 |
|
Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse
5811 Heritage Landing Dr., 2nd Floor
East Syracuse, NY 13057
(315) 632-5698
|
|
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 and supportive. In other words, we hope that these things will matter. Your input is valued, and your comments are always welcomed.
|
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.
|
|
Joys and Concerns around the Presbytery
|
 I
n our prayers together this week...
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.
|
|
|
|
"Say Their Names" by Noelia Fratea Griffin. Noelia is the 16-year-old daughter of the Rev. Dr. Katie Griffin_ minister member of the Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery "living and working beyond the bounds of Presbytery. Noelia sends her offering as a prayer for the people of the United States" from Argentina.
|
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.
|
|
Presbytery Meeting -- JUNE 9, 2020
|
|
The Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse will hold a stated meeting on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 online via the Zoom platform. The gathering will begin at 7:00 p.m.. Karen Chamis and Ben Fitzgerald-Fye will be available on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. to help with technical issues for those choosing to log in earlier.
Things to know:
- This gathering may be recorded for informational and accuracy of minutes purposes only.
- The Zoom Meeting will be open early for those who are unfamiliar or not fully comfortable with the platform. You are welcome to sign it at 6:30 PM if you need some reassurance.
- Attendance will be taken via electronic registration. Register link information below.
Things to anticipate:
- Our first online presbytery meeting ever!
- A brief introduction to Zoom functions
- Online opening worship
- "Good News" from our congregations and worshipping communities
- Recognition of Staff Service to the Presbytery
- Nominations report that includes election of those willing to serve
Papers for this meeting can be found here, and include:
______________________________________________________________
ZOOM Instructions
Register in advance for this meeting:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Please make sure you've downloaded the most recent version of Zoom (5.0) as it has been updated.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m., however, the room will be open at 6:30 p.m. for those who would like to test their sound, practice raising hands, etc.
For those joining by phone, please call Karen at 908-217-7725 prior to 3 p.m. on June 9th so that she can make certain you are registered.
Phone participants can use these controls:
To mute/unmute, press *6
To Raise Your Hand, press *9.
Please note we will be utilizing the "mute all" feature. In order to be recognized to speak you must raise your hand. This is done by going to the Participants tab on Zoom and scrolling to the bottom of that window. You'll see an option to raise your hand as well as to vote YES or NO. If you are new to this feature, you are strongly encouraged to come to the pre-meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Looking forward to seeing you all!
|
|
From the Resource Presbyter
|
 Dear Friends,
Presbyterians are squirrely folk who lean heavily into the understanding that Order is important. Some of us have even had bumper stickers on our cars that read "Decently and in Order!"
Only me? Okay, then.
There is something about order (logos!) being called out of chaos that appeals to my sensibilities. I see it in the church even when we are even at our most disorderly -- at Session meetings when emotions are high and in the way we debate the best use of resources. Order occurs not because we insist on one way, but because we allow for discourse and discernment. We as a denomination have chosen to allow for lots of wiggle room even as we set parameters.
Those parameters are our Confessions.
If you're only familiar with the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, you need to dive into the others. Three have been added to our Constitution in my lifetime: the Confession of '67, the Brief Statement of Faith (roughly around the time of reunion) and Belhar Confession. Like the previous additions, each Confessional statement speaks to the context in which it was written. Each Confession seeks to birth order out of chaos.
Take the Barmen Declaration. This Confession was written in the late 1930's as a response to the efforts of the Nazi state to force churches to adopt "the Führer Principle" for organizing church government. This principle focused on the unity of one leader and the people on one goal as the only means of creating order.
[1] Many churches adopted this principle and supported Hitler as a German "prophet" and actively worked to support his ideals. The idea of order was persuasive for many Christians because all the right props were in place, even as it marched boldly toward fascism.
It is a bit tempting, isn't it? Just give in to having an autonomous leader, and the problems and conflicts cease? This is the promise of fascism.
The Barmen Declaration was born out of the movement that protested the alignment of the church and the state. It didn't overtly speak to the acts of the Nazi state, but instead reminded the church that Jesus is the decisive Word (logos!) of God.
In other words, if you are seeking order (logos!) and peace... do not look to the state. Only Christ, church. Only Christ. There will always be those who promise order and lawfulness, but God alone is the One who brings order out of chaos.
In Christ,
Karen
[1] Why, yes... Heidegger was a fan.
|
 The Presbyterian Planning Calendar offers more than nice pictures and a space to write in your meetings -- it also offers many resources that are keyed to certain months of the year. You can order the calendar through the PCUSA store for $16.95 ea., OR you can join the Presbytery in its bulk order and pay only $9.75 per calendar. These 2020 - 2021 calendars begin with September. If you're interested, send an email to
kchamis@cayugasyracuse.org by July 1st indicating the number of calendars you are requesting.
