Welcome to this week's edition of our e-letter, Presbytery Matters. | |
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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 "Facebook" icon at the top of this newsletter.
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Joys and Concerns around the Presbytery | |
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In our prayers together this week:
- As winter weather hits our region, please pray for all those who are on the roads. Please pray for safe travels. Pray for warmth and safety. Keep plow truck drivers and those whose job it is to keep our roads and walkways clear in your prayers.
- Pray for all those who are battling COVID, the flu or another virus that is hitting CNY.
- Pray for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
- Keep all those who battling cancer 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; God’s Vision Christian Church, Hannibal; 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.
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From the Interim Resource Presbyter & Leader's Summit | |
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What Have We Got to Lose?
Responding to a question on changing culture, guest speaker Mark Elsdon commented that, “In a paradoxical way, the harder things get, the more opportunities there are for new things, in the sense there is less to lose.”
Our presbytery is not alone as we witness a decline in physical and financial stewardship. Nationally, only 42 percent of the population, whether Christian or another organized religion, now consider themselves religious. One might view this statistic through the lens of hopelessness, but I think the better question to ask is, ‘what might God be up to?’ To that end, I believe discernment requires community.
On February 3rd, the presbytery is hosting a Leader’s Summit at Northminster Presbyterian Church in North Syracuse. This event is intended for church leaders who share in the hope that God is not done with us, yet. The Rev. Dr. SanDawna Gaulman Ashley will be our keynote speaker. There will also be opportunities and resources for small church and rural congregations, opportunities to expand upon church officer training, along with workshops on being a Matthew 25 presbytery. In all, we have tried to create an event that addresses many of the areas you have expressed would be helpful for your congregation.
The event is free, but registration is required. I hope you will join us. There is nothing to lose, and so much to gain.
If you would like to listen to Mark’s presentation again,
click here: https://youtu.be/KVqmIMUotD0
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Topic: Clergy Network
Time: Feb 7, 2024 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/93988157544
Meeting ID: 939 8815 7544
(Note: The date for the Clergy Network was incorrect in the January 11th Presbytery Matters)
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By Marissa Saunders
Ruling Elder
Park Central Presbyterian Church
Syracuse, NY
I was honored and humbled to be selected and commissioned to attend the first ever Matthew 25 Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. I arrived at New Life Presbyterian Church not really knowing what to expect. Presbyterian leaders from all over were welcomed by
the Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett who gave us the three C’s of the Matthew 25 Summit: Clarity, Context and Connections. It was indeed all three of those things for me.
We were then led in worship by Ps Hodari Williams of New Life whose sermon, “Embrace the Invisible Among Us” challenged us to take off our cloaks of privilege and begin to acknowledge and see those who have been rendered invisible by society. The Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis of the Poor People’s Campaign took us on a journey during her keynote describing what a moral revival should and could look like in our lives and in our churches. Although she stated numerous things that I took with me there is one, "The opposite of poverty isn’t wealth but Justice" -- Bryan Stevenson will be carried in my spirit each day moving forward. Dr. William Yoo the Associate Professor of American Religious Cultural History at Columbia Theological Seminary, led us through a history lesson of our denomination and its impact on our nation from the 1800’s until now. It was powerful and heartbreaking all at the same time.
Each day after we met in the sanctuary for worship we went off to attend various workshops guided by the Matthew 25 Initiative. As I sat in the workshops I chose, I found myself angered, triggered, disappointed, motivated, blessed and so many other emotions all at one time. In the sessions I attended I found myself counting how many people in the room looked like me. Not many. I found myself checking in with myself to see how safe did I feel. Not very. I heard SOME of my white brothers and sisters continuing to move in the trying to ‘fix’ the marginalized without understanding the true impact of their actions or how to actually stand alongside their neighbors in a meaningful way that’s not a check box. It was hard to hear and to hold.
As I sit and continue to process the summit I have discovered the anger and disappointment continues to sit in and with me. I am still wondering how to hold and balance the call for and to justice while needing to hold compassion and empathy for those who may not yet understand it fully. All of this is difficult and necessary.
During one of the last workshops we were asked a question and charged with answering it in a way that included ACTION. I would like to leave that question here with you with a bit of my own addition to it: "Imagine a world without systemic poverty, congregational lifelessness, structural racism, militarism and climate change ... what would need to shift in YOU and in your church to get there?"
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Interim Resource Presbyter Announcements | |
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Under the new guidelines from the Book of Order, boundary training is required every three years for: Ministers of Word and Sacrament, Certified Christian Educators (CCE), Certified Christian Ruling Elders (CRE) and Inquirers before moving to candidacy.
The presbytery has contracted with SafeGatherings https://safegatherings.com for the online boundary training course. To learn more, or to register for the course, please contact your committee chair or the interim resource presbyter.
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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.
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Joy & Justice Education Series
Park Central in Syracuse received a ReKindle Grant from the Columbia Theological Seminary, which allowed the church to provide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) training with their congregational leadership and members in 2023. The funding also gives the church the ability to offer this training for FREE in the Spring to congregational leaders from other local Presbyterian churches.
