Church of Tonawanda
From The Pastor
Thursday, May 14, 2026​
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NEWS FOR THE PEWS
FROM THE PASTOR​
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Dear Friends,
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I’m enjoying a month-long course called “Restore Your Soul,” led by Rev. Kiran Young Wimberly, the composer and lead for the group Celtic Psalms. (You may have heard me playing her music during Prayer Covenant, Knitting on Thursdays, or in my office while I’m working.)
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One resource Kiran offers us is a simple grounding practice. You can do this anytime, anywhere: walking, sitting, swimming, standing. Give yourself 3 minutes to pause and rest against a solid surface. Feel your feet firmly planted on the floor. Feel the ground push back against your steps. Feel the chair cradle your body. Feel the water pressure keep you afloat. Feel a solid surface support your arms as you lean in. You’re seeking to capture that physical sense of connection between your body and the world around you. Locate yourself in space. How does that feel? Focus on that feeling, and you will remain fully present, not reliving the past or anticipating the future. This brief practice can help you create moments of calm in a busy life. With this grounding resource in your tool kit, you can be more resilient when everyday stress or moments of acute panic strike.
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I look forward to hearing what grounding feels like to you. I’d love to have a sit-and-chat with you, too! Would you like prayer? I’m happy to meet with you at home or at church and lift you and your family up in prayer. God wants to hear from us, and God wants us to support one another. Reach out, or join me for Prayer Covenant on Tuesday.
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Join FPCT for worship this Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 10:30am in person and livestreamed on Facebook. We celebrate Ascension Sunday with stories of this transition in the relation of Jesus with his disciples. What’s the story for us? Scriptures this week include Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 47, and Luke 24:44-53. Join us to pray together, hear stories from scripture, find your church home, here at First Presbyterian Church of Tonawanda.
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See you soon,
Pastor Rebecca
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***Pastor Rebecca will be away on vacation with her family next week, returning May 26th. She appreciates your prayers for a safe journey to the Rocky Mountains for a family wedding, and to Michigan for a High School graduation. (and the pastoral care coverage)
Next Week:
Wear red for Pentecost on Sunday, May 24! Elder Diane Charsley leads worship in Pastor Rebecca's absence.
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Here’s a prayer I love: Feeling Close to God
“The kingdom of God is among you.” Luke 17:21
I feel the sunshine on my face
and the warmth of your love that surrounds me.
The beating of my heart and the expansion of my lungs
remind me of the life within me.
With you, God, I live, and move, and have my being.
In the stillness of my being and the movement of my body,
I am amazed at how alive I am.
My thoughts and memories connect my past and my present,
as I anticipate the future.
With you, God, I live, and move, and have my being.
Your hand is always on my shoulder.
With you, God, I live, and move, and have my being.
(from Call on Me: A Prayer Book for Young People)
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Free Pizza, Pop & Praise - Thursday, May 14th at 5:30pm
Join us for a relaxed, all-ages community sing-along with feel-good songs—plus FREE pizza.
Senior Housing
Some of our members are looking for housing options closer to the church. I wonder whether any of our members know someone who would like to rent a room or two to another member, either for short-term or long-term housing? Or do you know of a safe, inexpensive apartment? If you can help our members find senior housing, please contact Pastor Rebecca.
Prayer Covenant Group
Our next weekly 20-minute prayer gathering is held on Tuesday, May 19, at 10:00 am in the Chapel. We gather in silence as music plays, entering the chapel when we are ready to pray. We are invited to light a candle and use the praying in color materials as you wish.
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Session Shorts: April 20, 2026
Pastor Rebecca provided a summary of Pastoral Care visits, worship services and gatherings, programming and vacation and study leaves. While Pastor Rebecca and Scott attend their daughter’s wedding, Diane Charsley will lead worship on May 17. Pastor Rebecca reported that the new grant proposal had been completed and a vote was taken to permit its submission.
Worship Team reported that a new style of pew envelopes will be ordered. Communion dates were set for the first Sunday of each month through August. September’s communion will be September 13 to avoid Labor Day weekend. New candles will be ordered for the sanctuary.
Finance reported March income as $13,941 with expenses of $14,863. Year-to-date income was $45,172 with, after expenses, a deficit of $12,794. Investment account balance was $269,551.
Deacons have reviewed the homebound list and assigned each of those individuals to a Deacon. The clothing collection for Tonawanda Schools continues. Money was allotted to purchase food and personal items for the Body and Soul Food Pantry.
Outreach reported that 32 members, friends and kids attended the latest (4/16) Sing For Your Supper event. The next is May 14, 5:30-7:30pm.
HR Ministry Team proposed a job description for the Administrative Assistant position opening on July 1, 2026.
For The Good of the Church: Nancy Bassett would like to host a craft day before Advent. Diane shared that a free trial of an electronic sign has been offered and she will investigate permit requirements. Several members are still in need of local senior housing options. Can you help?
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask an Elder. Remember, Session meetings are open to all!
