August 31, 2023
Summer Retreat in East Otto
Several parishioners gathered at Deacon Diana’s family cottage this past month. This was the 2nd annual retreat presented by Deacon Diana Leiker and Deacon Diane Cox.
The day was focused on relaxation and embracing nature in prayer. Each attendee worked on an art project as an expression of prayer, reflection, and becoming aware of the sacred beauty in creation and nature. Prayer of Awareness, “Your presence beckons to us from the heart of life; Let us know fresh shining in our soul. Let us know the first lights of our own heart. Let us be a color in this new dawning of this day and our personal journeys interwoven with creation and all that is in it. Amen”
After a lovely lunch, provided by Deacon’s Diana and Diane. Everyone took a “Holy Hike” to explore creation in different forms- “Sacred Spaces in Nature”. Readings, prayers, and action steps were shared by all. A collect was written by the group and the day ended with communion and the collect was included. It was also read at the St. Peter’s 10 am service the following day.
Thank you to Deacon Diana and Deacon Diane for another wonderful day in the country and for helping us to recognize our God in nature.
CREATION COLLECT
(Developed by St. Peter’s Eggertsville parishioners on retreat, August 12, 2023)
Loving God, the author of peace and courage;
guide us as we listen and learn from Nature;
so that we can preserve for future generations
the Creation you have gifted us.
We ask this in your holy name. Amen.
Lois Tripp
St. Peter’s Parishioner
Our beloved Friend and fellow Parishioner- Al Price
The following article was published on the Episcopal Diocesan web page.
Please also read The Rev Deacon Thomas Tripp’s reflection, read before Al’s internment on May 28th at St. Peters Episcopal church Eggertsville.
May the souls of the departed through the mercy of God rest in peace and rise in glory.
Rest eternal grant unto them O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.
May they rest in peace and rise in glory!
Canon Alfred D. Price Jr.: 1947-2023
Alfred D. Price Jr., a longtime lay leader in the Diocese of Western New York and an esteemed professor of urban and regional planning at the University at Buffalo, died on May 2 at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo after a long illness. He was 75.
“His vocation as an urban planner, and his special concern for people struggling to make a home for themselves, were grounded in a deep faith in God,” said Bishop Sean Rowe of the Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York. “That faith, which shaped him as an intellectual, and as a leading figure in our church, also saw him through his final illness with courage and with grace.”
Price was a 10-time deputy to the Episcopal Church’s General Convention and served for decades on commissions and committees that helped to govern the church. For his service, he was presented with the Bishop Walter Decoster Dennis Award from the Union of Black Episcopalians in 2019 and named Canon Architect and Planner for the Diocese of Western New York and the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania by Rowe in 2020.
Price was equally accomplished in his academic work. In 1975, he became the first Black student to receive a Master of Architecture and Urban Planning, the highest professional practice degree in his field, from Princeton, where he had earned his bachelor’s degree in 1969. In 1977, he began his 42-year tenure on the faculty of the School of Architecture & Planning at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 2000.
His students learned about “form and function, planning and strategy, beauty and grace, and most importantly, that these only matter in as far as they serve others and our communities,” Rowe said in naming him a canon.
Acknowledged as a gifted teacher and captivating lecturer, Price received a ringing send-off when hundreds of students, former students and faculty packed a lecture hall for a gathering marking his retirement in 2019 (Alfred Price “The Last Lecture” on YouTube).
He exemplified the urban planning profession at its best, said Enjoli Hall, who completed a master’s thesis in 2017 under Price’s direction. “We’re visionary but pragmatic. We’re critical but compassionate. We can articulate the challenges and opportunities of a community in numbers and prose, fluent in the language of project finance as well as power and privilege — all underlined by a commitment to the poor and marginal in our society,” she said. “Now if that seems like a tall order for one person, Professor Price shows that it can and must be done, and with style and wit at that.”
Price’s research, advocacy and public service focused primarily on issues of affordable housing, and he took a special interest in the challenges facing the city of Buffalo where his father, Alfred D. Price Sr., had served as manager of Willert Park, a historic public housing project later renamed A.D. Price Courts in his honor.
Over the course of his three-and-a-half-decade career at UB, Professor Price served on numerous public boards, including 16 years’ service on the City of Buffalo’s Arts Commission, the citizens’ review panel for the design of the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, and the Advisory Council to Buffalo Housing Court. He also participated in the redevelopment of the Theater District and served on the board of directors of numerous neighborhood housing corporations.
In more recent years, his service included Downtown Neighborhood Development, Inc., Buffalo’s lead agency for housing initiatives in the central business district; and service as consultant to the Bethel Community Development Corporation, a not-for-profit agency sponsored by Historic Bethel AME Church, the oldest congregation of African descent in the city. He was currently on the board of the Olmstead Parks Conservatory and working with a group trying to develop an African American museum in Buffalo.
Price’s service to the Episcopal Church began in childhood when his family desegregated Church of the Ascension in Buffalo at the request of Bishop Lauriston L. Scaife. “The bishop understood the importance of racial integration in the parishes and requested that your family attend the, then, all-white Ascension Church in Buffalo,” Rowe recalled in his remarks making Price a canon. “At great personal sacrifice, your family accepted this calling. In so doing, you gave that congregation, our diocese, and our church a glimpse of the Beloved Community.”
Price’s service to the church ranged from training acolytes in local parishes and teaching confirmation classes to consulting with vestries facing issues with property, church architecture and renovation. Six bishops of Western New York relied on him for advice, Rowe said, especially in his role as the leader of the diocese’s architecture commission. He was an active member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Eggertsville, where he was a licensed lay reader, worship leader, chalice-bearer, and convention delegate, leading the Easter Sunday morning procession with ribbon banners. In his spare time, Price was an avid golfer.