The trainings are in-person at Park Central for 5 weeks, ending with an all day in-person retreat at Christ the King Retreat Center in Syracuse and is limited to 16 participants with 2 leaders from each church. There is required reading of two books, “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo and “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson. Additionally, participants are required to take the online Intercultural Developmental Inventory Assessment that identifies their individual level of cultural awareness. You can read more about this assessment at https://www.idiinventory.com.
The sessions, which will be held on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m., will start on April 8th and end on May 6th. The retreat will take place on May 18th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Light refreshments and lunch will be included.
If you are interested there is a virtual information session scheduled on Thursday, February 8th at 6 p.m. To register and receive the zoom link please send an email to niaministriesworldwide@gmail.com.
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SAFE AND WARM
Volunteers Needed!
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Pastor Barb Blom of Aurora has been working with Auburn community leaders and pastor Paris Price of the Harriet Tubman Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (formally Calvary Presbyterian) in the development of a warming center for homeless residents.
The center is now open Friday afternoons from 3 to 5 p.m.
Volunteers are needed. If you would like more information, please call 315-252-2000.
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Northminster did an Advent Study and they currently have 13 copies of the study book as well as the leader’s guide. The church would like to share them with another congregation to use next Advent Season, as they will not be doing the same study the next year.
The name of the study is “Experiencing Christmas” by Matt Rawle.
If a church is interested in these books, please contact the church office at (315) 458-0393 or by email at npc7444@nmpres.org.
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Northminster Presbyterian Church is beginning two new programs for children: Kids Connection and Crossroads. Kids Connection is designed to familiarize young children with stories in the Bible and help them through the early stages of a life-long, meaningful faith journey. Kids Connection is for children 4-6 years old and meets weekly on Tuesdays from 3:30 - 4:15, beginning January 30th. Crossroads is designed to engage youth in meaningful dialogue with scripture, helping them to see themselves in the stories and relate them to their own personal experiences, and develop a rich, lasting faith that will enrich their daily lives. Crossroads is for youth 7-12 years old and will meet weekly on Thursdays from 3:30 - 4:30 PM, beginning February 1st.
Please go to nmpres.org/youth-programs to register.
If you are interested in registering your child for either program but the time does not work for you, or if you have any other questions, please reach out to Kevin at minassoc@nmpres.org.
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Fellowship Hall Rental
The Collamer United Church fellowship hall is available for rent for special occasions, meetings, and other activities. Maximum capacity is 140. We have seating for 122 people. We also have a very nice commercial kitchen which is available for an extra charge.
Please contact the church office for information.
Collamer United Church
6865 Collamer Road
East Syracuse, New York 13057
(315) 463-4939
collamerunitedchurch@verizon.net
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Practical Resources for Churches Webinars | |
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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
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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.
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Around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | |
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Attendees of the PC(USA)’s Matthew 25 Summit report the gathering’s positive impact
One participant: ‘This Summit has strengthened my faith in other people, the Presbyterian Church and our gracious, loving God!’
By Beth Waltemath
Presbyterian News Service
“So much that was said went straight to my heart, and I am left inspired and dedicated to the work of Matthew 25 for months to come,” said Jennifer Morgan, ruling elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Madison, Wisconsin. “This Summit has strengthened my faith in other people, the Presbyterian Church as a whole, and our gracious, loving God!” said Morgan, who attended the Matthew 25 Summit with two other church members and a member of the staff at Covenant.
Morgan currently serves on session and works with the Adult Education Committee. She runs an anti-racism group for the church modeled on the 12-Step program. “I became seriously interested in racial justice issues a number of years ago,” said Morgan. “I didn’t want Covenant to just ‘check the box’ by becoming a Matthew 25 church, but really do something in our community,” said Morgan, who expressed gratitude to have the Matthew 25 Summit as a “shot in the arm to keep me going, as progress and finding ways forward have been slow.”
Continue reading...
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The PC(USA)’s favorite film critic selects his top 10 movies for 2023
‘The Color Purple’ tops Dr. McNulty’s rankings of films that explore spiritual and ethical issues
By Edward McNulty
Special to Presbyterian News Service
As always, it is difficult deciding on what were the best 10 films for the past year, especially when a few potential ones, such as Ava DuVernay’s “Origin,” have not yet opened in the Cincinnati-Dayton area. (A penalty for living in what Hollywood regards as “flyover territory!) However, we cannot wait, so below are the 10 out of the many fine films reviewed in Visual Parables this past year that illuminate spiritual and/or ethical issues.
The latter is the reason that this list, as always, diverges from the multitude of top 10 lists available in the secular media. Those films are based primarily on aesthetic or artistic values, with little or no concern for the spiritual aspects of a film. Not that aesthetics are not important to me — this is why few so-called faith-based films, with their intent at conversion and poor artistry, have made the list through the years. The films on this list are well-made. They do not just entertain us, but also lend themselves for the exploration of ethics and matters of the spirit.
Continue reading...
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P.O. Box 438, Syracuse 13214
(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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