Office: 9:15-2:15 M, W. TH December 2019

THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY UCC

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 December Schedule & Calendar 6 Ads 7

9365 Clarence Center Rd, Clarence Center, NY 14032 (716) 741-1441

E-mail: secretary@epiphanyucc.us Website: www.epiphanyucc.us

Facebook: Epiphany UCC Family Twitter: @EpiphanyUCC

Fellow Members,

I am very excited about all the activity that is happening at

church, and what is planned over the holiday season.

With this in mind, I would like to take a minute to thank

everyone who was involved in planning and coordinating

our recent 45th anniversary event. A special thanks goes

out to Dave Hess and Helen Matthews, who came up with

the idea and spearheaded the entire thing. It was a won-

derful event, highly attended and helped remind us of who

and what Epiphany is all about… family and friends. I

hope to be a part of the next 45 years of the church.

As everyone knows, we are starting the next phase of our

faith journey and that begins with solidifying who we are

and how we function as a church. I appreciate all the feed-

back, ideas and input we received at our recent town hall

and have already started to react to many of them. I had a

great meeting with Rev. Gary Ferner last week and he

feels very good about where we are heading and will be in

full support of helping us take each of our next steps and

answering our questions and concerns. It is extremely im-

portant that we keep clear lines of communication open

and everyone feels comfortable sharing thoughts and pos-

sible concerns along the way. I promise to live by this and

hope you will as well.

Our overall success will depend on each and every one of

us. We need to be there to support and enjoy each other

at church and in our daily lives. I have already begun to

see a revitalized energy within Epiphany and hope to see

that continue to grow and strengthen. I can feel the pres-

ence of God each and every time I am around our church

family, no matter where we are. In addition to our pres-

ence and prayers, I’d like to remind everyone that Stew-

ardship is coming to an end and sharing our talents and

financial blessings are essential for success. If you have

already returned your pledge form, thank you, but if you

have not, please do so by December 8th. This will not only

help the finance team finalize budgets, but it also allows

us to determine the potential financial package we can

offer a new pastoral candidate.

God Bless and Thank You for allowing me to be a part of

leading this amzing church. I can’t wait to see where God

takes us.

Scott H. Howell

Epiphany UCC, President

THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 2

FACILITIES… The Facilities Team is meeting on Thursday, January 21st this month.

We will be discussing projects for 2016. Please come and bring your ideas.

Spiritual Growth…..

Hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I

am so grateful for all of you, our church family. We all

know how busy December can be as we prepare and

celebrate Christmas with our family and loved ones. I

urge you to look at our calendar and come to a

Sunday morning service or Breakfast with Santa. So

many fun traditions that everyone can enjoy, no

matter your age!

Have a blessed December,

Kim Endres

Sunday School News….

Don’t forget to make reservations for Hanging of the

Greens! We have some fun new crafts and our good

old favorites! We will be celebrating after church on

December 1st!

The Christmas Pageant is on Sunday, December 22

during the regular service. If you would like your child

to be in it, please have them there as many Sundays

as possible so we can practice. It runs much smooth-

er with practice and time to get costumes fitted! Be-

sides, we love to see them!

The Sunday School classes have been busy learning

about parables and we even made cards for the Vet-

erans! They were passed out among Veterans at

church and were much appreciated!

Jennifer and some older youth will be doing the

Christmas Eve service. The time is not decided but

we will be soon and will be shared in the bulletins

and newsletter. If you are interested in coming,

please let Jennifer know if you have a time prefer-

ence. We are looking at before dinner time.