Prayer Covenant Group
Our next weekly 20-minute prayer gathering is held on Tuesday, Mar. 17, at 10:00 am in the Chapel. We gather in silence as music plays, entering the chapel when we are ready to pray. We are invited to light a candle and use the praying in color materials as you wish. This service will also be hosted on zoom using this link:
This year, Reformed Worship, published by Calvin Theological Seminary, offers us a year-long worship series called Grounded & Growing. This series offers us resources for worship throughout the year with a theme that converges with our own theme of Growing in Faith Together, and our adoption of the image of a tree planted by water, from Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
Joyce Borger offers this reflection in her introduction to this week’s Grounded and Growing theme:
“The Lenten road is not an easy one. It runs through wilderness and weariness, through confession and costly trust. But at some point in the journey, something unexpected happens. The season pauses to let hope show its full face.
“The people of Israel are worn out by the desert, tired of wandering, tired of manna, tired of trusting. They are inveterate complainers (just like us). They are stubbornly rebellious (like us). And they suffer the consequences of their own impatience. Still —in the midst of their trouble—God makes a way of healing: a lifted sign. This is a mercy they did not earn and could not manage or manipulate.
“Then Jesus reaches back into that old story and says, That is what my life will be like—lifted up, given away, offered for the healing of the world. The Son of Man will be raised not first in glory, but in suffering, and through that suffering, life will come.
“And Paul is clear: we are not saved by our effort or our moral muscle. We are saved by grace: a gift. This is what it means to be grounded and growing in the middle of Lent—to remember that even here, in the dry places, God is still at work, coaxing life out of hard soil and bringing green shoots out of ground we thought was spent. Today is a day to lift our eyes, to take heart, and to trust again in the healing mercy of God.”
During our Lenten journey through the wilderness we will pray,
Holy God, ground us in your grace.
Grow us in your love.
Lead us in your way.[1]
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This year, Reformed Worship, published by Calvin Theological Seminary, offers us a year-long worship series called Grounded & Growing. This series offers us resources for worship throughout the year with a theme that converges with our own theme of Growing in Faith Together, and our adoption of the image of a tree planted by water, from Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
Joyce Borger offers this reflection in her introduction to this week’s Grounded and Growing theme:
“The Lenten road is not an easy one. It runs through wilderness and weariness, through confession and costly trust. But at some point in the journey, something unexpected happens. The season pauses to let hope show its full face.
“The people of Israel are worn out by the desert, tired of wandering, tired of manna, tired of trusting. They are inveterate complainers (just like us). They are stubbornly rebellious (like us). And they suffer the consequences of their own impatience. Still —in the midst of their trouble—God makes a way of healing: a lifted sign. This is a mercy they did not earn and could not manage or manipulate.
“Then Jesus reaches back into that old story and says, That is what my life will be like—lifted up, given away, offered for the healing of the world. The Son of Man will be raised not first in glory, but in suffering, and through that suffering, life will come.
“And Paul is clear: we are not saved by our effort or our moral muscle. We are saved by grace: a gift. This is what it means to be grounded and growing in the middle of Lent—to remember that even here, in the dry places, God is still at work, coaxing life out of hard soil and bringing green shoots out of ground we thought was spent. Today is a day to lift our eyes, to take heart, and to trust again in the healing mercy of God.”
During our Lenten journey through the wilderness we will pray,
Holy God, ground us in your grace.
Grow us in your love.
Lead us in your way.[1]
​
This year, Reformed Worship, published by Calvin Theological Seminary, offers us a year-long worship series called Grounded & Growing. This series offers us resources for worship throughout the year with a theme that converges with our own theme of Growing in Faith Together, and our adoption of the image of a tree planted by water, from Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
Joyce Borger offers this reflection in her introduction to this week’s Grounded and Growing theme:
“The Lenten road is not an easy one. It runs through wilderness and weariness, through confession and costly trust. But at some point in the journey, something unexpected happens. The season pauses to let hope show its full face.
“The people of Israel are worn out by the desert, tired of wandering, tired of manna, tired of trusting. They are inveterate complainers (just like us). They are stubbornly rebellious (like us). And they suffer the consequences of their own impatience. Still —in the midst of their trouble—God makes a way of healing: a lifted sign. This is a mercy they did not earn and could not manage or manipulate.
“Then Jesus reaches back into that old story and says, That is what my life will be like—lifted up, given away, offered for the healing of the world. The Son of Man will be raised not first in glory, but in suffering, and through that suffering, life will come.
“And Paul is clear: we are not saved by our effort or our moral muscle. We are saved by grace: a gift. This is what it means to be grounded and growing in the middle of Lent—to remember that even here, in the dry places, God is still at work, coaxing life out of hard soil and bringing green shoots out of ground we thought was spent. Today is a day to lift our eyes, to take heart, and to trust again in the healing mercy of God.”
During our Lenten journey through the wilderness we will pray,
Holy God, ground us in your grace.
Grow us in your love.
