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:

• 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.
• 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: Amboy Belle Isle; First, Auburn; Westminster, Auburn; United Ministry of Aurora; First, Baldwinsville

The Executive Team of the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery and the Coordinating Council of the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse are calling a special joint presbytery meeting to be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 14 via Zoom.

During this meeting, the Finance and HR Committees of both presbyteries will present a motion to vote on a proposed job description and compensation package for the Rev. Greg Garis to serve as a shared Lead Presbyter for Transformation for both presbyteries.

In addition, the motion will include approval of a job description and compensation package for an Assistant to the Lead Presbyter for Transformation, a position that will be filled at a later date.

Requests to be Excused and Prayer Requests should be sent to the Stated Clerk (statedclerk@cayugasyracuse.org) by Wednesday, August 13, 2025.

Please read all supporting documents prior to the meeting.

Registration (Please note the Zoom link is in the Docket.)

We look forward to a productive time together!

A copy of the Guide for Commissioners can be found here.

Papers for the Meeting:

Docket

Lead Presbyter for Transformation job description

Assistant to the Lead Presbyter for Transformation job description

Presbyter Salary Levels

The Presbytery has bulk ordered 2025-2026 Presbyterian Planning Calendars to get a reduced cost. The cost is $12.50 per calendar.    

Please note that the planning calendars have a new orientation: The calendar grid is now vertical instead of horizontal and will span across two pages for double the writing space for personal dates and notes. We have ordered 55 calendars, and they will be available on a first come, first served basis. Order Form: https://forms.gle/RB8XpA9Ft88bTcbz9

Questions can be directed to Kristin Schierer, Presbytery Bookkeeper at finance@cayugasyracuse.org.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Hymnals Available

Westminster (Auburn) has multiple copies of the The Worshipbook (1972, hymns and liturgy) available to give away to any church, senior living center, organization who might want them.

Please contact office@westminsterauburn.org if you’re interested.

Learn More & Read Biographies

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.

OPEN PRAYER: First Presbyterian Church of Chittenango hosted its first Open Prayer on Tuesday. It was a beautiful evening. The church is open to everyone 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays for prayer - "No Service, No Expectaions - Just a sacred space to be with God"

Professional Development

July is a great time to evaluate, refresh, and prepare for the programmatic year ahead. Some of our favorite recorded picks to help you get the resources you need are:

Recorded Webinars: Ready to go whenever you have time! Pro tip- pop in an earbud, bring it up on your phone, and listen while you

• Out of the Pew and Into The Community
• Helping Newcomers Connect
• Talking With Kids About Injustices
• Leading Faithful Innovation
• Practical Practices for Faith in Families
• Legal and Tax Considerations for Space Sharing Agreements
• Building Collaboartive Teams for an Adaptive Church
• Know Your Rights 2.0: Welcoming the Refugee and Keeping Church Safe
• Get Set: Start the Program Year Strong

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.

Better ways to read the Bible

Author and pastor the Rev. Zach Lambert is a recent guest on ‘A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast’

In 17 years of church ministry, the Rev. Zach Lambert has seen Scripture “read and applied in harmful ways.” With the Tuesday release of his book “Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm Into a Tool of Healing,” Lambert discusses how the faith community he leads, Restore Church in Austin, Texas, is working to help bring about one of Jesus’ most important ministry roles: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Lambert, the author of “Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm into a Tool of Healing,” was the guest last month on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” hosted each week by Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe. Listen to their 49-minute conversation here.

Lambert said he’s seen the Bible weaponized “in horrific ways, to subjugate women, justify racism and bash LGBTQ people, cover up abuse and even try to silence anyone who speaks up about those injustices. I became convinced early on [in ministry] that this is the opposite of what Jesus wants.”

Continue reading...

What’s in a name: Introducing Pearl 2.0

Check out the digital archive’s new site and get to know its namesake, Presbyterian Pearl S. Buck

At the Presbyterian Historical Society, everyone knows Pearl.

At least, we know the name. We toss it around like confetti, utter it hundreds of times a day. It’s the name of our online archive, Pearl Digital Collections. The repository that holds all our digitized and born-digital content: photographs, videos, oral histories, publications, and so much more.

This week, PHS is pleased to unveil the fresh new site for Pearl Digital Collections.

First launched in the fall of 2015 with approximately 2,000 digital objects, Pearl has grown immensely in the decade since its creation. Since then, PHS staff have worked to add more than 30,000 digital objects in a variety of formats: photographs, books, newspapers, historical documents, audio, video, and even websites. In 2015, the majority of those first 2,000 items in Pearl were photographs. Now, the range of materials from our archives that are freely accessible to the public stretches much farther.

Because the site has experienced such exponential growth, PHS staff began in February to redesign the site as a whole to give it a cleaner, more accessible and modern look.

And what better way to celebrate this next chapter for our digital repository than to spend time getting to know its eponym: Nobel Prize-winning author and prominent Presbyterian, Pearl S. Buck.

Continue reading...