home design magazines, with vocations that keep us happy and content. If we do not have those things, many of us find pills/diets, snapchat filters, vacation spaces, and fantasies that can keep up waking up each day and always striving for whatever the next trend of wants that might appear on our social media feed. But Still Our lives are lived in the tension between wants and needs, between enough and looking for more, between following Jesus fully and living life in the comfort we have grown accustomed to. On page 57 of the New Century Hymnal in the Order of worship section- the first collect prayer echoes the thoughts of Matthew 6:25 as it says God, Give us the faith to live this day not knowing where it will lead, but with the assurance that your love and guidance are with us always. This prayer is an amazing affirmation of the daily need to give to God and live in the fray of wants and needs. A Prayer As summer sun leans into sabbath and the transitions of new seasons ahead. May you find a balance between what you want to feel worthy and what you need to feel whole. May you be given enough to fear that which can hurt you and the abundance of courage to calm you just enough that you know forgiveness and holy love is real and is poured out for you -as we seek to build a Just world for all in Jesus name- Amen Grace and Peace~ Ryan Rev. Ryan W. Henderson Associate Conference Minister for Youth, Young Adults, and Emerging Ministriesrhenderson@uccny.org Two and a half years ago I experimented with offering a fully online UCC Polity class using Zoom technology. I knew that more and more classes were being offered virtually, but I was suspicious of how effective an online class could be. What if there were glitches? What if a few students really had trouble with the technology? The building of community by sharing personal stories and asking questions back and forth is critical to teaching polity. Could community be built virtually? I was prepared to fail. But that didn t happen. It is true that occasionally a student would struggle a bit with the application. I ve now taught five classes on line with a total of about 70 students. Not a single student had to drop out due to difficulty with the technology. Perhaps 3-4 students had to really work on learning the app, but when they did (and they all did) they felt a sense of accomplishment. But did they create community? I believe the underlying question is: What is community? I have participated in numerous continuing education events that last from 2-5 days with complete strangers. I know that during that time community was established. After the time together ended, for the most part, continuing relationships did not continue. Still, for a few days, there was a community. I remember many of these people and their life stories impacted my own. During my lifetime, I ve been a member is a handful of churches where I was not the pastor. In some of them deep caring community happened, in others it did not. Even those I would worship regularly in a few churches, still, relationships were not built. So the simple act of physically being together does not always establish community. In my online polity classes, students have shared important life events, some joyful, some painful. Other students listened, compared similar life events, and sometimes offered prayer for a student that was struggling. I saw some students interact more than others. In most classes a sense of community was evident. They enjoyed logging in week after week and reconnecting. I am confident that for those who wanted to be a part of learning community, the technology did not prevent that from happening. The reason I share these thoughts is because I struggle with the belief that there is no such thing as virtual community. There certainly can t be community for anyone who doesn t want it. But my experience both with teaching on Zoom as well as reconnecting on a very deep level with friends of years ago is that community does happen. Does this mean that virtual church is possible? Isn t our faith one that is incarnational, in the flesh? I ve never tried to participate in a virtual church, so I can t speak from a point of experience. I can say that my life has been blessed with deeper meaning by virtually connecting with others. David ~To Equip the Saints~ Rev. David R Gaewski Conference Minister davidgaewski@uccny.org

7 THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 7 September /02 09/09 09/16 09/23 09/30 GREETERS: Ed Miller Howie Schnaufer Carole Mathews Carol Leible Bev Miller Jaime Schnaufer USHERS: Ed Miller Scott Howell Paul Wollenberg Ed Miller Scott Howell Bev Miller Robert Knaus Bob Metz Bev Miller Robert Knaus Roger Hoeltke Shirley Wollenberg Dave Brockner Roger Hoeltke Shirley Wollenberg Carol Leible Ed Stepien Carol Leible ELDERS: Paul Wollenberg Shirley Wollenberg Bob Metz Dave Brockner PLEASE NOTE: Gluten Free options are available for congregants taking communion. If anyone has a gluten allergy, they should let the usher know and they will be served gluten free a communion. LAY READERS: Rob Knaus Maegan Cobello Nicole Brown Helen Matthews ALTAR: Carol Leible Bev Miller Shirley Wollenberg Sharon Hamerski Carol Leible ACOLYTES: will resume in September CHURCH SERVICES & Sunday School **coffee hour begins at 9:30am OFFICE HOURS: 9:30-2:30 M, W. TH 10:00am** Callers & Women s Fellowship 1st Thursday 10:30am Meet at Ruth s home, 67 Lou Drive, Depew Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 30 Worship Committee 11:30am pm Labor Day Parking 2 Communion pm Labor Day Parking pm Labor Day Parking Parade Callers 10:30 Women s Fellowship 11 am Rockin Sunday Finance 6:30 pm Leadership 6:30 Family Promise Spiritual Growth 11:30 am ReDiscover the UCC 6:30 pm 23 Outreach Bake Sale ReDiscover the UCC 6:30pm Outreach 7 pm Facilities 7 pm

8 PLEASE THE TIMES SUPPORT OF EPIPHANY THE BUSINESSES THAT SUPPORT EPIPHANY! Page 8

9 PLEASE THE TIMES SUPPORT OF EPIPHANY THE BUSINESSES THAT SUPPORT EPIPHANY! Page 9

10 Epiphany United Church of Christ 9365 Clarence Center Rd. Clarence Center, NY Return Service Requested THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 10