Weekly News & Updates

February 11, 2026

Diocesan News

From the Bishop

Dear Friends in Christ,

As a confirmed Church Geek, I frequently read analyses of the church’s decline. According to Pew and other research firms, religion is struggling in America. That’s true across the spectrum of Christian Churches, including nondenominational megachurches, and it’s true for Judaism and Islam as well. The largest group of Americans claims no religious affiliation.

There’s lots of explanations for this reality: religion is a middle class endeavor, younger folks don’t trust institutions, people are fed up with church abuse scandals, the culture wars have divided churches by politics, etc. All of which have some truth. Recently I read an article about the “building centric model” of the church. Every religious institution is focused on (a) building(s) where religious activities take place. We now have many old and over-large buildings which are hard to maintain and aren’t adequate for today’s purposes. Too much of our life is focused on preserving the buildings and not on ministry. The article suggested that, for Christians, recovering a sense of being the Jesus Movement, meeting in smaller public and private spaces, is part of a solution. Interesting.

There’s no easy resolution to our dilemma. Both church canon and civil law require us to care for our buildings and address their needs. Selling church buildings is always a challenge. So I think we will continue to have many buildings. (Remember our Property Committee!) Yet I do agree that prioritizing relationships both in the church and with the community needs to be our focus.

This past week I met with the Deans for what turned out to be a very encouraging meeting. The Deans and I are rewriting the job description for the Deans and beginning an experiment in providing pastoral oversight to the clergy and congregations of our deaneries. The Deans have agreed to be in touch with the clergy as means of providing pastoral support. Our clergy often feel isolated and alone, and the Deans will be assisting me in caring for the clergy.

The Deans have also agreed to be available to assist congregations without a priest-in-charge with worship planning and Vestry decision-making. They will assist in complying with canonical requirements. Wardens and Vestry members in many of our churches are also working in isolation without a sense of connection to the Diocese and to the practices of The Episcopal Church. The Deans will make themselves available to churches who wish their support.

This is very much an experiment. I will meet with the Deans bimonthly for mutual encouragement and to keep track of our experience. The Diocesan Council is now studying the Deanery structure and may make recommendations for changes at our next Convention. This is very much a thought and practice experiment that the next Bishop can build upon. I’m paying the Deans a modest stipend for their time and for their accountability.

So, if you are contacted by your Dean, I invite you to welcome their call and to sit down for a conversation. This is a voluntary exercise, but I hope we might learn some things about supporting one another and strengthening our sense of being the Church together. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. Your wonderment may spur our thinking about additional ways to work together. Perhaps we can move closer to being the one Body of Christ.

Blessings,

+Steve

Letter to Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe from Anglican Church of Canada Archbishop Shane Parker

Dear people of God in The Episcopal Church:

This past Friday, I received this generous letter from Archbishop Shane Parker of the Anglican Church of Canada. I am grateful for his prayers for us all in this time of unrest, and I wanted you to know that our ministry and witness has not gone unnoticed by our siblings in Christ in Canada.

Read his letter HERE

Yours in Christ,

+Sean

The Most Rev. Sean Rowe

Presiding Bishop

The Episcopal Church

Project Resource

The next Project Resource Stewardship Conference, hosted by The College for Bishops, will begin February 22! Project Resource equips parish stewardship teams with strategic training and flexible resources to design and execute annual stewardship campaigns which can be replicated and adapted in future years. Project Resource is dedicated to fostering cultural and systemic advancements around stewardship as a ministry in the Episcopal Church.

Project Resource Spring 2026 Training is a way for congregations to engage in the work of stewardship in new and fruitful ways.

The course fee is $450 for a team of three members, with an additional cost of $125 per extra team member. Registration closes February 16.

For further details and registration, please visit: PROJECT RESOURCE

Diocesan Scholarships are available for Project Resource, contact Bishop Steve

Parochial Reports Due

It's that time of year again...2025 Online Filing by congregations is now open and is due March 1. Please contact Maria Manocchio (716-881-0660 x118) with any questions.

Please review carefully before submitting. Reports are due ONLINE by March 1. The form no longer includes a workbook or separate instruction guide. Instead, helpful

guidance is embedded directly within each section of the online report.

