The Weekly Word: 6-11-26

Recently, my son, John, turned ten. It has been a joy watching him grow up. From learning to walk to learning to talk. From sleeping in a crib to sleeping in a bed. From an infant to ten years of age. Each moment is filled with vibrancy and laughter. It is filled with growth and life. It is filled with wonder and excitement. In many ways, this is how our faith ought to be. Alive. Vibrant. Energized. Everyday is a time in which we are growing. From crawling to walking to ru...

We Celebrate the Ordination of Reverend Michael Whitcomb-Tavey!

Recently our pastor, Reverend Michael Whitcomb-Tavey, was officially ordained as a Full Elder at the United Methodist Church's Annual Conference. 

Our congregation marked the occasion by celebrating after worship on May 31. 

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The Weekly Word: 6-4-26

Grace and Peace from our Lord, Savior, and God, Jesus Christ,One of the reasons I enjoy playing RPG video games is that I can decide what kind of “build” I want to be as a character. Depending on how I allocate the points granted to me in the game for stat, attribute, perk, and character development, I can make myself a mighty warrior. Or, I could shape myself into a powerful Mage/Wizard. Or, I could form myself into a stealthy assassin. Or, I could mold myself into a quic...

The Weekly Word: 5-28-26

Grace and Peace from our Lord, Savior, and God, Jesus Christ, As you read this, I am at the Annual Conference, preparing to get Ordained as a Full Elder in the UMC. When this happens, I will be able to wear a stole, as a symbol of this Ordination. As I reflect upon this, I am reminded of the last time I wore a stole. Years ago, during my first appointment, before I was a licensed local pastor (I was just a supply pastor at the time), I wore a stole. I had not known that st...

The Weekly Word: 5-14-26

One of the TV shows I used to watch when I was a kid was the “A-Team.” To this day, it stands as one of my favorite TV shows to ever exist. It was campy. It was over the top. And it was fun. The characters had charisma, personality, and a lovability to them. One of these characters, Col. John “Hannibal” Smith, would often come up with fantastical, overly dramatic, and complex plans in order to accomplish a particular mission. When his team would show doubt in the plan or p...

The Weekly Word 5-5-26

In “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” episode “Second Chances” (season 6, ep. 24), Commander William T. Riker meets his past self. This occurred because, 8 years prior to the current moment, there was a transporter malfunction that generated an extra copy of himself. This “copy” (who goes by Thomas Riker) was left stranded on a planet unbeknownst to everyone else, while the “real” William T. Riker continued his career. Eight years later, the crew of the Enterprise returned ...

The Weekly Word: 2-5-26

In the first Avengers movie, Captain America tells Iron Man that he is not the one to make the heroic sacrifice to save other people. This foreshadows what Iron Man does at the end of the movie, when he actually does attempt to sacrifice himself to save New York from a Nuclear destruction. He flies a nuclear weapon out into space, fully intending to die. In the novel, “The Great Gatsby,” Gatsby consistently and constantly focuses on the green light that shines from Daisy B...

Collaborative Ministry Focus Group

A couple of months ago, I informed you that Asbury UMC, Christ UMC, Williamsville UMC, and Trinity UMC were all embarking on a new adventure, in which we were discerning stronger collaboration with each other. At that time, I asked people to take part in important conversations we were going to have regarding this. Those conversations have taken place, and I want to let you know the fruit of these meetings.

Asbury UMC, Christ UMC, Williamsville UMC, and Trinity UMC, have em

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The Weekly Word 1-15-26

The other day, I was grocery shopping with my family. When we got to the hot dogs, I began looking for a particular brand but did not see it. My wife informed me it was right in front of me. I assured her it was not. Then, she pointed it out, and behold, it was there! This is quite common in my house. The stereotype that the husband cannot find the thing, so the wife “reveals” it, is a fitting reflection for our relationship. Sometimes, our relationship with God is that wa...

The Weekly Word: Upcoming Christmas Masses

As we approach closer to our celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ, I invite you to FOUR special services.

 - On Saturday night, Dec. 20, at 6:00pm there will be a Blue Christmas Service. For those unaware, a Blue Christmas Service is a quiet worship service held for people who find the holiday season difficult due to grief, loss, loneliness, or stress. It offers a space to acknowledge sadness, remember loved ones, seek and worship God in the midst of pain, grief, and an

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Angel Tree

In the spirit of giving for the holidays, and our continued involvement in giving back to our community, members of the Asbury United Methodist Church collected 45 bags of gifts with our annual Angel Tree, which helps special needs children. 

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The Weekly Word: 10/02/2025

One of my favorite “buddy-cop” movies is “Rush Hour.” The movie begins with a Chinese diplomat's daughter being kidnapped in Los Angeles. Distraught over this and not trusting the FBI to find his daughter, he requests the aid of an old friend, Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan), to assist the FBI with the case. However, the FBI resists this change of events and does not want to work with Lee. As a result, they assign Lee to the LAPD. The LAPD, though, also doe...

North Carolina hurricane relief

Our Pastor Michael Whitcomb-Tavey left on Sunday Oct 13 to fly to North Carolina with a group of friends from his days in seminary. He will be there for about a week ministering to those in need. We are very thankful our Pastor is a true depiction of a disciple of God.

Blessings and prayers go with him. 

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United Women in Faith

Our United Women In Faith met on Monday evening. We opened with prayer to guide our hands in Christ's work. Brighton Collectables, in the Galleria Mall, donated all the purses we filled. Berardi Dentistry, of Williamsville NY, donated 100 toothbrushes and covers to help us meet our goal of close to 100 purses filled. Our president Vergie Oettinger secured a grant from The Upper NY United Women in Faith to help purchase other supplies needed. Our congregation was as generou

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Rally Day

This past Sunday we had our Rally Day celebration. Sunday school started with the guidance of Karen Kirwan our amazing leader. She is an amazing educator with the best interest of all our young people. Pastor Michael anointed our teachers and children as well as the teachers in our congregation that teach in our local schools.

We look forward to a wonderful year.

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