<![CDATA[St. Luke's Mission of Mercy - News]]>Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:07:45 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[In The Interim (January 2026)]]>Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/in-the-interim-january-2026January 1, 2026  

Happy and0 Blessed New Year!
It is hard to believe that it has been 8 months since the passing of Amy Betros, our beloved Co-Founder and Director of St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy. While we continue to miss her tremendously and know that she will never be able to be replaced, we are so grateful to God for your continued prayers, encouragement and support that has allowed us to continue to move her vision forward and serve God’s poor.

As I stepped into the role of Interim Director, I told the Missionaries that this would be a year of firsts. We would need to get through our first Thanksgiving and its accompanying ministries without Amy, our first Christmas and its accompanying ministries, etc. We definitely had some challenges and we had much to learn, but God is so faithful and Amy prepared the missionaries so well and the support from our volunteers and benefactors has been so strong that we were able to have a very blessed Holiday Ministry season. God is so good!

We were able to provide Thanksgiving Food Bundles to 2000 Families. Despite a power failure on Thanksgiving Morning, we were able to provide a delicious Thanksgiving Dinner to over 200 people. We provided Christmas Food Bundles to 1800 Families. We provided boxes of new toys to over 2000 children. We provided Christmas Gifts to all the families that live in our houses. We held a Christmas Party and Dinner for about 400 people. All of this was possible because of the goodness of God and the efforts of hundreds of supporters and volunteers. We are so very grateful!

We still have four more months of this Year of Firsts. I know God still has much to teach us and I know Amy and Norm are praying and interceding for the continued success of their beloved St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy. We can feel their prayers and presence in everything we do.
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Again, we are so grateful for all of your continued prayers and support. The more we continue to forge ahead, the more we realize just how​ important all of you are. God bless each and every one of you and your families.
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Jesus I Trust In You!
]]><![CDATA[In the Interim]]>Mon, 03 Nov 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/in-the-interim2480791November 3, 2025       

Greetings! Welcome to the third installment of In the Interim. It has been a busy couple of months here at St. Luke’s and with the upcoming holidays, it is about to get a lot busier!

The replacement of our main steam heating pipes is almost complete. We are so grateful to everyone who helped us in any way to make this project a success. Our main office is in the church and without any heat, it has been invigorating! But with the help of a couple of portable heaters and dressing in layers, it has not been that bad. But we are definitely looking forward to having heat again in the church. God is so good!
Build Promise had the formal ribbon cutting on Amy’s Place Of Hope, the new 24000 foot building that will provide overnight shelter for men and offer a host of services for all people during the day. We are so excited to see the tremendous and positive impact this facility will have on this community!

As I mentioned, we are heading into our holiday season and St. Luke’s will continue to provide the holiday ministries that have been such a big part of what we have done for the past several years. We will distribute food bundles at Thanksgiving to 2000 families and will provide a Thanksgiving Holiday Meal in our dining room. We will provide food bundles to 1800 families at Christmas. The need for food assistance is increasing every day and we see this reflected in the number of people we are serving. Our Holiday Food Ministries will bring some much needed relief to the families who are struggling with this new reality. Our Annual Food Drive is in full swing. If you have not already, please consider donating to help us feed the hungry!

We are also holding our New Toy Drive for over 2000 children! Our beloved Director, the late Amy Betros loved this time of the year and we are so happy to be continuing these services! 
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Swiatek Studios is moving forward with their efforts to completely restore our beautiful church in honor of Amy Betros and Norm Paolini, Jr., our Co-Founders. They have lovingly helped care for and preserve the interior of the church for many years and want to see the restoration completed. They will be launching a Facebook page to help spread awareness and gain support for this project. Stay tuned for additional details.

We are so grateful for all of your continued prayers and support. The more we continue to forge ahead, the more we realize just how​ important all of you are. God bless each and every one of you and your families.
Jesus I Trust In You!
​]]><![CDATA[In The Interim]]>Fri, 05 Sep 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/in-the-interim5169150September 5, 2025      

Greetings! It has been almost 2 months since my first “In the Interim” column so I thought it was a good time to update everyone on what has been happening here at St. Luke’s and what is on the horizon.

