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! 

In our prayers together this week:

• Please pray for the Myers family in Pompey, members of the Fabius Pompey School District and everyone who knew and loved Gia and Gavin. The teen siblings lost their lives in a car accident.
• Please keep the family of Patricia White in your prayers. She passed away on last week. Patricia was the longtime organist and music director at the Scipioville Church, and the mother of Rev Pam Masten, who was Westminster’s temporary pastor in 2024
• Please pray for Jerry Armstrong, 14, who is fighting cancer again. Jerry, who worships at Whitelaw, had bone cancer in his leg and completed treatments in November. Unfortunately, the cancer has already returned. He is hospitalized waiting to meet with the team of healthcare providers for the next steps. Please keep Jerry and his loved ones in your prayers.
• Pray for all those impacted by the devastating fires in Upstate New York. Pray for all those who lost loved ones, who lost their pets and who lost their homes and all their belongings.
• Please pray for those involved in and impacted by the devastating plane/helicopter crash near Washington, D.C. that occurred last month. Please send prayers to the loved ones of the victims of this unbearable tragedy.
• Pray for our country and all those who are scared and worried about their (or the people they love) freedoms, rights and livelihood due to changes in policies within our federal government. General Assembly Committee on Representation's Statement.
• Prayers for peace for the people and country of South Korea.
• Pray for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
• Pray for all those who are struggling with current events in our community, in our country and around the world.
• All those who have been separated from their families.
• All those in Sudan.
• All those in Ukraine.
• All those in Lebanon.
• All those in Israel and Gaza.
• All displaced people.
• All those who are homebound.
• All those who battling addiction and their loved ones.
• Keep all those who battling cancer and other chronic illnesses 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: United Church of Fayetteville; First United Church of Fulton; Jamesville Community Church; First, King Ferry

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. "

FOR REVIEW: Book of Order Amendments

At the upcoming Stated Meeting of March 15, 2025, we will be voting on the proposed Amendments to the Book of Order, and the Ecumenical Agreement with the Episcopal Church, from the 226th General Assembly.

Here is a link to the book of amendments.

Stated Clerk Paul Rack invites presbyters and clerks of sessions to read and study them. 

SAVE THE DATE: Retreat for Ministers, Commissioned Pastors/CREs, and Lay Preachers

Friday May 9 – Saturday May 10 at Camp Whitman on Seneca Lake

This invitation is being extended to all seven presbyteries of the Upstate New York network: Albany, Cayuga-Syracuse, Genesee Valley, Geneva, Northern New York, Susquehanna Valley, and Utica.

We’re looking forward to this opportunity to get to know our colleagues in ministry as we enter into a time of greater collaboration across geographic boundaries. Stay tuned for more details to be announced in the coming weeks!

The Social Justice Committee of Cayuga-Syracuse is now meeting with the Justice in Ministry & Mission Team of the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery (now Joint Justice Team). They’ve had three meetings. 

"We believe we all need more education on the areas of change and chaos being created by the new Administration and those partnering with it," said the Rev. Monica Styron. "We know that as brothers and sisters in Christ we need to be in constant prayer, seeking the Spirit’s guidance and staying faithful to God’s calling to love our neighbor as ourselves and care for others in need."

The Joint Justice Team is inviting our readers to share the following information with your congregations:

PALESTINE & ISRAEL

In December the PCUSA News posted a 2-page resource on Israel, Palestine and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) We are asking that congregations share this posting with their members in their newsletter (as a link) and with their Elders and session.

Click here for link. Click here for download.

Please Note: The team heard of the plan to give GAZA to the US to rebuild as a beach front settlement. There will be more from the Joint Justice Team on that in upcoming newsletter.

NEED RESOURCES TO SUPPORT IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES….

