Life has changed dramatically since our last e-newsletter. Just about a month ago, many of us gathered together for CYM's Family NIght. Thanks to Doug Sandburg I, Kelly Sandburg, Natalie Bottomley, and Deacon Mona for putting together a wonderful night of fun and fellowship.
Click here
to see photos of Family Night.
I hope that you and your loved ones are healthy and coping well with the coronovirus pandemic, even as the number of co-vid positive cases rise in Erie County, including Amherst and Williamsville. My prayers go to all of you who work in healthcare and to all families who have been financially impacted by this crisis.
Have you had a chance to catch some of the online services that the diocese and Calvary have been streaming? Bishop Sean Rowe has begun a weekly half-hour service on Sundays at 10 a.m. Scroll down the home page of the diocesan website to find the weekly link.
Afterwards, you can stream Calvary's Sunday 10:30 am services by clicking on the link near the bottom of
Calvary's homepage
, where you can also download the accompanying bulletin. Please contact the
church office
if you have not been receiving the email updates from Calvary. You can also visit Calvary's
photo website
,
Calvary's Facebook
page, or the
CYM Facebook
page to connect with our church family. Please consider sending
Alice Brown
a photo, video, or just a message telling what your children have been doing and how your family have been keeping faith during Lent. Alice will post your stories on our CYM Facebook page. Fr. Robert is encouraging us to make phone calls to others, especially those who do not have access to the Internet. Even as we do all we can to flatten the curve through social distancing, we can still keep in touch to support and inspire one another.
God's peace and blessings,
Emily Sityar
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REFLECTION:
Easter
Easter is the biggest Christian holiday we celebrate; this Easter will definitely be different because of the coronavirus. In the past, during Lent I would find myself in the Broadway Market buying a butter lamb. My daughters would get their picture taken with the Easter bunny. My mother would buy sausage for our feast on Easter. Those are some of our family traditions for Easter; what are yours? It saddens me that it won't be like that this year because we have to social distance ourselves, which also means not attending church. We might not be physically attending church, but that doesn't mean that we cannot worship. Let's pray for all of the workers and leaders that are guiding us through this time. Let's pray for our family and friends who might be sick or are working every day in the front lines of this virus. In such an uncertain time, though, let us not forgot to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
I found this on Facebook that was written by Laura Kelly Fanucci, it reads:
"When this is over, may we never again take for granted a handshake with a stranger, full shelves at the store, conversations with neighbors, a crowded theatre, Friday night out, the taste of communion, a routine checkup, the school rush each morning, coffee with a friend, the stadium roaring, each deep breath, a boring Tuesday, life itself. When this ends, may we find that we have become more like the people we wanted to be, we were called to be, we hoped to be and may we stay that way - better for each other because of the worst."
Happy Easter!
Natalie Bottomley
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CYM FAMILY NIGHT
On March 6, over 40 were in attendance at the Family Night and it appeared all had a good time. Some people were just leaving around 8:30 and usually by 8:00 most have left. Thanks to Deacon Mona who had a great project that kept the children and youth occupied for a time so parents had an opportunity to get to know one another. I would also thank both Natalie Bottomley and Kelly Sandburg for their help with phoning and with the games.
I asked for suggestions that parents would like to see in addition to game nights and some suggestions were: a night at the Golf Dome for putt putt, attend a Bisons game, and a Family barbecue/picnic. I started looking into a night at the Dome but with the coronavirus it had to be put on hold.
We will have to see when we are able to have Family Gatherings again but in the mean time if there are any activities you would like to see planned please e-mail me at [email protected].
We pray the coronavirus will subside in the near future and our lives are able to get back to normal.
Doug Sandburg I
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Saying a quick prayer is better than not saying a prayer at all. If we show our gratefulness for each and every blessing, more blessings will fill our hearts and lives. There's is always opportunity to say a short prayer, even if it is silent. God will always hear your prayers!
- Heavenly Father, I thank you for this glorious day we call Easter, where we celebrate the resurrection of your Son, Jesus! Let us rejoice in you and not forget our reason for joy this Sunday. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!
- Thank you, Lord, for _______! Amen!
- Lord, let your light surround those I love today and forevermore! Amen!
- Dear God, we thank you for showing Your love for us on the cross, giving us the chance to have this glorious day. Amen!
- Thank you, God, for Easter and this beautiful Spring day! Amen!
- Father God, I pray that your love surrounds those whom I love on Earth, and those who have left to spend their eternity with You. Amen!
- Lord, thank you for the gift of new life, the greatest gift of all! Amen!
adapted from gatheredagain.com
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Children's Chapel
Carol Mayo, Lora Bunting and Emily Sityar
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"Be still and know that God is here" is what we say at the beginning of Children's Chapel. It reminds us to stop and focus on God. It also reassures us that God is with us always, even when the world reels out of our control. And it calls us to respond to God's presence within us by being instruments of His peace. If you are looking for ways to pray at home with your children, you may try recreating our Children's Chapel service by lighting a candle or two to symbolize God's presence, and then following this
handout
that we have been using for Lent. Here are some links to children's hymns that we have learned at Children's Chapel:
Jesus Loves Me
, and
I've Got the Joy Down in My Heart
.
Belated birthday wishes to all who celebrated birthdays in March: Cinda Stone, Will English, Michael Mogavero, Noelle Jurkowski, and Olivia Fleming. Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating birthdays this month: Ben Lohnes, Cooper McCarthy, Ethan Andrews, and Evelyn LoTempio. May all of you have a blessed and happy Easter.
"Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!"
Emily Sityar
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Nursery (infant - 3 years)
Kelly Blackey
Olivia Fleming, assistant
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We miss seeing you in
person, but
hope your family still connects online! We are with you in spirit.
Kelly Blackey - Nursery Supervisor/Coordinator
Olivia (Livi) Fleming - Nursery Assistant
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Beginners Class (Pre-K & K)
Natalie Bottomley
Assistant: Andria McCarthy
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Hello from the Beginner Class!
I miss ALL of the children that attend Sunday school- which is a huge understatement. For the first time in our lives we are being asked to stay home, which of course means a lot of adjustment has to take place. I hope the children can enjoy this time with their families and pray a little more.
I use many resources for Sunday school, but one I would recommend is Sermon4kids.com, it is a great link/tool. There are many activities, such as coloring sheets you can print out. Other activities require help from an adult.
I hope you all find hope in this trying time and we see more signs of spring every day. We are halfway through Lent and of course April will bring us Easter. Happy Easter!! I look forward to seeing you all soon.
-Natalie Bottomley and Andria McCarthy
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Primary Class (Grades 1-3)
Cinda Stone, Jency John & Wes Stone
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Dear Primary students,
Miss Jency, Mr. Wes and I all miss seeing you around the campfire. We had so many fun lessons, crafts and stories planned for you.
I hope you are washing your hands, not touching your face and staying home. This is very important. Doing these things is an act of love, because it keeps all of us healthy.
I was thinking about how Noah and his family would have felt as he and the animals were floating around in the ark for 40 days and 40 nights. They must have been uncomfortable, especially not knowing how long they would have to stay on the ark. They were doing what God wanted them to do, so after the flood, life could begin anew. Forty day is a very long time, but it did come to an end. We will be back to our regular lives too. It may take awhile, but I know that staying home is the best thing to do to keep our community healthy.
While you are home being well behaved and kind to one another, say your prayers for all the people you love and especially the people who are the helpers.
I am looking forward to seeing you all again and getting the girl scout cookies I ordered!!!
Stay home, stay healthy and be kind!
The primary class team,
Cinda Stone, Jency John and Wes Stone
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Intermediate (Grades 4-6)
Patty Rooss & Kelly Mogavero
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These are challenging times as we battle the Coronavirus. Fortunately many of you are at home with your families and following the President's Coronavirus Guidelines for America. Unfortunately, that disrupts our normal activities like school, sports, social interaction and worship.
We can respond to these challenges by reaching out and trying some new things to maintain our spiritual connections. The links below take you to the weekly home newsletters that are included in our Sunday School Curriculum, "At Home with the Good News" for the month of April. Each weekly newsletter includes Gospel Reflections, family activities and family discussion suggestions.
April 12
EASTER (no newsletter)
We miss you all and can't wait until we can resume regular Church activities. In the meantime, you and your families are in our prayers.
-Mrs. Kelly and Miss Patty
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Handouts for Parents and Children
Living the Good News Handouts
Living the Good News
(LTGN) is the curriculum used by the Primary and Intermediate Sunday School classes. The curriculum is lectionary-based, so that lessons correspond to each Sunday's readings. If you plan to stream the Calvary's Sunday 10 am service, the LTGN's parent handouts may still be useful as supplements to the online worship services. Here are links for Sundays from March 29 through April 26. (There is no handout for Easter Sunday April 12 since we normally do not have Sunday School on Easter.)
Parent handouts:
Coloring Sheets, Word Searches, etc.
Color an Egg with suggestions for good things to give up or do for Lent:
Best Coloring Pages for Kids.com: Last Supper Coloring Sheet
Connect the Dots 101.com: Jesus Carrying the Cross
Includes 5 bingo cards and 1 set of calling cards . 1 Print all items. 2. Cut out the 5 bingo cards. (Optional: laminate the cards or cover them with contact paper.) 3. Cut out the calling cards (bottom of page 3) and place them in a box. 4. Use paper squares or small candy (jellybeans) to mark pictures that have been called. To play, the leader selects a calling card from the box and shows it to the players. Each player marks the corresponding picture on his/her bingo card. The first person to complete a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally wins.
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Need Help?
The Pastoral Care Ministries Committee wants you to know that we always are poised to help the members of our parish family, but especially at this time of great challenges, we are here to help with errands or meals, etc. We are happy to help in any ways we can! Please contact the parish office (633-7800), Fr. Robert (263-2392), or Elizabeth Harten (626-5787).
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United Thank Offering
Please continue to put whatever amount you can spare into your United Thank Offering box. UTO encourages people to notice the good things that happen each day and give thanks to God for those blessings by putting a daily offering into the UTO Blue Box. UTO is entrusted to receive the offerings and to distribute the 100% of what is collected to support innovative mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and Provinces of the Anglican Communion. At this time, we have no definite date for our UTO Ingathering.
The Blue Box Prayer
Almighty God, I give you praise
for blessing me in many ways.
Create in me a grateful heart
and with this gift a blessing
start. Amen.
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Bottle & Can Redemption Drive
The CYM Bottle Drive has been suspended until church services resume. Please stay home and stay safe!
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They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither;
everything they do shall prosper.
[Psalm 1:3]
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If you have not already done so, please download and return the
photo waiver.
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