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 continue to keep Karen Chamis in your healing prayers. Our former Resource Presbyter broke her leg in February and suffered complications.
• 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: Columbian, LaFayette; First, Liverpool; First, Marcellus; First, Mexico; Morrisville Community Church

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.

Luke Choi from the Board of Pensions met with Cayuga-Syracuse Commission on Ministry members to learn more about changes to benefits for 2024-25.

To register for this boundary training, go to susvalpresby.org/register or click this link: https://forms.gle/h2mYKVr6V5bh5aRn9

Learn more about Trainer Mark Betley

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.

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

Total Solar Eclipse: Columbian Presbyterian Church in LaFayette reminds us of the son who always shines for us!

Greetings from the Nominating Committee,

The Nominating Committee greatly appreciates the work and dedication of all who serve on committees and commissions of the Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery. We recognize that we cannot hope to live into God’s mission for us as a collective body without those who feel called to serve.

The Nominating Committee needs to establish a broader pool of names for consideration as we seek to populate committees and commissions. We are asking that pastors/churches provide the committee with a list of elders, especially those who are willing to serve on a committee on the presbytery level.

Currently, we are seeking people to serve on the following: Commission on Ministry, Committee on Representation, Social Justice, Human Resources, Finance and Property, Nominating Committee. Suggestions can be emailed to the Nominating Committee at lynchshavonn@yahoo.com.

Shavonn Lynch

Nominating Committee Chair

What: Chicken & Biscuit Dinner

When: Saturday, April 27

4:30 - 6:00 PM (or until sold out)

Where: Amboy Belle Isle United Church, 6190-92 Airport Road, Syracuse

Cost: $12 per dinner

TAKE-OUT ONLY

Dinner includes: Chicken & Biscuit, applesauce, and choice of brownie or cookie for dessert

This retreat opportunity will be led by Presbyterian ministers the Rev. Mary Anderson from Cayuga-Syracuse and the Rev. Laurel Nelson from Genesee Valley. Download flyer HERE.

Joy & Justice Education Series

Park Central in Syracuse received a ReKindle Grant from the Columbia Theological Seminary, which allowed the church to provide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) training with their congregational leadership and members in 2023. The funding also gives the church the ability to offer this training for FREE in the spring to congregational leaders from other local Presbyterian churches. 

The trainings are in-person at Park Central for five weeks, ending with an all day in-person retreat at Christ the King Retreat Center in Syracuse and is limited to 16 participants with two leaders from each church. There is required reading of two books, “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo and “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson. Additionally, participants are required to take the online Intercultural Developmental Inventory Assessment that identifies their individual level of cultural awareness. You can read more about this assessment at https://www.idiinventory.com. 

The sessions, which will be held on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. with dinner provided at 6:30 p.m., will start on April 15th and end on May 13th. The retreat will take place on May 18th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Light refreshments and lunch will be included.

There are spaces still available but they are limited. To register please send an email to niaministriesworldwide@gmail.com. Please indicate if you will need the books. 

Many have expressed that they know this is something their church needs to do but have said ‘not right now’. Please do not think that you have to ‘be ready’ to do this work. If you accepted the call to become a Matthew 25 Church then the time is NOW. You will not be alone in this as other believers and followers of Christ will be with you. It is time for us all to take the risk in doing more than saying or thinking we are doing the right thing and actually learning whether or not that is true. My question to you is, if I were to come to your church right now…would I feel welcome and how would you know if I did?

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.

Managing Investments and Endowments for Churches

Thursday, April 18, 2024

2:00 - 3:00 PM EDT

Leader - Charlie Kuchenbrod

Pew to Pulpit: How to Select Music

Thursday, April 25, 2024

2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

Leaders - Phillip Morgan, Karrie Rushing

Faith on Pointe: Ballet as Spiritual Language and Practice

Thursday, May 2, 2024

2:00 – 3:00 PM EST

Leader - Julie Hoplamazian

Raising Kids Beyond the Binary in Church

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

Leader - Jamie Bruesehoff

How to Create Transformative Ministries Through Theological Innovation Workshop

Thursday, May 9, 2024

2:00 - 3:15 PM EDT

Leader - Meghan Hatcher

Practical Practices for Faith in Families NEW DATE

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

Leaders - Elizabeth Christie, Johannah Myers

Pew to Pulpit: Children's Sermons

Thursday May 16 2024

2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

Leaders -Debbie & Don Kolacki

New York State Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Webinars

You can take this training any time during the year

charlaine@prcli.org



Wednesday, April 24, 2024 

2:00 -- 3:30 PM

Thursday, May 9, 2024 

3:30 -- 5 pm

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

Westminster Church, Auburn seeking Temporary Pastor

Westminster Presbyterian Church in Auburn is seeking a Temporary Pastor to work with the church while it seeks a new installed pastor. The church will consider either a full-time or part-time position with responsibilities and compensation negotiated and adjusted accordingly.

