This Week at Amherst Community Church: October 9-15, 2026

From the Pastor

Hello, Amherst Community Church members and friends!

It has been a beautiful week! The cool, crisp air and the colorful leaves remind me how fortunate we are to live here in Western NY where every season is a magnificent display of God's creative work! Next week I will spend several days at a retreat center on Lake George in the Adirondacks to read and reflect, and I imagine the colorful foliage will be beautiful there, as well.

In the meantime, I am looking forward to this Sunday morning! The sermon is titled "Shiny Object Syndrome" and is based on the fascinating story in Exodus of the golden calf. Despite their dramatic deliverance from Egypt and multiple miracles in the desert, the Israelites still weren't sure God could be trusted. They crafted their own god with the help of Moses' side kick Aaron. We'll explore how that all unfolded and how prone we humans are to take spiritual short cuts when we are anxious and God seems slow to act.

This past Monday, it was an honor for both pastors and John Kloberdanz to attend a meeting of the Committee on Ministry (COM) for the Western Association of the NY Conference of the UCC with Carissa Gigliotti. Carissa was unanimously approved by COM for the status of "Member in Discernment" as she moves forward in the process leading toward ordained ministry. Congratulations to Carissa!!

Peace, Rick

Note: Several folks have expressed an interest in joining Amherst Community Church and we are in the process of setting a date for this! If you are interested in joining, please email Pastor Kandace using the button below.

I Want to Join ACC

Connect: Worship Information

Sunday, October 11, 2026 Worship

Join us for worship at 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary with coffee and conversation following in the Community Room. Our services are livestreamed on our Facebook page. The weekly bulletin and hymns for this week are attached to this email.

Livestream Worship

Prayer Requests

Marta’s friend Linda whose daughter is having breast cancer surgery on Thursday, 10/8/26.

Gerri’s sister-in-law Pat moved to a rehab enter in Fredericksburg VA and making good progress.

Lynn's aunt Hilda stayed with Lynn's family for 2 months. Prayers of thanksgiving for this time with her. She returns to Florida this week.

Karen & Mark W. - Prayers for Dr. Marty Brecher who was Alex's oncologist and supporter of PUNT pediatric cancer collaborative. Dr. Marty passed away suddenly last weekend. He will be missed by "many" !

Serve in Worship

Use the button below to serve in worship as an Usher, Greeter or Reader during the month of November. We are grateful that Dawn Stanton has taken on the ministry of organizing our Worship Assistants. Thank you Dawn!

Needed for November

Ushers – 15, 29

Readers – 1, 8, 29

Last week you should have received via email an invitation to register online as a USER for chmeetings, which is our new church management software. It may come from chmeetings, so check your spam folder if you do not see it.

Once you have signed up for an account you can do the following:

1. Edit your profile – add information that is missing (birthday, family members, etc)

2. Determine what directory information you want to be seen by other church members (for example, you can hide address, children’s names, birthday, etc. as you please)

3. Sign up for various church events and volunteer opportunities (for example – to assist in worship) – we will begin this soon.

4. Access the phone app for Amherst Community Church, which will allow you to have the directory, upcoming events, and weekly focus on your phone. SOME SHORT CUTS

1. Create an account with password provided.

2. To change password – My Profile>ChangePassword (on phone app this menu is in the upper right corner)

3. To update Directory Information My Profile>Edit (make sure to save)

4. To hide any Directory Information (does not remove it from file, but will hide it from others) My Profile>Directory Settings>Edit (upper right corner on phone app) *from here you can check those things that you do not want shown, or you can toggle on Hide me from the Members Directory, which will hide all of your information.

If you have any questions, please let us know; we will be happy to help you!

Email Debbie for chmeetings questions

It's time for the ACC Childcare Center 4th Annual Meat Raffle!! Join us Friday, November 7th at the Main Transit Fire Hall for a fun night of meat, prizes, and supporting our little ones!

Doors open at 6:00 PM

First spin at 7:00 PM T

his year, proceeds will help us refresh and update equipment on the A5C playground, creating a fun, safe, and engaging outdoor space for our children to enjoy! Tickets are available now — gather your friends, grab a table, and come enjoy a great night while supporting the children of A5C!

Purchase Meat Raffle Tickets

Serve: Barrel of Blessings

Remember you can always share your blessings by donating non-perishable food items to our Barrel of Blessings any time you come to church. SERVE and FeedMore WNY thanks you for helping feed our neighbors in need.

Serve: Feed My Starving Children

Once again, ACC will join volunteers from all over Western New York to pack meals for Feed My Starving Children at The Well Church in Getzville. We have reserved spaces to pack at the Saturday morning session, from 9:00-11:00 on Saturday, October 24. Please plan to join us!

There are two ways to sign up:

1- Sign up on the sheet in the narthex. Please sign each person in your group separately.

2- Email Karrie Frank at kfkirby@aol.com Please include your name (all names if you are coming as a family), email and a phone number. Anyone over the age of five is welcome to help pack meals. There are jobs that require lifting and standing, but there are also jobs where you can be seated. Everyone is welcome!

Thanks to the generous budget allowance from the congregation, the Serve Team is making a donation of $1000 to the Feed My Starving Children packing event. If you would like to make a further donation, please click the QR code below. Donations will also be accepted at the event. Looking forward to serving others with you!

Calendar and Celebrations

Upcoming Events

Sunday, October 11, 2026 Worship @ 10:00 a.m. Sanctuary

Join us after worship in the Community Room for coffee and fellowship.

Birthdays

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS

Sandra Hamann 2

Lise Harty 2

Steve Coppola 5

Abigail Lawrence 5

Patrick Maltbie 6

Laurie Krajna 10

Katie Lam-Stanek 10

Todd Creech 13

Zander Leiser 18

Andrew Nichols 20

Rebecca Fowlston 21

Deborah Hanny Schultze 23

Content

Thank you for being part of the Amherst Community Church family. We look forward to worshiping and growing together in faith. If you have any questions or need support, feel free to contact the pastors at the email addresses below; or call the church office at 716-834-9700.

Kandace Brooks, co-pastor pastorkandace@amherstcommunitychurch.org

Rick Danielson, co-pastor

pastorrick@amherstcommunitychurch.org

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