Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | |
|
|
Safe and Warm
Churches team up to help growing homeless crisis in Auburn
An ecumencial group of pastors and lay people, including members of the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles as well as the Rev. Barb E. Blom and members from the United Ministry of Aurora, have formed the Cayuga Community Faith Partners to help with the growing homeless crisis in Auburn.
The group will meet every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Harriet Tubman Memorial AME Zion Church with the Rev. Paris Price and other members of the church, to provide a "Safe and Warm" program for people who are homeless. People can come in out of the cold, no questions asked, for coffee, snacks, to charge their phones, some clothing, as well as information about the various resources in Auburn. Or just to have a place to sit and get warm. Following this time together, there is a brief prayer service offered.
At the first gathering on January 26th, the group found that they had some people who were eager to share their story with us about the difficulties, the violence, hopelessness, and the terrifying effects of homelessness. As the group learns more, they hope to expand this very special ministry.
All are welcome to join the group on Fridays to learn more.
To learn more, email Rev. Blom at revbarbe@gmail.com
| |
|
We want to hear about the mission stories from our Presbytery's worshiping communities. What mission work are you involved in? How are your members working in the community? What story would you like to share with others in the Presbytery?
Send any mission stories from your congregation that you would like to share to: CaySyrNews@gmail.com.
Deadline is 12 p.m. on Wednesdays for the current week's edition of
Presbytery Matters.
We want to share your stories, missions, activities and more. Also, make sure to like our Facebook page by clicking the "Facebook" icon at the top of this newsletter.
| |
|
February is Black History Month
The Presbyterian Historical Society has created an online tool providing chronological information about the Black Presbyterian experience reaching back to the 1800s.
Learn more about the work and witness of African American Presbyterians here:
https://ow.ly/KFqU50Qwllf
| |
Joys and Concerns around the Presbytery | |
|
In our prayers together this week:
- Please keep Karen Chamis in your prayers. Our former Resource Presbyter fell last week and broke her leg. She underwent surgery and is currently in a rehab center. Please keep her in your prayers as she recovers and heals.
- Pray for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
- Keep all those who battling cancer in your prayers. Please ask God to be by their side and to be with their doctors and families.
In the cycle of prayer our Presbytery, please pray for these congregations, faith communities, and individuals: Northminster, North Syracuse; Onondaga Hill; Faith United Church of Oswego; Presbyterian Church of Otisco; New Hope, Parish
If you'd like to share a particular joy or concern with the Presbytery, please contact: CaySyrNews@gmail.com. Please note, prayers will be featured for three weeks, unless a specific time frame is requested.
| |
|
Ash Wednesday is February 14th - Valentine's Day!
If your church doesn't offer ashes or an Ash Wednesday service, here are a few in our Presbytery who will have special offerings that evening:
Robinson Elmwood United Church, located at 126 S. Terry Road in Syracuse, will have ashes-to-go in the parking lot from 3 to 5 p.m. and a service in the sanctuary at 6:30 p.m.
Westminster Presbyterian Church, which is located at 17 William St. in Auburn, will offer drive-thru ashes from 5 to 6 p.m. and a worship service at 7 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia, which is located at 27 Albany Street in Cazenovia, will have a service at 7 p.m.
Other churches may have services, check out their Facebook pages or websites for more details.
Attention churches, please send your Holy Week and/or special Lent service schedules to caysyrnews@gmail.com
| |
From the Resource Presbyter | |
|
Follow Me
Last weekend 46 members of the presbyteries of Cayuga-Syracuse and Susquehanna Valley gathered for the first Leader’s Summit at Northminster Presbyterian Church.
It was a wonderful time of fellowship and worship as collectively we challenged one another on how we are seeing God at work within our communities.
One way our presbytery is furthering those conversations is by facilitating a Lenten Bible Study on faithful practices in which to live out our faith. The six-week study entitled, “Love God, Neighbor, Enemy,” will be offered Tuesdays at noon on Zoom. The study guide can be purchased for $12 and downloaded through the link below. Participants are encouraged to read the first lesson prior to February 20th. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about this study or other presbytery opportunities, please let me know.
