Nov. 8, 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.

Korean Church of Syracuse's Refugee ministry: Boaz Project 2018 Fall  

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1)

 

The Korean Church of Syracuse is grateful the Lord continues to use the Boaz Project -- an outreach ministry for refugees in the Syracuse area -- to feed the hungry, clothe the needy, love the rejected, give hope to the hopeless, and most importantly to call His children back to Him.  

 

Now in its 12th year, the Boaz Project has spread the Gospel through computer classes and English classes to more than 1,300 refugees from 40 different countries, many with Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist backgrounds.  

 

This semester, th e 32 refugee students from Afghanistan, Haiti, Congo, Burundi, Kenya and Somalia are learning about their Creator through Genesis 1:1. Every Tuesday, the student are transported to the Korean Church of Syracuse, which is a short drive from Lodi Street, the main resettlement area for refugees in Syracuse.  

 

Each student is paired w ith a teaching assistant, who not only helps the student understand the class materials, but serves as a mentor and friend allowing the students to feel comfortable and receptive. Often the students open up about the pain in their lives such a bullying at school. Before and after class all staff pray together for the students.

 

  About 40 members of our church are involved in this ministry in various ways, including driving the van, cooking meals for the staff who often come to church straight from their place of work, leading the class as an instructor, forming personal relationships with the students as TAs, and praying for the ministry in the prayer team. All staff, who willingly share their talents given by God, confess they gain more than they give through this ministry.  

 

On Oct. 13, the church invited the students to tour the beautiful Syracuse University campus to give them a solid goal of higher education. Members of the church who are also SU faculty members and SU alumni were able to lead an insightful tour starting at Hendricks Chapel. It was the first time for the 24 children to see a college campus and though it was a wet, cold day, all the children were excited to sit in the clean high-tech classrooms and dream of a brighter future.  

 

The church also had a clothing drive that is held each semester to give out clothes and shoes.  

 

  With under 200 church members and a tight budget, the church could not do this work alone, yet with the Lord's blessings and help from fellow believers the church is able to satisfy everyone.  

 

"We welcome all who want to join us in carrying out God's Great Commission," the church says. "Please pray and support us financially so we may continue to serve our neighbors from all nations."

 

The church also invites guest to come and witness God's work at its end-of-semester worship service followed by a warm dinner on Nov. 13. 

 

"A big thank you to Linda Russell and the Westminster Presbyterian Church for their 10-plus years of continued support," the church says.  

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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 "Like us on Facebook" tab at the top of this letter.

  In our prayers together this week...

• Pray for the country to come together in harmony after the Midterm Elections.
• Continue to pray for the families of the victims of the deadly Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: Joyce Fienberg, 75, of Oakland; Richard Gottfried, 65, of Ross Township; Rose Mallinger, 97, of Squirrel Hill; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, of Edgewood; Cecil Rosenthal, 59, of Squirrel Hill; David Rosenthal, 54, of Squirrel Hill; Bernice Simon, 84, of Wilkinsburg; Sylvan Simon, 86, of Wilkinsburg; Daniel Stein, 71, of Squirrel Hill; Melvin Wax, 88, of Squirrel Hill, and Irving Youngner, 69, of Mount Washington.

If you'd like to share a particular joy or concern with the Presbytery, please contact: CaySyrNews@gmail.com.

To have your photo considered for "Photo of the Week," post it to your church's Facebook page and tag the Presbytery of Cayuga Syracuse's Facebook page.

 

Thank you the Rev. Bill Carter and Jeff Stockham

Carter presented 'Faith in a New Key' to open our Stated Meeting. Bill and Jeff provided us with beautiful music for our worship.  

 

 

     More photos from the meeting on our Facebook page.

Seeking participants for LAMP trip to Mexico

Northminster Presbyterian Church in North Syracuse is seeking participants to go on a LAMP trip to Campeche, Mexico from February 19 to 26.

The Latin American Mission Partnership (LAMP) was formed in 2004 to build relationships between the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse and the Campeche Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Mexico.

Over the years, we have worked together on construction of a theological seminary in Mexico, hurricane recovery in the Gulf Coast states, supplying books for a theological library, and teaching Vacation Bible School. It also serves as an educational and religious experience for the adult and youth participants from Cayuga-Syracuse. The group partnered with Monteflores Presbyterian Church in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to assist with clean up, painting, and rebuilding after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of their homes and churches.

LAMP has planned a trip to Campeche, Mexico for February 19 through 26 of 2019 leaving from Syracuse. We are accepting applications for both youth and adults that would like to participate in this trip. The expected group project will be building classrooms inside the seminary. Other projects may include cleaning and clearing of construction related debris, painting, and other related tasks.

The deadline to submit an application is November 15.

The cost for the trip is $1,100 and payment due dates are included on the   application, which can be found here. We highly encourage youth (minimum of 14 years old) to participate in this trip as it is an experience of a lifetime and many amazing memories are made through experiencing a new culture. It is not necessary to know the Spanish language; there will be translators available.

For questions, contact Julianne Pease at (315) 430-4536 or by email at julianne.pease1@gmail.com or Sandi Yingling at slyingling@msn.com.

For more information on the most recent trips in 2015 and 2017, visit LAMP's Facebook page.

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What: Red Cross Bloodmobile

When: 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 8 -- TODAY

Where: King Ferry Presbyterian Church

More Information: Walk-ins welcome or call  

Neil Rotach at (607) 273-6696 or (3150 396-3417

Small church, big God

15-member church has raised $30,000 for Living Waters for the World

By the Rev. Carolyn Anderson

For Living Waters for the World

WARTBURG, Tenn. - Growing up in the mountains of Virginia in the 1950s, I carried water from a pump well. We had to let the water "settle" before we drank it. There was always an inch or so of sediment in the bottom of the bucket. The water tasted of iron.

Fast forward to the year 2006. The Lord, in His wonderful grace, called me to serve as pastor of Wartburg Presbyterian Church, a beautiful little church established in 1873 in Wartburg, Tenn. A good Sunday had seven people in attendance, with my husband Jim and myself two of those seven.

Continue reading...

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Teacher of the Year uses honor to advocate

President Trump gets refugee students' letters

By Paul Seebeck

Presbyterians Today