Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | |
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North Syracuse church adopts medical platoon serving in Kuwait | |
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Northminster Presbyterian Church recently adopted a Medical Platoon consisting of ten members from the 277th Aviation Support Battalion, 10 Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum.
The soldiers have been assigned to a medical aid station in Kuwait for about 9 months. They were deployed in early June.
With the generous donations received to date, the church was able to send out two large packages to its adopted Platoon in Kuwait!
The church will continue to provide boxes each month while the platoon is deployed!
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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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Tornado Destroys First Presbyterian Church of Rome
A tornado struck Rome and Canastota, within the Presbytery of Utica, last week. The sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Rome was destroyed along with many buildings in the area. The Christian Education wing of the church also sustained severe damage. Structural engineers are on the site assessing the extent of the damage and how safe the building is. Congregations of the Presbytery of Utica rallied to assist FPC Rome.
Presbytery Leader Larry Beasley confirmed that everyone was safe, and no one was injured in the incident. Services were moved to Zion Episcopal Church last week and this coming Sunday.
The City of Rome has established an email address for individuals that want to offer assistance. To help, email Volunteer@romecitygov.com
Please keep the church, Rome and Canastota in your prayers.
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In our prayers together this week:
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Please pray for Bob Green, husband of Rev. Karen Green of the Mexico church, who was admitted to the hospital earlier this month. Please keep Bob and Karen both in your prayers.
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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.
- 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: Amboy Belle Isle; First, Auburn; Westminster, Auburn; United Ministry of Aurora; First, Baldwinsville
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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. " | |
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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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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. | |
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.
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
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.
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Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | |
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We are family
Synod School’s Wednesday preacher, the Rev. Andy Davis, explores possibilities for choosing our family, like Jesus did
By Mike Ferguson
Presbyterian News Service
Synod School’s excellent house band pumped out Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” The Scripture selection was Mark 3:31-35, an account of Jesus setting the crowd straight on who his family really is. Even Erin Kaye’s a time for children got Synod School’s youngest attendees to think about what their family means to them.
“It’s a privilege to be part of this family with you,” said Wednesday’s preacher, the Rev. Andy Davis, pastor of Union Presbyterian Church in Saint Peter, Minnesota. If we list what gives us the most joy and angst, the place where the greatest harm has been done and the most profound healing can happen, it’s often in our family, Davis said.
Imagine we’re headed home after a long day of work, but we have to stop at the grocery store first for something to eat. The aisles are crowded, and our favorite cottage cheese is sold out. At the checkout, we can’t get our pay app to work. Finally, we get home. We lock the door between ourselves and the rest of the world, and we begin to relax.
Continue reading...
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Presbyterian Historical Society revisits Tucson Indian Training School records
Staff repair harmful language and enhance description of student experiences in the collection
By Presbyterian Historical Society staff
Special to Presbyterian News Service
In the winter of 2023, a team of archivists at the Presbyterian Historical Society began the process of reparative description on the records of Tucson Indian Training School. Over the next six months, they worked not only to remove outdated and harmful language, but to enhance the descriptions of students so that their full names, tribal affiliations, and experiences are better represented in the collection.
Reparative description is the practice of critically examining and ultimately adjusting the way an institution describes or characterizes marginalized groups, paying particular attention to instances where our description inflicts harm, spreads false narratives, or minimizes past and ongoing injustices. This work began in earnest at the Society at the beginning of 2023, when the Reparative Description Committee formed and committed to developing policies and workflows for a more inclusive approach to describing collections.
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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