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.

We are asking our churches to share this newsletter with your members each week. Click the button below to forward the email or to obtain the newsletter link.

Thank you! 

In our prayers together this week:

• Join us in prayer as we pray for the victims and the families of the devastating flooding in Texas.
• Please keep Camille Bach (Whitelaw Presbyterian) in your prayers during her breast cancer treatment.
• Please pray for Jerry Armstrong (Whitelaw Presbyterian) Jerry is 15 years old with recurrent bone cancer.
• Let us pray together for justice, peace and unity, especially during these times of turmoil and uncertainty.
• Prayers for peace for the people and country of South Korea.
• Pray for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
• The voiceless.
• All those who have been separated from their families.
• All those in America.
• Our brothers & sisters in Haiti.
• All those in Sudan.
• All those in Ukraine.
• All those in Lebanon.
• All those in Israel and Gaza.
• All displaced people.
• All those who are homebound.
• All those who battling addiction and their loved ones.
• Keep all those who battling cancer and other chronic illnesses in your prayers. Please ask God to be by their side and to be with their doctors and families.
• Please pray for all those who are dealing with the painful grief of losing a beloved family pet.

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

We extend our deepest sympathy and support to Mission Presbytery, the people of Kerrville, and the Texas Hill Country following the devastating flooding along the Guadalupe River. Our thoughts are particularly with our friends at Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly as they navigate the aftermath of this catastrophic event.

Even in the darkest moments, the strength of connection and compassion lights the way.

PCUSA Texas Flooding Donation Information:

PDA has sent the following links for giving opportunities to respond to the recent flooding in Texas. Donations can be sent DIRECTLY to any of the organizations below by congregations and/or individuals:

This PDA link sends you to an info page about the Texas Hill country, and includes the link for sending donations to the PDA account for US Flooding

PDA is also working with local congregations and organizations in the region, and has advised that it is also OK to refer people to these other sites for donations that are posted on the Synod of the Sun's website.

Mission Presbytery’s Disaster Assistance Fund

First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville’s Flood Relief Fund

Mo-Ranch Flood Relief & Employee Assistance Fund

Dear Friends, 

Greetings on behalf of Presbyterian Peace Fellowship' (PPF) working group on Palestine Solidarity. 



We invite you to join us this summer in a series of three online worship services. The series, Hope and Sumud: Voices from Palestine, will take place on August 3 and September 7 at 4pm PT, 5pm MT, 6pm CT, 7pm ET. This series is hosted by Lost & Found Church, a program of PPF. Register to get the Zoom link.

Stay in touch with us as we learn from -- and work in solidarity with --Palestinians. If you’d like to receive our occasional Email newsletter, sign up here for the mailing list (you will need to scroll down the page to find the list of PPF newsletters).  

May we be encouraged by these words of Omar Haramy, Director of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. 

"In Palestine, we live Sumud, a steadfastness that embodies resilience, patience, and an unwavering commitment to justice and dignity. For us, Sumud is not just resistance, it is the courage to live in the light of Christ's example, even when the weight of oppression feels unbearable.”

Gratefully,

Palestine Solidarity working group

Beverly Brewster, Geoff Browning, Christine Caton, Ben Daniel, David Ensign, Dexter Kearny, Tricia Lloyd-Sidle, Bob Ross, Elizbeth Simpson, Schaunel Steinnagle, Monica Styron, Barbara Swartzel

First Presbyterian Church Mexico Seeks Supply Leadership

An Important Message from the First Presbyterian Church Mexico:

Mexico First has joined the many congregations within our Presbytery who are in

transition. We know it is summertime as well and many are taking vacations during this

time.

We are seeking someone who could commit to at least one Sunday per month ongoing.

Any persons should contact Elder Susan Silliman Smith by text at 315-591-4623 or

email at august13sss@gmail.com. Text response is preferred. If responding by email, please put Supply Preaching in subject line.

