Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | |
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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.
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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!
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Joys and Concerns around the Presbytery | |
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In our prayers together this week:
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Pray for 14-year-old Jerry Armstrong who has been diagnosed with bone cancer. He attends Whitelaw Presbyterian Church with his family.
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Pray for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
- Please pray for unity and peace in America during an already tumultuous election season.
- All those in Ukraine.
- All those in Israel and Gaza.
- All those who are homebound.
- All those who battling addiction.
- 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.
In the cycle of prayer our Presbytery, please pray for these congregations, faith communities, and individuals: our Presbytery, the Synod of the Northeast, General Assembly staff
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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. " | |
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Synod M&M Commission Report
Linda Russell (RE) Commissioner
The Synod of the Northeast’s Mission and Ministries Commission held a meeting on September 13-14, 2024 via Zoom. The Mission Working Group (MWG), to which I am assigned, reviewed five applications for an Emerging Gospel Community (EGC) Grant. Two of the applications were not approved due to not meeting grant guidelines. Three of the 5 grant requests were approved at the maximum level of $20,000 each for a total of $60,000. 1) La Iglesia del Pueblo, a Spanish-language spiritual home for a community in NYC Presbytery. 2) Transformations (Hudson River), an on-line community gathered around the ministry of offering comfort, healing, peace, connection, and inspiration through music, meditation, reflection, and connection. 3) Pray and Play (Genesee Valley), a multi-ethnic, economically diverse, intergenerational, family-oriented worshipping community, inclusive of those with and without children, offering them a Christ-centered weekly respite by providing a warm meal (plus leftovers) for congregants, and by gathering in a safe place that meets the playful, messy, wiggly, and ever-changing needs of households with young children. NOTE: Going forward, applications for Synod grants will need to be approved by the grant seeker’s presbytery. This will require great attention to our presbytery process and meeting dates, as well as Synod deadlines for applications. Additional highlights of the Commission’s work can be found here.
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The Rev. Dr. Shavonn Lynch was ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in a beautiful ordination service Sunday afternoon at Northminster Presbyterian Church in North Syracuse. | |
2024-25 Presbyterian Planning Calendars | |
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The Presbytery is putting together a bulk order for 2024-2025 Presbyterian Planning Calendars to get a reduced cost. Please use this link to let us know how many 2024-2025 Planning Calendars you would like. Calendars will be $9.75 + $0.60 S&H. Once your order is placed, Kristin Schierer, Presbytery Bookkeeper, will invoice you. Orders are due by September 27th, and calendars will be distributed at the Presbytery meeting in November.
Ordering Link: https://forms.gle/6tHmezwR5NHZ8X169
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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.
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Isaiah’s Table to Benefit from This Year’s Greater Syracuse CROP Walk
Isaiah’s Table received some great news- they will be one of the local missions to receive a grant from this year’s Greater Syracuse CROP Walk. With the local event, 25 percent of the funds raised remains locally, shared with 5 Syracuse-area agencies: Isaiah’s Table, Interreligious Food Consortium, Epiphany Parish SJW Campus, Samaritan Center and In My Father’s Kitchen.
The CROP Walk this year will be held at noon on Sunday October 6th at Onondaga Lake Park at Willow Bay. It’s a great way for groups or individuals to help make a difference for local people around the world who are food insecure.
Let’s get our congregations involved! Why not organize a team from your church – it’s a great fellowship activity! Walking encourages us to think about our neighbors, both locally and globally, who must walk for water, food, and medical care.
The website provides loads of information about how to promote the walk including worship resources, bulletin inserts and sample announcements. They make it easy to have a successful Walk with your faith community.
You can also go to the Greater Syracuse CROP Hunger Walk website to join a team and/or to donate to a team. Your support will be greatly appreciated. Questions? Contact: Bob Graves-Co-Chair at rlgraves313@gmail.com or 315-427-6054
WALK……GIVE…..Help make a difference!
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Presbytery members invited to 10-week church history class at Westminster in Auburn
Rev. Larry Bell will be offering a ten-week church history class on Monday evenings at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Auburn starting October 7 at 7:00pm. The classes will cover the history of the church from Jesus to the present day. It is part of a course of study for aspiring American Baptist lay pastors, but it is open to Westminster members and others in the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse. There is no fee to audit the course. Completion of the assigned reading is encouraged but not required. Please contact the church office at office@westminsterauburn.org to register and receive a syllabus. The course is being offered both on Zoom and in person. Larry pastored churches in New York State for 23 years. He studied church history at Cornell, and participated in an archeological dig at Tel Zeitah, Israel. Since retirement he has served as historian for the Howland Stone Store Museum, curated historical museum exhibits, published numerous genealogical and historical articles—and continues to preach at area churches.
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Practical Resources for Churches Webinars | |
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PRC's Summer & Fall 2024 Online events
All webinars are recorded. Click the title to register or read the description.
Hope is Here! Spiritual practices for pursuing justice and beloved community
Thursday, September 19, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leader - Rev. Dr. Luther E. Smith, Jr.
Wait, is this racist?
