Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | |
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Bed Assembly 101
Marcellus First Presbyterian Church members built a bed as part of the Mission Interpretation Committee's fifth Sunday field trip to Sleep in Heavenly Peace on June 30.
The non-profit organization is an all-volunteer group that builds, assembles and delivers beds to children (ages 3 to 17) in need in the greater Syracuse and Oswego City area. Since its first delivery Oct. 6, 2018, the local organization has delivered more than 5,000 beds. There are hundreds of Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapters throughout the United States.
The First Presbyterian Church of Marcellus participates in local mission projects throughout the year, usually on the 5th Sunday of a month that has 5 Sundays.
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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:
- Please pray for those who are dealing with storm damage and those who have been impacted by the heat and weather recently.
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Please pray for Bob Green, husband of Rev. Karen Green of the Mexico church, who was admitted to the hospital this week. Please keep Bob and Karen both in your prayers.
- Pray or all the graduates who are embarking on the next chapter in their lives.
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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.
- Pray for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
- 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: Minister members of the Presbytery who are engaged in specialized ministries, who are at-large members, or who are retired
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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. " | |
Disability Pride Month is celebrated each year in July and commemorates the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark civil rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination. As a Matthew 25 Church that is equitable and just, the PC(USA) encourages members to embrace the work of welcoming people with disabilities into our communities. Learn how you can create a place of belonging in your community from Presbyterians for Disability Concerns. | |
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Be on guard for scammers who request access to membership directories so they can harvest the Personal Identifiable Information (PII) to spam or scam church members. These individuals claim to be church members and request access to the directory via email or an online website form. Once given directory access, they can then send spam messages to members via email or text. At Instant Church Directory, we want to provide insights and best practices on how to keep your church directory safe from scammers. Read More...
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Scam Alert!
Be aware that scammers are targeting churches!
One recent scam involves the offer of a FREE grand piano provided the church pays a freight company $2500 for shipping. Educate your session, church secretary and volunteers of the following warning signs:
- An introductory tale of upheaval (My spouse died; I'm going through a divorce; I'm moving and can't take it with me)
- Refusal by the scammer to speak on the phone, insisting that all information be shared and transactions conducted by email
- Fee to the freight company must be paid with a bank draft
- Fee is paid prior to shipping
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck SCAM.
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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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The Presbytery Women of Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery continues their study on discrimination. While this group started as a Presbyterian Women study during COVID, men have come and are welcome. And you don’t even have to be from Cayuga-Syracuse or New York.
The group is taking a slight break from the deeper books and are reading "The Year of Living Biblically" by A.J. Jacobs. A little humor never hurt! The group meet Tuesdays at 7 pm.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83940141935?pwd=FWEgF8PZlHKqbzxkch6KjzQ7l9muVy.1
Meeting ID: 839 4014 1935
Passcode: 163672
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Suite available at Skaneateles Manor
The Manor, a non-profit organization located in Skaneateles, is a small residence for well seniors. It was originally established by Marian and Don Dixon in 1964, until it was turned over to the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles in 1975, though the residence continues to be non-denominational.
The Manor is maintained by volunteers who frequently visit and host social events at the residence. The Manor has six private suites, each with a sitting room, bedroom, and bathroom, but residents may bring their own furniture. The shared living spaces are the parlor, living room, dining room and laundry facilities. Cleaning service is provided as well as health and delicious meals are prepared on site.
The objective of this non-profit is to provide a welcoming space for well seniors looking for a supportive, active community. Families say the comfortable home-like atmosphere is remarkable, some find it’s just what they’ve been searching for.
If you, a family member, or anyone you know may be interested in The Manor’s objective, whether that be volunteering or becoming a resident, email us at skaneatelesmanor@gmail.com, or go to our website at www.skaneatelesmanor.com.
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SPREAD THE WORD: FREE CLOTHING! | |
The First Presbyterian Church of Weedsport is operating a free clothing giveaway at the church. It is open Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursday from 4 to 6:30 p.m. All clothing is free and people are encouraged to take anything they can use. No questions asked. | |
Youth Education Spotlight | |
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Interested in planning a Youth Sunday service at your church but not sure where to start? Check out Building a Youth Sunday Service Quicksheet by Kate Satterstrom! This resource includes helpful tips for how to design your own youth-led worship service, along with a full Order of Worship based on the lectionary for this year’s Youth in the Church and World Sunday on August 11 (Year B Proper 14 – 1 Kings 19:4-8). Kate serves on the Presbyterian Youth Workers’ Association (PYWA) Board and as the Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries at First Presbyterian Church, McMinnville, OR.
