I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
[Isaiah 43.19]

Leading a faith community in Western New York requires a prophet's vision and an artist's patience, a balance that is itself a gift of God's grace. Grateful that God has called us to serve in a place of breathtaking beauty, gracious community, and wonderfully diverse cultural opportunities, we also face every day the suffering of people mired in poverty.  Buffalo, the see city of the Diocese of Western New York, is the third poorest city in the United States, with a median household income of $27,530 and an unemployment rate of 8.4%; its schools are ranked the lowest in Western New York based on four years of data from the New York State Department of Education. At the same time City Honors, a public high school in Buffalo, is consistently ranked among the top five high schools in Western New York (and one of the top high schools in the country), and Elmwood Village, a neighborhood near downtown Buffalo that is served by St. John's Grace Episcopal Church, was recently named one of the ten most desirable neighborhoods in the country.   On the one hand, our population growth in 2008 was -6.7% and job growth was o.2%; on the other hand future job growth is projected to be 10.8% and Buffalo was recently named one of the 10 best places to live for people in their 20s and 30s.  Although there has been significant migration for jobs away from this region, there have also been a significant number of young families returning for professional opportunities that will allow them to raise their children in a place where family ties are important, the cost of living is moderate, and outdoor activities are as easily accessible as urban entertainment.  The emerging new community is as real and as visible as the fading old city.

How often I found where I should be going
only by setting out for somewhere else.
[Buckminster Fuller]

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