In Christ’s Peace,
Kathy
Interim Resource Presbyter
| |
From the Nominating Committee | |
|
Greetings from the Nominating Committee,
The Nominating Committee greatly appreciates the work and dedication of all who serve on committees and commissions of the Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery. We recognize that we cannot hope to live into God’s mission for us as a collective body without those who feel called to serve.
The Nominating Committee needs to establish a broader pool of names for consideration as we seek to populate committees and commissions. We are asking that pastors/churches provide the committee with a list of elders, especially those who are willing to serve on a committee on the presbytery level.
Currently, we are seeking people to serve on the following: Commission on Ministry, Committee on Representation, Social Justice, Human Resources, Finance and Property, Nominating Committee. Suggestions can be emailed to the Nominating Committee at lynchshavonn@yahoo.com.
Shavonn Lynch
Nominating Committee Chair
| |
Interim Resource Presbyter Announcements | |
|
Under the new guidelines from the Book of Order, boundary training is required every three years for: Ministers of Word and Sacrament, Certified Christian Educators (CCE), Certified Christian Ruling Elders (CRE) and Inquirers before moving to candidacy.
The presbytery has contracted with SafeGatherings https://safegatherings.com for the online boundary training course. To learn more, or to register for the course, please contact your committee chair or the interim resource presbyter.
| |
|
Background checks for incoming Ministers of the Word & Sacrament are now conducted through Praesidium.
https://www.praesidiuminc.com
To request a background check, please contact your COM liaison.
| |
|
If you are involved with a church book club and are open to having new folks join your group, please contact Rita Hooper at twohoops2@gmail.com with your information. Please include Zoom info, time, place and contact person and anything else you find useful.
Nancy Wind and Isiah’s Table are inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting, on Tuesdays at 7 pm. Feb 14th, Isiah’s Table will begin their new Lenten study - Pause:Spending Lent with the Psalms by Elizabeth F. Caldwell. They will discuss the chapter "Reflection for Ash Wednesday."
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83276947441?pwd=dElVL2c3UTducVlIUmdPYXRJdUVIZz09
Meeting ID: 832 7694 7441
Passcode: 065105
Rita Hooper and Presbyterian Women invite you to check out their book club, unfortunately meeting at the same time as Isaiah’s Table: Tuesdays at 7 pm. Their current selection is Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. Missing Hearts is a suspenseful and heartrending novel about the unbreakable love between a mother and child in a society consumed by fear. They began last week but feel free to join them anyway! You don’t have to be a woman, a Presbyterian or even live in CNY to join. This club focuses on peace and justice issues and began during covid. We have read both fiction and non-fiction selections. We aim to support each other on our journey’s so sometimes we get a little off track!
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87193947627?pwd=SDZkanB0ZFVDZFoybmczU0F4QWpNQT09
Meeting ID: 871 9394 7627
Passcode: 748784
| |
|
Joy & Justice Education Series
Park Central in Syracuse received a ReKindle Grant from the Columbia Theological Seminary, which allowed the church to provide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) training with their congregational leadership and members in 2023. The funding also gives the church the ability to offer this training for FREE in the Spring to congregational leaders from other local Presbyterian churches.
The trainings are in-person at Park Central for 5 weeks, ending with an all day in-person retreat at Christ the King Retreat Center in Syracuse and is limited to 16 participants with 2 leaders from each church. There is required reading of two books, “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo and “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson. Additionally, participants are required to take the online Intercultural Developmental Inventory Assessment that identifies their individual level of cultural awareness. You can read more about this assessment at https://www.idiinventory.com.
The sessions, which will be held on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m., will start on April 8th and end on May 6th. The retreat will take place on May 18th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Light refreshments and lunch will be included.
