Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | |
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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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In our prayers together this week:
- Please keep Karen Chamis in your prayers. Our former Resource Presbyter fell last month and broke her leg, which required surgery. Please continue to keep her in your prayers as she recovers from 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: 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.
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William A. Haase, member of Northminster Presbyterian Church, passed away on March 7, 2024.
Bill was the moderator for the Presbytery in 1994 as well as serving the Presbytery in multiple capacities throughout the years along with his wife, Ruth, who also served in various capacities for the Presbytery.
Calling hours will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 10 to 11 a.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 7444 Buckley Road, North Syracuse with a Celebration of Life Service to follow at 11:00 am. Read his obituary here.
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Maundy Thursday: Thursday, March 28, 2024
6 p.m. Simple Dinner of Soup & Bread followed by a Maundy Thursday Communion Service at 6:45 p.m. at Faith United Church Oswego, 12 Mark Fitzgibbons Drive
7 p.m. Service at Onondaga Hill Presbyterian Church, 4797 Makyes Road, Syracuse
7 p.m. Service at First Presbyterian Church Baldwinsville, 64 Oswego Street, Baldwinsville
7 p.m. Service at Park Central Presbyterian Church, 504 E Fayette St, Syracuse
7 p.m. Service at Whitelaw Presbyterian Church, 3085 Whitelaw Road West, Canastota
7 p.m. Service at Otisco Presbyterian Church, 1873 NY-80, Tully
7 p.m. Service at United Church of Fayetteville, 310 East Genesee St., Fayetteville
7 p.m. Service at Collamer United Church, 6565 Fly Road, East Syracuse
TBD Service at LaFayette Columbian Presbyterian Church, Corner of Route 11 And Route 20, LaFayette
Good Friday: Friday, March 29, 2024
12 p.m. Service at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 17 William Street, Auburn
12 p.m. Service at First Presbyterian Church of Chittenango, 118 Arch Street, Chittenango
12 p.m. Sanctuary will be open for prayerful meditation from noon to 2 p.m., First Presbyterian Church Baldwinsville, 64 Oswego Street, Baldwinsville
12 p.m. Sanctuary will be open for Meditation and Prayer from noon to 3 p.m., First United Church of East Syracuse, 823 Franklin Park Drive, East Syracuse
12 p.m. Pre-recorded virtual service available on YouTube from the United Church of Fayetteville. You can watch that service via our website: https://theucf.org or on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheUCF
7 p.m. Service at Onondaga Hill Presbyterian Church, 4797 Makyes Road, Syracuse
7 p.m. Community Tenebrae Service at LaFayette Columbian Presbyterian Church, Corner of Route 11 And Route 20, LaFayette
7 p.m. Worship Service, First United Church of East Syracuse, 823 Franklin Park Drive, East Syracuse
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Attention churches, please send your Holy Week and/or special
Lent service schedules to caysyrnews@gmail.com
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From the Interim Resource Presbyter | |
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Celebrating Margaret Towner
In 1956, Margaret Towner became the first woman in the Presbyterian Church to be ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament.
On March 19th, the Rev. Dr. Margaret Towner will be celebrating her 99th birthday. If you would like to send her a card, her address is:
7377 Scotland Way, Apt. 6203
Sarasota, FL 34238-8542
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Church Transformation Grant Update | |
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At the November Presbytery meeting, Interim Resource Presbyter Kathy Dain, presented information on a grant that she had obtained through the Synod to use for church transformation. At that meeting, she requested a Commission to be formed to oversee the application process and distribution of the money. A Commission was appointed by our Moderator, Garrett Anderson. The members of the Commission are Marissa Saunders (RE Park Central) chairperson, Lynn Jacques (RE East Syracuse), secretary, Ben Fitzgerald-Fye (TE Scipioville), Shavonn Lynch (RE Auburn Westminister and Minister Candidate) and Jessica Gorman (RE LiverpooL).
The purpose of the fund shall be to provide grants to assist congregations in the transformational work within the bounds of the Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery. The Commission has been meeting to establish criteria and provide application form for distribution of the funds. The application will be available soon. Any application received by the 15th of the month will be reviewed at our monthly meeting and applications received after the 15th will be reviewed at the next monthly meeting.
Keep reading Presbytery Matters for further information on how to obtain an application. Criteria for the grant will be included on the application form.
