Niagara Frontier District E-Connection
June 5, 2017 www.NiagaraFrontierUNY.org
247 Cayuga Rd., Suite 70
Cheektowaga, NY 14225-1900
716-276-8631 fax: 716-276-8632
Rev. K. Wayne Butler, Superintendent
Jessica White, District Lay Leader
The E-Connection! is sent out near the 1st & 15th of each month.
(The next edition will go out June 16)
The E-Connection can now also be found on the District webpage
We are part of the Upper New York Annual Conference (12 Districts) – 168,000 members – 915 churches in 49 of New York State’s 62 counties!
All Attachments are found in the e-mail message.
The District Office will be closed June 13 & 14
Calendar of EventsJune 10 / 10:00am-3:00pm / Lay Servant Class “Leading Worship”
Class 1 of 2; 2nd date TBD / Amherst: Asbury UMC
850 Dodge Rd., Getzville
June 17 / 9:00am-2:00pm / Volunteers In Mission Team Leader Training / UNY Conference Center
7481 Henry Clay Blvd., Liverpool
June 17 / 10:30am start / UNY Historical Society / Esperance-Sloansville UMC
Esperance
June 25 / 1:00-5:00pm / Certified Lay Minister course begins
All 6 sessions required / Wilson: Exley UMC
338 Lake St., Wilson
July 7-9 / National Gathering of United Methodist Men / St. Luke’s UMC
Indianapolis, IN
July 27-29 / Mission u 2017 / Asbury Camp & Retreat Center
7000 Chapman Ave., Perry
September 6 / 7:00-8:30pm / District Prayer Gathering / Buffalo: Metropolitan UMC
657 Best St., Buffalo
September 27-29 / Leadership Institute 2017 / UMC of the Resurrection
Leawood, KS
October 3 / 12:00-3:00pm
6:30-8:30pm / District Day with Bishop Mark Webb
Lunch & Gathering with Clergy
Gathering with Laity / Harris Hill UMC
8495 Main St., Williamsville
October 11 / 9:00am-3:30pm / Mentor Training / Clarence UMC
10205 Greiner Rd., Clarence
October 23 / 1st Session for “Tending the Soul” / Casowasco Camp & Retreat Center
158 Casowasco Dr., Moravia
Please keep the family of the Rev. Benson A. Benton, Sr. in your prayers. Rev. Benton, 99, died on Sunday, May 14in CT. He served several churches and also on several boards and committees in the former Western New York Conference, before retiring in 1983. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 24 at Niagara Falls: St. James UMC. He will be interred at Acacia Park. Condolences can be sent to his daughter, Helen Smith, 47 Savin Park, West Haven, CT. 06516. Read the obituary.
Rev. Bruce Benson is experiencing some serious health issues. Prayers for healing and recovery would be appreciated.
Rev. Pam Klotzbach (Batavia: First UMC) is recuperating from surgery and would appreciate prayers.
A Celebration of Life Service for Rev. Susan Nowicki will be held on Saturday, June 24 at 1pm at Pendleton Center UMC, 6864 Campbell Blvd., N. Tonawanda (corner of Campbell & Bear Ridge Rd.). Rev. Nowicki passed away on January 6, 2017. For more information, you may contact Lori Hazlett at or 757-494-9369.
Please pray for the community and congregations of Quaker Road, Ransomville and Royalton and clergy Jeff Snyder, Kit Snyder, Angela Stewart and Gregg Stierheim.
~ Local Church News ~
Buffalo: Central Park UMC (216 Beard Ave., Buffalo) New York State provides a way to save 10% off your auto insurance for 3 years by completing a certified 6-hour Smart Driver Class. This is being offered at Central Park UMC on Wednesday evenings, June 7 and 14 from 6-9pm. Cost is $20 for AARP members and $25 for non-AARP members. The Certified Instructor is Mary Lou Frost. To reserve a spot in the class, call the church office at 716-833-3193.
(New) Amherst: Asbury UMC (850 Dodge Rd., Getzville) Drive through B & W Chicken Bar-B-Que on Saturday, June 11 from 1-4pm. For $11 you get ½ chicken plus sides and dessert. Please note that this is a take-out only dinner. Call the church at 716-688-8677 if you have questions.
Attica: Trinity UMC (75 Main St., Attica) Strawberry Social on Thursday, June 15 from 4 –7 pm. Menu to include Strawberry Sundae, Strawberry Shortcake, Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Sausage, Chicken Breast, Baked Beans, Salt Potatoes and Beverages. A la Carte. Eat in or take out. Handicap Accessible. All proceeds benefit various mission projects of the Trinity United Methodist Women.
