Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | | | |
Serving with Purpose
Westminster Presbyterian Church's Personal Care Pantry Supports Growing Community Need
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Westminster Presbyterian Church in Auburn welcomed 73 visitors Tuesday morning to its Personal Care Pantry -- the highest number of neighbors served since the program began.
This milestone reflects both a growing need in the community and the church’s continued dedication to providing essential hygiene and personal care items to those facing economic hardship.
Westminster thanks its committed team of volunteers. Volunteers help the pantry to operate smoothly and with compassion, offering not just supplies but a sense of welcome and care to everyone who walks through the church's doors.
As the need for support services continues to rise across Central New York, programs like Westminster’s Personal Care Pantry play a vital role in ensuring that those in need in our communities have access to basic necessities.
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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!
| | Joys and Concerns around the Presbytery | | |
In our prayers together this week:
- 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: Minister members of the Presbytery who are engaged in specialized ministries, who are at-large members, or who are retired.
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As the Presbyterian Youth Triennium enters its final day, we ask you to keep our students and adult chaperones in your prayers. This vibrant gathering, which began on Monday, brings together thousands of high school youth and their chaperones for four days of worship, recreation, Bible study, outreach and faith formation, which all centered around the inspiring theme: “As If We Were Dreaming.”
Representing our Presbytery are:
- Lily Thornton – Westminster Presbyterian Church, Auburn
- Emma Hill and Isaiah Hill – Skaneateles Presbyterian Church
- Rev. Courtney Steinenger and Rev. Eric Adamcik – attending as Chaperones
Please join us in praying for a meaningful final day, continued spiritual growth, and safe travels home for all participants as they return from this powerful experience. May the seeds planted this week continue to grow in faith and community.
| | Special Joint Presbytery Meeting – Save the Date! | | |
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.
Please mark your calendars!
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 Presbytery Leader of Transformation for both presbyteries.
In addition, the motion will include approval of a job description and compensation package for an Assistant to the Presbytery Leader, a position that will be filled at a later date.
More information will be shared in the coming days.
We look forward to your participation in this important moment in the life of our presbyteries.
| | 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
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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.
| | HOPPING INTO HEARTS: The First Presbyterian Church of Chittenango is hopping to make a difference in someone’s day! In addition to their popular Prayer Bears, the church is now offering Prayer Frogs -- a new way to share comfort, encouragement, and faith. Each frog is a cuddly reminder of a powerful message: F.R.O.G. = Fully Rely On God. Whether given to a friend in need, a hospital patient or someone facing a tough time, these Prayer Frogs are a small gesture with a big heart. Share God's love — one frog at a time! | | |
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.) | | |
Tell Your Church’s Story!
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is collecting stories for its Mission Yearbook website. Share how God is moving in your congregation, through ministry, mission, or spiritual growth and inspire others across the Presbyterian community.
Send 300–600 words + photos/videos to MissionYearbookStories@pcusa.org.
Submit at least 4 weeks before your preferred date here: https://hubs.ly/Q03z9lch0
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After six long years, Presbyterian Youth Triennium opens its doors and its heart to young people from across the nation
Many youth made a beeline to the Exhibit Hall in the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville
Presbyterian Youth Triennium-goers were flocking Monday afternoon to the Exhibit Hall at the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville.
Youth and young adults ages 14-25 could sing a verse of a hymn for a campfire treat; learn about Presbyterian-affiliated colleges, universities and seminaries; receive a sticker affirming their pronouns; learn about the varied ministries of the PC(USA)’s Interim Unified Agency; and visit with service providers ranging from campus ministry to suicide prevention.
As soon as the doors were open at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, the Rev. Brian Ellison, executive director of Covenant Network of Presbyterians, was staffing a booth that offered pronoun stickers. “It’s really important to provide spaces where people of all ages can grow comfortable with gender identification,” he said. “In many communities, young people are leading the way in understanding gender identity, but not everywhere. Particularly in churches, it’s important to keep reinforcing messages of inclusion.”
Continue reading...
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“Another life stolen — 989”
Triennium highlights gun violence suicide prevention through T-shirt memorial
At Presbyterian Youth Triennium, youth, young adults and youth leaders laugh, play, dance and worship in the pale yellow “PYT” swag T-shirts or in the coordinated baseball jerseys and silk-screened crewnecks made by their delegations. The roar of young voices and the sea of cotton shirts are a sign of new life for those worried about denominational decline and the increasing numbers of “nones” with each new generation.
Those yellow PYT T-shirts are a welcome presence, but inside the Exhibit Hall, unworn T-shirts in all colors proclaim a haunting absence that speaks not to the loss of religion but to another hallmark of Generation Z, which is the loss of lives, particularly through the rise in school shootings and suicides.
Rows of lifeless shirts in red, white and other colors emblazoned with the names of people who have died by guns comprise an installation that is a part of a project by Vidas Robados (“Stolen Lives”), run by Texas Impact, an interfaith public policy nonprofit. As the first and oldest interfaith public policy nonprofit, Texas Impact has been working with Muslim, Jewish and mainline Protestant groups for over 50 years identifying common issues of concern and raising up faith-informed support for or against related state legislation. In 2023, it began Project Vidas Robados after the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas by an 18-year-old graduate of the school.
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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