ST. PAUL S LUTHERAN CHURCH The CALLER Our Mission: Empowering others with the Good News of Jesus Christ: Making Connections, Enriching Faith, Nourishing Lives, and Demonstrating love in God s Name September 2015 at St. Paul s Tues. Sept. 8 7:00 Council 7:00 Eggertsville Community Org Wed. Sept. 9 10:00 Comforters & Prayer Shawl Team meet in the Parish Hall Worship at St. Paul s I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord Psalm 122:1 Sept. 6 15th Sunday after Pentecost Blessing of the Backpacks Thurs. Sept. 10 6 am-9 pm Primary Voting yes! It s on a Thursday this year because of the timing of Labor Day! - 8:00 St. Pauli s Brewers Beer & Bible Study Thurs. Sept. 17 Noon Retired Folks Lunch & Planning (lunch provided sign up in back narthex if you re coming) 7:30 Choir rehearsals begin Sept. 13 16th Sunday after Pentecost 9:00 Confirmation Class starts 10:00 Sunday School starts Sept. 20 17th Sunday after Pentecost 9:00 Confirmation Class 10:00 Sunday School Wed. Sept 23 - St. Paul s Ministry Night - All are welcome!!! That s right.every one of you has ministry to do through, at and beyond St. Paul s. Desserts and Devotions at 7:00 pm then ministry planning and end by 8:30pm. Sept. 27 18th Sunday after Pentecost 9:00 Confirmation Class 10:00 Sunday School Fri. Sept. 25th - 7 pm Gong Show/Talent Show/ Coffee Shop Night - save the date. Remember if you re scheduling a meeting or an event, check the planning calendar on the board by the offices to make sure space is available! Or call or e-mail the Church Office: (835-0407 or office@stpaulseggertsville.org) The nursery will be staffed starting Sept. 13. St. Paul s is a congregation of the Niagara Frontier Conference of the Upstate New York Synod Of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
P AGE 2 S EPTEMBER 2015 From Pastor Steve Friends and Members of St. Paul s, September is here! And with that month, comes the start up of several ministries and some new events as well! school year. September 6th - Back Pack Blessing - 10am. While I realize that this is Labor Day Weekend Sunday, I will be asking you to have your kids and their back packs in town if you are not out of town traveling. We are going to pray for our teachers, students and all their stuff on Sunday morning during worship. School starts that week, so let s pray our way into the September 10th - St. Pauli s Brewers - 8pm - Brew Master Danny Sileo will be leading us in a fall brewing to have ready for the Reformation Bowl at St. Paul s (The October 25th Bills v. Jag s game) September 13th - First Day of St. Paul s Sunday School. Please look around your friends and neighbors to invite others into community at St. Paul s. September 23rd - St. Paul s Ministry Night - All are welcome!!! That s right.every one of you has ministry to do through, at and beyond St. Paul s. We will share Desserts and Devotions at 7:00 pm and then break off into Ministry Areas (Seeking Connections, Enriching Faith Nourishing Lives and Demonstrating God s Love) to do ministry planning and be done by 8:30pm. If you are looking to get involved in ministry, this is the place to do it! September 25th - Gong Show/Talent Show/Coffee Shop Night - OK, so the name needs some work, but save the date. At 7pm, St. Paul s and St. John Amherst will come together to laugh, applause, eat and drink to support the next Haiti mission team of students and young adults. We re bringing back the old Gong Show style night from St. Paul s days of old, some baskets to be raffled, some actual real talent, a little beer, wine and snacks and having a great night! Tickets will be for sale in September. Choir restarts. Sacred Conversations will begin at 9am in the fall. Confirmation gears up. Youth Night with Kristen. Retired folks. Habitat. Men s Groups. St. Pauli s Brewers. And a whole lot more. Here we go into another blessed fall of ministry at St. Paul s as we empower people with the good news of Jesus Christ. Still in One Peace, ps