Amherst: Christ UMC (350 Saratoga Rd., Snyder) The Uganda Missions Team from Christ Church is hosting a spaghetti dinner! The event will be held at the church on Friday, June 16 from 5-7p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 (available for pre-order or at the door) and include a generous portion of spaghetti with homemade sauce and meatballs, salad, and garlic bread. Eat-in and take-out options are available. The team of six adventurers will be heading to Uganda this August to help with repair and maintenance of clean water wells, provide medical care in a rural clinic, and offer presentations about health and safety. All proceeds from the dinner will help with trip expenses and supplies to leave in Uganda. For more information, please contact the church office at 716-839-2460 or .
(New) Harris Hill UMC (8495 Main St.; corner of Main St. and Harris Hill Rd., Williamsville) will be hosting a Pancakes, Plants & Plenty YARD SALE on Saturday, June 17 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Stop by for some great deals at our annual Yard Sale, Perennial Plant Sale and, new this year - Pancake Breakfast served from 8:30-11:30. For more info call 716-632-4688.
(New) Medina: UMC of Abundant Harvest, Knowlesville (3619 Knowlesville Rd., Knowlesville) On Saturday, June 17 from 9AM - 2PM, the Knowlesville Community is having a hamlet/townwide yard sale. You can set up in the Knowlesville Fellowship Hall parking lot for only $5. Call 585-798-3173 or 585-798-4483 to reserve a space or for more info. Hot dogs, chips, soda and water will be available to purchase in the Fellowship Hall, with the hot dogs ready at llam. This event and the advertising is sponsored by the Abundant Harvest United Methodist Women. Come check out all the yard sales!
Kenmore UMC (32 Landers Rd., Kenmore) “The Accidentals,” a youth handbell choir from Chelsea First UMC, Chelsea, Michigan will give a concert on Wednesday, June 21 at 7pm. There are 12 youth touring from Buffalo to Boston and offering concerts and participating in Mission work along the way!
Springville: First UMC (474 E. Main St., Springville) Family Life presents Unspoken in concert on Sunday, June 25 at 7pm. Right now, their most popular radio songs are "Higher" and "The Cure". The band has a soulful pop sound. Family Life will be doing ticket giveaways leading up to the show, so people can be listening for that. Anyone who wants to know more could check out the group's website at www.unspokenmusic.com; some of their music videos are there. See the Unspoken attachment for a flyer.
~ District and Conference News ~
(New) (6/5) Illuminate Preaching Academy 2017-2018 – Pastors have an opportunity to attend this five session program (September-May) that will be held at Casowasco Camp and Retreat Center. Illuminate is offered as a way to help good preachers become great preachers. Sessions begin at 3pm on Tuesday, and conclude with lunch on Thursday. Lodging, meals, and the capstone trip are included in the registration fee of $800. Register at: www.unyumc.org in the Vital Congregations area. See the Illuminate attachment for more information about dates and faculty.
(New) (6/5) Leadership Academy 2017-2018 – The focus of this program is improvement of leadership skills for pastors. All retreats take place at Casowasco Camp and Retreat Center. Sessions begin at 10am on Tuesday and conclude at 11am on Thursday. Lodging, meals, and the capstone trip are included in the registration fee of $1,500. Register at: www.unyumc.org in the Vital Congregations area. See the Leadership attachment for more information about dates and faculty.
(New) (6/5) Peace with Justice Sunday is this weekend! June 11, the Sunday after Pentecost, is the prescribed Sunday to collect this important offering. If it is not the best Sunday for your congregation – no problem, schedule it another time. The important part is to present this giving opportunity to your congregation! The Peace with Justice offering is just one of the six Special Sunday offerings that the Book of Discipline mandates to be taken by every congregation. Not second-mile giving, but an opportunity for the members to find a passion and contact with the greater United Methodist Church. There are lots of ways to address these Special Offerings. You can take advantage of the UM Communications’ free multi-media resources, create your own envelopes to pass out with bulletins, or have the children pass containers through the congregation to collect pocket change. Please feel free to contact Heather Smith () if you would like more information about the programs that have received grants or would like information applying for your own grant.
(New) (6/5) 2016 Audits were due on March 15. As of today, the district office has received 42 of 78 reports. Thank you! Remember, you also need to have your Church Council approve the audit and send a copy of the minutes from the meeting where they do that. Please send in a copy of your audit as soon as it is completed. You can send the minutes at a later time.
