It was a treat to see our Calvary kids in their Halloween costumes and to have many families at the October Children's Service. Thanks to all the children and youth who participated as readers, oblation bearers and usher helpers, and thanks to everyone who brought something for Coffee Hour, which CYM co-hosted with the Stewardship Committee.
November is a month for giving thanks. Thanks to all our Calvary kids for brightening our days by sharing their thoughts and their joy; thanks to all the parents for supporting our program and sharing their children with us; and thanks to all our clergy, staff, and volunteers for sharing their experience and talents to make God's love known through music, prayer, lessons, and fun. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Emily Sityar
Calvary CYM Co-Chair
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Upcoming Events at Calvary
11/3
: Remember to turn your clocks back!
11/10: The Scholarship Committee will lead the 9 a.m. Forum.
11/11: Scholarship Success Event. Panel discussion at 1 p.m.
11/15
:
CYM Family Game Night with pizza from 6 - 8 p.m. Bring a friend.
11/17: Baptism of Oliver Lux at the 10 a.m. service.
CYM Meeting from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
11/24: Children's Service Sunday at 10 a.m.
12/3: 6 p.m. Tour of WECK Radio Station
12/7: Noon - 3 p.m. Parent Shopping Day
12/8: Advent Crafts Celebration during Sunday School.
Bishop Sean Rowe Visits Calvary
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REFLECTION:
Giving Thanks
During this month of November when we think about all that we're thankful for, I'm reminded of my mother who taught me the importance of saying "thank you" to anyone who gave me a gift. Every birthday and every Christmas, before I could play with any toy, my mother would sit me down and make me write a thank you note to everyone who gave me a gift. I often asked my mother, "Can't I write the thank you notes tomorrow?" She said to me, "Absolutely not! You're doing it right now!"
Believe me, I didn't like writing all those thank you notes on Christmas Day or my birthday, but later I began to understand why it's so important to say "thank you" to someone who has done something nice for me. It shows that I am grateful for the gift that was given. They didn't have to give me anything. When I say "thank you" I'm letting them know how much I am grateful for what they gave.
So to help me with what to say in my thank you notes, my mother gave me a script to use with fill-in-the-blanks, and I still remember it today. Dear (blank), Thank you for my (blank). It looks so good on my (blank). Thank you, again. Robert. I was to fill in the blanks with the name of the gift. This script worked for most toys but it didn't work for everything. For example, I remember using this script for an aunt who often gave me pants for my birthday. So my thank you note to her said this: "Dear Aunt Giles. Thank you for my pants. It looks good on my legs. Thank you, again, Robert."
Well now that I'm a little older, I put a bit more thought into how I say "thank you." During the month of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my mother who taught me the importance of saying thank you. Thank you, Mother!
Father Robert Harvey
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Children's Chapel
Carol Mayo, Lora Bunting and Emily Sityar
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During November, we will write prayers of thanks to say during our circle time at Children's Chapel.
We will be singing
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands.
Here are the words to the hymn, should you wish to sing it at home:
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands!
2. He's got the little bitty babies in His hands
3. He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands
4.
He's got everybody here in His hands
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Nursery (infant - 3 years)
Kelly Blackey
Olivia Fleming, assistant
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We are ready to welcome more children! Nursery doors are open at 8:45 a.m. Livi and I will stay after Sunday School for those kiddos that are too restless to go upstairs. Any parental volunteers are more than welcome to come assist on any Sunday.
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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The beginner class children are still enjoying listening to bible stories, making crafts, playing games and having play time!
We will discuss what we are thankful for and introduce children to the life and works of Jesus in November.
Please feel free to stop in and view some of the beautiful artwork the children have made.
-Natalie Bottomley and Andria McCarthy
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Primary Class (Grades 1-3)
Cinda Stone, Jency John & Wes Stone
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Greetings from all of us in the Primary Class!
In the month of October, we pondered on the concepts of faithfulness, faith, perseverance and thankfulness through various parables of Jesus in the book of Luke, each week.
In Luke 17:5-10, Jesus tells his followers that small amount of faithfulness will lead to great things. We narrated this to the kids through the story of a young boy who took part in a challenge by the Emperor of the country who was looking for an heir. The empower had given out seeds to all young boys in the village and challenged them to bring back blooming plants from those seeds. The boy had a green thumb but yet could not get the seed to sprout. While the rest of the village brought the emperor sprouted and blooming flowers from their seeds, this young boy mustered the courage to tell the truth that he could not make the seed to sprout despite all his efforts. The boy was crowned future king as he was faithful in the small thing he was entrusted to do, while everyone else cheated and lied to the king. The king had given them all seeds that were boiled and would never have sprouted!
We learned it is important to be grateful through the story of 10 lepers in Luke 17:11-19. The class enjoyed narrating the story of 'The Grateful Leper' through a puppet show where everyone got to be a puppet character and two of our students were narrators.