We received the estimate for the replacement of the steam heating pipes in the church and it came in at $326,000.00. We have launched our TURN UP THE HEAT campaign to help us raise the funds to pay for this very necessary repair. This is a perfect opportunity for us to trust in God the way Amy, our former Director did and in the generosity of our family of supporters. Work is slated to begin on September 15 and be completed on November 7.

We were also recently approached by Swiatek Studios who very much want to completely restore our beautiful church in honor of Amy Betros and Norm Paolini, Jr., our Co-Founders. They have lovingly helped care for and preserve the interior of the church for many years and want to see the restoration completed. They have launched a GoFundMe (Finish the Mission) campaign to help us raise funds for the pipe replacement and to raise additional funds for roof repairs and restoration of the church. This is an example of God’s perfect timing: having us repair the pipes in the church so we can heat the building just in time to see the restoration of the church completed.

We had our annual Kids of the Kingdom Fundraiser to raise money for our summer program. With great music, a beautiful basket auction and delicious food it was a great success! We are so grateful to all who organized, volunteered and all who attended.

​Looking forward, we are just about to begin another school year at Our Lady of Hope. We will have grades Pre-K – 8th. Our five 8th grade graduates from June are starting their high school careers at St. Mary’s of Lancaster and we are all excited for them and all they will achieve.
 
Build Promise, our new homeless shelter for men is slated to have their Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on October 9th at 10 am. Part of Amy’s vision for Build Promise was to have the homeless men residing at Lazarus House, our current homeless shelter for men, to be the first group to transition to and benefit from all the services that Build Promise will have to offer. So they are preparing for their move to the brand new facility later this year.

As we approach the holiday season, we plan on continuing our Thanksgiving Food Give Away and our Thanksgiving Meal served in our dining room. We also plan on continuing our Christmas Food Give Away and our Christmas New Toy Drive, which is already well under way. Amy loved the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and we are so excited to continue providing the holiday ministries she got so much joy in being a part of.

We are so grateful for all of your continued prayers and support. The more we continue to forge ahead, the more we realize just how​ important all of you are. God bless each and every one of you and your families.
Jesus I Trust In You!

]]><![CDATA[In The Interim]]>Mon, 07 Jul 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/in-the-interimJuly 7, 2025
Interim Director’s Corner

Greetings! I would like to introduce myself. My name is Dennis Gilhooley and I am the Interim Director of St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy. For those who are not familiar with me I thought I would provide a little background…

I am Buffalo born and raised. My wife Sue and I have been married for 38 years and have been Lay Missionaries at St. Luke’s since 1998.

I am retired from the State University of New York at Buffalo where I worked in Administrative Computing Services / Enterprise Application Systems as a Systems Analyst and a Security Analyst.

I am the director and keyboard player with the Voices of Mercy which is our Music Ministry and we provide music at our various ministries and liturgies. For the past several years, I have also been teaching Math at Our Lady of Hope Home School here at St. Luke’s, to our 5th – 8th graders.
During this time of transition, as we mourn the loss of our beloved Co-Founder and Director, Amy Betros,

I want to assure everyone that the entire St. Luke’s family is dedicated to ensuring that the mission and vision that Amy and Norm had for St. Luke’s not only continues, but thrives and prospers.
Amy and Norm did a wonderful job in training the 9 Lay Missionaries at St. Luke’s and letting them grow and flourish in their areas of expertise. Since Amy’s passing, the Lay Missionaries: Jeanne Marinaro, Charlene Mallory, Dave Topor, Sue Gilhooley, Drew Bernstein, Sandy Bernstein, Joann Heimiller and Jose Cruz have grown into a team united in love, mercy and dedication, each one stepping up and helping to ensure things continue smoothly in their area of expertise. I thank God for this wonderful team!

