Hamburg United Methodist Church 116 Union St Hamburg, New York, 14075 (716) 649-8080 Sundays at 10 am
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I like bats better than bureaucrats. I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of “Admin.” The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid “dens of crime” that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern.[*]
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As Lent began I prepared to preach on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11. It’s a pair of familiar stories—humanity tempted by the Serpent in the Garden (adam, especially in Chapter 2 is best translated “the human”) and of Jesus tempted in the Desert. I was home sick, and the Rev. Dr. Greg Crispell referenced the Hebrew identity of HaShatan (the Tempter, or maybe the Prosecutor) over “Satan” in his sermon that morning—I would have done the same. Good commentaries will point out the two tempters are not directly equated in the Bible, but some good theology does connect the two events. Some of us will be drawn to demonology, but I’m with C.S. Lewis on this one: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel and excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”[†]
One of the great questions in Christian thought is how we perceive Jesus. Orthodox Christian confessions say he is both fully human and fully God, but one emphasis we should probably find, particularly in Lent, is the one these passages encourage—Jesus is the new adam, the new humanity. As such, his life (not just his death and resurrection) redeems humanity. God becomes one of us that we might be new and renewed, not just saved from a fallen sinful world, but transformed in it as well.
We are invited into a New Humanity. Jesus was tempted, but without sin—and while we are not God and still tend to fall away at times, his presence in us can change how we live. Lenten fasts remind us we can share in Christ’s life, and should prepare us to live like him. The human(s) in the Garden came to know good and evil, Christ empowers us to do good, not just know it. So, like Jesus let’s do good to all we meet, focusing on restoration and transformation.
The world around us provides plenty of examples of evil—we are called to see these, recognize them, work to mitigate them, but focus on doing good as Christians and as the Church, Christ’s Body. I pray you are having a blessed Lent!
Serving Christ, with you,
Pastor David Nicol
[*] C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters: With Screwtape Proposes a Toast (Macmillan Publishing Company, 1961; Revised Edition, Collier Books, 1982), x.
[†] Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 3.
Girl Scout Cookies are Here!
They will be distributed on Sunday March 8, 2026 immediately following the Worship Service. Extras will be on hand for purchase for $6 a box.
Questions to Phoebe Glover
Important Announcements from the Church Office
As a reminder Please make sure to check your local TV listings for closings now that we are in the winter season.
Hamburg UMC Closures will also be posted via email and Facebook.
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Content for the gathering space slide show is accepted weekly
and due on Wednesday Morning to the church office.
**Please note for repeating slides, the last Sunday it should be run.
Office hours
Monday- Thursday: 9am-2pm
Friday: 9 am-Noon
Email us!!
Pastor David: PastorDavid@hamburgumc.org
Jeannine Vanwey: Music@hamburgumc.org
Emily Slocum: Treasurer@hamburgumc.org
Patrick Fitzgerald: AV@hamburgumc.org
Cristina Glover: Office@hamburgumc.org
Churches in Action has published the following online newsletter about their ministry works.
available to read online, or limited printed copies will be available outside the church office.
United Women in Faith Give $4,750 from Bazaar Proceeds
While the annual Homespun Holiday Bazaar is coordinated and hosted by the United Women in Faith, our event only succeeds with the help of our entire congregation. We appreciate all of the support we receive, and we keep that in mind as we determine how we will use the proceeds from the November event to benefit others. We also prefer to help smaller organizations with greater help than giving a small amount to a large organization — we believe that will make the most impact.
That said, here is the report of our contributions to several organizations with the $4,750 net proceeds, considering the need to hold some funds for start up of next year's event.
$300 - Cornerstone Manor for women and children (Buffalo City Mission)
$300 - Family Promise (Buffalo shelter and resources for families)
$550 - Warm the Children (supplying coats, etc. for Hamburg children)
$1000 - Salary for Dee Finch, Seneca St. Church pastor (serving Seneca Babcock neighborhood with faith development and meal/food support)
$300 - Rural Outreach Center (provides counseling, play therapy, care coordination, etc., to help families living in rural poverty move toward self-sufficiency)
$200 - Project Mona's House (Buffalo shelter and resources for trafficked women/girls)
$100 - Beechwood Service Guild (helps buy non-essentials for residents of Methodist elder facilities in Amherst)
$1000 - United Women in Faith Niagara Frontier District pledge (supports ministries nationally and globally)
$1000 - Hamburg United Methodist Church budget
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$4750 - Total
Thank you once again for making these gifts possible.
If you are a woman, join us for our next meeting on Thursday, March 12 at noon in the Parlor. We would love to see you!
- Members of the United Women in Faith at Hamburg UMC
Ongoing Fundraiser Little Lamb Fundraiser:
Please consider donating your empty bottles and cans to the Bottle & Can Redemption Center at 4255 Clark Street in Hamburg. Thank you!
RETIRED MEN’S FELLOWSHIP
The Retired Men’s Fellowship of Hamburg UMC will welcome in the new year 2026 as they gather for their monthly lunch on Tuesday, March 17 at 12 Noon at ZJ’s Restaurant in the Hamburg Village Plaza. Come and share your joys and concerns. All retired men are invited. Come and bring a friend for good fellowship and good food. Any questions? See Dick Caldwell.
Dick Caldwell, facilitator
Dive into a Good Book- Join the HUMC Book Club.
Book Club will meet on March 23rd at 10:30am in the Library. and will discuss The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
We will also be picking our selections for the next several months
Book Club is Zoom-friendly. Contact Karen Klimecko for more information
Tai Chi is back to in-person practice in the Fellowship Hall
2026 Coffee Hour Schedule
MARCH: MISSIONS/OUTREACH
APRIL: Volunteers Needed
MAY : SPRC
JUNE: FINANCE
JULY : TRUSTEES
AUGUST:PRAYER CARE SHARE
SEPTEMBER: COLUMBARIUM
OCTOBER: MEN’S GROUP
NOVEMBER: FINANCE
DECEMBER: SPRC
Groups are to provide goodies/ snacks
each Sunday of the month they are scheduled.
CALLING FOR COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS
Did you know HUMC has committees whose members volunteer to host coffee hour once or twice a month? Most of these volunteers are on several committees where they are repeatedly hosting to provide goodies each Sunday.
We are opening this ministry up to Individuals or families who would be willing to occasionally be hosts or hostesses.
It’s simply making coffee, lemonade, bringing homemade or store bought items, and cleaning up afterwards.
A sign-up sheet is located on the counter in the gathering space, outside the front office
Where you can pick a Sunday of your choosing.
Would you consider joining in this time of fellowship?
Please get in touch with Sue Gagne with any questions.
Medical Equipment Lending Closet
Hamburg UMC has a medical equipment lending closet. It is located in Room 18 in the basement. Please check the closet before purchasing wheelchairs, walkers, commodes, crutches, canes, etc. The equipment available constantly changes. If you have medical equipment you are no longer using, you may donate them. We cannot take soft items such as gauze pads, diabetic supplies, incontinence, bandages, etc. For questions, please call Caroline Schneggenburger at 716-289-0541.
Join us for a virtual fellowship! This group is a place to share prayer requests, devotions, concerns, joys, and even some humor with your church family. Join the Hamburg UMC Fellowship group on Facebook.
PRAYER CONCERNS?
If you would like someone added to our church prayer list, call or text Barb Meader at 716-548-4139 or email her at bmeader712017@gmail.com, or contact anyone who is a Prayer, Care, and Share member, or Cristina in the church office. Our ministry is to pray daily for the concerns that have been shared with us.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phillipians 4:4-7)