All reports must be submitted online, but if your congregation lacks internet access, the diocese is here to assist. A PDF VERSION of the form is available. Congregations

without internet access can complete the PDF, and diocesan staff will enter the

information online for you.

Please remember that completion of the Parochial Report is required for your congregation to receive voice and vote at the Diocesan Convention on October 23-24.

SUBMIT YOUR 2025 REPORT

2026 Congregation & Delegate Information Form

Once you have held your Annual Meeting, please remember to submit your CONGREGATION & DELEGATE FORM so that we can update your church record, contact information, and convention delegates.

The form is due by March 1.

Ashes To Go

A number of our congregations are offering Ashes To Go around the Diocese on February 18:

St. Paul's, Angola: Church parking lot, 10-11:30am

St. James, Batavia: East parking lot, 7:30-8:30am

St. Patrick's, Cheektowaga: Prayer bags with ashes to go, 10am-7pm

St. John's-Grace, Buffalo: Front of the Church, 8:30-9:30am

St. Matthias’, East Aurora: Drive-thru parking area along Maple St, 7:15-8am & 5:15-6pm

St. Paul's, Harris Hill: Church driveway/parking lot, 7-9am & 4-6pm

St. Luke's, Jamestown: Front of the Church on N. Main, 1-3pm

Church of the Advent, Kenmore: Church parking lot, 7-8:30am

Grace Church, Randolph: Triangle Park, Noon-1pm

St. David's, West Seneca: Church parking lot, 7am-6pm

Calvary, Williamsville: Church parking lot, 6am-6pm

Parish Leadership Day

The diocese will hold a Parish Leadership Day on March 7 at the Diocesan Ministry Center.

9-10am: Overview for new wardens and new vestry members

10am-3pm: Group presentations and breakout sessions for all parish lay leaders

As there will be multiple sessions, we recommend at least TWO members from each congregation to attend. We encourage all lay leaders to attend...warden, vestry member, treasurer, and all other lay leaders.

Lunch will be included as part of the day. Please REGISTER so that we have an accurate count for planning purposes.

Diocesan Grants Available

The Spring Grant Applications are due March 1. Contact Maria Manocchio (716-881-0660 x118) with any questions.

Details for all available grants and the applications can be found on the diocesan website Grant Page, CLICK HERE.

February Episcopints

Join the Rev. Laurence Wainwright-Maks on February 22 at 7pm for good conversation & warm connections at Fattey Beer Co. for our monthly get-together.

Bring your questions, bring a friend, just come as you are!

View our event on FaceBook

Calling all Fryers

As Lent approaches, we’re excited to welcome back our WNY Fish Fry tradition!

We’d love to help you spread the word...please send us your Fish Fry flyers and they will be included at the end of our weekly newsletters thru Lent. See Below!

Family Bowling

Strike up some fun with us at the Lanes on March 15 from 2-4pm at the Broadway Sports Center.

$10 per Bowler or $40 per Family, Includes:

2 Hours of Bowling
Show Rental
Pizza & Soda

RSVP to Wendy Schumacher

716-830-5443

Episcopal News Service

Stay informed on everything in the wider Church by visiting and/or subscribing to the Episcopal News Service (ENS).

ENS WEBSITE

Ordination Anniversaries

The Rev. Kim Greene: February 13

We give you thanks, almighty and gracious God, that you have blessed us with their ministry, and we pray that they may continue to exemplify in word and deed the Gospel of your Son. Amen

Youth & Children Ministry

YUM Schedule

Join Wendy Schumacher for Youth United in Ministry (YUM) for these upcoming events.

For details and to participate, please contact:

Wendy Schumacher

Missioner for Youth & Children

EMAIL or 716-830-5443

Church Profile

St. Matthias', East Aurora

What makes your church unique in the region and the diocese?

St. Matthias’ has had a presence in East Aurora for over 150 years. Our beautiful church building, designed by Robert North, an architect for many of the churches in WNY, is fashioned after the country churches of southern England. Our church fits in with Elbert Hubbard’s Art & Crafts Roycroft enterprise. The recently restored stained glass window above the altar was designed by an original Roycroft artisan, and the Reredos and Stations of the Cross were hand tooled by...READ MORE

Congregational News

Supporting the People of Minneapolis

In support of the people of Minneapolis, St. James, Batavia has sent funds to St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Richfield, Minnesota (a Minneapolis suburb) for their Casa Maria Food Shelf/Food Share. Casa Maria serves much of the Hispanic immigrant population and is a safe place for neighbors to gather, receive groceries and clothing, and network with others about health care options, employment, and housing.