Jennifer and the rest of the Sunday School

Teachers

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VITAL STATISTIC 010/16/2019-11/15/2019 Please report any changes you may have in your address/phone number. This will save the Church money. Thank You

MEMORIALS 1016/19-11/15/19

DONATIONS TO BUILDING FUND:

A donation IMO Marilyn Knaus From: Ren & Nina Trietley A donation IMO Marilyn Knaus From: Robert Metz A donation IMO Marilyn Knaus From: Mark & Shirley Wollenberg A donation IMO Marilyn Knaus From: Sharon Terry A donation IMO Marilyn Knaus From: Amvets Ladies Auxillary Post #14 A donation IMO Marilyn Knaus, Richard Augustine, Warren Schnaufer and Loved Ones From: Pam Uebler A donation to the Building Fund From: Hassan Al-Mufti A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Bill & Joan Harms A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Cherilyn Eckley A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Diane Marlinski A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Bev & Ed Miller A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Ruth Degener A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Christine Savage A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Clarence Teachers Association A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Jeannette Noel A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: Dave & Judy Brockner A donation IMO Richard Augustine From: John & Joyce Kuemmel

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.

Women’s Fellowship…..

Women’s Fellowship met on Thursday, November 7. Nancy

led devotions and Emmy served as hostess.

Our Christmas luncheon will be Thursday, December 5 at

12:00 Noon at Ruth’s. Pat Schultz will lead our devotions

which will be followed by a special luncheon. Anyone is wel-

come. We ask for a $5.00 donation and to please let Ruth

know if you plan to attend.

There will be NO meetings during January and February

due to the possibility of poor weather conditions. Our first

meeting in the new year will be March 5.

There were over 1,000 kids attending Dunkirk’s Halloween

Happenings on October 12.

Our Sunday School children collected $101.00 on Hallow-

een Sunday at church.

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Undie/Sock

clothesline. Wear ‘n Share was very appreciative as they

get a lot of requests for these items during that time.

A reminder that we will be making the fleece blankets as we

did last year on a weekend in February. Watch your Sudnay

church bulletin and newsletter for the date. Fleece needed

for each blanket is 1-1/2 yards times 2 or 1 yard times 2

depending on the size desired in order to make them two

sided. Watch for sales during the winter months.

Remember our Christmas luncheon will be on Thursday,

December 5 at 12:00 Noon at Ruth’s with Pat Schultz lead-

ing our devotions before. This is our last meeting until

March 5.

45 Years…. And a good time was had by all!!!

On Sunday, November 3rd, we celebrated the 45th anniversary

of Epiphany UCC with a celebratory lunch in our Community

Building!

With almost 80 members and guests in attendance, we dined

on an absolutely delicious meal catered by Schnitzel & Co. …

honoring many members European heritage. We enjoyed a

buffet of German food, and the ever-present Epiphany fellow-

ship…

A special “THANK YOU” goes out to everyone who worked in

the planning, setting up an facilitating of this event…It was a

definite labor of love and the “many hands” definitely made the

work almost “lighter”!

AND, looking back on this event– the beautiful day that it was–

it can be definitely said that our church is #EpiphanyStrong!

Thank you to Epiphany family and friends for your

prayers, visits and cards during Richard’s illness as

well as your expressions of sympathy. Your stories,

love and support have not only brought us comfort

but helps keep his memory alive. God Bless,

The Augustine Family

THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 4

Worship Committee….

Pastor George spoke with us about services going well

so far. He would like more info on January 1, 2020 ser-

vice, Celebration Sunday. We decided to meet Dec. 15

for a single issue meeting to plan this.

Christmas Services Dec 22– 10 am Children’s Pageant

5 pm Christmas Service

Budget– We decided to lower our budget from $325 to

$300

We noted Hassan’s concert in October went very well.

We hope he will provide another concert in the future.

Next Meeting– Dec 15 @ 11:30 am

Carole Mathews

We would like to thank everyone for all the

cards, calls, prayers, visits and well wishes

for my husband Charles “Chuck” McKinnon

during this difficult/trying time. It was

greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,

Paula & Carl McKinnon

THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 5

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

If we have missed your birthday, please give

our office a call. 741-1441

December

Birthdays

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.

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 mem-bers 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.

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 December 1st!!

