Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | | | |
'The Joy of the Whole Earth'
Record Attendance Korean Church of Syracuse's annual Lodi Summer Camp
Lodi Summer Camp, the annual VBS camp hosted by the Korean Church of Syracuse for refugee children in the area, was held at Syracuse Myanmar Baptist Church from June 30 to July 4 with the theme “The Joy of the Whole Earth.” (Psalm 48:2) As in previous years, this year was also a time of experiencing God’s amazing grace and Joy.
A total of 255 children attended, which markedthe highest number of participants in the 15-year history of this camp. These children came from 20 different countries, including Afghan, Bangladesh, Burma, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Congo, Eritrea, Kenya, Myanmar, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia, and USA. On the last day of camp, 139 of the 169 children in attendance accepted Jesus as their savior.
Using the Wordless Book, the children learned about God’s creation, our sin, the blood of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, and how to grow in Christ. Through Bible class, Art class, and Game class, they engaged with the gospel each day. Teachers prepared activities based on the five colors of the Wordless Book, and the children learned the meaning of each color through hands-on activities over the five-day camp.
Camp volunteers came together from New Jersey, Philadelphia, Maryland, and other regions to serve together in this ministry of God. The volunteers united with a single purpose: to carry out God’s work of salvation, demonstrating incredible teamwork and cooperation.
Since 2007, Lodi Summer Camp has served more than 2,168 refugee and immigrant children, reaching out to children from 42 countries to date, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Palau, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, and USA.
Lodi Summer Camp was launched as a ministry to reach refugee children with the gospel, following the 4/14 Window mission strategy, which focuses on the age group most receptive to the gospel. The goal has been to help these children be born again as children of God and grow in their faith in Him. Through this ministry, God has brought forth much fruit of salvation and raised up many of His workers.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
"We praise God who accomplished all these things," said Rev. Dr. Yong Ju Jee in a news release. "Also we thank God for providing everything that we need. Thank you for your prayers."
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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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Thank you!
| | Joys and Concerns around the Presbytery | | |
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.
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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.
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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: Port Byron Federated; First, Scipioville; Sennett Federated Church; First, Skaneateles
| | Palestine Solidarity Working Group | | |
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
| | Presbyterian Manley Olson has updated his “O God, Our God” following the deadly floods in the Texas Hill Country. The hymn can be freely used during worship or other church events. Learn more: https://hubs.ly/Q03w_H_p0 | | |
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.
| | GIFT OF MUSIC: Northminster Presbyterian Church thanks Sentinel for sharing their special music on Sunday throughout its worship service! Sentinel was formed in 1993 to perform occasional anthems in the members’ churches. Today, the singers are from all different churches and the group sings at worship services, concerts and church social events over a wide region. Thank you again for sharing your ministry! | | |
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
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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.
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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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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 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | | |
Hunger as a weapon of war
Presbyterian Hunger Program webinar features four panelists working for food justice in war-torn places
A Tuesday webinar put on by the Presbyterian Hunger Program looked at ways hunger is being used as a weapon of war in four places across the globe — in Gaza and the West Bank, Yemen, Sudan, and Kenya.
Four panelists spoke as part of “Hunger as a Weapon of War: Voices from the Frontlines”:
- Zoughbi Zoughbi, founder and director of Wi’am, the Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center
- Nadher Ghaleb, programs director of Generations Without Qat in Yemen
- Dr. Rose Muraguri, coordinator of food security and livelihood support in South Kordofan, Sudan, with Social Metrics Organisation
- Seeni Olaide Olarinde, program staff with Civil Society for the Eradication of Poverty, known as CISCOPE in Nigeria.
The Presbyterian Hunger Program’s Eileen Schuhmann welcomed four dozen or so viewers to the 90-minute webinar, part of the PHP’s Centering Partners’ Voices series, which is hosted by the Global Solidarity Collective. She noted that last month, Pope Leo XIV told the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization that “we are now witnessing, with deep sorrow, the inhumane use of hunger as a weapon of war.”
“Starving civilian populations is a very cheap way to wage war,” the pontiff said.
“Our role,” said Schuhmann told those on the call before introducing the panelists, “is to listen with open hearts, to hold space for hard truths and to ask what solidarity looks like beyond headlines and borders.”
Nigeria is currently facing a severe hunger crisis, with millions at risk of starvation due to conflict, climate change and economic stability. Olarinde said that insurgency has driven food producers off their land, affecting food production and transportation “and causing a lot of malnutrition. It’s a traumatizing situation, with barricades everywhere.”
Continue reading...
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Rooted: the foundations of Presbyterian polity
The church and its confessions
The first section of the Book of Order is “The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity.” The second chapter of the Foundations section is devoted to “The Church and Its Confessions.” That’s because the church, and specifically this denomination, is “a community of people known by its convictions as well as by its actions” (F-2.01). We state the convictions that identify us in the confessional documents that together form our statement of faith, the Book of Confessions.
We have a distinct identity, rooted in a distinct theology. It is a complex theology, articulated in complex documents, which is why we have a chapter at the beginning of the Book of Order exploring the Book of Confessions and its functions.
“The Church and Its Confessions” has five sections. The first tells us what our confession of faith is for; what our denomination’s polity asks our confession of faith to do (F-2.01). The second section clarifies the relationship between the Book of Confessions and the Bible. It establishes which is more basic and which is secondary (F-2.02). Sections three through five point out that the documents in the Book of Confessions identify the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as Christian (F-2.03), more specifically, Protestant (F-2.04), and yet more specifically, a part of the Reformed tradition (F-2.05).
What is the Book of Confessions, and what does our polity ask it to do? An answer to that question is found on the very first page of that Book, which says, “The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Part I. Book of Confessions.” It’s easy to miss the importance of this. The Book of Confessions is constitutional. It constitutes us as a distinct denomination.
Continue reading...
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July 30 is World Day against Trafficking in Persons. Mary Jane Veloso is a Filipino human trafficking victim who has yet to be free, after almost 15 years of detention in Indonesia, returning home to the Philippines in December 2024.
Currently, through Global Ecumenical Liaison, Rev. Cathy Chang, Presbyterian Church (USA) id supporting Mary Jane Veloso and advocating for her release from prison. Throughout July, you can join in our letter barrage campaign through your church or mid-council’s support, to appeal for Veloso’s freedom to Philippine President Marcos, Jr.
Access the letter template here: https://hubs.ly/Q03tSYdK0
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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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