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! 

In our prayers together this week:

• 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.
• Keep all those who battling cancer 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: Amboy Belle Isle; First, Auburn; Westminster, Auburn; United Ministry of Aurora; First, Baldwinsville.

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.

Our commissioners representing Cayuga-Syracuse at the General Assembly are busy preparing for the June gathering. As commissioners, they will be members of the governing body that helps shape the future of our denomination and presbytery.

You can show your support by sending a note of encouragement and thanks. Our commissioners are:

Marissa Saunders, Ruling Elder

Park Central Presbyterian

504 E. Fayette

Syracuse, NY 13202

Ben Fitzgerald-Fye, Minister of the Word and Sacrament

Scipioville Presbyterian Church

3428 Rt 34B

Scipio Center, NY 13437

A Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse was held on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Liverpool.

• Rev. Anna Gheen (Cazenovia) led the body in a powerful worship service using First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament and drawing on her family’s heritage as members of a Cherokee tribe. See more below.
• Rev. Luke Choi, Board of Pensions liaison, will hold two question and answer Zoom meetings for members of presbytery regarding all the new options for medical coverage for pastors beginning in 2025. See registration links below.
• Approved a motion by the Hannibal Administrative Commission to transfer the Hannibal church property to the American Baptist Church of New York State. Approved a motion to receive the AC report and dismiss the AC with thanks at the conclusion of this transaction.
• Elected Rev. Michael Hill (Skaneateles) as Moderator for a 2-year term. Elected 14 others to serve on various committees and commissions.
• Approved a PILP loan to First Presbyterian Church of Liverpool for a roof replacement project.
• Approved using $15,000 of unspent budget in the Resource Presbyter personnel line for a grant to be given to Interfaith Works-CNY for their Refugee Resettlement program.
• Approved a $2,000 grant to Westminster Church-Auburn from the Vanderkamp Sale Proceeds Fund to be used to support the creation of a “Prayground” in their sanctuary.
• Approved a request from the Korean Church of Syracuse to sell a piece of property with the proceeds to be dedicated to a mission project in the Lodi Street area.
• Approved a request from the First Presbyterian Church of Weedsport to sell a portion of their land with the proceeds to be used to support the ministry of the church.
• Discussed proposed policies on Anti-racism and Anti-harassment. Policies will be refined and brought to the next stated presbytery meeting.
• Amended the Stated Clerk contract to run from May 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025.
• Heard from Moderator Garrett Anderson on meetings held between leadership of Cayuga-Syracuse, Susquehanna Valley, and the Synod regarding a possible merger between Cayuga-Syracuse and Susquehanna Valley. During a time of discussion, Rev. Anderson invited and noted questions, concerns, and insights offered by the body which will be considered by Presbytery’s council. A motion regarding merger is planned for a special called meeting to be scheduled in June. See more below.
• Discussed proposed draft of Bylaws Article III (Members and Other Participants in Meetings) and Article V (Meetings), and Standing Rule (SR) 5 (Administrative Action Committee), SR 6 (Congregational Development and Presbytery Connections Committee), and SR 7 (Coordinating Committee). Questions were raised, amendments offered, and draft approved as amended.
• Per Bylaws Article III-c, effective immediately each church session is entitled to send one commissioner to presbytery with voice and vote.
• Resource Presbyter Kathy Dain was thanked for her year of service and presented with a gift card. Kathy concludes her service on June 15.
• Presbytery learned that Shavonn Lynch, Candidate Under Care, received her Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) degree in a commencement ceremony at Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester on May 18. Congratulations to Dr. Shavonn Lynch! Shavonn has received a call to serve as Temporary Stated Supply Associate Pastor at Northminster Presbyterian Church and will be examined on the floor of presbytery at a special called meeting in June in preparation for answering that call. 
• Outgoing Moderator Rev. Garrett Anderson conducted the installation of Rev. Michael Hill and Rev. Paul Rack as Presbytery Moderator and Stated Clerk, respectively.

Updates compiled by Linda Russell with much gratitude!

Visit our Facebook page for photos and more updates from Karen Chamis and Susan Wonderland. Thank you from Communications Coordinator Sarah Buckshot.

