Home

Meet the Staff

News Updates

Mission Statement

Mission & Ministry

Resource Center

List of Churches

Find a Committee

Resources

Employment

Directions to Office

Guest Book

Links



Highlights - January 2008 Highlights - 2007 Archive Presbytery & Coordinating Council Meeting Schedule

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ANNUAL STATED MEETING OF
THE PRESBYTERY OF CAYUGA-SYRACUSE
1 April 2008

The First United Church of East Syracuse hosted the Annual Stated Meeting of Presbytery.  Moderator Dan DeBrucker called the meeting to order with prayer.  The Rev. Kathleen Waters welcomed presbyters to the church and outlined the 120-year history of the United Methodist and Presbyterian churches that merged in 1972.

The Presbytery:

  • Viewed a video and heard a report about the February work trip by youth from the Latin America Mission Project (LAMP) M&M Team to Hopelchen, Mexico to extend the roof of the educational wing of a church and to conduct classes in their Vacation Bible School;
  • Heard from the Older Adult Ministry M&M Team about a camping program for Seniors at Vanderkamp, June 23 - 27;
  • Voted to provide $1,100 to help cover the cost of the event being held by the Confirmation Retreat Weekend M&M Team on May 2 - 3 at Vanderkamp;
  • Voted to provide $825 toward expenses of the Overture Advocate from the Inclusive Church M&M Team to support at the General Assembly the overture on "Discerning Ordination Standards" that the Presbytery approved in January;
  • Voted to provide $4,800 toward the expenses of the fourteen delegates from Pyongyang Presbytery who will be coming to our Presbytery in May under the auspices of the Korean Partnership M&M Team;
  • Heard that a new Multicultural Ministries Team has been established and that funds from the Congregational Vitality Fund will be used to send three members of the Team for training to the 2008 Multicultural Ministries Conference and the pre-conference training event on April 9-13, 2008 San Antonio, Texas;
  • Heard from Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery about their Spring Gathering on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles;
  • Received a summary of membership statistics reported by church for 2007 indicating that the membership of Presbyterian churches in the Presbytery has dropped from 6103 to 5695 in 2007, including the loss of 123 members in the two churches that closed in 2007;
  • Approved a process for training and deploying Commissioned Lay Pastors;
  • Approved salary changes for pastors serving churches in the Presbytery;
  • Heard changes in upcoming meeting dates, including a July meeting of the Presbytery on Tuesday, July 15 and Presbytery meetings on Saturday, September 20 and Saturday, November 15;
  • Elected Brian Karalunas (Onondaga Valley, Syracuse) as Youth Advisory Delegate to the General Assembly and Micaila Herd (Liverpool) as Youth Advisory Delegate to the Synod of the Northeast;
  • Reversed the decision of the Coordinating Council to make the transcript of the disciplinary trial conducted in August 2007 available for inspection;
  • Instructed the Coordinating Council to consider how the Council might be reconstituted and to report its recommendations to the Presbytery at an early meeting;
  • Amended the Standing Rules to re-create an Overtures and Records Committee;
  • Praised God in worship, led by Moderator Dan DeBrucker and Vice-Moderator Scott Cupp.

submitted by Earl Arnold, Stated Clerk