From their website: Due to the current crisis in our community, we are quickly adapting our operations to include food delivery and we are rapidly expanding our capacity. To do so, we are in urgent need of financial donations.

Andy Warhol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Souper Bowl Sunday

Wherever Canon Barbara Price has served, she has encouraged congregations to mark “Souper Bowl Sunday” on Super Bowl weekend. The tradition is simple: a flavor of soup is assigned to each of the competing teams — this year Seattle and New England — with a third option for those who truly don’t care. Parishioners “vote” by bringing cans of their chosen soup and placing them in the matching receptacle.

At St. John’s, Youngstown — where average Sunday attendance is about 30, and dips into the teens during these bitterly cold weeks — the parish still showed up in a big way, collecting 63 cans of soup for the local food pantry.

Coincidentally (?) New England’s soup this year was turkey… and Bills fans are nothing if not loyal. Did that affect the totals? We may never know. But there was laughter, a little good-natured needling of the Patriots, and most importantly, hungry neighbors were fed.

Bravo, St. John’s, Youngstown!

Congregational Events

Lent at the Cathedral

Ash Wednesday, February 18 at

12:05pm - Holy Eucharist, Rite II, with the Imposition of Ashes. No Music.

7:00pm - Holy Eucharist, Rite II, with the Imposition of Ashes with hymns, organ and choir.

Center City Lent Series

A number of churches in the Central Erie Deanery will be coming together again this year for a joint Lenten study. This program will be in-person only (no hybrid).

This year's series will be Unbound: Seeking the Freedom of God’s Love. Together, we will follow Jesus through the wilderness and into the heart of the Empire. Along the way, we’ll wrestle with what it means to be truly free: to remove our masks, reject false power, center the excluded, accept God’s love, and choose life even in the shadow of darkness and despair. We’ll meet characters like Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well, the man born blind, and Lazarus, and explore how Jesus invites each of them – and us – to step into the light to claim life abundant.

We will meet on Wednesday evenings from 5-7pm, enjoy a light Lenten supper of soup and bread, and discuss the week's reflection from the series. The schedule is:

February 25: St. Philip's

March 4: St. Paul's Cathedral

March 11: Trinity, Buffalo

March 25: St. John's-Grace

April 1: St. Mark and All Saints

St. Paul's Lenten Bible Study

On Tuesday evenings, Dean Rebecca will lead a study on the Gospel of John. The program will be on the Cathedral Zoom Page from 7-8:30pm on 2/24, 3/3, 3/10, 317, 3/24, and a final session on Easter Tuesday, 4/7. We will look at an overview of the "Fourth Gospel" while giving greater attention to the readings from the Gospel that are part of the Lenten and Holy Week Lectionary. (If you are unable to attend the Wednesday evening Center City Lent sessions in Buffalo, this will be a good alternative.) For more information, please contact Dean Rebecca.

Music at St. Mark's

St. Mark's, LeRoy - Presenting our 5th annual concert series, starting February 12 at 7pm. The four programs in the series represent a wide range of musical styles from oldies pop to experimental to songs of Chile and ending with bluegrass. St. Mark's received a grant from the Genesee-Orleans Arts Council that covers the majority of the expenses; all concerts are free to attend.

Absalom Jones Celebration at St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo - Join us for a celebration of Absalom Jones and Black History Month on February 14 at 11am. Holy Eucharist will be celebrated followed by a reception hosted by the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE), Bishop Holly Chapter.

The guest preacher for the Eucharist will be The Rev. Canon Masud Ibn Syedullah, TSSF. Born into a family with a Christian mother and a Muslim father, Father Syedullah has a keen awareness and sensitivity for racial and interfaith concerns and helping Christians understand their call to be in positive relationship with people of other faiths and to work to end the ignorance, fear, and hatred done in the name of religion that fuels so much violence and destruction in today’s world.