 The Joint Justice Team attended the workshop by Cornell Farmworkers Program on “Supporting Immigrant Families in our Community.” For more information contact:

Rev. Bruce Gillette at 607-744-0761 or email: pastorbrucegilletter@gmail.com or Mary Jo Dudley, Director, Cornell Farmworker Program at 607-254-5195 or email farmworkers@cornell.edu

The recent ICE raids in our area are of great concern to families and friends, farmers and businesses throughout NY state. Here are some resources were shared, including:

• A statement from the PCUSA available.
• A study guide Denouncing Antisemitism and Islamophobia, which can help you maintain your interfaith relations while speaking out against injustice.
• The PCUSA has a recent educational resource on the situation in Palestine

LGBTQ+

The recent suicide of a Trans-Veteran in Syracuse last week has shaken the larger community. Many understood her suicide as a response to the threat of the new Administration to reverse (de-transition) members to their original gender. There is a lot of fear among millions of people who have family and friends that are affected and may be affected if this policy is taken even further. The Joint Justice Team is seeking to provide educational opportunities for congregations, elders and pastors to hear from those affected by such a policy.

CHILD POVERTY IN NY STATE

The Kairos Center for Religion, Rights, and Social Justice encourages calls to NYS Legislature to fund the recommendations of the state's Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council. Information about this is available at Statement on Gov. Hochul’s Proposal Regarding New York’s Child Tax Credit - Kairos Center 

CONNECTING THE DOTS BETWEEN THE WASTE CRISIS & THE CLIMATE CRISIS

The Program explores the ways addressing the waste crisis helps in addressing the climate crisis. It covers implications for individuals and families. Learn More

Elder Chris Burger BIO: Having worked in both the energy field as well as the field of recycling and zero waste, Chris is well positioned to talk about the interconnections between the two. He established a Community Recycling Center in 1973. In 1977, he developed the first Weatherization program in the Country. In 1985, he developed a County-wide recycling program. He has co-founded and/or led a number of organizations focused on sustainability; including a Cornell University think-tank on sustainability (Eco-Justice Project) and the New York Sustainable Business Council. He is a member of Rotary International’s Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG). He also walks the talk, achieving zero waste along with his family since 1992 and designed and built a home that has been fossil free since 1998. Known worldwide, he gives talks and workshops on both zero waste and how to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. Chris currently serves as Co-Stated Clerk for the Presbytery of Susquehanna Valley.

The Presbyterian Women of the Synod's LIGHTHOUSE current issue highlights many mission activities women are doing around the Synod including one from our own Presbytery--the PW at Morrisville Community Church.

Please read and pass to others in your congregation. Read Here.

Officer training for new Ruling Elders & Deacons

Officer training for new Ruling Elders & Deacons will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in-person "watch parties" at Walton United PC and at Union PC (Endicott), or remotely on Zoom.

The Rev. Pat Raube and theRev. Greg Garis will lead a training that is geared toward folks who are preparing for ordination as a Deacon or Ruling Elder, or those who were recently ordained. This training will also be a great refresher for anyone returning to active service as an officer in their congregation.

This training will be offered in hybrid format, with in-person “watch parties” at Union PC (Endicott) and Walton United PC as well as the option to join online via Zoom.

Please register at susvalpresby.org/register.

If your church would like to host another hybrid watch location, please contact Scott Kindig at cclefchair@susvalpresby.org or call the presbytery at 607-323-4477.

To join the meeting on Zoom, use this link: https://bit.ly/3Ve5mtR or call 1-646-558-8656. Zoom Meeting ID: 880 3204 2470, passcode: PSV

We would like to shine a spotlight on the amazing volunteers who answer the call at our Cayuga-Syracuse churches. If you would like to nominate a volunteer, please email caysyrnews@gmail.com and include the following information:

• Your Name
• Your Church
• Volunteer's full name
• Volunteer's email address
• Volunteer's duties
• Why you think this person should be spotlighted?

Nominated volunteers will be contacted via email to fill out a form and provide a photo. Spotlights will run in Presbytery Matters as they are received for the remainder of 2025.

If you have questions, please reach out to Communications Coordinator Sarah Buckshot at caysyrnews@gmail.com.

Register and Learn More

Download Flyer PDF

Attention Churches: Do you need event graphics created for social media and online use? Communications Coordinator Sarah Buckshot can help create graphics for you to share online. Do you need a Word Document or PDF converted to an image file for better sharing online? Sarah can help. Please don't hesitate to reach out and request a graphic at anytime! Sarah can be reached at caysyrnews@gmail.com

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.

Baby/Bridal shower? Organizational meeting? Yoga class?

Collamer United Church has a beautiful space for rent for your event!

