Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse
5811 Heritage Landing Dr., 2nd Floor
East Syracuse, NY  13057
(315) 632-5698
July 16, 2018
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!

Our apologies for missing several weeks!
Congratulations and Thank You, Rebecca Wind!
Humans of GA: Young Commissioner Edition

 
 Rebecca Wind was at General Assembly four years ago as a Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD). This year, she returned to the assembly as a ruling elder commissioner. At 25 years old, she was one of the youngest commissioners in attendance.  She comes from Syracuse, New York, where she attends Isaiah's Table, a 1001 New Worshiping Community providing breakfast and worship for people living with homelessness or food insecurity.


Send any stories from your congregation that you would like to share to Patrick Heery:  pastor@westminsterauburn.org.
 
Joys and Concerns around the Presbytery
In our prayers together this week...
  • Pray for Rev. Tom Oak, whose father died unexpectedly on July 3, after experiencing complications with his pacemaker. A funeral service was held in Kansas. Thankfully, Tom and Diane Monger were already in Kansas at the time, and Tom was able to be with his Dad at the end of his life here on earth. Tom is the pastor of the Cazenovia church, a member of the presbytery's Leadership Team, and chair of the Visioning work group.

  • Pray for Revs. Patrick and Jenna Heery, who after a four-year journey are happy to introduce their baby boy, Emerson David Liam Heery, born on June 11, 7lbs and 4oz, to a brave and wonderful woman who chose them for an open adoption. Please pray for Emerson's birth family, particularly his birth mother, without whose sacrifice and love this adoption would not be possible. The revocation period ended on July 13, and Patrick and Jenna are so happy to share their new family with their church family.
     
  • Pray thanks for the successful rescue of the 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach who had been trapped in a flooded cave. Pray for their recovery; at least two of the boys may have lung infections.
     
  • Pray for Rev. Mario Bolivar and his family, as Mario prepares for his final service at First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles on July 22 before moving to Florida to become the next installed pastor of Eustis Presbyterian Church. As a presbytery, we celebrate Mario's new call and all the gifts he has shared with us over the years; we also are going to miss him a great deal! Prayers for hugs, smiles, and tears as Mario draws this season of his ministry to a close. Prayers for safe travels, transitions, and new beginnings.
     
  • Continue to pray for the children of immigrants seeking asylum who have been forcibly separated from their parents or are being detained with (or without) their parents in detention facilities.
In the cycle of prayer for 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 Patrick Heery:  [email protected].

From the Leadership Team
The 2018-2019 Presbyterian Planning Calendars have arrived!

Churches and individuals who ordered planning calendars through our presbytery's bulk order will find them available at the August 14 Presbytery meeting at Scipioville. If you need/want them before then, contact Linda Russell ([email protected] or 315-632-5698) to arrange an earlier drop off or pick up.

Other Voices from the Presbytery
Isaiah's Table
has moved and
we would love
your help!

Isaiah's Table moved on June 30th! We've entered into a lease agreement with Home Headquarters for a building at 223 Marcellus Street in Syracuse, just off of West Fayette Street, at the corner of Marcellus and Niagara. The move went well, but settling in was extra challenging with the extreme heat and humidity of the past weeks (the A/C is not working). We held our inaugural breakfast and worship service in our new space on July 7th.

Here's where you can help: WE NEED NEW CHAIRS! The ones we were using in our old space aren't what we need for our new space. We need to purchase 40 chairs. We would be grateful for donations of $20 per chair. We found just what we need at Costco: lightweight, plastic and metal folding chairs.

If you can help us with this need, we'll offer prayers of gratitude for your gift when we dedicate our new chairs in worship later this summer. It means so much to our community to know that sisters and brothers from our Presbytery and beyond support us with donations and prayers. Thank you!

Please send donations (made out to Isaiah's Table) to our new address:
Isaiah's Table
223 Marcellus Street
Syracuse, NY 13204
 
Donations can also be made through our website, isaiahstable.org: use the "Contact Us" Tab in the upper right corner, then "Donate".
 