T HE CALLER P AGE 3 From Scott Fierle, Council President: In our Congregational Family Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. Albert Camus As we leave summer and approach fall, we look forward to things being back on a regular schedule. Although summer is a wonderful time to relax, many things were still happening at St. Paul s. A few of the activities included Café at the Curve. Many from our church and the surrounding area enjoyed this outreach. Impact Day Camp was a great success. Adam and Kristen Arends led a group to the National Youth Gathering and solar panels were installed on the church roof. Throughout the fall please look for ways to get involved. Feel free to reach out to any council member and ask for ways that you can serve. Even the smallest jobs need help. We even have many opportunities to help during our Reformation Bowl, a Bill s worship service/tailgate party starting at 7:45 am on October 25 th. Stay tuned for more details. THANKS: From Eggertsville Community Org.: We would again like to thank St. Paul s Church for their hospitality. We appreciate the opportunity to help continue your community outreach program by holding our general and board meetings at your church. The Parish Hall is perfect for our gatherings and we appreciate being able to use the nice kitchen for our annual pot-luck dinner. Again, thank you for your generosity and kindness! Sincerely, the Board of Directors and members of the Eggertsville Community Organization (this was accompanied by a donation from the group) From Evelyn Berger: Thank you for the beautiful altar flowers. It was very nice of Julie Miller to deliver them From Lutheran Charities: Thank you for your contribution of $875 to Lutheran Charities. Your kind gift helps support local social service agencies and ministries such as LCLC. Thanks to your partnership with Lutheran Charities we re making a positive influence in people s lives in Western NY. Sincerely, Thomas E. Madden From Betty Venator On Sunday, August 9th, I was gifted the altar flowers! What a nice surprise and treat. The bright red carnations are still thriving well. My sincere thanks. From Impact Day Camp Pr. Steve and Laura thank you for an amazing week! My children loved every single second of Impact Camp. They couldn t wait to leave in the morning and were chatterboxes full of smiles each day when I picked them up. I loved hearing about how they learned about being part of a community and listening to them sing and laugh about camp. They told everyone they saw how amazing camp is. Now all of their friends want to go! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your time and talents in making this week so special for my kids! As a single mom, the rate was a huge blessing to me. My children are already asking to attend next year! Please share this note with everyone who was so kind and helped to make this week awesome! Karen Roberts WOW!! This week for me as a parent was very impactful. My daughter enjoyed the camp. The pastor, staff and congregation I met were awesome, very welcoming, and definitely a reflection fo God working in each and every life. I felt so welcomed with every interaction with people that are clearly God s hands and feet. We are relocating to CT, but what w special way to remember Buffalo! - Kimberly Henderson, Sanaa McFarlane THANK YOU all the leaders at Impact Summer Day Camp for a really, really, really fun week. Me and my brother Owen had a really fun time! I would love to come next year. Love, Hannah & Owen
Sunday School Corner Sunday School starts up on September 13 with June Piette in charge! All children, pre-school thru Senior High are invited and welcome to come! (And friends are always welcome, too!) We start out in worship, so go to church with your family, and we ll leave after the Children s Meditation. CROSS TRAINING (aka Confirmation Class) September 2015 It s time to talk about Cross Training for 2015-2016! Meet the teachers, get information & ask questions: When: Sunday, September 13 th at 9:01 9:46am Who: All Confirmation (Grade 5-9) Kids & Parents Where: Confirmation Room at St Paul s (parking lot end of the Sunday School hallway) #If you were Class last year, come & find out what s new this year. #If you re thinking of starting, come and find out what s its all about. We ll see you on September 13 th! IN THE 90 s No, we re not talking about the temperature or about the decade 25 (or125!) years ago. We re talking about St. Paul s members who have reached or passed their 90th birthday, and there are 20 of them! On Sunday, Oct. 11 we will honor these folks at worship and at a special luncheon. Save the date! Families, we want you to plan to attend, too and bring your nonagenarian with you. You ll be receiving an invitation in the mail. Please respond so we can make plans! From the Parish Register Baptisms Reese Elizabeth Manzella Marriage:s Britton Mumma & Sean Thomas Deaths Janet L. Neuhaus Ruth E. Lampe Mildred C. Eggleston Retired Folks Sept. meeting: Thurs. Sept. 17 at Noon lunch will be provided. Sign up in the back narthex Upcoming projects: Helping with the 90+ event in Oct. (see above) and planning a Veterans Recognition for Nov. 8 It s going to be fun!