Papers for this meeting can be found below:

Presbytery Docket - 5.18.24

Per Capital Report

Bylaws Draft 2023 - Proposed Edits

COM Report

Finance and Property Report

Nominating Slate for May 2024

Report for Vanderkamp Committee

Resource Presbyter Report

Stated Clerk Employment Contract - Paul Rack

Synod Commission Report

Vision & Strategy Report

Anti-Harassment Policy for Presbytery

Anti-Racism Policy for Presbytery

Cease Fire on Gaza & no military funds

Chittenango AC Final Report

IFW Request to Presbytery

Vanderkamp Funds Application - Westminster

Worship Workgroup

By the Rev. Debra L. Thomas

Powerful. Inspiring. Amazing. Meaningful. Educational. WOW! These are words that were heard at the conclusion of worship at the presbytery meeting on Saturday, May 18. Many thanks to the Rev. Anna Gheen for leading those gathered to worship Creator in a unique and deeply spiritual service that authentically honored Native Culture. Rev. Gheen’s sermon led us through a journey of the history and identity of indigenous people, and how resilience was/is shown in resistance, even in, and perhaps especially in, the midst of difficulty and oppression.

A few highlights from the service include:

• Sitting in a circle where all are equally seen and valued, with the communion table as a focal point.
• A traditional Cherokee morning song, We ń da yo, calling us to worship. (“I am of the Great Spirit. It is so.”) This was repeated 4 times as we faced in each direction of the compass.
•  Native instruments kept the heartbeat of the people in all our music--the call to worship, a song of praise (opening hymn), the Spirit’s presence in nature (anthem) and in thanksgiving for God’s grace (closing hymn.)
• Fry bread, eaten on the Trail of Tears, was used in the celebration of communion.
• Scripture was read from the First Nations Version of the New Testament. We learned that this translation was written to allow God’s Word to be heard without triggering the effects of trauma that continues to affect indigenous people when hearing the King James and modern English versions of the Bible used in Native boarding schools to contribute to abuse and forced assimilation to Western culture. These schools continued to exist up until and including this century. (Note: the First Nations Versions is available on Amazon.)

The worship workgroup of the Vision & Strategy committee (newly renamed Congregational Development and Presbytery Connections) looks forward to continuing our work of providing meaningful and creative worshipful experiences at future presbytery meetings. We hope that all who participate will be blessed, inspired and spiritually nurtured as we worship the Lord who unites us in faith and purpose.

Members of the Worship Workgroup

Rev. Deb Thomas

Lynn Jacques

Karen Wolff

Neil Rotach

Mary Heather Harrington

Responses to Merging Report to Presbytery on May 18, 2024

These are the responses to the presentation on May 18^th on the possibility of merging the presbyteries of Cayuga-Syracuse and Susquehanna Valley. This conversation within the presbytery is on-going. We will all benefit from hearing or reading people’s concern, hopes, and what they need to help make this decision. Send your responses to the outgoing moderator Rev. Garrett Anderson, revgarrettanderson@gmail.com.

• More people and larger gatherings of presbytery will result in more energy and joy
• Mergers are common other groups in the non-profit sector
• Concern about needs of rural congregations; how will a new presbytery help rural churches who needs and concerns are different from urban congregations
• The Presbytery needs to hear the substance of why leaders are recommending merging
• What does working together, look like?
• Will we be willing to have different habits, such as expectations of travel?
• We need to know more specifics about finances
• Committees between the two presbyteries should be talking about specifics, for example, finance and property, social justice, commission on ministry so that we can hear specifics
• 25 years ago, there was an unsuccessful attempt to merge Susquehanna Valley, Northern New York, and Utica presbyteries. What were the sticking points there? What can we learn
• How can we get a sense of what being a part of a new presbytery would feel like?
• From the perspective of someone who has been through a merger of presbyteries, all of our questions can't be answered upfront. We will have to give up somethings, too.
• The question ‘how do we want to live?’ not ‘how do we want to die?’ is a more generative question
• Understanding the other options that the teams looked at is important for context in making this decision.

Did you leave something behind?

The items in this photo were left behind at Liverpool First Presbyterian Church after the meeting. Please contact us for pickup at office@liverpoolfirstpres.org

June 13th Benefit Consultation for Susquehanna Valley, Cayuga-Syracuse, and Utica (Registration required)

When: Jun 13, 2024 at 7 p.m.