________________________________________________
Statement on the Killing of Black Men
InterFaith Works Board of Directors and Round Table of Faith Leaders
June 1, 2020
The reality of the systemic and ever-present racism that has withered the soul of our country, destroyed the dignity of humanity, and defaced the beauty of diversity has once again profoundly surfaced in the senseless and aimless killing of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd.
Ahmaud, a twenty-five-year-old unarmed African-American man, was shot to death by two white men while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, as a third white man drove a pick-up truck and took videos of the encounter and the shooting. George Floyd was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota when the officer, who had him in handcuffs and on the ground, kept a knee to Floyd's neck for 7 minutes while three other officers looked on, despite Floyd's plea that he could not breathe, and until he died.
These atrocities are continued evidence of racism in America, and compel us to uphold that Black lives matter, equal to and as important as all lives. We at InterFaith Works affirm the dignity of all people, and we hold out that all lives are sacred. We pray for the families and the communities that have been devastated by these acts of violence
To work towards a brighter future, it is mandatory that those who support and defend social justice, equality, dignity, the least, the lost, and the last in our society remain centered and focused as we face these grave matters.
For we are reminded of how needed and necessary our personal commitment must be to ending the source of racism, with the equal demand that must be placed on those who hold political, economic, legal and law enforcement power to do the same. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught, "An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
|
|
Resource Presbyter's Virtual Gatherings
|
Our Resource Presbyter, the Rev. Karen Chamis, will be holding virtual office hours from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesdays.
Karen will be available for drop-in conversations on Zoom. Come say hello, share concerns or learn a bit on how to use this important tool.
or call
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,839671809# US (New York)
+13126266799,,839671809# US (Chicago)
************************************************************************
Pastoral leadership is invited to a Thursday morning Virtual Coffee for connection, support and fellowship.
The Zoom meeting will start at 10 a.m.
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 510 749 428
************************************************************************
Interactive Worship Service for all:
Karen and the Rev. Ben Fitzgerald-Fye, our stated clerk, will hold an interactive worship service on Zoom every Sunday evening at 7 p.m. Register in advance for this meeting:
If you are unable to participate in worship, or know someone who would appreciate a liturgy that can be used at home, please CLICK HERE.
|
|
June 9 Presbytery meeting (Zoom)
June 20-27 General Assembly
July 23-24
Board of Pensions Thrive Seminar (for clergy age 50+)
August 11 Presbytery Stated Meeting, TBD
November 14 Presbytery Stated Meeting, Westminster-Auburn
|
|
Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
|
Synergy between PC(USA) assembly and Poor People's Campaign continues online
Live General Assembly in Baltimore and Moral March
on Washington had to become virtual events
By Rich Copley
Presbyterian News Service
Then the pandemic hit.
Along with General Assembly, the COVID-19 crisis has also forced the Poor People's Campaign event online. That actually makes it even more accessible to Presbyterians, who will see church leadership involved in the assembly. The event is now just a few clicks away, and taking place on Saturday, June 20, which will not be an active day for the online General Assembly.
"Presbyterians are engaged in the Poor People's Campaign and the synergy it is creating," said the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, director of the
PC(USA) Office of Public Witness (OPW) in Washington D.C. "The OPW is playing a role in the roll-out to the June 20th global event, attending the Wednesday conversation and urging a Presbyterian presence. The goals of the campaign match up well with the social witness policy of the PC(USA). For decades we have been calling for an end to systemic racism and provided resources for congregations to combat its impact. Our denomination has ongoing policy on climate change, wage inequity, voting rights and the elimination of poverty."
_____________________________________________________________
Running toward chaos
A nurse volunteers to serve COVID-19 patients in a
New York hospital
By Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services
Special to Presbyterian News Service
ST. LOUIS - "Over a thousand miles away from everyone I know and love, I ran towards the chaos," Brittany wrote to a friend.
As a registered nurse, Brittany had volunteered to work in a New York City hospital. She marked her birthday, saying, "It's not a birthday I'll soon forget ... I spent it battling disease, poverty, social injustice, COVID and death."
How did this young woman find the courage for such a perilous journey?
Only a few years ago, Brittany was a single mom -- jobless and fearful. The Single Parent Family Program at
Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services gave her and her two children a safe place to live while she started over. The program helped her to "retrain my brain and use healthy coping skills in times of stress," she says. After a year with PCHAS, Brittany moved her family into an apartment and started courses at a nursing school.
There were setbacks that brought her to PCHAS again. "I used my fear as an engine to keep moving toward my goals," she recalls. Gradually, she found faith in herself and in God. "I learned to draw near to him, asking him to give me understanding of his will for my life and for the power to carry it out."
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
