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Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse
5811 Heritage Landing Dr., 2nd Floor
East Syracuse, NY 13057
(315) 632-5698
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Dear Friends of Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery,
Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter,
Presbytery Matters. Our goal is to highlight things going on throughout the Church: within our Presbytery, in our congregations, as well as in the Synod of the Northeast and across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We hope that these are things that will be helpful, informative, challenging, encouraging, supportive. In other words, we hope that these things will matter. Your input is valued, and your comments are always welcomed!
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Additional Paper for Presbytery Stated Meeting: Feb. 10
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The February 10, 2018, Stated Meeting of Presbytery will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles. Gathering and registration begin at 8:00 am, and the meeting will convene at 9:00.
And trust me, you won't want to miss this meeting: we are going to have a powerful, Spirit-filled conversation about where Christ is leading our presbytery. That conversation will fuel a Lenten journey for each of us, culminating, we hope, in a bold, new way of being a gospel community. What's more, you'll get a chance to examine a possible new leader in that community... in our community. (And if all that's not enough to get you here, all I have to say is: Doug's Fish Fry. That's lunch, and if you don't know, ask. It won't change your life like Jesus, but it will come close.)
Papers for this meeting were distributed in previous Presbytery Matters e-letters on February 1 and February 5. Here is one more! Any additional items will be made available at the registration table.
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Joys and Concerns around the Presbytery
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In our prayers together this week...
- Pray for Rev. Susan Alloway, honorably retired, former pastor at New Hope, who lost everything in the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. She has recently moved to Hawaii and is living there with her son. She has asked her presbytery family to include her in our prayers, as she adjusts to new surroundings and a very different life. If you'd like to reach out with a note, her address is 44 Knani Road, Unit 1-106, Kihei, HI, 96763. Please pray for God's presence in this time of grief, transition, and uncertainty.
- Pray for the ministry and mission work of Rev. Dr. Kathleen Griffin in Argentina. Please see her message below under "Other Voices from the Presbytery."
- Pray for Rev. Jee, who is visiting Korea to lead a Bible Conference.
In the cycle of prayer for our Presbytery, please pray for these congregations, faith communities, and individuals: our Presbytery (the Leadership Team, Work Groups, Committees, and Mission and Ministry Teams), the Synod of the Northeast, and General Assembly staff.
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Other Voices from the Presbytery
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 Reaching out
from Argentina
For those of you who don't know, the Rev. Dr. Kathleen Griffin is a minister member of our presbytery, who has been laboring beyond the bounds of the presbytery for the last 20 years in Argentina. Below is a letter from Kathleen. We would like to encourage congregations to give serious prayer and consideration to the ongoing mission and education work in Argentina, which is in need of funding and support. Your congregation can be a part of transforming lives in Argentina and elsewhere around the world.
Kathleen writes...
A joy that I would like to thank God for at this time:
Twenty years ago, on Feb. 1, 1998, I was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church
. On Feb. 8, I boarded an airplane to come to Argentina for the first time as a Mission Co-worker with Presbyterian World Mission. Ever since, I have labored beyond the bounds of the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse. I have many fond memories of so many people in the Presbytery and at Pebble Hill Church.
I thank God that you have been a part of my journey!
I also have a tremendous concern that I would ask the presbytery to remember in prayer:
Since 2016, my position in Presbyterian World Mission was eliminated due to funding shortfalls and because the theological institute where I was teaching in Buenos Aires was closed. I have now been asked, by colleagues here in Argentina, to participate in a new endeavor in ecumenical theological education, called the REET (Red Ecuméncia de Educación Teológica). This is a venture that is still in formation, and the legal institutionalization as well as the initial fundraising are still in process. There are currently 5 denominations of Protestant churches that are active in the River Plate Region (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), two of which are partners in mission with the PC(USA). My
URGENT
prayer request is for one of the partner churches of the PC(USA) - the Iglesia Evangélica del Río de la Plata (IERP). The IERP has been one of the biggest supporters, financially, of this new endeavor.
The Pastor President of the IERP, Carlos Duarte, died suddenly of a stroke while finishing his summer vacation on January 21, 2018. Please pray for his family and the entire IERP community, which includes about 65 or 70 congregations in all three countries of the River Plate region. Please also pray for the continued work of the REET that Pastor Duarte was so involved with.
Please consider supporting financially the work of Presbyterian World Mission with theological education around the world. God willing, once the legal paper work is in place, the REET will become a new partner in mission with the PC(USA). However, in order for Presbyterian World Mission to be able to finance my participation as a Mission Co-worker, the congregations and members of the PC(USA) need to send their financial support.
God be with you now and always!
Katie Griffin
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 Job Posting:
Christian Education and Mission Coordinator
Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church is seeking an energetic, creative individual to coordinate Child, Youth, Adult and Family Christian Education and Mission activities. Excellent leadership and communication skills, as well as strong personal faith and biblical knowledge, are required. Bachelor's degree and experience are preferred. Applicants must be able to work effectively with staff, congregation, volunteers, and the community in providing programs which promote the mission of the church. The position is 30 hrs/week with some fringe benefits.
Send resume to:
Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church, 5299 Jamesville Rd., DeWitt, NY 13214
Phone: 315-446-0960 / Or, email materials to: petephpc@twcny.rr.com
You always may keep abreast on happenings in and around the Presbytery by
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Around the Synod of the Northeast
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 2018-2019 Wurffel-Sills Scholarship and Interest-Free Loan Application
Hello Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery!
The Synod of the Northeast would like to share with you the 2018-2019 Wurffel-Sills Scholarship and Interest-Free Loan Program Application. The application is open to all members of any Presbyterian Church within the Synod of the Northeast who will be attending school beginning in the Fall of 2018 for either undergraduate or seminary studies only.
The deadline to apply is
April 1, 2018.
Re-applicants click here for your application.
Please share this information with all of your churches, members, and anyone you know of who could use a little financial assistance with their higher educational goals.
At this time Finance Clerk Stacy Galloway is not able to confirm if this information will be available on the synod website. To ensure all questions receive timely responses, please refer all to Stacy at the synod office
315-446-5990 or email at
Stacy.Galloway@synodne.org.
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Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
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 Top 10 films for Visual Parables in 2017
Faith sightings in award nominated (and lesser known) movies
by Edward McNulty | Special to Presbyterian News Service
Presbyterian News Service is continuing the tradition begun about 15 years ago in
Presbyterians Today of selecting the year's top 10 films. The list is different from those appearing in secular journals because the primary criteria are spiritual and moral/ethical values, not artistic ones.
Are issues of ethics and social conflict raised and dealt with realistically? Are the characters well-rounded ones who struggle with their decisions? Are violence and sex seen as complex matters, rather than depicted in black and white terms? Does a film show the consequences of violence and sometimes even suggest an alternative? Is the filmmaker similar to the prophets of old, challenging injustice, exposing the moral shortcuts of the characters, or envisioning a more just reality?
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5811 Heritage Landing Dr., 2nd Floor
East Syracuse, NY 13057
(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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