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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.
Responding Effectively to Christian Nationalism
Thursday, July 18, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leaders -Brian Kaylor, Beau Underwood
The dangers that Christian Nationalism poses to both church and state are increasingly understood, but it is hard to know what you and your congregation can do about a problem so big. This webinar will explain what Christian Nationalism is (and isn't), how many mainline and progressive Christians inadvertently advance its cause, and how individuals and communities can practically respond.
Workshop – Moving Spirit
Thursday, July 25, 2024 – Deadline to Register July 11
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leader – Marth Gallagher
Moving Spirit offers clergy and lay leaders the opportunity to nurture themselves; to set aside their leadership responsibilities and simply connect with the Beloved; body, mind and spirit, through music, spoken word and authentic dance.
The Gifts They Bring: How Children and the Gospels Can Shape Inclusive Ministry
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leader – Amy Linderman Allen
Join us to explore familiar Gospel stories together envisioning afresh the experience of childhood in Jesus’ world and what those experiences might mean for children and families in ministry today. We will reconsider the age and relationship of well-known and lesser-known Bible characters, and read each of these stories in conversation with experiences of real children in the church today, bringing into focus the varied gifts that children bring in a practice of inclusive ministry. These gifts include participation, proclamation, advocacy, listening, sharing, and partnership. Participants will grow more attuned to recognize the gifts that we each bring—children and adults—as essential members working together as one community in the body of Christ and so to share in the gift of Christ together.
Managing Stress Before it Manages You
Thursday, September 12, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leader – Charles Stone
In this webinar you’ll learn an evidence-based tool to better combat stress and develop your resilience.
Healing Fractured Communities
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
Leaders - Jessica L. Anschutz, Douglas Powe
Are you experiencing fractures in your community? Fractures like racism, education inequality and poverty, to name a few, plague those inside and outside of the church. Given our fractured landscape and the diversity of contexts where congregations exist, "How can congregational leaders be both healers and agitators at the same time?" The danger of simply being a healer ignores the underlying causes of the fracture(s) in a community. The danger of simply being an agitator is others ignore you because your voice is monotone. Being a leader who lives in this tension inside a faith community and the public square requires nimbleness. A nimbleness that allows for being an ointment and an irritant when needed. This webinar will equip you to do ministry in a manner that not only impacts the church, but can transform the community.
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Our Address: PO Box 438, Syracuse, NY 13214
Click Here for Staff Contact Information
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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.
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Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | |
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Churches unite to transform communities: building belonging amid the housing crisis
The Rev. Dr. John Cleghorn’s new book will be available in October
By Westminster John Knox Press
Special to Presbyterian News Service
A book set for publication this fall invites us to join the church movement reshaping our neighborhoods — embracing love and creating community to house our neighbors and recognize our shared humanity.
In many neighborhoods, soaring housing costs have created an alarming wave of instability, leaving congregations situated at the heart of communities grappling with housing insecurity. Simultaneously, societal divisions across ideologies, racial lines, class disparities, and diverse perspectives have eroded the fabric of these communities, leaving a void in shared connections.
Churches, amid declining membership and dwindling engagement, have an opportunity to provide a key role in these changing landscapes. In “Building Belonging: The Church’s Call to Create Community and House Our Neighbors,” the Rev. Dr. John Cleghorn, a Presbyterian pastor from Charlotte, North Carolina — a city where prosperity and poverty uncomfortably coexist — shows how numerous congregations across the United States are leading the charge, embracing innovative approaches to ministry that leverage their resources to become havens of both welcome and shelter.
Continue reading...
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All-volunteer Camino serves food, support and hope in Ukraine
Since the war began, the Rev. Dr. Jan Dus, a Presbyterian pastor and genealogist, has made 10 trips to Ukraine
By Leslie Scanlon for the Presbyterian Foundation
Special to Presbyterian News Service
When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the Rev. Jan Dus was in Yemen, working at a hospital on a mission assignment for Doctors Without Borders. He knew immediately he needed to go home to the Czech Republic to try to mobilize help.
“Honestly, I had no idea,” Dus said in an interview recently. “I couldn’t imagine the war would last this long.”
Since then, Dus — a Presbyterian minister and genealogist who lives in Prague — has made 10 trips to Ukraine, creating a humanitarian organization called Camino that raised about $80,000 for relief work in 2023, with about half the money coming from Czechs and half from Presbyterians in the United States.
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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