The service music includes a special program featuring works by African-American composers. Jaman Dunn-Danger, former Asst. Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, professor at UB, and outstanding baritone will be our special musical guest.

A joint choir from across the Diocese is being assembled. If you are a singer, or your church choir wishes to be part of the festival choir under the direction of Jaman Dunn-Danger, please contact Patricia Hills, St. Paul's Cathedral Choir Director, as soon as possible for more information.

The offering will benefit the Absalom Jones Fund which helps support historically Black colleges and universities affiliated with The Episcopal Church since the 1800s.

The Absalom Jones celebration is co-sponsored by St. Paul's Cathedral; St. Philip's Church; The Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE), Bishop Holly Chapter; and the WNY & NWPA Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination. Street parking, public parking lots, & a public parking garage under Main Place Mall (less than a block away) are available.

We hope you will join us and invite others from your community to be part of this special day!

Hearts of Hope Support Group

St. Paul's, Harris Hill - We will be meeting February 14 at 10am in the church’s Library/Office.

We invite anyone experiencing a sense of the grief of loss of any kind to join us in conversation and sharing, as much or as little as one cares to, with others who are experiencing similar feelings and circumstances as their daily lives continue in unfamiliar ways. Sharing our humanity can, to some extent, lighten the burden.

MASS APPEAL Concert

Calvary, Williamsville - Join us for MASS APPEAL on February 15 at 4pm, directed by Roland Martin. Three complete musical settings of the Mass will include a lyrical setting by Gabriel Faure', written for female voices and organ, followed by Joseph Haydn's "Little Organ Mass", a brief setting for strings, organ, choir and soprano soloist.

The featured work on the program is a brand new setting of the Mass by Julian Allcock, a British rock bass guitarist living in Bruges, Belgium. This very innovative work is scored for chorus, baritone solo, and a small ensemble of instruments. The concert is bookended by two settings of the Gloria, the first from the 14th century, the other by the great J.S. Bach.

Come and enjoy the mass appeal of MASS APPEAL.

Soup Sale

Trinity, Lancaster - Place your soup order by February 15 for pick-up February 20 from 4-6pm.

Choose form Vegetarian Vegetable or Pasta E Fagioli...$10 per Quart.

Order Now: 716-683-1111

Memorial Pancake Supper

Church of the Advent, Kenmore - Join us February 17 for our annual Memorial Pancake Supper in loving memory of Randy Rumley.

FREE WILL Offering from 5-7pm.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner

Christ Church, Lockport - Join us for a FREE WILL Offering Pancake Dinner on February 17 from 5-7pm.

Shrove Tuesday Chicken & Waffles

St. Philip's, Buffalo - Join us for a Mardi Gras Party on February 17 from 5-8pm.

For $25 you can enjoy all-you-can-eat Chicken & Waffles!

Music, masks, & Mardi Gras vibes!!

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

St. John's, Wilson - Kick off the Lenten Season with a Pancake Supper offered by the Mothers of Pre-Schoolers (MOPS) Group.

Join us for a Free Will offering on February 17 from 4-6:30pm. Inside seating and takeout options available.

Pancakes, toppings, sausage, & homemade applesauce!!

Winter Concert with The Deneckes

St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Grand Island - join us for an intimate evening concert of original folk music.

The Deneckes, a celestial folk duo from Andover, NY, will offer a winter concert on February 28 at 7pm.

Reception to follow.

Our Little Roses, Honduran Luncheon

Calvary, Williamsville & Church of the Advent, Kenmore - Join us on March 14 at Calvary to benefit the girls at Our Little Roses, Honduras.

Doors open at 11:30am for the Basket Raffle, 50/50, & Honduran sale items. Lunch begins at 1pm.

Tickets are $30 each (pre-sale only and limited to 110 tickets). Call/text or Venmo to Kathy Barton at 716-534-1498 before March 1 to reserve. Please make checks payable to: Church of the Advent, with Honduran Luncheon in the omemo line.

Lenten Fish Frys

Calling all Fryers

As Lent approaches, we’re excited to welcome back our WNY Fish Fry tradition! We’d love to help you spread the word...please send us your Fish Fry flyers so we can include them in our weekly newsletters thru Lent.