Position tasks include worship leadership and preaching, moderating the Session, pastoral care, serving as head of staff, administrative leadership, assisting boards, committees, and teams, and other duties as needed (funerals/weddings, representing the congregation with outside organizations, assisting with communications, occasional leadership of educational programs, assisting with mission, outreach, evangelism efforts, etc).

Effective Salary will be commensurate with experience, with benefits and mileage to be included as negotiated individually. Ideal starting date is May 1, 2024 but a later starting date will be considered. Please send a letter of introduction and resume to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 17 William St, Auburn, NY 13021 Attn: Temporary Pastor Search Team or by email to office@westminsterauburn.org. For more information or questions, call 315-253-3331 or email office@westminsterauburn.org.

Information about the church can be found at www.westminsterauburn.org or facebook.com/westminsterauburn.

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.

The Wurffel-Sills Scholarship and Interest-Free Student Loan program is open to full-time undergraduate students, and full and part-time (at least half-time) seminary students (MDiv, MRE), who are members of any church within the Synod of the Northeast.

The deadline for 2024 applications is April 30. 

Information and the online application can be found at Wurffel-Sills Student Aid — Synod of the Northeast, or contact Stacy Gallloway at Stacy.Galloway@synodne.org or 315-446-5990.

Wurfell-Sills scholarship funding in the amount of $6,500 was awarded to Cayuga-Syracuse member(s) last year.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offers how-to guide for volunteer work trips

Resource created with new generation of group leaders in mind

By Darla Carter

Presbyterian News Service

It is the season when volunteer work trips kick into high gear as groups from churches and other partners of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance show their love and compassion by helping with rebuilding projects in communities affected by disasters.

For groups that have one of these trips in their future, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has put together a free, downloadable how-to guide to assist with planning.

“Many folks who lead volunteer work trips have been doing so for decades, but since the pandemic, we’ve been encountering a new generation of group leaders who have never done this before and need a little help to get started,” said the Rev. Nell Herring, PDA Mission Specialist for Volunteer Ministries.

The Work Trip Planning Guide can help with site selection, financial planning, and work partnerships. It also has devotional resources and contact information for the PDA Call Center in case there is a desire for more information.

“I developed this resource in collaboration with PDA Host Site Coordinators and the NRT (National Response Team) Hosting Ministry Team,” Herring said. “Our hope is that the planning guide answers some of the most-asked questions and provides a framework for group leaders to begin planning trips. For additional questions or deeper conversation, this resource provides additional information about who to contact and how to get in touch.”

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PC(USA) webinar on ‘Confronting Christian Zionism’ is scheduled

Registration now open for the April 18 panel discussion

By Scott O’Neill

Presbyterian News Service

The PC(USA)’s Christian Zionism working group, which includes PC(USA) national staff and members from its congregations, will present the first in a series of webinars centered on the topic of confronting and challenging Christian Zionism. The Zoom-based webinar is scheduled for noon Eastern Time on Thursday, April 18. Participants can register here for the online event.

The 216th General Assembly (2004) approved the “active opposition” by the PC(USA) “to Christian Zionism and the development of a plan to communicate the theological and political ramifications it engenders within our denomination, in the mass media, and among U.S. government officials.” The overture directed the Stated Clerk to inform government officials that Christian Zionism did not represent the majority of American Christians and the faith of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It also recommended the promotion of resources so that Presbyterians can become knowledgeable of the Middle East situation and its history and people.

The webinar will focus on educating participants on how the Zionism ideology contributes to the violence Palestinians have experienced and the consequences of the settler colonial experience. Panelists invited to contribute to the webinar include the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian who is the academic dean of Bethlehem Bible College and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and the Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour; the Rev. Marietta Macy, associate pastor of Christian Education at the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston in West Virginia; and Rabbi Brant Rosen of Tzedek (Justice) Chicago Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, an intentional Jewish congregation based on the core values of justice, equity and solidarity. The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Holder Rich, a Presbyterian pastor and member of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network, will facilitate the conversation among the panelists.

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