(New) (6/5) Stories Needed! The Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CCORR) needs your stories of struggle against racism and for the creation of beloved community. These stories will be shared over the next few years. Ultimately, we hope to hear stories of the emergence of healthy relationships in ministry settings. Stories can be offered in written form or uploaded to YouTube and shared with us through a link (click here). There is a short personal information form that needs to be filled out for those stories to be shared in our conference media. Please pass this invitation on to those in your circles. See the CCORR attachment for more information.
(New) (6/5) UMCOR Kit Drop Off Location! Niagara Frontier District friends, this is just a reminder that Harris Hill UMC is a drop off and verification center for ALL UMCOR kits. If your church has cleaning buckets, health kits, school kits, sewing kits, bedding kits, or layette kits or items for any of the kits, they can be brought to the church any Tuesday,-Thursday or Friday from 8:30am-2pm. If you need a different time, please call 716-632-4688 to arrange a time. What joy it is to be in ministry together, offering aid to those in a time of disaster. If you have folks from your church that would like to come and verify or build kits, please contact the church and let us know that as well.
(New) (6/5) Niagara Frontier City Ministries News
NFCM Grant Awards – NFCM is pleased to announce that grants have been awarded to the following urban churches to help fund their ministries: Central Park UMC: Young Men and Women of Faith; Lockport: Emmanuel: Block Party and Vacation Bible School; Primera IMU Jehovah Jireh: All church gathering at Camp Asbury; Metropolitan: Senior Ministry; Summer Enrichment; 4th Sunday Breakfast; Seneca Street CDC: Summer at Seneca Street; Three Church VBS: VBS with Central Park, Duluth GA and Seneca Street UMCs; Wesley’s Place: Rise Against Hunger. We are so proud of our United Methodist urban churches and all the churches that help with urban ministries. Please feel free to contact any of the churches to find out more about the ministries. We will be reporting on them as they are completed.
Workshop Help Wanted – As we’ve mentioned, NFCM would like to host a workshop for our churches regarding the intricacies of the various New York State employment rules: Employee v. Independent Contractor; Wage and Hour rules; Unemployment Insurance and more. Beth Buckley, Esq., an experienced attorney, will discuss the various changes to the laws. We are looking for someone to explain how the changes affect churches in NY in particular. If someone with experience in church Human Resources issues is interested, please contact Beth at 716-913-5010 or to discuss a possible partnership. Thank you
VBS Donations – Thank You! Several of our churches have been extremely generous in response to NFCM’s request for “gently used” VBS kits to recycle to other churches. Buffalo First Church will host its first VBS in a few years, using materials donated by Asbury UMC in Amherst. Primera IMU Jehovah Jireh and Central Park will be using more than one of the kits donated by New Hope UMC in West Seneca. Pastor Renee has been generous in the extreme in donating many kits.
Do you have any VBS kits you may have used in the past that are still in good, usable condition? If so, please contact Beth. Do you need a VBS kit? VBS products are excellent for use for Summer Sunday School – or even in the Fall. Again, please contact Beth if you are interested, either as a donor or recipient! Also: Our School Supply Pantry project will begin again this summer. Seneca Street, St. James, Central Park and more have benefitted from your loving generosity!
(New) (6/5) Mission u 2017 – This summer, Mission u, formerly School of Christian Mission, will continue its annual emphasis in "learning together for the transformation of the world." The studies this year include: living as a Covenant Community; Missionary Conferences of the United Methodist Church in the USA and Climate Justice. The closest location for our district will be at Asbury Camp & Retreat Center on July 27-29. Please join us this summer for study, worship, singing, and great fellowship! For information, visit the website: www.unymissionu.org.
(5/15) District Prayer Gathering Follow up – From District Lay Leader, Jessica White: What a great way to end the day, to be with other believers, in prayer. That is how May 10 ended for me. That night, Niagara Frontier District Leadership Team held its first prayer meeting as a district at Cleveland Hill United Methodist Church. Over 30 people were gathered to worship and praise God for all the blessings given to us and to pray for God’s guidance within our personal lives, our homes, our local churches, for our district, for our Annual Conference, and for the General Church. It was a time to reflect and pray with others on how we can seek God’s assurance and direction through prayer, through fellowship, through action, and through giving. It was also a time to share where we have seen and felt God around us. The love God has for each of us and the hope we find in Jesus was felt by all in attendance.