Because God's
love is for all

Everyone is always welcome.
We pray that God may bless you with
peace, inspiration, and strength. We are a community, seeking to learn what it means
to follow Jesus. No matter what you may
be going through no matter where
you may be on your faith journey,

you are most welcome here!

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God Loves Me Story Time
Every Tuesday 10:00-11:30
Register here

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Live Worship Steaming available and Service in Church

at 10:30AM Sundays!!!

It will be streamed on Facebook Live on our Facebook page

www.Facebook.com/firstprestona/live

NEWS FOR THE PEWS May 22, 2025

Hi Friends,

"Can you imagine a God who dances with shouts of joy, laughs when you laugh, loves to play, enjoys life, and invites us to join the fun?"

This is the way that author Christine Aroney-Sine opens her book, The Gift of Wonder: Creative Practices for Delighting in God. She goes on to explain:

"I couldn’t until recently. I grew up with a serious, workaholic type of God who chastised me for not keeping busy twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Even when I realized this was not what God was really like, it was hard to change. I felt guilty when I slowed down, took a break, or just went out and had fun. This following Jesus is serious business after all. Like the disciples who tried to chase away the children that came to Jesus, I couldn’t be bothered with frivolous practices where play and laughter disrupted my routines. Gasping in awe and wonder at an opening blossom or a slow-moving caterpillar seemed like a waste of time."

Our Calvin Worship grant for storytelling includes this book, which we'll be introducing with a study June 4th and then inviting all of us to follow throughout the summer. I'll be preaching on various chapters, and I'll be making time to gather informally with you all as we explore these 14 chapters together.

Pick up your copy today, or call the office to reserve your copy. If you prefer Kindle, you can purchase the book through Amazon.

Christine recommends creating a tool kit for use alongside this book. Each chapter will invite you to play and explore, using whatever your favorite methods: art, doodling, knitting, taking photos, clay, LEGOs, walking shoes, or a yoga mat.

We'll discuss the introduction of this book at The Pastor's Study on Wednesday, June 4, at 11:00AM in the parlor, and again at 7:00PM hybrid (in the parlor as well as on zoom). Bring your friends! This is open to the whole community, as well as to all the churches of the presbytery.

Join FPCT for worship this Sunday, May 25, 2025, at 10:30am in person and livestreamed on Facebook. Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit. What’s the story for us? What Makes You Feel Close to God? How do we show the Spirit’s presence with us? Scriptures this week include Acts 16:9-15, Psalm 67, and John 14:23-39. Join us to pray together, hear stories from scripture, find your church home, here at First Presbyterian Church of Tonawanda.

See you soon,

Pastor Rebecca

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Prayer Shawl Knitters Group - 2nd Monday of the month from 3pm-4pm

St Francis Prayer Shawl Knitters Group has asked to use our church for their Prayer Shawl Ministry that they have been doing for years at St. Francis. The group has invited anyone from our church to join them. The group will meet the 2nd Monday of each month - Monday, June 9th from 3pm-4pm. More details to follow.

News for the Pews By Mail:

We've heard that US Mail service is taking longer for local mail, and this affects a few of our homebound members who use the printed bulletin to follow along with Sunday's worship on the livestream. Bulletins that used to arrive by Saturday are now arriving on Monday, too late to participate fully in worship. We mail these out at the end of the work week, Thursdays at 2:00 pm, just after the materials are printed for Sunday. The bulletins aren't ready to mail out before Thursday, but here are a few options:

* Use the digital version that is emailed out to everyone on Thursdays

* Ask a friend to pick up your bulletin between noon and 2:00 pm on Thursdays

* Or, is anyone willing to pick up and deliver the 5 or so envelopes that are being affected?

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God’s Story/Our Story @ 1st Pres Tonawanda

This program is made possible through a Vital Worship Grant from the
Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.

Is God at work in your life right now? Join us for our 2025 Calvin Worship Institute Worshiping Communities grant project,

“God’s Story/Our Story.”

Our project combines theory with practice, as we offer practical courses and workshops in Godly Play, Out of the Box Stories, and Pretending Bible Stories. Our study groups discuss and reflect on several books in a Wednesday Book Club format, in person at 11:00 am or hybrid at 7:00 pm (in person or zoom). All individuals and church groups are welcome.

More information: Rev. Dr. Rebecca Chaffee, revrebeccachaffee@gmail.com

The Gift of Wonder: Creative Practices for Delighting in God, by Christine Aroney-Sine

Christine’s book offers us 14 chapters, each with a specific practice that invites us into a state of play and wonder that can help us to recapture the sense of “becoming like a child” that Jesus calls us to. Use these practices to explore God’s story and to understand your faith story. This makes a great summer devotional to pursue alone or in small groups.

Kick start your summer of wonder with us Wednesday, June 4, 2025, 11:00am or 7:00pm. Then return in September for a workshop with Christine.

Read more here: godspace.wordpress.com/about/

The God of Story: Discovering the Narrative of Scripture Through the Lage of Storytelling, by Daniel Schwabauer.

Daniel invites us to engage with scripture by viewing God as the Master Storyteller. He writes: “Many of us have been taught to read Scripture as a collection of information that needs to be categorized, systematized, and analyzed ... But the Bible isn't a jigsaw puzzle, and it wasn't written in just Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It was also written in the language of story.”

Book studies on 4 Wednesdays, June 11-July 2, 11:00am or 7:00pm. Daniel joins us this summer for conversation and supper on Saturday, July 12, 2025, 3:00-6:00pm.

Please, if you are able to walk, we would appreciate if you would park on the surrounding streets near the church

and leave the spaces in our parking lot for our folks who need them most. Thanks very much.

More Information

Because God's love is for all