Let us keep our churches working to improve our communities and the world!
csptransformation@gmail.com
Lynn Jacques
Secretary
Church Transformation Commission
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From the Nominating Committee | |
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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
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Interim Resource Presbyter Announcements | |
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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.
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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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If you are involved with a church book club and are open to having new folks join your group, please contact Rita Hooper at twohoops2@gmail.com with your information. Please include Zoom info, time, place and contact person and anything else you find useful.
Nancy Wind and Isiah’s Table are inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting, on Tuesdays at 7 pm. Feb 14th, Isiah’s Table will begin their new Lenten study - Pause:Spending Lent with the Psalms by Elizabeth F. Caldwell. They will discuss the chapter "Reflection for Ash Wednesday."
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83276947441?pwd=dElVL2c3UTducVlIUmdPYXRJdUVIZz09
Meeting ID: 832 7694 7441
Passcode: 065105
Rita Hooper and Presbyterian Women invite you to check out their book club, unfortunately meeting at the same time as Isaiah’s Table: Tuesdays at 7 pm. Their current selection is Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. Missing Hearts is a suspenseful and heartrending novel about the unbreakable love between a mother and child in a society consumed by fear. They began last week but feel free to join them anyway! You don’t have to be a woman, a Presbyterian or even live in CNY to join. This club focuses on peace and justice issues and began during covid. We have read both fiction and non-fiction selections. We aim to support each other on our journey’s so sometimes we get a little off track!
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87193947627?pwd=SDZkanB0ZFVDZFoybmczU0F4QWpNQT09
Meeting ID: 871 9394 7627
Passcode: 748784
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Pebble Hill partners with The United Church of Fayetteville and the Global Mission of the Episcopal Church Diocese of CNY, along with student language clubs, Ken deLaski & the deLaski Family Foundation and other generous individuals to support the Haiti Education Mission. As a part of this mission Pebble Hill will be hosting A Concert For Haiti to support an annual Medical Clinic in Paulette, Haiti. | |
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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?
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Practical Resources for Churches Webinars | |
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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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Children Worship Center and Nursery Care positions at Westminster, Auburn
Westminster Presbyterian Church of Auburn currently has an opening for a Children Worship Center Leader. Successful candidate would lead and effectively interpret our Children & Worship program for children ages 3 - 2nd grade. This position will also assist our Children & Youth Ministry Coordinator in planning and coordinating extracurricular programming, outings & community service projects. This is a year round, every Sunday position, normally 5 hours/week. Rate of pay is $20./hour. Westminster is also seeking applicants for Nursery Care provider to provide attentive and compassionate care to infants and toddlers on Sunday mornings. Rate of pay is $15/hour. Interested applicants are asked to respond to our posting on Indeed.
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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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‘Faith gets lived out in the world’
Presbyterian Hunger Program Coordinator the Rev. Rebecca Barnes is the guest on ‘Between 2 Pulpits’
By Mike Ferguson
Presbyterian News Service
In turn, the Rev. Rebecca Barnes attended seminary, became a pastor and, in 2017, was named coordinator of the Presbyterian Hunger Program. Growing up with both parents serving as Presbyterian pastors and engaging and fun community activities including CROP Hunger Walks helped steer her toward the significant work she’s been doing for the past seven years.
“I always held” to the notion that “faith gets lived out in the world and our religious convictions should lead to a better world around us,” Barnes told the Rev. Dr. John Wilkinson and Katie Snyder during a “Between 2 Pulpits” podcast episode that dropped last week, available here.
Continue reading...
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Stewardship Navigator portal celebrates five years of growth and success
To date, 1,640 congregations have signed up to use the Presbyterian Foundation’s online giving tool
By John C. Williams
Presbyterian Foundation
A lot can happen in five years. Babies are born and start kindergarten. White House administrations come and go. We saw the pandemic shut down most of the world and greatly impact the way that churches function.
And, this spring marks five years since the launch of Stewardship Navigator, an educational website launched by the Presbyterian Foundation. It’s a free online tool for Presbyterian congregations. You can find it here.
While initially designed to help smaller churches of fewer than 100 members, some mid-sized and large churches also are finding the content helpful. The site’s overall goal is to help church leaders create and sustain strong stewardship efforts via a simple-to-use website.
When Covid limited in-person church services and restricted travel to informational conferences, the Stewardship Navigator website found brighter light.
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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