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End of Summer Prayer

While living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, each year, we waited in anticipation for the end of the summer festival Kipona. The annual event marked the long dog days of summer would be replaced with the cool days of fall and the ensuing winter snow. Like clockwork, the air felt as if someone had turned a dowel. The word Kipona comes from the Pennsylvania Susquehannock and Shawanese tribes, meaning “sparkling water.” Many residents enjoyed the festival, arts, music, food, and fireworks. Our souls were refreshed. We did not grieve summer’s passing. The new season was filled with its own level of excitement. Ahead was the beginning of the Christian Education Year. The Church would hold its annual Blessing of the Children Service. Educators and church school teachers would be commissioned. Congregations would plan special services. The smell of burning wood was just weeks away. The holidays were coming, and although I did not look forward to the pressure. I looked forward with joy to planning the ways in which the Church would spread the Gospel message.

As you plan for the new Christian Education Year I offer this prayer:

           God of eternal hope, into what shall be, come. Come to the place where hopes reside, where dreams are waiting to take flight, and the places deep within us that long for inspiration. You are called Dayspring and a living well, refresh us like sparkling water.

Through the Holy Spirit, make us one in spirit and purpose. Give us a posture of hopefulness. Though things have changed, and the future is unknown, nothing escapes your knowing. You have promised that each of our lives will be filled with your grace. So, we claim your promises of care, provision, and intervention.

           Future God, although the seasons change your love for us abides forever. Let this knowledge shape what we do next and how we live in the world. With new hearing, attune our ears to your voice heard from the margins of society. Let not our place of comfort blind us from the need to keep working for justice. Give strength to our voices as we proclaim the power of the Gospel to transform life and the conditions in which evil, exploitation, domination, scarcity, and fear for too long have diminished the humanity of so many.

           God, who gifts your servants as earthen vessels, live within us, making us bold in our love for the Gospel and that which is eternal. For the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and in his name we pray. Amen

Empowering Young Advocates for Stronger Communities

The Synod of the Northeast is pleased to announce the creation of the "PC(USA) Young Adult Advocacy Scholarship" to support two outstanding young adults in attending the Young Adult Advocacy Conference in Louisville, Kentucky October 20-22, 2023. This scholarship aims to foster a commitment to advocacy and social justice within the PC(USA) community. The conference focus is on gun violence control and the intersections of faith and advocacy. During the conference, participants will attend workshops on how to advocate in the church, school, your local community, and around the globe.

Scholarship Details:

- Event: PC(USA) Young Adult Advocacy

- Dates: October 20-22, 2023

- Scholarships Available: 2

- Coverage: The scholarship will cover travel expenses, lodging, meals, and event registration.

Eligibility Criteria:

- Applicants must be active members of the PC(USA), aged between 18 and 30.

- Applicants must demonstrate a strong passion for advocacy and social justice issues.

Essay Requirements:

To apply for the PC(USA) Young Adult Advocacy Scholarship, candidates are required to submit a 1-page essay addressing the following topics:

1. Why Advocacy is Important to the Applicant: Describe your understanding of advocacy and its significance in creating positive change within communities. Share personal experiences or examples that highlight your commitment to advocating for justice and equality.

2. How the Church Can Be a Better Advocate for Its Communities: In your opinion, what steps can the PC(USA) take to become a more effective advocate for its communities? Consider strategies, resources, and initiatives that could strengthen the Church's engagement in advocacy efforts.

Application Deadline:

The deadline for submitting the essay is no later than August 31, 2023. All essays should be sent via email to Nichol Burris, the Administrative Coordinator of the Synod of the Northeast, at nichol.burris@synodne.org.

Selection Process:

A committee of representatives from the Connectional Ministry of the Synod of the Northeast will review all applications. The committee will assess each essay based on clarity, originality, and the applicant's dedication to advocacy. Scholarship recipients will be notified via email by September 20, 2023.

We are excited to offer this scholarship opportunity and look forward to receiving inspiring essays from young advocates who are committed to making a positive impact on their communities. Together, we can build a stronger, more just society through passionate advocacy and active engagement.

For any inquiries or additional information, please contact the Synod of the Northeast at info@synodne.org.ylaws

A New Hymn for Immigrants

A new hymn written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette when she was serving as the August 12-19, 2023 chaplain in the Presbyterian House at Chautauqua Institution.

This hymn is based on the Old Testament reading for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, August 27, 2023. 

