A Tasty Fundraiser

UMA's Ice Cream Social raises over $900 for food pantry

The United Ministry of Aurora hosted an Ice Cream Social as a fun fundraiser for the King Ferry Food Pantry.  

The kids served the ice cream, homemade toppings and cupcakes, as well as collected money for the pantry! They raised over $900 to help our neighbors and friends!  

Lawn games and good company added to the fun!

Ther are more opportunities to have fun and learn at UMA coming soon. G-Quan will be offering a hip hop workshop teaching movement, sharing love and having fun.  A Ukrainian awareness and fundraiser with food, music, and a traditional flower crown worship is also coming soon. Dates and times will be announced, check the United Ministry website and Facebook page.

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:

• Please pray for the families and loved ones of the victims of the school shooting in Winder, Georgia. Please keep the students and staff of Apalachee High School in your prayers as they deal with the trauma of this tragedy.
• Pray for all those who have returned or are returning to school this week. Pray for a successful and safe school year.
• 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.
• Please pray for unity and peace in America during an already tumultuous election season.
• 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: Isaiah’s Table, Syracuse; Korean Church of Syracuse; Park Central, Syracuse; Robinson Elmwood United Church, Syracuse; First, Weedsport; Whitelaw

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. "

This meeting will include the choral hymn “God So Loved the World” by John Stainer as anthem. A printable copy of the music will be emailed to anyone who’d like to add their voice to our choir. Practice will be held an hour before the meeting begins and is open to anyone who’d like to be involved.

Please contact:

Mary-Heather

maryheatherharrington@gmail.com

(607) 793-0430 (calls and texts)

From the Social Justice Committee

In case you haven't heard yet: the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved by unanimous consent the following resolution and overtures:

[FIN-15] Divest from Governmental Debt Held by Countries Maintaining a Prolonged Military Occupation. This Commissioners' Resolution makes the church's Board of Pensions and Foundation divest from Israeli bonds (as well as Turkish and Moroccan bonds).

[FIN-01] On Engagement with General Electric and Palantir Technologies, Inc. for Possible Divestment Recommendations. This overture calls upon the church's committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to begin engaging in dialogue and shareholder resolutions with GE and Palantir Technologies in an effort to get those companies to stop contributing to human rights abuses in Palestine, Yemen, China, and the US. If the companies don't change their behavior after two years, MRTI would recommend to the next GA to divest.

[INT-05] On Confessing our Complicity in Christian Zionism. This overture makes a rejection of Christian Zionism official church policy and would have church officials share this rejection with our partners around the world.

[INT-06] Educational Resources for Seeking Ways to End Israeli Apartheid. This overture directs Presbyterians to the many resources we have developed to educate people about Israeli settler colonialism, apartheid, Zionism, and peacemaking.

The Presbytery is putting together a bulk order for 2024-2025 Presbyterian Planning Calendars to get a reduced cost. Please use this link to let us know how many 2024-2025 Planning Calendars you would like. Calendars will be $9.75 + $0.60 S&H. Once your order is placed, Kristin Schierer, Presbytery Bookkeeper, will invoice you.  Orders are due by September 27^th, and calendars will be distributed at the Presbytery meeting in November.

Ordering Link: https://forms.gle/6tHmezwR5NHZ8X169

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.

SUNDAY SCHOOL: Northminster Presbyterian Church children are exploring the creation story in Genesis 1 in Sunday School.

Theology Basics at Marcellus First Presbyterian Church

September 18th at 6:00 p.m. the Marcellus First Presbyterian Church will begin a new Wednesday night study focused on Christian theology. The study will be referencing Shirley Guthrie’s “Christian Doctrine.”

Here are a few of the topics the study will be exploring:

• How can we find God?
• What does God want with us?
• What are we doing here?
• And much more…

"So come join us as we explore, discuss, and deepen our understanding of God. Church affiliation NOT required, ALL ARE TRULY WELCOME!"

PRC's Summer & Fall 2024 Online events

All webinars are recorded. Click the title to register or read the description.

Hope is Here! Spiritual practices for pursuing justice and beloved community

Thursday, September 19, 2024

2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT

Leader - Rev. Dr. Luther E. Smith, Jr.