Thrivent Action Team Update Thrivent members have applied for more Action Team grants for Fall activities: Nursery Room Refurbishing-Susan Mintzer Comforters Supplies-Sara Gallagher 90+ year old members reception-mary Wolf Men s Club Chicken BBQ-Chick Biegner Bills tailgate & worship-richard Venator That s another $1250 for projects and events at St. Paul s. If you have more ideas for St. Paul s events or want to support some other favorite project, get on the Thrivent.com web site and sign up (you can become an associate member of Thrivent for $20/year and apply for one grant). For more information, contact one of these Action Team Coordinators: Sara Gallagher: sarajg@aol.com 834-1833 Chick/Barb Biegner : chicknbarb@verizon.net 741-4573 NEWS FROM LUTHERAN CHARITIES The fifth annual Pub with a Purpose fittingly will take place October 5th from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. to benefit the agencies supported by Lutheran Charities. Join friends at the Buffalo Brew Pub, 6861 Main St. in Williamsville for an afternoon of fun and fellowship. Thanks to organizer Pr. Scott Hannon and our crackerjack wait staff of Lutheran pastors! 20% of the tab and 100% of the tips go to Lutheran Charities. Cheers! Harvest of Wine and Craft Beer, 7:00 P.M. October 17 Bring your sense of Adventure for a fun evening sampling wine & craft beer! Soft drinks and hors d oeuvres, silent auctions, live jazz and more! 7:00 P.M. Saturday October 17 at St. John s Lutheran Church in Williamsville. Register on-line at www.wnylutherancharities.org or call our office at 632 2623. Space is limited! First-and-Last-Ever Reformation Bowl - Sunday October 25 Join us for a day of fun, fellowship and the Bills in London, England! Begin at 7:45 A.M. with worship at St. Paul s, Eggertsville, led by Pr. Steve Biegner followed by a parking-lot tailgate pig roast and food provided by St. Paul s bring your lawn chairs, footballs and beverages! Then at 9:30 A.M. watch the Buffalo Bills vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars live at Wembly Stadium in London projected on St. Paul s Big Screen! Tickets, limited to the first 150 participants, are $25 for adults and $15 for kids. Proceeds will benefit the agencies supported by Lutheran Charities.
S EPTEMBER 2015 ebay News from Sara Gallagher September 2015 Just started to list things again in the second week of August after taking getting away from ebay for the summer. The last thing sold before the summer was: Antique c. 1850 plate & di8sh Black/Gray/white, with Oriental pattern. The plan is that by the time this report is sent out we will have things for sale and even more waiting to picture, research and list. Thanks so much for all and any donations. Keep them coming! Email SaraJG@aol.com, find me at church, or call 834-1833. Who Are Prayer Shawls for?? People in the congregation, friends, co-workers, family people who are sick, home-bound, grieving, going through difficult times anyone who needs to know they are wrapped in prayer! And if you know someone who needs a prayer shawl, we have them! Speak with Marilyn Emerson or Jean Brundage and they ll help you choose one for the need! Barb Walter just took a selection of prayer shawls to Roswell to be distributed to patients there. When Should You Call the Church Office? To arrange for a Baptism To schedule a wedding date and pre-marital counseling sessions Anytime you or a family member is in the hospital (including having a baby!) If there is a death in the family If you move or change your phone number (we have to pay the post office for returned mail!) When you need to talk with a Pastor... When there s a situation you think we need to know about... Worship Schedule Sunday Mornings: 9:00 Sacred Conversa on Diakonia - enriching and enabling the ministry of all the baptized! For ALL interested people Sat. September 26 9:00-3:00 (sign-in starts at 8:30 a.m.) at Town Line Lutheran Church (684-1467) 1159 Town Line Rd. Alden NY 14004 (at Broadway) Courses: Preaching Pr. John Scarafia (full day) The basics of proclaiming God s Word! Lutherans in America (Part 2) Pr. Tim Madsen (full day) (Part 1 is NOT required to benefit from this course!) Are these things Lutheran? Pr. Dan Hoffman (morning only) Things you may have wondered about To register, call 835-0407 or e-mail stpauls1827@juno.com by Sept. 21 Cost is $20/person, payable that day; includes courses, lunch, morning snacks. Do you get our E-mail Updates? Every week (and sometimes more often!) an e-mail update goes out from the Church Office to remind you of coming events, and to inform you of things in the life of the congregation that happen between Sundays. If you re not on the list receiving these and you would like to be, just contact the Church Office with your e-mail address 835-0407and let Mary know you want to be added. We need your permission to add your e-mail to the list.