Adults 01 Ian Brodka 04 Patricia Schultz 06 Eugene Schnaufer 09 Nicole Brown 09 Rachel Oun 15 Chester Jarmusz 15 Amanda Weber 15 Sarah Wollenberg 17 Thomas Milka 19 Karen Buckholtz 20 George Cushing 21 Judith Brockner 21 Paulette Rupp 22 Emmylou Hess 26 Harold Bechmann

Children 01 Kamden Augustine 06 Kayden Santiago 07 Reed Cobello 21 Jocelyn Cahalan 29 Liam Cahalan

Outreach News….

Christmas Greetings from Outreach….

“What will you and I give for Christmas this year?

Let us in our lives give to our Lord and Savior the

gift of gratitude by living His teachings and follow-

ing in His footsteps.” Thomas S. Monson

AND that quote so typifies our Epiphany family!

During the course this year, the “gifts” our congre-

gation so generously gives continually strengthens

our mission! As 2019 comes to an end, we are al-

ready working on projects for the coming year…

***We have started to fund the Beverly Bingeman

Memorial Scholarship with a very successful bake

sale on 11/17. A sincere “THANK YOU” to every-

one who supported this fundraiser to assist female

veterans in furthering their education.

***We are beginning to collect blankets and pil-

lows for our “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep…” pro-

ject benefitting homeless families as they transi-

tion to new homes… More information will follow

during this month and next.

****We fulfilled our commitment to the “Family

Promise” program on November 14th… We

served our last dinner at the Clarence Church of

Christ. We have been participating in the program,

since its inception 10 years ago!

And, again, another sincere “THANK YOU” to eve-

ryone who assisted in this program. We wish

“Family Promise” all the best in their endeavors as

they transition to serving families totally in their

facility on Hickory St.

As we look ahead to the coming year, 2020, the

Outreach Team wishes our Epiphany family a

happy, healthy and prosperous 2020!

THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 6

Happenings Around Our Conference (as stated in the weekly online editions) Or to read the actual weekly newsletter

http://www.uccny.org/our-thoughts/happenings-around-our-conference/

My Thoughts reprinted from November 6, 2019 This is difficult to talk about. However, I am hopeful it may be helpful to someone. Attention Deficit/Hyper-activity (ADHD) is a mental illness and disor-der. Narcissism is a personality disorder. Depression is a medical illness. A learning disability is neither a disorder nor a mental illness, it is a neurologically based characteristic. In my family of origin all of these were present from the time I was born. I can-not speak to any of the science or medical aspects of these conditions. I can speak to what it is like to live with them around me every day during my formative years. Of course, I only found words to identify my family experience when I was an adult. As a child, I just thought that this was how everyone experienced life. As an adult in therapy, I found that it was not. The impact of being surrounded by all this, was frus-tration and anger. I am grateful for all those in help-ing professions who have assisted me in processing, coping, and living life with joy and hopefulness. For me, one result of this early shaping of my life was to be distrustful and to assume the worst from oth-ers. I still need to be vigilant about this tendency, be-cause it can still creep into my daily life. My aware-ness of my own mental well-being helps me to keep a watchful eye out for learned tendencies. So does my faith. Faith molds me to care for others, love the un-likable, hope for the best, and to trust that God is be-fore me, behind me, beside me, under me, above me and within me. And that God does the same for eve-ry person. This encourages me to look for and hope for the best from each person with whom I interact. I am glad for the UCC’s advocacy for W.I.S.E. con-gregations (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supporting, En-gaged). The W.I.S.E. training provides resources and guidance to congregations who want to intentionally welcome persons with mental illnesses and disorders, as well as minister best to those who are now sitting in our pews. On our staff, Shernell is trained to assist churches go through W.I.S.E. training. Also, in west-ern New York, Karl Shallowhorn is trained and a member of the national UCC W.I.S.E. Board. We are resource rich in this conference. It is my prayer that we use these resources so that individuals and con-gregations can live productive and joy-filled lives. David

