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:
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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.
- 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: First, Cazenovia; First, Chittenango; United Church of Collamer; Pebble Hill, DeWitt; First United Church of East Syracuse.
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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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
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LGBTQIA+ Frequently Asked Questions
In an effort to continue to embody the welcoming and inclusive kin-dom of God, Presbyterian Church (USA) created a FAQ resource to be a helpful tool for churches, mid councils, educational bodies and individuals. This resource was created with LGBTQIA+ people with a lens on diversity and intersectionality. May this resource be an effective tool for the spread of the gospel to all people. Download Here.
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We are compiling a list of Pride Month special services and events. If your church is hosting one, please email caysyrnews@gmail.com. Everyone is welcome at the following service(s): | |
Board of Pensions Zoom links | |
From the Interim Resource Presbyter | |
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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
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Save the Date: Presbytery Day | |
Interim Resource Presbyter Announcements | |
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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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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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Seeking volunteers for voter outreach
Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is building state based voter outreach, education, and mobilization teams for a campaign to reach millions of poor and low-wage infrequent voters for a movement that votes and to build a 3rd Reconstruction.
In October of 2021, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival released our landmark report, Waking the Sleeping Giant: Poor and Low-Income Voters in the 2020 Elections.
In this report, we demonstrated that if poor and low-income voters, over 85 million Americans, voted at a similar rate as higher income voters in 2016, they would have matched or exceeded the margin of victory in the presidential election. Our report proves that the biggest opportunity to build support for a moral agenda that lifts from the bottom is among poor and low-income voters, and that such voter engagement must be across geography, race, and other lines of division.
Indeed, the reality of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the denial of healthcare, militarism and the false narrative of religious nationalism—interlocking injustices that are hurting more than 30 percent of the electorate—is sinful and immoral. Tired myths are used to blame the poor for these conditions and to deflect attention away from the structural sin of poverty and the abdication of our elected leaders. The narrative that poor and low-wage people are apathetic about politics or don’t care enough to vote is just another one of these myths. In actuality, there is great, untapped power among these tens of millions of people, who often don’t see their demands– such as housing, healthcare, and living wages– reflected by those seeking election. They are like a sleeping giant and we have only felt its midnight stirrings. We are waking the Sleeping Giant.
In order to wake the Sleeping Giant, we need people from all across the country committed to reach poor and low-wage infrequent voters in their state. We have an opportunity to reach, inform and mobilize these voters. This is our work and our calling in this moment of history, no one else is proposing to do this type of specific outreach to an unprecedented 15 million poor and low-income voters in this upcoming election to demonstrate that our votes are not a show of support, they are demands.
Poor and low-wage voters in this country ARE the Sleeping Giant who have the power to shift EVERY election up and down the ballot all across the country to usher in a 3rd Reconstruction in these yet to be United States of America.
If you are interested in being involved, please contact Beth DuBois at beth.dubois51@gmail.com to get connected to the NY State effort and National training.
For information on the PPC, go to: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org
For information on the NY State PPC, go to: https://linktr.ee/nysppc and check out the newsletter and State of the State report.
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If you were unable to attend the talk on “Christian Nationalism” by Dr. Greg Carey on May 15th at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church, the good news is that his powerful message about the threats of this growing movement is on YouTube.
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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
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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. | |
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NEW Book Discussion:
The False White Gospel
by Jim Wallis
WEDNESDAYS, June 5 - 26
6:30 to 8 p.m. via Zoom
It is time, says Jim Wallis, to call out genuine faith—specifically the “Christian” in White Christian Nationalism—inviting all who can be persuaded to reject and help dismantle a false gospel that propagates white supremacy and autocracy. Turning our attention to six iconic texts, Wallis reminds us what genuine biblical faith means and what Jesus, in the gospels, has called us to do. For Wallis, it is time to ask anew: do we believe these teachings or not? Please read the Forward, Introduction, and first two chapters for the first session. This discussion will be facilitated by Ms. Courtney Williams, MA, MPH, and doctoral fellow in the Department of Sociology at Louisiana State University and Rev. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Racial Justice and Racial Justice Consultant for the UCC-NY Conference. To register, click here.
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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
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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
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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 | |
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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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‘God’s got this’
A Corp President Kathy Lueckert delivers comfort and insight during Wednesday’s Chapel Service sermon
By Mike Ferguson
Presbyterian News Service
Kathy Lueckert’s mother used to tell her daughter that the chores the girl dreaded the most would build character.
“I had lots of character-building opportunities, as saying no to her was really not an option,” Lueckert, president of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, said during Wednesday’s online Chapel Service held for the PC(USA)’s national staff. Speaking three days after Trinity Sunday, Lueckert used Romans 5:1-5 as her text.
In this pericope, “Paul starts out in a positive way, telling us that we have obtained access to God’s grace through Jesus, and that we can share in God’s glory through our faith,” she said. “Then Paul takes a turn: We suffer, we endure, we build character — and then, perhaps one day, we get hope, and we won’t be disappointed.”
Continue reading...
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Nationalism and Christian Zionism focus of latest webinar
Current theology is the antithesis of Christ’s message
By Scott O’Neill
Presbyterian News Service
As in the first webinar that examined the effects of the settler-colonial experience on Palestinians, the PC(USA)’s Christian Zionism working group hosted a large audience of interested participants in its most recent in a series of webinars, titled “Nationalism and Christian Zionism.” More than 700 people registered for the Zoom-based event and more than 300 watched live. The Christian Zionism working group includes PC(USA) national staff, congregation members and grassroots Presbyterians connected to the Israel Palestine Mission Network (IPMN).
The forum was moderated by the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Holder Rich, a pastor at Corinth Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio and a theologian whose research includes the spread of Christian Zionism in Africa. She opened the webinar with introductions, a prayer, and read from Acts 1:6-8, where Luke recalls a conversation between Jesus and his disciples immediately before the Ascension:
“So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth.’”
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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