Price is survived by his wife, the Rev. Canon Barbara J. Price, four adult children and nine grandchildren, ranging in age from twenty-four to seven.
photo: University of Buffalo
CLICK HERE for Reflections on Al Price- presented to St. Peter’s parishioners and friends by The Rev. Deacon Thomas Tripp
April 18, 2023
“Just a Helping Hand” Blessing Box-Two Year Anniversary
We received a CALENDAR reminder that our neighborhood Blessing Box was two years old on April 18th. What began as a Covid Ministry with many out of work has continued due to the community’s need for food, personal products as well as Pet Food. As we all know the cost of all essentials remains high.
Thanks be to God that we were awarded a $5000 grant from our diocese to continue and grow this ministry. Although you as parishioners continue donating, as do our neighbors, donations do not come close to meeting our goal of filling the Blessing box 3x/week. At our last vestry meeting, it was announced that our blessing box Grant money has already been decreased to approx. $1800.
Our new inventory system has helped us identify the products used and the number of items used throughout the month. Gary Donhauser and Lois Tripp continue to shop in several stores trying to find the best prices we can. Alison Mohr keeps a great count of all her pet food and other items she stocks. Alison and Jerry Mohr shop the Pet food sales and have purchased large bags of pet food and re-bagged and labeled smaller portions for distribution. Gary, Lois, and our new team member Tori Paradise stock the box usually Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
WE ARE NAMING A FOOD OR PET FOOD ITEM OF THE MONTH, TO HELP GROW OUR stocking SHELVES.
April requests for Pet food are: Cans of cat food (look for the May requests)
May request for food: Peanut Butter and Jelly
God Bless and thank you for your support!
Gary Donhauser, Alison and Jerry Mohr, Lois Tripp, and Tori Paradise
Extending Our Families
This past year has continued to provide some challenges, as did its immediate predecessors, especially in the area of weather. Yet we still manage to gather, worship together and extend our hearts outside the church’s walls. That is where a Deacon’s heart lies.
We expanded our refugee ministry this year by working with Jewish Family Services in assisting a recently arrived Ukrainian family of 5 (the Balanovychs) in assimilating to American society. As a result, we added them to the food drive and Christmas gift efforts and have begun tutoring and mentoring efforts on Sat and Sunday evenings with Deacon Tom.
In staying connected and continuing to serve our Congolese family (the Moises) from pre-Covid times Thanksgiving foods were collected and brought to each family. This Christmas many of St. Peter’s parishioners donated gifts for the Moise and Balanovych’s family. Here are some pictures of both families.
Florence KilamboKalumbu Becomes US Citizen!
Many of us have gotten to know Florence over the last few years. She has mainly attended the 10 am service and has become a parishioner at St. Peters. I am very pleased to report that Florence obtained her Citizenship on July 14, 2022, congratulations Florence! A celebration of her journey and hard work was held on July 14th in the St. Peter’s undercroft,
The following story is written with Florence’s consent:
Florence was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She and her husband were imprisoned in the Congo. Florence’s crime was providing education to women who were abused, and in need of health care. She was able to leave the prison after 1 month, with the support of a Judge that had known of her work as a nurse. He gave her $20 for a cab, and upon release she was forced to go into hiding for fear of further political arrests.
Her husband was also arrested while living in the DR Congo and died while imprisoned. She does not know what happened to him, but suspects that he was slain. A Human Rights organization, and a church in her hometown, helped her receive a Visa to leave the Congo.
Florence arrived here 10 years ago with refugee status. Once in our country, she lived at the Viva La Casa Shelter for 1 year, awaiting asylum. The Nuns from the order of St. Francis gave her work as a Nurses’ aide, for they knew of her work as a Nurse in the Congo. She continues to work with the Nuns even though her workplace was sold and is now called Fredonia Place.
Florence has 4 grown children. She hopes that she can work to bring her children to this country. They all believe they must “leave it to God”.
Our Vestry has been very supportive of Florence efforts and hard work. She thanks the Vestry and all her friends from St. Peters for providing that care. Please take the opportunity to sit down with Florence and get to know a remarkable child of God.
Lois Tripp | July 2022
Deacon Diana Leiker returns to St. Peters!
St. Peter’s is my home church and the one that supported me throughout the ordination process. When I was ordained in December of 2016, I was assigned to serve at another parish in the diocese and have been there full time for five years. Since taking on the role of Arch Deacon for the diocese of WNY, just before the pandemic hit, I have discovered that my role is evolving and changing and I recognized that more flexibility in my schedule as well as location, was needed. At this time, I am so excited to be able to serve at two churches, two Sundays each. As a part time deacon at St. Peter’s I am able to help Deacon Tom and the wonderful, giving people of this congregation with their ministries and assist Father Dan at the altar.
I am a retired art teacher, mother of four grown children, Bree, Kristin, Will, and Rochelle, and have nine grandchildren who mean the world to me. Before I retired I decided to do something “country-ish” (since I live on 2 1/2 acres of land) and now am a crazy chicken lady, with a small flock of birds. Along with my rescued dachshund, Hans, and cat, Windy, I get lots of lovin’ from my pets. I try to be creative with my art whenever I can, but don’t always carve out time like I should.
With Deacon Tom, I am a member of the Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination. I am also a member of the Standing Committee, co-ordinate a respite care program in Batavia, and work with refugees. As Arch Deacon, I also am involved in the ordination process for aspirants within the partnership. I am busy, happy, and always available to help.