Thursday, September 26, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leader – Kerry Connelly
Managing Stress Before it Manages You
Thursday, October 3, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leader – Charles Stone
Healing Fractured Communities
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leaders - Jessica L. Anschutz, Douglas Powe
Christian Nationalism and the 2024 Election
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EST
Leaders -Brian Kaylor, Beau Underwood
This is a follow-up webinar to
Responding Effectively to Christian Nationalism RECORDED
Leaders -Brian Kaylor, Beau Underwood
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New York State Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Webinars
You can take this training any time during the year
charlaine@prcli.org
10:30 am – 12:00 pm EDT
3:00 – 4:30 pm EST
7:00 – 8:30 pm EST
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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
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Morrisville Community Church seeks office staff member
Morrisville Community Church is looking for a part-time office worker. The job is 15 hours a week and the pay is New York State minimum wage.
Interested candidates are asked to call Jeff Gay at (315) 684-3314.
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Northville United Presbyterian Church seeks pastor
Northville United Presbyterian Church (NUPC), nestled in the bucolic village of Northville, New York is searching for a vibrant, compassionate part-time to full-time Pastor to lead and accompany us on our quest to becoming better Disciples of Christ. Located on the Great Sacandaga lake in the beautiful Adirondack Park of Upstate New York, we are a small but active congregation serving the Lord and community in various outreach and inhouse programs who desire a forward-thinking pastor to preach the teachings of Christ and relate them to our daily lives. Our pastor will also shepherd our efforts in our music program, develop programs to attract youth and minister to the needs of the elderly in our midst. Read More...
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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.
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Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | |
Compassion or safe communities?
The Rev. Dr. Tracy Keenan offers a faithful response to the immigration debate
By the Rev. Dr. Tracy Keenan
Special to Presbyterian News Service
Imagine if …
Imagine you and your family are living a quiet life as best you can in a city in Central America and a local gang leader decides he wants your 14-year-old daughter as his “girlfriend,” and won’t accept no for an answer.
Imagine working hard to earn $20 paycheck in Venezuela where a carton of milk costs $8.
Imagine your acre of garden, on which your family depends for food, has washed away in a landslide.
Imagine your child’s survival depends on medical care that is not available in your homeland.
Imagine militias from neighboring countries or communities have overrun your community and you have to run for your life.
There’s a lot of heated rhetoric right now about immigrants. And it’s clear that our immigration system needs a lot of work. It is underfunded, understaffed, and many of the attempts to fix it have hobbled through partisan rancor and landed in half-baked solutions. At the same time, migration numbers are up all over the world, and not just at our southern border, due to conflict, natural disasters, persecution, or the desire to earn a better living.
During any election season, there is always significant fearmongering, trying to scare people into voting a certain way. Right now, because the influx of immigrants had been high (in 2022 especially), and our system is ill-equipped to make a smooth path for people seeking asylum or work, the rhetoric has reached new levels of vehemence. We have places in the U.S. where immigrants are being placed — some in large cities, some in small towns, and there is lots of confusion, distortion, and concern.
Continue reading...
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Regarding Ruling Elders:
A Monthly Series for Serving Faithfully
Caring for God’s Creation
The beginning of fall and a new school year also brings the start of new children’s curriculum in the church. It seems like almost every year, the first highlight is one of the most wonderful stories of the Bible: Genesis 1, the story of Creation. Within it is the reminder that, even if we cannot remember the specific aspect of Creation on each day, the most important thing the author wants us to remember is this phrase: “And God saw that it was good.
In Hebrew, the word “good” is translated as טוֹב (tov), and it holds deep and multifaceted meanings, especially in the context of the Genesis story. Tov generally means “good” in the sense of being pleasant, functional, or desirable. It encompasses goodness in a broad sense — something that is beneficial, pleasing, or in harmony with its purpose. It speaks to wholeness and completeness, about something fully functional, complete, and fulfilling. Each element of creation is in its right place, contributing to the balance of the world. Tov can also reflect Creation’s alignment with God’s will. Each created thing is good because it fits within God’s design for the world, and it is deserving of God’s love. Creation reflects the divine order and intention of God, functioning as it was meant to. In some cases, tov also implies that Creation is not just functional but also pleasing and beautiful. God delights in the goodness of Creation, and we should as well.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a well-established commitment to caring for Creation, rooted in its understanding of the Bible, theology and social justice. Creation is very good! It sees care for God’s Creation as an essential part of Christian faith and discipleship, recognizing our role as stewards of the Earth. Human beings are not owners of Creation but caretakers, responsible for its sustainability and flourishing for future generations. The church also recognizes that the need for environmental justice is urgent, and that environmental degradation disproportionately impacts marginalized communities — especially poor, Indigenous, and minoritized populations. The PC(USA) General Assembly has adopted several important statements, actions, and documents, including “Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice,” which outlines a theological and practical approach to Creation care, calling on all Presbyterians to make the restoration of Creation a central mission priority for the church. Also encouraged for consideration is the “The Earth Care Pledge,” which encourages congregations and individuals to engage in practices that reduce their environmental impact, to advocate for environmental policy changes and to work towards sustainability.
Continue reading...
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P.O. Box 438, Syracuse 13214
(315) 632-5698
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"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
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