Wait, is this racist?

Thursday, September 26, 2024

2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT

Leader – Kerry Connelly

Managing Stress Before it Manages You

Thursday, October 3, 2024

2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT

Leader – Charles Stone

Healing Fractured Communities

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT

Leaders - Jessica L. Anschutz, Douglas Powe

Christian Nationalism and the 2024 Election

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

2:00 – 3:00 pm EST

Leaders -Brian Kaylor, Beau Underwood 

This is a follow-up webinar to

Responding Effectively to Christian Nationalism RECORDED

Leaders -Brian Kaylor, Beau Underwood

New York State Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Webinars

You can take this training any time during the year

charlaine@prcli.org

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

10:30 am – 12:00 pm EDT

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

10:30 am – 12:00 pm EDT

Thursday, November 14, 2024

3:00 – 4:30 pm EST

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

7:00 – 8:30 pm EST

Join the Synod-Wide Indigenous Mission Day!

Get ready for an incredible day of service, connection, and cultural immersion! We are excited to announce the Synod-Wide Indigenous Mission Day on September 28, 2024, and we invite you to be a part of this transformative experience. The Synod-Wide Indigenous Mission Day is a dedicated day of action and solidarity, where we come together to support our Indigenous brothers and sisters. The event will feature hands-on building repair projects, opportunities to build meaningful relationships, and immersive cultural experiences.

Why Should You Get Involved?

1. Make a Tangible Impact: Participate in building repair projects that directly benefit Indigenous communities. Your skills and efforts will help improve living conditions and community spaces.
2. Build Lasting Relationships: Engage in activities that foster understanding and partnership with Indigenous community members. Learn from each other and build friendships that go beyond this one day.
3. Experience Indigenous Culture: Immerse yourself in the rich traditions & stories while celebrating their heritage and resilience within the community.

How Can You Help?



We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join us. Whether you're an expert or just willing to lend a hand, your help is valuable. Bring your skills in construction, carpentry, painting, or general handyman work to help with repair projects.

Spread the Word & let's make the Synod-Wide Indigenous Mission Day an unforgettable and impactful event, together!

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

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.

Learn More:



Pre-Assembly Event Registration

Synod Assembly 2024 information

There’s more to ministry than what the pastor can do

‘Podcast guest envisions a new, simpler expression of church

By Beth Waltemath

Presbyterian News Service

“There’s a real hard letting go that has to happen. The backpacks that we brought into the industry with us, those need a refreshing like never before,” the Rev. Brady Radford said in conversation with the Rev. Sara Hayden on the “New Way” podcast.

Radford is a pastoral counselor, therapist and consultant in Atlanta who works across the United States with individuals, couples and organizations promoting self-awareness and healing. He has served as the lead teacher in the Transitional Ministry Education Consortium and on a conflict resolution resource team in the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.

“The next expression of church will get back to a simpler gathering of community, and it invites us to consider not just how God is moving inside the four walls of the church, but how God is already active outside the four walls of the church,” Radford told Hayden, an associate for the 1001 New Worshiping Communities Movement. In his work as a counselor/consultant at the Lovewell Collective, Radford sees God at work “in the lives of people who are asking for a deeper level of engagement than just what Sunday morning offers.”

Continue reading...

A call to courage

The Atwood Institute’s stand against gun violence

By Dartinia Hull

Presbyterian Outlook

The inaugural Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage met in New Mexico last [month], creating a well-resourced community for Christians wishing to end gun violence.



As participants, facilitators and staff of the James Atwood Institute for Congregation Courage gathered at Ghost Ranch Education & Retreat Center in New Mexico on Thursday evening, a news alert from CBS News Chicago flashed:

“A man was shot multiple times while leaving South Loop Diner with DNC attendees inside.”

Chicago, Illinois, and Ghost Ranch are approximately 1,283 miles apart. The institute’s conference at Ghost Ranch, however, is part of an effort to rid the world of such news alerts reporting on gun violence and its victims. Instead, the institute and its attendees wish to create a world safe for all, reflecting the radical nonviolence of Jesus.

Continue reading...