There Came a Time in Egypt

AURELIA 7.6.7.6 D ("The Church's One Foundation")

There came a time in Egypt when Joseph wasn’t known—

when people had forgotten the seeds of help he’d sown.

With immigrants increasing, the leaders lived in fear.

That fear turned into murmuring: “We do not want them here!”

The rulers told the midwives, “Don’t let their numbers grow.”

But Shiphrah said, with Puah, a quiet, faithful, “No!”

When they were tasked with killing, they saved the baby boys.

God, may we, too, be willing to challenge what destroys.

O God, you sent us Jesus who said, “Take up your cross!”

He taught that faithful living will often have a cost.

He taught us to be daring, creative, wise and strong—

to make the world more caring, to challenge what is wrong.

When immigrants are struggling, when children live in fear,

when forces of destruction are threatening people here,

God, make us like those women, and may we seek to be

the ones who usher life in, till all are whole and free.

Biblical References:  Exodus 1:8-2:10; Matthew 16:24-26

Tune: Samuel Sebastian Wesley, 1864 

Text: Copyright © 2023 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.

Permission given for free use of this hymn to churches, including streaming online.

Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has served churches in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey; these churches have been in small town, suburban and inner-city settings.  She has also served as a chaplain for a hospital and several hospices.  Carolyn has written over 400 hymns that have been sung in churches in all 50 states, six continents, published in more than 20 books (including four of her own) and on over 10,000 websites.  The Christian Century, Sojourners, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS-TV and NPR have all done feature stories on how her hymns relate faith to contemporary concerns.  Carolyn and her husband Bruce are pastors of the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, NY, have three adult children and five grandchildren.

Read Article Here

https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/pcusa-hymnwriter-celebrates-resourceful-hebrew-midwives-and-laments-the-dangers-immigrants-face/

September Commission Meeting and Retreat

The synod will hold its September 15-16 commission meeting at Honors Haven Retreat and Conference, 1195 Arrowhead Rd, Ellenville, NY 12428.  As agreed by the Commission earlier this year, we will retreat as a commission beginning at noon on September 14th and continuing until lunch on the 15th.  If you have not registered yet, please do so.  The synod is obligated to pay for the rooms we have reserved unless we hear otherwise from you by the end of this month. 

https://synodofthenortheast.wufoo.com/forms/md28wt00o40k7/

PJC Training This Fall

Attention all Presbytery PJC members, Mid Council Leaders, members of COM as well as anyone else who believe you can benefit from attending a training on the new Book of Order Church Discipline (the old Rules of Discipline section):  You are welcome to attend either one of the three in-person trainings or the virtual training the synod has planned.  Elder Flor Velez-Diaz, Manager of Judicial Process and Social Witness and Assistant Stated Clerk for the Office of the General Assembly will provide the training.  If you have not had the opportunity to attend one of her trainings, she is excellent.  You will learn much.

In person trainings will take place in three locations:

October 16th – Ramada Inn in Albany, 3 Watervliet Ave Ext, Albany, NY

October 17th – First Presbyterian Church, 97 East Genesee St, Skaneateles, NY

October 19th -- First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown, 320 North Main Street, Hightstown, NJ

All in-person trainings will take place between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.  Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. The Synod will provide lunch at each location. If you have not registered, please do so to help those planning the day.

https://synodofthenortheast.wufoo.com/forms/m1m723zc1tsnrql/

Virtual training:

Flor Velez-Diaz will conduct three two-hour virtual training sessions via Zoom on November 1st, November 6th, and November 14th from 6 to 8 p.m.  Each session builds on the previous one.  In other words, to complete the entire training you will need to attend all three sessions.   At Flor’s, these sessions will not be recorded.

Please register for the virtual training sessions by clicking this link:

https://synodofthenortheast.wufoo.com/forms/mx2tclp1lr03eb/

Co-moderators name special committee to consider a new confession

The Co-Moderators of the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have appointed 16 individuals to serve on a special committee to consider a new confession. The Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis and the Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace announced the appointees Monday.

Last year, the 225th General Assembly initiated a process asking that a new confession be written and to take under advisement the work of the Synod of the Northeast. The assembly also mandated that the special committee be formed no later than December 2024.

Fire at Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, NJ

Montclair residents are mourning the loss of a nearly century-old church to a massive fire, which destroyed a place that had hosted countless weddings, baptisms and community gatherings.

Firefighters battled Tuesday's blaze at Grace Presbyterian Church, but its infrastructure sustained heavy damage. The roof collapsed shortly after fire was seen brimming through the top, and the sanctuary was reportedly devastated by flames.