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYldO6sqT8iEtRzN1CxrvW3JSm8LEC9o77R

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

June 15th Benefit Consultation for Susquehanna Valley, Cayuga-Syracuse, and Utica (Registration required)

When: Jun 15, 2024 at 10 a.m.

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qdeuvrzkvG92hcNFzZBk--I5wB-oYBX66

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Our History Shouldn’t Be a Mystery

Some time ago, the presbytery made the decision to work toward a virtual office. My predecessor, the Rev. Karen Chamis, began the process by sorting through many of the presbytery’s paper records. I have continued that process over the last year through shredding what is no longer needed to shipping files for permanent storage with the Presbyterian Historical Society. Our goal is to insure a safe and accessible history of our presbytery for generations to come.

Despite these efforts, there is still more to do. The presbytery has a number of photographs and other artifacts that the Historical Society cannot accept in their current form. These include slides from Vanderkamp, framed photographs, and other church relics. We are seeking a volunteer or volunteers to help the presbytery find a home for these items. If you would like to help with this project, please contact me at kdain@cayugasyracuse.org. I will be setting up a sort and review day for the first week of June.

In Christ’s Peace,

Kathy

Rev. Kathleen Dain

Interim Resource Presbyter

*Please Note: Kathy will be on vacation May 20 through Memorial Day.

Our Presbytery received a grant for $30,000 last fall from the Synod for the use of assisting churches with transformation. A Presbytery Church Transformation Commission (PCTC) was appointed by the Moderator to oversee the use of the funds. Commission members are Marissa Saunders, moderator (Park Central), Lynn Jacques, secretary (First United of East Syracuse), Ben Fitzgerald-Fye, treasurer (Scipioville), Jessica Gorman (Liverpool) and Shavonn Lynch (Auburn).

We have had monthly meetings since forming and are now ready to have the application available to our churches. Applications received by the 15th of the month will be reviewed that month and applications received after the 15th of the month will be reviewed the following month. A very important part of this application is that it must have Session approval. We are very pleased for the primary work done by our Interim Resource Presbyter to get the grant for us. We are now even more pleased to have the application process available to our churches.

Please feel free to contact any of the commission members with questions regarding the application.

CLICK HERE for Application

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.

Under the new guidelines from the Book of Order, boundary training is required every three years for: Ministers of Word and Sacrament, Certified Christian Educators (CCE), Certified Christian Ruling Elders (CRE) and Inquirers before moving to candidacy. 

The presbytery has contracted with SafeGatherings https://safegatherings.com for the online boundary training course. To learn more, or to register for the course, please contact your committee chair or the interim resource presbyter.

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.

The Rev. Kathleen Dain can be reached via email at KDain@cayugasyracuse.org or phone at (315) 551-0413.

The next "Can We Talk?" gathering will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 24th in the Lounge behind the Sanctuary at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church, 5299 Jamesville Road in Syracuse.

Coffee and goodies will be served.



The gathering is for retired pastors and CLP's or for folks who are about to retire. First-timers are always welcome!

July 21-25, 2024

What you need to know to decide if Summer Servants 2024 is for you:

• We will run this year's trip as an overnight experience. 
• Each group will participate in 4 days of service in Syracuse.
• Groups will be comprised of 10-20 students and 2 adult leaders. 
• Groups will serve at a variety of service sites.
• Students, leaders, and staff will all stay at the DeWitt Community Church in Syracuse 
• After serving at the local sites each day, groups will participate in community Faith dialogues led by Kevin Frank and his team as well as participate in interactive workshops reflecting on their day of service and work in Syracuse. (These are extremely powerful - life changing!)

Registration is now open for Summer Servants.

Learn more or register here.

Have questions about the program? Contact Onondaga Hill Presbyterian Church Pastor Bob Langston at 315-492-2692 or pastorbob.ohpc@gmail.com

The First Presbyterian Church of Weedsport is operating a free clothing giveaway at the church. It is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 6:30 p.m. All clothing is free and people are encouraged to take anything they can use. No questions asked.