T HE CALLER J UNE 2015 Reaching Beyond St. Paul s Backpack Program A number of families in our Amherst schools depend on the free and reduced priced breakfast and lunch programs during the school week. To provide food for these families on weekends, the Backpack program was instituted. A backpack or sack of food is sent home with the child on Friday to provide meals for the weekend. We are waiting to hear how many families will be needing the program this fall. Foods we need include: *Cereal Dry/Powdered soups Canned pastas/mac & cheese, chili, ravioli, Spaghetti O's or dry pasta & sauce Rice Fruits/Vegetables (canned,fruit cups etc.) $5 Tops/Wegmans gift cards Granola bars *Peanut butter & jelly Juice boxes Snack pack raisins or nuts *Large sizes may be cheaper, but smaller sizes fit better in the sacks! NEWS FLASH!! We are excited to have Crossroads Lutheran Church join us in this project! Packs will be distributed every other week and each congregation will provide for one distribution a month. St. Paul s is on first at the beginning of October. September will be for publicizing the program and assessing needs in the schools. Dash s Receipts = Cash! Please continue to save your Dash s register tapes and place them in the collection box in the back narthex. They provide a source of extra income which enables the Niagara Lutheran Health System Guild to enrich the lives of the residents and they do add up! Pantry Food for September is MAC & CHEESE Please pick up some when you shop! And gently used bedding and household linens are always needed for the Threads of Hope Linens Pantry. CONFRONTING RACISM The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) teaches that there is one God and one humanity created by God, as expressed in Scripture. Our oneness in Christ, the one who breaks down dividing walls, connects all people. The whole church looks forward to God s future when people will come from everywhere to eat together in the reign of God (Luke 13:29). This church names racism as sin and affirms that the diversity of cultures throughout history is a God-given gift and a glimpse of the future. Plurality of culture (the attitudes and patterns of life) is a blessing to be appreciated. The ELCA opposes discrimination, supports legislation that guarantees equal rights, and promotes international respect for human rights. The ELCA will support legislation that guarantees to all individuals equally: civil rights; access to quality education, health care, and nutrition; opportunity for employment with fair compensation; opportunity for business ownership; access to legal, banking, and insurance services; the right to purchase housing in any place; and access to public transportation. The ELCA will advocate for just immigration policies. Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture expresses the ELCA s calling to regard seriously culture and ethnicity, confront racism, to engage in public leadership, witness and deliberation, and to advocate for justice and fairness for all people. The statement is grounded in the conviction that the church has been gathered together in the joyful freedom of the reign of God announced by and embodied in Jesus. That reign has not come in its fullness, but the message of God's yes to the world breaks down all dividing walls as we live into that promise. How do we talk about race, systemic racism and becoming a more inclusive church? Watch the webcast of the Aug. 6 conversation as ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and William B. Horne II, a member of the ELCA Church Council, discuss the complexity and implications of racism. This page includes many resources to support this important conversation in your congregation. Go to youtube, and enter confronting racism, bishop eaton in the searchbox. Communications such as this are made possible through your mission support. Thank you! We are church together for the sake of the world. God s work. Our Hands.
St. Paul s Lutheran Church 4007 Main Street Eggertsville NY 14226 Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Permit #3595 Buffalo New York ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Coming in October Mon. Oct. 5 Pub with a Purpose 11:00-4:00 at the Buffalo Brew Pub to benefit Lutheran Charities Wed. Oct. 7 10:00 Comforters/Prayer Shawl Team meet in the Parish Hall Sun. Oct. 11 90+ Recognition at worship and luncheon to follow Tues. Oct. 13 7:00 Council - 7:00 Eggertsville Community Org. Thurs. Oct. 15 Noon Retired Folks Fall Fest watch for details in the Oct. CALLER Sun. Oct. 18 9:00-Noon VNA Flu Shot Clinic Sun. Oct. 25 Reformation Bowl see Pr. Steve s page for more info. St. Paul s Evangelical Lutheran Church Our Mission: Empowering others with the Good News of Jesus Christ: Making Connections, Enriching Faith, Nourishing Lives, and Demonstrating love in God s Name Pastor: The Rev. Steve Biegner (868-1232 cell) Editor: Mary E. Wolf Assemblers: Dorothy Menth, Marilyn Emerson, Betty Arbogast, Dolores Shearer, Marilynn Speich, Norma Stevenson, Joyce Chace, Joan Maefs, Bertha Efstation, Sue Keppel Telephone: (716) 835-0407 Fax: (716) 836-3493 e-mail: office@stpaulseggertsville.org Web: www.stpaulseggertsville.org