The Buffalo Religious Arts Center

The Buffalo Religious Arts Center

Weekly Architectural Tours of
Saint Francis Xavier Church wrap
up the weekend of November 7/8.

Join our Christmas Bus Tour,
co-sponsored with Buffalo Tours,
on December 5th.

Check back for our Winter Tour
schedule starting in Jan 2010.

Broadway-Fillmore Alive
Buffalo Central Terminal
Buffalo Rising
The Buffalo News
Buffalo Tours
Campaign for Greater Buffalo
Friends of Saint Ann's
Olmsted Parks Conservancy
Preservation Buffalo Niagara
H. H. Richardson Complex
WNY Heritage Press

Come join us in our effort to
create a space that preserves
and celebrates the religious art of
the immigrant, ethnic heritage of
Buffalo.

Upcoming Events

Links

News

Last Tour Weekend

Nov 6th, 2009 - Thank you for a great summer tour season.

This past year, we have doubled our number of members,

and increased our number of visitors and patrons by over one

thousand percent. We had special event concerts with Ars

Nova and the WNY Chorale, an Open House with Doors

Open Niagara, and numerous volunteer days to clean up and

clean out. We've also added art items from a dozen closed

houses of worship, and added interpretive signage to better

tell the tale of the religious history of Buffalo.

But all good things must come to an end, and this weekend

is the last weekend tour of the season. But don't worry - more

opportunities to visit are coming up as we prep for an even

better year in 2010. Join us for our special Christmas Bus

Tour December 5th, and stay tuned for our monthly winter

tours starting early next year.

Upcoming Events

Oct,

th, 2009 - The Buffalo Religious Arts Center

is pleased

to announce two more great opportunities to see the arts

center.

This upcoming weekend, October 16th & 17th, the Religious

Arts Center will participate in

Doors Open Niagara

. This is a

great opportunity to get a sneak peak for free of what changes

we have made as new items go on display.

Then, on Sunday, November 1st, at 6:30pm, we are pleased

to host Ars Nova as part of their annual "Viva Vivaldi" string

festival. Tickets are available the door - come hear beautful

music in a beautiful setting performed by one of Buffalo's

leading classical ensembles.

Outstanding News: St. Francis Xavier Complex
added to National Register of Historic Places

Sep 9th, 2009 - The Buffalo Religious Arts Center recently

learned from the New York State that our application was

approved, and the former St. Francis Xavier Church complex

has been added to the National

This

recognition not only acknowledges the architecural

beauty of

the buildings themselves, but the historical

significance of

this church, the Mother Church of Black Rock.

Celebrate with

us by coming to a tour, every Saturday at noon,

and Sunday's

at 1:00pm, to see Buffalo's newest historic

landmark for

yourself.

Member Meeting Upcoming

Aug

19th, 2009 -

on't forget about two upcoming community

events. On Thursday, August 20th, at 7:00pm is our Annual

Member's Meeting. Member's are invited to learn more about

current projects, volunteer opportunities, and ongoing events.

If you aren't a member, now is a great time to join. Learn

here

In addition, we're pleased to announce a new event. On

August 29th, from 1 to 4 pm, we are starting our Church

History project. Come to the Center with old vintage photos of

religious events to add to our archive as we collect and

preserve the religious history of WNY. We will have a

computer and scanner at the event, so we can make a copy

of your photo, and give you back the original, of course. This

will be a great opportunity to tell stories, share history, and

learn more about our heritage in Buffalo.

Find us on Facebook!

July 19th, 2009 - As part of our continued effort to reach out

and spread the word about our current happenings at the

Religious Arts Center, we're now on

Facebook

. Follow us by

becoming a fan of the "Buffalo Religious Arts Center." You

receive

occasional

status updates, be able to check info on

tours and events, and get the

latest

information. See you

there.

Summer Newsletter Now Available

July 5th, 2009 - Our Summer 2009 Newsletter is now

ilable

to members.

See

inside for stories about the

windows of

Saint

Joseph's, new art from Nativity Church, and

upcoming

tour

options.

Reminder-Rediscover Amherst Street this Saturday!

June 19th, 2009 - Don't forget! Tomorrow is the Rediscover

Amherst Street Festival, with tons of music, food, events and

fun for the whole family.

Buffalo Rising

did a great article

here, listing all the events. At the Buffalo Religious Arts

Center, we will be doing quick low cost tours of the site, and

selling desks from the school for extremely reasonable

prices. Stop by and visit the former St. Francis Xavier Church,

and our growing collection.