Nancy Wind and Isaiah’s Table invite you to join them in their new book study at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays via Zoom. The book is "Everything Good About God is True" by Bruce Reyes-Chow. They will be using this book for the next 6 weeks.

You know what you don’t believe about the Bible, the church, and God. But what if someone asked: “What do you believe?” Reyes-Chow helps the reader to consider what it means to choose faith and how to create one’s own “faith montage.” What if we could articulate the gospel of love, humility, and justice? "What if everything about God is true?”

Zoom info: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83276947441?pwd=dEIVL2c3UTducVIIUmdPYXRJdUVIZz09

Meeting ID: 832 7694 7441

Passcode: 065105

Rita Hooper and Presbyterian Women invite you to join their book club on discrimination at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. They will be reading "The First Ladies" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. 

This is a novel about the extraordinary partnership between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune -- an unlikely friendship that changed the world. Many people know Eleanor Roosevelt but many have not heard about Mary McLeod Bethune. She was an educator, national civil rights pioneer and activist. Mary was a champion of African American women’s rights and advancement and an advisor to Presidents of the United States. She was one of three women among 27 men to serve in FDR’s Black Cabinet.

Zoom info: https://us02web.zooom.us/j/87193947627?pwd=SDZkanBOZFVDZFoybmczUOF4QWpNQT09

Meeting ID: 871 9394 7627

Passcode: 748784

If your church has a book club via Zoom and are open to new members joining you, please contact Rita Hooper at twohoops2@gmail.com with your information. Please include Zoom information, day and time of meeting, name of book currently studying, contact person and anything else you find useful to know!

Stewardship 2024 with 3 FREE Themes 

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 

2:00 – 3:00 PM EDT 

Leaders - Charlie Kuchenbrod, Karen Jackson 

Strategies for Reaching and Developing Gen Z

Thursday, May 30, 2024

2:00 – 3:00 PM EDT

Leader – Brandi Nicole Williams

New York State Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Webinars

You can take this training any time during the year

charlaine@prcli.org

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

7 – 8:30 pm

Wednesday, July 10, 2024 

10:30am -- 12 pm 

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

2 -- 3:30 pm

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

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.

Saving both our vote

and our democracy

Ecumenical Advocacy Days workshop explores programs and toolkits designed to strengthen participation this November

By Mike Ferguson

Presbyterian News Service

During an Ecumenical Advocacy Days Spring Summit workshop entitled “Voting Matters,” representatives from two entities devoted to promoting the civic good — Sojourners magazine and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA — shared their thoughts on saving both our vote and our democracy.

The Rev. Adam Russell Taylor is president of Sojourners and the author of “A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community.” The Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland Tune is the NCC’s Senior Associate Secretary General and Director of Advocacy. Taylor joined EAD via Zoom.

Taylor discussed the ecumenical initiative called Faiths United to Save Democracy. “It’s cliché to say this is the most consequential election in our lifetime, but it’s true,” he said. “We have been in a struggle to expand who is included in ‘We the People.’”

Continue reading...

General Assembly planning director takes online questions and discusses why she can hardly wait for GA226 to start

Kate Trigger Duffert takes to the airwaves to dispense equal measures of enthusiasm and expertise

By Mike Ferguson

Presbyterian News Service

Kate Trigger Duffert has been attending General Assembly since she was a child, and yet no one is more excited for the 226th General Assembly to get underway next month than she is.

Calling herself “a deep lover of the work of this church,” Trigger Duffert, director of General Assembly Planning in the Office of the General Assembly, shared some of her enthusiasm and expertise concerning the assembly. Online committee meetings begin June 25, and in-person activities are slated to commence June 29 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Watch Trigger Duffert’s question-and-answer session held via Facebook Live on Thursday here.

All proceedings of the 226th General Assembly, including committee meetings and plenaries, will be available online at this website, a site Trigger Duffert suggested people wanting to learn more about the PC(USA)’s first in-person assembly since 2018 visit soon, and often. Those with questions can send an email here.

The official GA226 website has a docket, a code of conduct, pages on equity and inclusion, information on hotels and accessibility, and a description of spaces that will be provided for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ assembly attendees. There’s also information about how to be an official assembly observer and tabs on what to expect during worship and assembly events.

Continue reading...