The space's maximum occupancy is 140 with seating for 122 people. They also have a very nice commercial kitchen that is available for an extra charge. Please contact the church office for information at 315-463-4939.

New Breath Spirituality Center is pleased to offer a Spiritual Retreat to all who need

Space, Sabbath, Love, Retreat. For about $375 for food, lodging and Programming, join New Breath for "Loved By God' Spiritual Direction Retreat, to deepen your spiritual journey. Registrations due the end of February. https://www.newbreath.org

ANSWERING THE CALL: The First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia ordained and installed Elders and Deacons on Sunday. May they guide us faithfully this next year.

Nothing Special, It's Just Hard: Transformative Ministry in Every Setting

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

2:00 – 3:00 pm EST

Leader – Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster

Pastor Katrina Foster will share how each church she has served over 30 years was able to discern its unique and peculiar ministries, thus changing the focus and future of each congregation. Intensely collaborative, fearless and fun, transformative ministry is the call of each community of faith.

Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster is currently the Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She has been serving as a parish pastor for over 30 years in the Metropolitan New York Synod. She holds a Doctorate of Ministry focused on Stewardship, a Masters of Divinity and a BA in Religion/Philosophy and Sociology. She has been married since 1998 and lives in the Bronx. Pastor Foster loves to talk about Jesus and all we are called to do to share this good news!

Reinventing your Church or your Ministry for 21st Century Agility

Thursday, February 27, 2025

2:00 – 3:00 PM EST

Leader – Jim Merhaut

Change happens quickly these days; it's not your imagination. In the old days, major change in organizations happened when leadership was passed from one generation to another. Today, we can experience major organizational changes 15 times or more over the course of a career! Sometimes we change willingly through planning; other times we are plunged into it from outside forces like a pandemic. Reinvention is a field of study within the realm of managing organizational change, and it is a way to build a healthy change process into your church so that change becomes a friend and an ally that builds ministries that are powerfully transforming. It also helps you build an organizational immune system that will protect your church from those unexpected disruptions, like the pandemic. And there will be more things like that in the not-so-distant future. This webinar will help you get ready!

Jim Merhaut is an award-winning author, national speaker, internationally-known leadership trainer, and ICF-Certified Coach. He holds a Master of Science degree in Education from Duquesne University with an emphasis in adult formation. Jim has authored and co-authored several books and published dozens of articles and essays on leadership and ministry. Jim’s website is www.coachingtoconnect.com.

 Leadership for the Church in a Secular, post-Christian and pluralist social context.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

2:00 - 3:00 PM EDT

Leader - Gordon T. Smith

We need to read the times and rather than bemoaning the changes in our culture, we turn from regret and nostalgia and ask: what does it mean to be the church at this time and in this place?  And what does it mean to respond to our circumstances with creativity, theological integrity and resilient hope?

 Gordon T. Smith, Ph.D, is the executive director of Christian Higher Education Canada, a position he assumed after several decades in senior leadership in academic institutions.  He is also a Teaching Fellow at Regent College and has a number of publications including  Wisdom from Babylon:  Leadership for the Church in a Secular Age (IVPress Academic, 2020).

 Has American Christianity Become a Threat to American Democracy?

Thursday, March 13, 2025

2:00 – 3:00 pm EST

Leader – Matthew D. Taylor

Christian nationalism has been a major force in American politics since the country's beginnings, but, within the past decade, we have seen a marked shift in the tone and tenor of Christian nationalism. Who are the leaders and what is the theology behind this change? What does this shift signal about our changing politics and the balance of church and state?

Matthew D. Taylor is senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, where he specializes in American Christianity, American Islam, Christian extremism, and religious politics. His new book, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy (Broadleaf, 2024), tracks how a network of Christian leaders called the New Apostolic Reformation was a major instigating force for the January 6th Insurrection and is currently reshaping the culture of the religious right in the U.S. He is also the author of Scripture People: Salafi Muslims in Evangelical Christians' America (Cambridge, 2023). Taylor holds a PhD in religious studies and Muslim-Christian relations from Georgetown University and an MA in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He also serves as an associate fellow at the Center for Peace Diplomacy in New Orleans, where he works on preventing religion-related violence surrounding U.S. elections.