 We learned about perseverance through the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. We learned to Never Give Up, and use the power of YET as we face challenges. We enjoyed making a superwoman / Superman with cape saying "N" G" "U"; our super power of persistence. We learned the difference between need and want, and to pray for our needs.
We also practiced finding the parables in the Bible each week. One or more students volunteered to read the Bible verses to the class as well!!
We look forward to working with the class in the month of November on the beatitudes that remind us to look for joy and happiness in small things; importance of being steady in faith through difficult times as not a hair on our head will perish without God knowing. We have been blessed with such a great class of kids, and look forward to the month of Thanksgiving!
Primary team,
Jency John, Cinda Stone, and Wes Stone
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Intermediate (Grades 4-6)
Patty Rooss & Kelly Mogavero
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In October, the Intermediate Class learned that Jesus uses hyperbole to illustrate how he makes the impossible possible. He says we only need faith the size of a tiny mustard. We also learned that we can see the world in a more favorable light, and help others see it too, when we have gratitude for the blessings He bestows upon us. Finally, we learned that Jesus wants us to persist in prayer and persevere even when it seems we are not getting what we want. We also painted pumpkins and made decorations in preparation for Halloween.
In November, we will see how Jesus seeks out those who are dishonest and unjust and encourages them to live by God's commandments to earn salvation. We will also explore Jesus' teachings about the end times, our resurrection and life after death. These lessons will be illuminated by creative activities such as painting, drawing, music and role playing.
Patty Rooss and Kelly Mogavero
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Youth Helpers
Thanks to Dan and Michael Mogavero for helping with last month's Fall Clean Up day. They polished the pews and woodwork as part of a service project working towards their black belt in tae kwon do.
Thanks to Jacob and Sawyer Kaiser for volunteering with their parents during Calvary's turn to serve meals to the homeless and needy at the Friends of Night People in Buffalo. They earned community service hours for high school.
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Family Fun Night!
Friday, November 15 is the date and 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. is the time for a
Family Night
with
pizza
along with salad, fruit and drinks and then
games.
This notice is for parents with tots to teenagers! Save the date and come to a fun night at Calvary Episcopal Church so every one can get to know one another
.
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Scholarship Success!
Calvary's Scholarship Committee is hosting a Scholarship Success Event with the Buffalo Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the WNY School Counselors Association on Veteran's Day, November 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. High school juniors, seniors, and their parents are encouraged to come learn about how to write an effective scholarship application. Click here for more information.
In addition to attending the event, high school students may also volunteer to greet attendees, help serve refreshments, or set up/clean up at the event. If your youth wishes to volunteer at this event, thus earning community service hours if applicable, please email Mary Bashore. Please spread the word about this event.
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Congratulations to Our Newest Acolytes-in-Training
During last month's acolyte training session, Fr. Harvey trained three new acolytes: Andrew Scalfani-Cohen, Campbell Howell, and Dylan McCarthy. Thank you for committing to this fun and spiritually-fulfilling ministry assisting the clergy in leading the worship of God.
Thanks to senior acolyte Bailey Kowalczewski for helping Fr. Harvey during the training session. And thanks to all our regular acolytes who continue to serve in this ministry.
It's not too late: anyone in 4th grade or higher is welcome to join the acolyte ministry, which is not an "every Sunday" commitment.
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WECK Radio Station Tour
Have you tuned in to WECK radio to listen to Fr. Robert Harvey's Seeds of Hope messages? If enough people from Calvary are interested, WECK radio will open their doors and give a free tour of the station on December 3 at 6 p.m. The 45 minute long tour will include the production of a live radio broadcast. Fr. Robert will also speak more about Seeds of Hope, a community outreach program spreading uplifting messages for our troubled and divisive world. Space will be limited. Children must be at least 6 years old, and
children under 10 should be accompanied by an adult. Contact the office if you are interested.
Do you own a business? Sponsors of the Seeds of Hope program will be granted some airtime on WECK radio to promote their business. Contact the Calvary Church office to learn more about becoming a Seeds of Hope sponsor.
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Children's Service
Our October Children's Service was great! Remember to sign up now to help November 24.
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Bottle & Can Redemption Drive
Redeemable bottles and cans labeled with "NY State 5ยข refund" may be placed in the bins by Calvary's parking lot entrance or returned directly to either of our two redemption centers.
Remember to tell them to credit your returns to "Calvary Episcopal Church." If you can, please sign up on the sheet posted on the Sunday School Bulletin Board to empty our bins and bring the bottles and cans to our redemption centers.
Many thanks for contributing to our drive!
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Register for Online Safe Church Training
Safe Church Training protects not only volunteers and employees, but also those under their charge. Volunteers such as Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, and youth camp staff are required to take several modules. Clergy and employees of the diocese and its congregations are required to take even more. Learn more on the diocesan website.
Safe Church training is available online and is valid for three years. Once you register from the diocesan website, you will receive an email with log-in information for the classes you need to complete. Note, this email will not come immediately. Contact Michael Brown with any questions.
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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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