The Windows of St. Joseph's

June 17th, 2009 - Jay Tokaz had a great piece in today's

Buffalo News

about the beautiful windows of St. Joseph

Church in North Tonawanda, and their fate after the church

closed. Fortunately, all of the windows went to

great uses, in

Buffalo, and overseas.

The main recipient of the windows is the Jesus de Riscate

Shrine in Nicaragua, a country with so few art glass windows

that most of the shrine's visitors have probably never seen

one. The windows depict a number of events in the life a

Jesus, making them very appropriate for such a location.

Other local recipients are a mausoleum in Niagara Falls, and

a Catholic grade school in North Tonawanda.

The Buffalo Religious Arts Center is proud to be home to four

of the windows, that have particular significance to Western

New York. They are Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (pictured

here), a Mohawk woman who lived in Central New York in the

seventeenth century, St. Maxmillian Kolbe, who was killed

Auschwitz, St. Joseph holding a small model of the North

Tonawanda church, and a rendering of a former bishop of

Buffalo. These windows are not on display now because

while we

received sufficient donations

to purchase the

windows, we are still raising money to display them properly.

Please contact us at 957-9251, if you wish to Adopt one of the

windows, and help us

put it back on view in Western New

York.

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Buffalo Tours Partnership Starts This Saturday

June 4th, 2009 - Another great way to visit the Religious Arts Center

starts up this weekend, as we begin our partnership with

Buffalo

Tours

by co-sponosring the

Neighborhood Tour of Black Rock

. The

tour starts at 10:00am, this Saturday the 6th of June, and meets at

the corner of Niagara and Amherst Streets, just two blocks from the

Religious Arts Center. The $10 cost covers not only a walking tour of

the neighborhood, but entrance into the Religious Arts Center and a

mini-tour of the former St. Francis Xavier Church. Hope to see you

there!

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Rediscover Amherst Street Festival June 20th

May 2

3rd

, 2009 -

The latest edition of Rediscover Amherst Street, the

festival that celebrates the people and businesses of Black Rock

that make it such a vibrant community, will be Saturday June 20th.

There are events up and down Amherst Street, including a parade,

live music, food and drink specials, and arts displays. The Buffalo

Religious Arts Center is getting involved by

have a desk sale. That's

right, we're selling off the desks of the former school for cheap, and

hoping they go to a number of good causes and places that can use

them. In addition, we'll be giving discount $5 tours of the former St

Francis Xavier Church, and talking about our ongoing projects. Make

your plans now to Rediscover Amherst Street on June 20th.

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New Website Unveiled

May

th, 2009 - We've been working on it for months, and today we

are pleased to unveil our new website. It should load faster, be

easier to read, have crisper layouts, and generally be much more

user friendly. Please check it out, look at some new pages and

information, and

let us know

if there are any bugs. And don't worry -

we've kept the archives intact, so all the old stories and information

is still there.

Thanks for the

website

goes to one person: our intern for the Spring

Semester, Nicole Crapez. Besides doing marketing researching,

designing new promotional materials, and researching grants,

Nicole also found time to redo our website. We are extremely grateful

to her, and can't say enough good things about the job she did for

us. Thank you Nicole!

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Don't Forget - WNY Chorale Concert on Sunday

May 15th, 2009 - Don't forget that the concert of great choral music is

this Sunday, May 17th, at 3:30pm at the former Saint Francis Xavier

Church. Tickets are $10 ($7 for seniors and students), and can be

purchased at the door. Come hear fantastic music in the magnificent

space that it was meant to be sung in. See you there.

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Great Clean Up Last Week

May 10th, 2009 - Thank you to all our volunteers that

came out to help

clean up the center, and get it ready

for tour groups. The nave, pews,

altars and artifacts

look great. A special thank you to Joyce

DiChristina,

our volunteer coordinator. We can't put on these

events

without her!

And don't forget, we're open each Saturday and

Sunday now for

tours, plus other special events,

including the WNY Chorale concert

this coming

Sunday at 3:30pm.

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Reminder: Tours Start Tomorrow

May 1st, 2009 - Don't forget: the 2009

tour season

the

Religious Arts Center starts tomorrow.

Architectural tours of

the former St. Francis Xavier

Church, and growing collection

of the Buffalo

Religious Arts Center, are Saturdays at 12:00,

and

Sunday at 1:00pm. Admission is $8, with

Member's

getting their first tour free. Hope to see you there!

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