If you are interested there is a virtual information session scheduled on Thursday, February 8th at 6 p.m. To register and receive the zoom link please send an email to niaministriesworldwide@gmail.com.
| |
|
Northminster did an Advent Study and they currently have 13 copies of the study book as well as the leader’s guide. The church would like to share them with another congregation to use next Advent Season, as they will not be doing the same study the next year.
The name of the study is “Experiencing Christmas” by Matt Rawle.
If a church is interested in these books, please contact the church office at (315) 458-0393 or by email at npc7444@nmpres.org.
| |
Practical Resources for Churches Webinars | |
|
Our Address: PO Box 438, Syracuse, NY 13214
Click Here for Staff Contact Information
Click Here for a list of Live Streams from our churches
| |
|
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
17 William Street – Auburn, NY
JOB POSITION TITLE: CHILDREN’S WORSHIP CENTER LEADER
1) PURPOSE
a) To lead the Children’s Worship Center for children three (3) years of age through second grade, following the guidelines of Sonja Stewart’s Children and Worship program.
2) STATUS OF POSITION
a) The Children's Worship Center Leader is a part-time employee of the Westminster Presbyterian Church normally working five hours per week.
b) The Children’s Worship Center Leader is responsible to the Pastor/ Head of Staff, the Children’s & Youth Ministry Coordinator, and the Personnel Committee. The position of the Children's Worship Center Leader is approved by the Session upon the recommendation of the Personnel Committee.
Read full job description
Apply online
| |
|
Are you hiring?
If your church is hiring, please send an announcement and job description to Communication Coordinator Sarah Buckshot at caysyrnews@gmail.com
Please Note: Hiring announcements will run in Presbytery Matters for 3 weeks and then moved to our website. If you have a hiring announcement from 2023 and are still looking to fill it in 2024, please send a new announcement.
Thank you, Sarah Buckshot, Communications Coordinator.
| |
Around the Synod of the Northeast | |
Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | |
|
PC(USA) launches Lenten resource webpage
New site offers easy access to devotional and worship resources available for use during Lent
By Emily Enders Odom
Mission Communications
Special to Presbyterian News Service
Ash Wednesday — which falls this year on Feb. 14 — marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer, fasting and self-examination which culminates in Holy Week and the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord at Easter.
“Although the season of Lent developed as a time of preparation for baptism in the early church,” said the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, associate for worship in the Office of Theology and Worship, “for those who are already baptized, it is an annual invitation to repentance, reconciliation, and the reaffirmation of our faith.”
Toward that end, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has created a new online landing page that offers a wide variety of devotional and worship resources from across the agencies of the PC(USA). The resources, many of which are free and downloadable, are suitable for use by individuals, congregations and mid councils.
Continue reading...
| |
|
Matthew 25 book study on ‘Poverty, by America’ draws more than 260 people — and the author of the best-seller
Matthew Desmond launches a four-week PC(USA)-wide book study with an inspiring and insightful 15-minute talk
By Mike Ferguson
Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE — Matthew Desmond, the author of the 2023 book “Poverty, by America,” made a 15-minute online appearance Monday to help launch a four-week PC(USA)-wide study of his best-seller. More than 260 people were present to hear from Desmond, the Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, whose 2017 book, “Evicted,” won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. They also discussed the first two chapters in small groups.
“It’s lovely to see folks gathered from around the country,” said Desmond, whose family attends a Presbyterian church in Princeton. “It’s good to be in community.”
Desmond grew up poor in Winslow, Arizona. His father was a pastor, and the family struggled financially. Eventually the bank repossessed their home. “I think that experience of seeing my family pressed and stressed by the pressures of poverty led me to ask, ‘Why do we have so much poverty in America?’” Desmond said of the wealthiest nation on Earth, where 1 in 9 people live below the poverty line and tens of millions more people are just getting by just above the line.
Government spending on antipoverty programs has increased 230% since the Reagan administration, and yet poverty rates have remained “very persistent over those years,” he said.
Continue reading...
| |
P.O. Box 438, Syracuse 13214
(315) 632-5698
| |
"I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them
bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5
| | | | |
