Six years ago, the people of St. Paul’s, Harris Hill, prepared for Christmas by filling tote bags with books for the children of Buffalo Public School 6. The next year, they added hats and gloves to the bags, and the year after that, socks. This year, the bags were so plentiful that they lined the…
Last week, more than 225 people from across the region participated in the Emmaus Gatherings, a series of five meetings designed to invite participation in the development of the partnership’s mission strategy. “This was amazing,” said Cheryl Wild of Epiphany, Grove City, and Memorial Church of Our Father, Foxburg. “I felt connected with people because…
Bishop Sean is often heard to say that Episcopalians need to experiment for the sake of the gospel. Last month, St. David’s in West Seneca did just that when its rector, the Rev. Claudia Scheda, and several parishioners experimented with a new kind of prayer ministry. The idea originated when a member of the congregation…
In this new video, Bishop Sean offers an update on what’s happened since April, when the partnership of the Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York got underway. He invites everyone to convention in Erie on October 25 and 26, but don’t expect business as usual! Convention begins with registration and continental breakfast from…
The Rev. Melinda Hall spent time in South Korea, Lebanon and England and lived in Kentucky and New Jersey before she moved to Brookville, Pennsylvania. Despite her global experience, she hoped her next career move would keep her in the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania. That wish came true on Sunday when she was named dean-elect…
Next month, congregations in the diocese will receive in the mail a DVD that contains a new how-to video on refugee ministry titled “Welcoming the Stranger.” The production, completed just in time for World Refugee Day on June 20, is the result of a two-and-a-half year collaboration between the people of St. Peter’s, Eggertsville, their…
It’s summer camp week, and Bishop Sean has flipped the script for this episode of “Ask the Bishop” and is asking the campers questions! Check it out below:
Earlier this month, the Bishop James Theodore Holly Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians hosted the organization’s Northeast Regional Conference in Niagara Falls. The weekend event, which included Episcopalians from across the region, will benefit the Dioceses of Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania for years to come, its organizers say. “We wanted a…
Dear friends, Every Easter morning, I find myself relieved that it was Mary Magdalene, and not me, who was the first one at the empty tomb. She had what it took: a profound faith in what she saw but did not yet understand and a willingness to proclaim the Resurrection without confirmation or analysis. Those…
Dear friends in Christ: Thank you for the generous welcome that you extended to Carly, Lauren and me on Sunday at St. Paul’s Cathedral. I was glad to see so many of you and to have the chance to worship together. I am especially grateful that we were able to begin our ministry together by…
Every time I have made a big decision without pausing, listening and waiting, it hasn’t worked out too well. Each time I’ve rushed into a solution, forced a solution, demanded a solution right now, I find myself disappointed, frustrated and stuck. But when I make room for the Holy Spirit, when I allow myself the…
Nearly 300 people turned out last weekend for three events with the Very Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, an eminent theologian and dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Her visit to the diocese marked the rebirth of the Diocesan Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination, led by the Honorable…