My Thoughts from November 13, 2019

Micro-management is not my inclination, but sometimes I do it. I like the big pic-ture. I like to dream dreams. I love a group visioning process. Nothing gets my heart pumping more than when a group comes to an “ah ha” moment together. And then when the vision becomes a reality, there is nothing better for me than the hum from a well-designed engine that is appreciated by all of those who worked to make it happen. Then there is also the opposite. This is when not only is there no hum, but the sounds of gears not meshing is painful to the ear. Something needs to be fixed. My temptation is always to look up closely and figure out exactly where is the piece that is not enmeshed with the other. Is one of the teeth on the gear broken? And this is when I am tempted (and to be honest, I am likely) to fall into micro-management mode. I can hear the voice of Rabbi Ed Friedman: “The more you over function, the more the system will under function. Differentiate yourself!” If something is not working: LET IT not work. That is the best thing you can DO for a system to improve its function-ing. Your responsibility is to attend to your own functioning. I can imagine the good Rabbi adding: “What is it that you Christians believe? Who is your Savior?” A good self-differentiated leader is not a Savior. Easy to say, not as easy to do. Sometimes, the best thing we can do when the engine stops humming and the gears freeze up, is nothing. David

THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 7

Dunkirk Auxiliary dues for 2016 are raising to $5 for single or family though we are accepting any donation amount in lieu of membership. They can be paid through Emmy Hess. $2 Samaritan Society Dues can be paid through Pat Jarmusz.

Community Music School of Buffalo (CMSB) Epiphany has become a music satellite for individual voice and instrumental lessons. For information or interest in lessons, please contact CMSB at 884-4887.

December 2019 12/1 12/8 12/15 12/22 12/29 GREETERS: Bob Metz Carol Schnaufer Carole Mathews Endres Family Pam Johnson USHERS Ed Miller Scott Howell Ed Miller Scott Howell Ed Miller Bev Miller Robert Knaus Bev Miller Robert Knaus Bev Miller Roger Hoeltke Shirley Wollenberg Roger Hoeltke Shirley Wollenberg Roger Hoeltke Paul Wollenberg Carol Leible Paul Wollenberg Carol Leible Paul Wollenberg Ed Stepien Dave Brockner Ed Stepien Dave Brockner Ed Stepien ELDERS: Paul Wollenberg Shirley Wollenberg Dave Brockner LAY READERS: Maegan Cobello Rob Knaus Helen Matthews Bev Miller Nancy Neubauer

ALTAR: Shirley Wollenberg Sharon Hamerski Carol Leible Carol Leible Bev Miller

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.

CHURCH SERVICES & Sunday School 10:00am** **coffee hour begins at 9:30am

OFFICE HOURS: 9:30-2:30 M, W. TH

Callers & Women’s Fellowship 1st Thursday 10:30am Meet at Ruth’s home, 67 Lou Drive, Depew

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Communion

Hanging of the

Greens

2 43 4 Outreach

7 pm

5 Callers 10:30

WF 11:00

6 7

Rental

8 Brunch w/

Friends

Brainstorm Mtg

After Brunch

9

10

11 12 Facilities

7 pm

13 14 Breakfast w/

Santa 9-11:30

Rental

15 Worship Mtg

11:30 am

16

17

18

19 Leadership

6:30 pm

20

21

Rental

22 Christmas

Pageant

Worship Service

5 pm

23

24 Christmas Eve

Service

5 pm

25 Christmas

26 27 28

Rental– Main

Rental– Front

29

30

31 New Year’s

Eve

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

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THE TIMES OF EPIPHANY Page 9

Epiphany United Church of Christ 9365 Clarence Center Rd. Clarence Center, NY 14032

Return Service Requested

Non Profit Organ.

U. S. POSTAGE

P A I D

Buffalo, N. Y.

Permit No. 675

Fundraising….

We will be collecting any Dash’s receipts for a

fundraiser going to the General Fund. It will be

ongoing. All receipts can be given to Kim or

put in the box in the back of the church.

Thank you!!

Advent Envelopes:

Advent Envelopes are now available.

The ushers will be handing them out. If

you did not receive one and would like

one, please check in the back for extras

or contact the office. Thank you!