Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | |
|
Marcellus church is on a mission to help | |
|
On the second Sunday of each month, the congregation of First Presbyterian of Marcellus makes 240 bologna and cheese sandwiches for the St. Peter & St. John Episcopal Church Soup Kitchen in Auburn.
On Mother’s Day, the church also collected donations for the Blankets+ Offering from Church World Service. Members pinned hearts with the name of their mothers and mother figures on a blanket.
| |
|
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.
| |
|
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:
-
Pray for 14-year-old Jerry Armstrong who has been diagnosed with bone cancer. He attends Whitelaw Presbyterian Church with his family.
- Pray for Pastor Bob Langston (Onondaga Hill Presbyterian Church) as he is undergoing treatment for a heart condition.
- 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: Our Presbytery, the Synod of the Northeast, General Assembly staff.
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
| |
From the Interim Resource Presbyter | |
|
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.
| |
Presbytery Church Transformation Commission | |
|
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
| |
Save the Date: Presbytery Day | |
Interim Resource Presbyter Announcements | |
Our Clergy Network gathering had a great turnout! Thank you to those who attended and thank you to our host, Robinson Elmwood United Church! | |
|
The Ethiopia Mission Network of the PC(USA) invites you to attend the seventeenth annual Ethiopia Mission Network conference at the Oromo Fellowship Church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on May 16 – May 17, 2024.
The Ethiopia Mission Network meets to:
- Share information, experience and wisdom and discuss common strategies and common interests
- Provide useful connections to anyone in a missional relationship with Ethiopians
- Make contact with all who share a common vision of relationship with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY)
- Invite new participants into the network and encourage each other in the work of mission
Download Invitation
Download Registration Form
| |
|
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.
| |
|
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! | |
Practical Resources for Churches Webinars | |
|
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.
| |
Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | |
|
PC(USA)’s LGBTQIA+ Equity Advocacy Committee applauds United Methodist Church vote removing ban on ordaining gay clergy
The vote ‘signifies a profound shift toward acknowledging the inherent worth and spiritual calling of all’
By the LGBTQIA+ Equity Advocacy Committee
Special to Presbyterian News Service
Following this month’s action by United Methodist Church delegates to repeal their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s LGBTQIA+ Equity Advocacy Committee, known as ACQ+E, issued this statement:
“The LGBTQIA+ Equity Advocacy Committee joins our United Methodist Church siblings in celebrating their historic votes to remove prohibitions for ordaining LGBTQIA+ clergy. We’re also excited to see the UMC removal of teachings against homosexuality and their recognition of marriage as ‘between two people of faith.
“Removing prohibitions against ordaining LGBTQIA+ clergy and taking the courageous step of revising official teachings regarding homosexuality signifies a profound shift toward acknowledging the inherent worth and spiritual calling of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation. This, combined with recognizing marriage as a sacred bond between two people of faith without regard to gender, reflects powerful steps in the UMC journey of moving toward an active practice of faith that sees all people as equal in the eyes of God.
Continue reading...
| |
|
Gina Yeager-Buckley stops by Between 2 Pulpits to talk about one of the jewels of the PC(USA)
By Mike Ferguson
Presbyterian News Service
Gina Yeager-Buckley, one of most familiar and happiest faces seen at Presbyterian Youth Triennium every three years, was the logical choice to be the guest during a recent episode of the Between 2 Pulpits podcast, which can be heard here.
Yeager-Buckley is mission coordinator for Presbyterian Youth and Triennium, which is set for July 28-31, 2025, in Louisville, Kentucky, three years after the pandemic wiped out the in-person edition of Triennium scheduled for Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2022.
Relating how she got to where she’s at, while she was still in college, a church asked Yeager-Buckley if she’d be interested in being a youth worker there. “Who knows what dumb games I made them play, but I loved thinking through what would engage the kids and give them the feeling I had just a few years earlier” growing up in her own church’s youth group, Yeager-Buckley told Between 2 Pulpits hosts the Rev. Dr. John Wilkinson and Katie Snyder.
Continue reading...
| |
P.O. Box 438, Syracuse 13214
(315) 632-5698
| |
"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
| | | | |