Lead us in your way.[1]
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This year, Reformed Worship, published by Calvin Theological Seminary, offers us a year-long worship series called Grounded & Growing. This series offers us resources for worship throughout the year with a theme that converges with our own theme of Growing in Faith Together, and our adoption of the image of a tree planted by water, from Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
A flourishing faith is one that is both deeply rooted and reaching outward—grounded in scripture and growing in understanding. Colossians 2:6–7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (NIV).
Throughout the year, we will dwell in this theme of grounded and growing. We started in Advent when we saw the shoot from the stump, a promise of future flourishing. Epiphany brought the promise of a branch grafted onto that stump.
Now we find ourselves in Lent where we follow Christ into the wilderness. The wilderness can be a scary, desolate space. In scripture, it is a place of testing and preparation for living the life to which we have been called. Those who survive the wilderness are those who are grounded in Christ, receiving nourishment through him, and continuing to grow in his ways. This process of growth often includes a time of refinement, branches need to be pruned and become ashes. What is diseased is cut down but yet the promise of Easter is that out of the ashes and decay life will arise.
In Lent we confront death and decay, the ashes of burnt branches and trees, making way for new life. During our Lenten journey through the wilderness we will pray,
Holy God, ground us in your grace.
Grow us in your love.
Lead us in your way.
​
This year, Reformed Worship, published by Calvin Theological Seminary, offers us a year-long worship series called Grounded & Growing. This series offers us resources for worship throughout the year with a theme that converges with our own theme of Growing in Faith Together, and our adoption of the image of a tree planted by water, from Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
A flourishing faith is one that is both deeply rooted and reaching outward—grounded in scripture and growing in understanding. Colossians 2:6–7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (NIV).
Throughout the year, we will dwell in this theme of grounded and growing. We started in Advent when we saw the shoot from the stump, a promise of future flourishing. Epiphany brought the promise of a branch grafted onto that stump.
Now we find ourselves in Lent where we follow Christ into the wilderness. The wilderness can be a scary, desolate space. In scripture, it is a place of testing and preparation for living the life to which we have been called. Those who survive the wilderness are those who are grounded in Christ, receiving nourishment through him, and continuing to grow in his ways. This process of growth often includes a time of refinement, branches need to be pruned and become ashes. What is diseased is cut down but yet the promise of Easter is that out of the ashes and decay life will arise.
In Lent we confront death and decay, the ashes of burnt branches and trees, making way for new life. During our Lenten journey through the wilderness we will pray,
Holy God, ground us in your grace.
Grow us in your love.
Lead us in your way.
​
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​
This year, Reformed Worship, published by Calvin Theological Seminary, offers us a year-long worship series called Grounded & Growing. This series offers us resources for worship throughout the year with a theme that converges with our own theme of Growing in Faith Together, and our adoption of the image of a tree planted by water, from Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
A flourishing faith is one that is both deeply rooted and reaching outward—grounded in scripture and growing in understanding. Colossians 2:6–7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (NIV).
Throughout the year, we will dwell in this theme of grounded and growing. We started in Advent when we saw the shoot from the stump, a promise of future flourishing. Epiphany brought the promise of a branch grafted onto that stump.
Now we find ourselves in Lent where we follow Christ into the wilderness. The wilderness can be a scary, desolate space. In scripture, it is a place of testing and preparation for living the life to which we have been called. Those who survive the wilderness are those who are grounded in Christ, receiving nourishment through him, and continuing to grow in his ways. This process of growth often includes a time of refinement, branches need to be pruned and become ashes. What is diseased is cut down but yet the promise of Easter is that out of the ashes and decay life will arise.
In Lent we confront death and decay, the ashes of burnt branches and trees, making way for new life. During our Lenten journey through the wilderness we will pray,
Holy God, ground us in your grace.
Grow us in your love.
Lead us in your way.
​
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​
This year, Reformed Worship, published by Calvin Theological Seminary, offers us a year-long worship series called Grounded & Growing. This series offers us resources for worship throughout the year with a theme that converges with our own theme of Growing in Faith Together, and our adoption of the image of a tree planted by water, from Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
A flourishing faith is one that is both deeply rooted and reaching outward—grounded in scripture and growing in understanding. Colossians 2:6–7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (NIV).
Throughout the year, we will dwell in this theme of grounded and growing. We started in Advent when we saw the shoot from the stump, a promise of future flourishing. Epiphany brought the promise of a branch grafted onto that stump.
Now we find ourselves in Lent where we follow Christ into the wilderness. The wilderness can be a scary, desolate space. In scripture, it is a place of testing and preparation for living the life to which we have been called. Those who survive the wilderness are those who are grounded in Christ, receiving nourishment through him, and continuing to grow in his ways. This process of growth often includes a time of refinement, branches need to be pruned and become ashes. What is diseased is cut down but yet the promise of Easter is that out of the ashes and decay life will arise.
In Lent we confront death and decay, the ashes of burnt branches and trees, making way for new life. During our Lenten journey through the wilderness we will pray,
Holy God, ground us in your grace.
Grow us in your love.
Lead us in your way.
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