FPC Auburn answers call to spread holiday magic

First Presbyterian Church, Auburn has historically held a ‘turkey trot” the Sunday before Thanksgiving each year, to collect frozen turkeys for the Calvary Food Pantry. The Pantry provides the additional food baskets for thanksgiving dinners.

Some past years have seen the community and congregation donate up to 184 turkeys!

This year, Calvary Food Pantry Director Nancy Sheffield handed out vouchers through an arrangement with Wegmans, and asked for cash donations to cover the cost of the turkey vouchers. First Presbyterian responded!

Through collections during November and a community luncheon on November 22, the church was able to donate $846 to Calvary Food Pantry. Simultaneous, a pie fundraiser raised $320 to go toward youth programming at both Sunday School and the Presbyterian Retreat Center next door.

"We are so blessed to be supporting youth and our community in this way year after year," said Darlene Podolak, of FPC Auburn.

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! 

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Thank you to our churches for sharing such fun, beautiful photos on social media! It's wonderful to see the joy of the season and the fellowship in your churches!

Keep them coming!!!

In our prayers together this week:

Please pray for the Rev. Debra Thomas who fell on black ice on Friday and suffered a painful shoulder dislocation and a severe broken arm, which requires surgery to fix a large piece of bone that completely broke off. Surgery will take place on Tuesday. Please keep Deb in your prayers for pain relief and a speedy recovery.

Please keep the Rev. Tedd Pullano, of the Third Presbytery Church, in Rochester, in your prayers. Tedd was in a terrible accident while on vacation in New York City. Please keep him and his family and loved ones in your prayers. Thoughts and Prayers for Tedd.

• Please pray for those who are struggling with the holiday season.
• Pray for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
• 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.
• 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: United Church of Fayetteville; First United Church of Fulton; God’s Vision Christian Church, Hannibal; Jamesville Community Church; First, King Ferry 

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. "

Do you have a special holiday service to share with members of our Presbytery? Email caysyrnews@gmail.com

President Biden and his State Department have asked all refugee agencies to step up hard and fast from now until January 20th to get as many refugees as possible in safe places. This means that InterFaith Works (IFW) will be settling 440 people in the next 2 months. While they don’t know at this point how many children vs adults, etc. they do know that they will need home furnishings, kitchen set ups, household cleaning supplies and new linens and pillows.

Anything the churches in our Presbytery can do to help would be so deeply appreciated.

As to the Coat Drive, IFW is seeking 1,500 coats to serve the new refugees and many who are already here. This includes all sizes for men and women, babies, children and teens. It would be great to have churches in our Presbytery consider gathering

10-20 coats each and dropped off at: IFW Center 1010 James Street, Syracuse

If you have questions about the Coat Drive or household items you can contact  Rhonda Butler, IFW Community Engagement Manager, who can be reached at rbutler@ifwcny.org or 315-449-3552 ext. 127.

Or you can also contact Sharye Skinner, Social Justice Member: sharyecaz@gmail.com.

Attention Churches: Do you need event graphics created for social media and online use? Communications Coordinator Sarah Buckshot can help create graphics for you to share online. Do you need a Word Document or PDF converted to an image file for better sharing online? Sarah can help. Please don't hesitate to reach out and request a graphic at anytime! Sarah can be reached at caysyrnews@gmail.com

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.

LEAVING A LEGACY: Pastor Bob Langston at Onondaga Hill Presbyterian Church spent Sunday with the Confirmation Class of 2025. The students drilled him with questions for 45 minutes! Pastor Bob retires at the end of the month. He leaves behind a lasting legacy on the youth who have passed through the doors of the Syracuse church.

Our Address: PO Box 438, Syracuse, NY 13214

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Help Wanted: Church Organist for Rural Country Church



Position: Church Organist/Pianist

Location: Whitelaw Presbyterian Church, Canastota NY

Job Type: Part time - 5 hours weekly

"Whitelaw Presbyterian Church is seeking a skilled and dedicated organist to enrich our worship services with music. This role involves accompanying weekly services, special ceremonies (such as weddings and funerals), and family choir rehearsals 6:30 pm on Thursday. We are looking for someone who is musically proficient, dependable, and passionate about enhancing the worship experience through music."

Key Responsibilities:

• Play organ for weekly services and special church events
• Select and arrange hymns and music pieces in coordination with church leadership
• Support choir rehearsals 6:30 pm on Thursday
• Perform basic maintenance of the organ and report any issues

Qualifications:

• Proficiency in organ performance, sight-reading, and music selection
• Previous experience in a church setting is preferred
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Commitment to regular attendance and participation in church services and events

Compensation: Depends on Experience

How to Apply: Interested candidates are asked to call Donna Chapman, CLP at (315) 447-9196. Auditions will be part of the selection process.

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...

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.

The PC(USA) rolls out its new website

Seven previous websites are now one

The new PC(USA) website, pcusa.org, which had an initial launch on Tuesday, features an enhanced user experience with improved navigation, a faster and more robust search function and easy-to-access links to the information users need when they need it.

“From a technological perspective, this project is not just about building a website — it is about creating a flexible design system that empowers us to adapt quickly to changes without requiring significant overhauls,” said Vicente Guna, who coordinates Digital Enterprise Solutions in the PC(USA)’s Administrative Services Group (ASG).

Guna called the new website’s enhanced search and translation capabilities “key advancements.”

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Studying history while making it happen

Christmas Joy Offering helps recent Stillman College graduate promote restorative justice in action

Sitting next to a picture on the wall at her office, LaTrell Clifford Wood accidentally discovered a significant piece of her family’s history.

“The picture had a name on it: Chief Justice McClellan, who presided over the Supreme Court of Alabama when the 1901 Constitution was written,” said LaTrell, an honors history major and the valedictorian of the Class of 2020 at Stillman College. Stillman is one of three Presbyterian-related Schools and Colleges Equipping Communities of Color of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and its only Historically Black College (HBCU).

“That was the constitution that made a lot of broad statements about the forced illiteracy and alleged moral depravity of many Black people as ‘justification’ for them not being permitted to vote,” she said before adding, “It was actually McClellan’s family who owned my great-great-grandfather’s mother. These weren’t stories that I knew growing up.”

But now she does.



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Have a blessed week!