I also want to update everyone on a couple of upcoming projects that we are undertaking here at St. Luke’s. The first project was one of my first “surprises’ as I took over as Interim Director. We found out that the Steam Pipes for the Heating System in our Church Building will not survive another Winter. We need to have the existing pipes removed and new pipes installed and are in the process of getting an overall estimate of the cost. It is definitely something that needs to be done.

We are also in the process of visiting and checking on the various homes that are part of St. Luke’s and occupied by individuals and families that would otherwise be homeless. We are finding that many of these homes are in need of basic maintenance and some of them need major repairs!
In all of this, as Amy and Norm did before us, we are trusting in the Lord that He will provide everything we need to make the repairs needed, beginning with the most urgent and moving forward from there.
Amy and Norm were always amazed by the generosity of the incredible family of volunteers, benefactors and prayer warriors that have supported St. Luke’s over the years! We pray and trust that St. Luke’s will continue to be blessed as you share of your time, talents and treasure. 

For your calendars, we are getting ready to celebrate our 31st Anniversary on August 1, 2025. We are planning a morning Mass and an evening Festival of Praise, all taking place right here at St. Luke’s. Stay tuned for more specifics.

The Lay Missionaries continue to be devoted to prayer and we gather every Monday – Thursday from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm for the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Eucharistic Adoration. We pray Evening Prayer together at 4:15 pm and have Mass at 4:30. We also have a 2:00 pm Mass every Sunday. Please feel free to stop by and pray with us!

I also want to thank all of you for your continued prayers and support. We could not do this without you. The knowledge that we are a true family united in love of God, mercy and a desire to assist those less fortunate has helped so much during this time.

We look forward to working together with all of you to carry on the mission begun almost 31 years ago by Amy and Norm. May God bless each and every one of you and your families.

​Jesus I Trust In You!]]><![CDATA[2025 United Way Day of Caring]]>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/2025-united-way-day-of-caringThe Buffalo Bills Organization blessed St. Luke's with over 60 volunteers to landscape the front of our Church and to clean and paint in the St. Luke's Mission Mall and in the Our Lady of Hope Home School! Thank you so much to the Buffalo Bills Organization and the United Way!
"Be good. Do good. God bless. Go Bills" - Josh Allen
]]><![CDATA[With Deepest Sorrow: The Passing of Amy Betros,​Co-Founder of St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy]]>Thu, 01 May 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/with-deepest-sorrow-the-passing-of-amy-betrosco-founder-of-st-lukes-mission-of-mercyAs we continue to mourn our beloved director, mom, grandma, and friend, Amy Betros, we want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all of you who extended your condolences, prayed for us, and offered your assistance as we navigate through these difficult days.
 
At this time, we want to assure you that we will continue on the path forward that Amy and Norm Paolini set forth for us. The spirit that animated Amy and Norm – expressed in the mission of St. Luke’s – remains firmly in place and it will continue to guide our every decision and action. The greatest way to honor Amy’s memory is to carry forward her work : to love, to serve and to show mercy. Rest assured St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy will continue in its quest to assist the underserved in our community.
 
Many of you have asked how you can help us as we go forward. First and foremost, we appreciate your prayers for the repose of the soul of Amy Betros. We ask that you pray for the continued success of St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy.
 
Your support both spiritually and financially will aid us as we continue to carry out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. For those of you who wish to help St. Luke’s in other ways we will post specific needs on our website-  www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org.
Together we will work towards the continued success of St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy. May God abundantly bless each and every one of you. 
 
Dennis Gilhooley, Interim Director
Jean Marinaro, Missionary
Charlene Mallory, Missionary
David Topor, Missionary
Susan Gilhooley, Missionary
Andrew Bernstein, Missionary
Sandra Bernstein, Missionary
Joann Heimiller, Missionary
Jose Cruz, Missionary

Live stream of Funeral Mass
]]><![CDATA[Build Promise Project breaks ground at Buffalo Site]]>Mon, 06 May 2024 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/build-promise-project-breaks-ground-at-buffalo-site
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​24,000 square foot building to add shelter and healthcare services to St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy Campus
 
BUFFALO, NY – A project in the works for five years will be moving ever closer to fruition with a groundbreaking ceremony on May 2, 2024 at 1 PM.
 