Blessing of the Animals

Pastor Adam Demetros of Westminster Presbyterian Church will lead a short Blessing of the Animals service on Wednesday July 16 at 7pm. The service will take place on the church’s front lawn at 17 William Street in downtown Auburn, and will include liturgy, music, and treats and water. All friendly pets and their humans are invited. Pets must be under control by leash or contained in carriers. Rain location will be a drive-through blessing under the archway. For information, call 315-253-3331 or visit www.facebook.com/westminsterauburn. 

CHILDREN'S MESSAGE: The Rev. Karen Chamis talks to kiddos at Onondaga Hill Presbyterian Church during the children's message. (Disclaimer: The four littles belong to our Communication Coordinator Sarah Buckshot!)

Do you know how to sign "Peace" in ASL?

Find more resources for this fall's Peace & Global Witness Offering on our website: https://hubs.ly/Q03w5ZPv0

JOIN PRC's ONLINE BOOK CLUB

THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon

July 12, 2025 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.

Click here to register

Mandatory New York State Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Webinars

You can take this training any time during the year

charlaine@prcli.org

Wednesday, August 20, 2024

7 – 8:30 PM EST

Tuesday, September 23, 2025

2:30 – 4 PM EST

How to contact our Stated Clerk, the Rev Ben Fitzgerald-Fye

Office Phone: 315-291-0360 (call or text)

Email: statedclerk@cayugasyracuse.org

Mail received at:

Scipioville Presbyterian Church

Attn: Pastor Ben

3428 State Route 34B

Scipio Center NY 13147

More staff contact information is linked below.

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

Click Here for a list of Past Editions of Presbytery Matters

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.

Presbyterians respond quickly and compassionately to rapid flooding in the Texas Hill Country

A beloved Presbyterian ruling elder is among the victims of the Friday floodwaters

While search and rescue efforts continued Saturday following Friday’s devastating flooding in the Texas Hill Country, staff at Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, after ensuring their guests were safe and after the facility’s closure, were exploring ways to help their neighbors in Kerrville, Texas.

Without power or cell service, Mo-Ranch remained closed on Saturday and will remain closed until further notice. “We deeply appreciate all of the concern and well wishes we have received from the Mo family today,” Mo-Ranch said in a statement, “and assure you that every guest, camper and employee at Mo-Ranch is safe and accounted for.”

According to The Associated Press, destructive fast-moving waters along the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes before dawn Friday. As of Sunday afternoon, the storm had killed 79 people, with more than 40 people still missing.

At least one Presbyterian died in the floodwaters. Mission Presbytery reported that Jane Ragsdale, a ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, died in the flooding. She was camp director at Heart O’ the Hills Camp for Girls in Hunt, Texas. The Kerrville Daily Times noted she was a camper and counselor at the camp during the 1970s and became co-owner in 1976 and camp director in 1988. The Heart O’ the Hills website describes Ragsdale as “the heart and soul” of the camp. “She embodied the spirit of Heart O’ the Hills and was exactly the type of strong, joyful woman that the camp aimed to develop with the girls entrusted to us each summer,” Heart O’ the Hills said in a statement.

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General Assembly committee publishes a resource to help Presbyterians confront Christian nationalism

GACEIR document includes a liturgical witness against the growing movement 

The General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations has a recent resource to help Presbyterians learn more about confronting Christian nationalism.

The two-page document includes answers to frequently-asked questions and “God of All,” a liturgical witness against Christian nationalism by Dr. Whitney Wilkinson Ameche and the Rev. Dr. Jacob Bolton. The authors acknowledge the influence of the writer and poet Cole Arthur Riley.

“The Presbyterian Church has had long-standing interfaith dialogue partners and it is incumbent upon us to stand with them when they are under assault, directly or indirectly, by Christian nationalism,” committee members said. “Recent events such as the second Trump Muslim ban and the antisemitic attacks in Washington and Boulder, Colorado, are examples that leave those communities with psychological and political tolls, and a cost that could include loss of power long struggled for. This kind of toll is not felt by the mainstream Protestant community unless we confess our part in it.”

“This new resource from GACEIR was conceived towards diminishing that damage,” committee members said, “and helping us stand with those under attack.”

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