Thank you for your continued support through prayers and giving!
 
~ the Isaiah's Table Faith Community ~

Around the Presbytery
Organ Donation and Ministry
to Grieving Families


On Thursday, August 2, at 7 PM, Faith United Church (12 Mark Fitzgibbons Drive, Oswego 13126) will be hosting a program open to the public on organ donation. The speaker will be the Rev. Jenna Heery from Auburn. Jenna's call has been to travel around the state to different hospitals to speak to families about their loved ones becoming organ donors. It is her ministry. Jenna is also passionate about getting people to become organ donors, noting that the state of New York is the second worst state in number of organ donors. People will be able to sign up that evening to become an organ donor.

Mark your calendars and spread the word around the community to come and learn about organ donation, and sign up to be a donor. Faith United will be serving lemonade or some kind of beverage and cookies.

...................................................................

Change the World One Heart at a Time!

Rev. Beth DuBois shares the following opportunity...

What's next? Just graduating? Retired? Looking for a meaningful change?

Consider a paid year (or more) of service as a L'Arche Assistant (Live-in or Live-out).

L'Arche communities are places where those with disabilities, called core members, and those who share life with them, called assistants, live together in a faith-based community. We also have live out positions for assistants who may already be established locally. Experience with people with disabilities is not a requirement.

Assistant Role Responsibilities:
  *   To build a relationship of mutual care and support with persons with disabilities
  *   To foster a home life of unity, mutual respect and participation by all members
  *   To provide direct care supports and skill building for core members in:
  *   Personal care needs (clothing, hygiene, etc.),
  *   Money management
  *   Medical care, appointments
  *   Family and work connections
  *   Household chores, laundry
  *   Medications
  *   Meal preparation

Qualifications:
  *   18 year old minimum and have a valid driver's license
  *   College education preferred
  *   Interest in living in a faith community founded on the Beatitudes
  *   Desire to work with individuals with disabilities
  *   Creativity, flexibility, attention to detail and ability to organize time
  *   Verbal and written communication skills
  *   Ability to work as part of a team

Compensation/Benefits:
  *   Live-in Assistants receive full room and board
  *   Both Live-in ($10.73 per hour) and Live out  ($11.73 per hour) Assistants receive an
       hourly wage, are offered health and dental insurance options and receive paid time off

For more information please contact:
Teasa Luke, Assistant Director, L'Arche Syracuse, 920 Spencer Street, Syracuse, New York 13204 USA - 315-479-8088, assistantdirector@larchesyracuse.org.

 
You always may keep abreast on happenings in and around the Presbytery by
checking the Presbytery events calendar (http://cayugasyracuse.org/calendars) and the

Around the Synod
Reclaiming Jesus

At the June 2018 meeting of the Synod's Mission & Ministries Commission, Harold Delhagen presented the Reclaiming Jesus statement and commended it to the Synod community for reflection and response.
 
In an era full of division and angry rhetoric, we Christians need to reclaim our faith and, through both words and actions, more fully embody the gospel message we proclaim. This statement is one resource among many that might help us begin this work.

To access Harold's introduction, view the video, and read the statement in its entirety, check out the full article .

Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance calls on volunteers to help in disaster recovery

by Rick Jones,
Presbyterian News Service

Strong hurricanes, record flooding and massive wildfires have taken their toll on volunteer groups aiding in clean up and recovery. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance says that groups have been working hard in recent years to help communities rebuild, but the continuous string of powerful hurricanes and other natural disasters are making it harder to find enough people to meet the need.


.....................................................................

General Assembly moves MLK's 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail' toward confessional status

By a vote of 352-160, the 223rd General Assembly (2018) approved a motion presented by the Assembly Committee on Theological and Church Growth Issues and Institutions that will initiate the process toward amending the Book of Confessions to potentially include the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."

The overture from the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area carries with it financial implications of $41,080 over a two-year period.

Continue reading...


5811 Heritage Landing Dr., 2nd Floor
East Syracuse, NY  13057
(315) 632-5698
"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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