Build Promise, the initiative proposed by St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy co-founder Amy Betros in 2019, is launching the start of construction at 1297 Sycamore Street, across the street from Betros’ sprawling campus.
 
“We have been serving the needs of our Buffalo community for thirty years but felt the void in taking care of homeless men, so this is the answer to that dilemma,” stated Betros, who formed the steering committee to fundraise and plan Build Promise with Kathleen Mattar.
Mattar and her husband, William, gave the initial donation that jump-started the project.  “We enlisted a terrific group of community stakeholders that reached out to their families and friends, and we are thrilled to begin the building phase,” explained Ms. Mattar. 
Stuart Harper is president of Build Promise.  He was most recently the head of the Buffalo City Mission and joined Build Promise in 2022.
 
“I am a builder by nature and so, when I saw what Amy Betros had envisioned, I jumped at the chance to pilot this critically needed community services facility,” stated Harper.
 
The building will include:                                                    
  • 96 Semi-private shelter beds for homeless men
  • 80 Code Blue beds
  • Showers
  • Laundry facilities
  • Medical care offices
  • Mental Health care offices
  • Dental care offices
  • Maternal Health offices
  • Nutritional support services
  • Haircutting services
 
There will be collaboration with key established community providers within the Build Promise facility which include Jericho Road, BestSelf Behavioral Services, OLV Human Services, Evergreen Health, Feedmore WNY, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Mental Health Advocates of WNY, The Restoration Society, & Neighborhood Legal Services
 
Resources on-site will include:
  • Job training
  • Job placement
  • Email access
  • Family literacy
  • Financial literacy
  • Legal assistance
  • Housing placement
  • Transportation
 
Build Promise wishes to thank all of the donors that are making this day possible, especially the generosity of Jane Greene and Family in memory of William H. Greene III, who got onboard this nascent project and propelled it to reality.  Major donors include:
  • Jane Greene & Family in memory of William H. Greene
  • John & Sarah Gibson
  • M&T Bank
  • Foundation 214, Inc.
  • The Russell J. Salvatore Foundation
  • The Frank L. Ciminelli Family Foundation
  • The Swede Anderson Foundation
  • William & Kathleen Mattar
  • Baille Lumber
  • The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation
  • Lawrence & Elaine Mattar
  • The John R. Oishei Foundation
  • Mark Sieczkarek
  • First Niagara Foundation
  • Adele Kraus
  • Anthony Nanula & Family
 
Significant in-kind donations from:
  • Lehigh Construction Group
  • Scheid Architectural
  • Phillips Lytle, LLP
  • Law Offices of William Mattar
 
Donations for Build Promise are still needed for the facility’s completion, sustainability, and staffing.  To donate, visit www.BuildPromise.com/donate or make checks payable to Build Promise and mail to: Build Promise, Inc., P.O. Box 1136, Buffalo, NY 14215.  Build Promise is a 501(c)3 not for profit.
]]><![CDATA[Build Promise]]>Wed, 21 Jul 2021 18:46:47 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/build-promiseOne of our visions has been to have a building dedicated to serving men on the street. This vision has evolved from our work with Code Blue.

The building would provide a place for these men to sleep, eat, wash their clothes and take a shower. We would also partner with other organizations to provide additional on-site services that would help these men improve their current situation.

We are in the planning stages of moving this project from vision to reality. We are really excited about what the future holds!

Please pray for us!

God bless!
Build Promise Web Site
]]><![CDATA[Build Promise]]>Wed, 21 Jul 2021 18:42:27 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/build-promise3683412<![CDATA[Thanksgiving Food Giveaway!]]>Wed, 14 Nov 2018 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.stlukesmissionofmercy.org/news/celebrating-the-resurrection
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More than 1,000 volunteers over 5 days; 2,700 families received 3 bags of food; the cost was $1.08 per meal; God's people served God's people!
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