Talking with Kids About "These Times"

Date to come you can register.

Leader – Sara Pantazes

The start of the second Trump administration has been a whirlwind, with a general sense of fear and suffering on the rise. Many adults are having a hard time finding their way through it, let alone helping their kids who are listening, observing, and trying to make sense of it all too. This webinar will provide practical tips for faith leaders and parents to have conversations with children about these times we are living through and how they can respond as people of faith.

Sara Pantazes is the Director of Faith Formation at First Presbyterian Church of West Chester, Pennsylvania and the creator of the Young Justice Builders program. She has a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Union Presbyterian Seminary. She lives in southeastern Pennsylvania with her family.

Mandatory New York State Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Webinars

You can take this training any time during the year

charlaine@prcli.org

      Wednesday, March 5, 2025

10:30 AM – 12 PM EST

        Thursday, April 10, 2025

2 – 3:30 PM EST

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

Help Wanted: Church Organist for Rural Country Church



Position: Church Organist/Pianist

Location: Whitelaw Presbyterian Church, Canastota NY

Job Type: Part time - 5 hours weekly

"Whitelaw Presbyterian Church is seeking a skilled and dedicated organist to enrich our worship services with music. This role involves accompanying weekly services, special ceremonies (such as weddings and funerals), and family choir rehearsals 6:30 pm on Thursday. We are looking for someone who is musically proficient, dependable, and passionate about enhancing the worship experience through music."

Key Responsibilities:

• Play organ for weekly services and special church events
• Select and arrange hymns and music pieces in coordination with church leadership
• Support choir rehearsals 6:30 pm on Thursday
• Perform basic maintenance of the organ and report any issues

Qualifications:

• Proficiency in organ performance, sight-reading, and music selection
• Previous experience in a church setting is preferred
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Commitment to regular attendance and participation in church services and events

Compensation: Depends on Experience

How to Apply: Interested candidates are asked to call Donna Chapman, CLP at (315) 447-9196. Auditions will be part of the selection process.

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.

PC(USA) joins religious freedom lawsuit challenging ICE enforcement actions in churches

Plaintiffs hold a press conference to explain their interfaith effort to help protect all God’s children

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is among more than two dozen plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in response to a recission of the Department of Homeland Security’s “sensitive locations” policy.'

That policy had restricted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from conducting immigration raids, arrests and other enforcement actions at houses of worship.

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The case, Mennonite Church USA et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al., was filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) at Georgetown Law. View the lawsuit here.

A description of the PC(USA)’s ministry and mission is on page 15 of the lawsuit: “Guided by their call to welcome the stranger and belief in the inherent dignity of all people, PC(USA) actively advocates for and works toward more just immigration laws and processes.”

Continue reading...

Stated Clerk and Executive Director joins other national faith leaders in public support of sanctuary movement

The Rev. Jihyun Oh says PC(USA) recommits to compassion, accompaniment, safety and full dignity for migrant and immigrant siblings

The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency, joined with other national faith leaders to speak out for the PC(USA) through the General Assembly in support of the sanctuary movement in a media release published by Sojourners on February 6.  

“Looking to their sacred texts and faith traditions, religious leaders are declaring a moral vision to welcome immigrants and love of neighbors, rather than the extreme discriminatory policies rolled out by the Trump administration,” the media release states.

In the weeks since Inauguration Day, the Trump administration has released numerous executive orders aimed at “cracking down” on unauthorized immigration through raids and mass deportation efforts. A statement from the Department of Homeland Security published within hours of Trump taking office rescinded crucial “Sensitive Locations” policies that instructed immigration officials to refrain from apprehending individuals at or near churches, schools, and healthcare and social service facilities. 

The sanctuary movement is a national ongoing effort by churches, synagogues and other religious communities to accompany and offer protection to immigrants and migrants facing persecution, deportation, and other threats.

Continue reading...

The 2024 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) directed the national office of Christian Formation and Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, in collaboration with Research Services, to determine the current Christian education practices and resource needs in order to respond to those needs. They are to return to the next General Assembly with a proposal. The following survey is one way we are gathering information. Your response is important, and your time is much appreciated as you answer these questions. Take Survey Here.

Have a Blessed Week!