Celebrating 200 Years Of Witness & Mission
2009 - A YEAR OF JUBILEE
for THE PRESBYTERY OF CAYUGA-SYRACUSE
The Presbyteries of Cayuga and Onondaga were formed on October 4, 1810 by the Synod of Albany meeting in Troy, NY. The Organizational Meeting of the Presbytery of Onondaga was held on Tuesday, October 30, 1810 in Onondaga Hollow (now Onondaga Valley PC) "with a sermon by the Rev. John Davenport, or the next senior minister present". The Organizational Meeting of the Presbytery of Cayuga was held on January, Wednesday, January 2, 1811 in Auburn "by a sermon by the Rev. J. H. Woodruff or in his absence by the next senior minister present".
Year of Jubilee, a definition: The fiftieth year following seven cycles of seven Sabbath years. Using the records of the Synod of Albany for both the Presbyteries of Cayuga and Onondaga, the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse can claim 1810 as its charter date. Using this starting date, our Jubilee Years are:
1859, 1909, 1959, and 2009.
2009 is our Jubilee Year as the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse!
The Jubilee Year
Leviticus 25:1-10
"The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the LORD. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the LORD: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. You may eat what the land yields during its sabbath--you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who live with you; for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food.
You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years. Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month--on the day of atonement--you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land.
And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family."
Jubilee Is A Year Of Release and Rest
In the Hebrew Scriptures
Release
Deuteronomy 15:1-6: Release of debts
Exodus 21:1-6; Deuteronomy 15:12-18: Release from slavery
Rest
Leviticus 25:11-12: "That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces."
Jubilee In Christ
Release
Luke 4:18-19: "When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ?The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' "
Rest
Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
What Jubilee Could Mean For The Presbytery
Inner Peace
Luke 18:18-30 (Release from materialism): "A certain ruler asked him, ?Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus said to him, ?Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother."' He replied, ?I have kept all these since my youth.' When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ?There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, ?How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.' "
Giving & Caring
Matthew 22:34-40: "When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ?Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?' He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Obedience to God
Joshua: 24:14-18: "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
Matthew 6:24: "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
Seeing God At Work
1 Corinthians 4:7: "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?"
Matthew 10:8: "Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment."
Mark 16:15-20: "And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it."
Greater Sharing of Ministry and Mission
Acts 1:1-8: "In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 6:1: "Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word." What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith."
Working for Justice
Matthew 25 34-46: "Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
What A Year Of Jubilee Might Look Like
Bible Study
Ezekiel - The "Prophet of Hope" to a people in Exile
Ephesians 4 - The Unity of the Body of Christ
The Rev. David Olsen
Series of Workshops on community building and relationships in congregations/presbytery.
Coordinating Council
Focus on Presbytery meetings to highlight the following:
Ø Worship
Ø Bible Study
Ø Leadership Development
Small task force on structure and staffing to be monitoring and identifying the spiritual discernment coming out of the Year of Jubilee.
Current Committees
Focus on their immediate and necessary tasks
Presbytery Meetings
Presbytery business limited by universal consent docket (only deal with the business the body wants to deal with during a limited time).
Draft Agenda for Tuesday Meetings
Ø 4 - 5:30 PM - The Enrichment of the People of God (Bible Study, Theological Dialogues, M&M Team Presentations, David Olsen)
Ø 5:30 - 6:30 PM - The Fellowship of the People of God around the Dinner Table
Ø 6:30 - 7:30 PM - The Work of the People of God
Ø 7:30 - 8:30 PM - The Worship of the People of God
Draft Agenda for Saturday Meetings
Ø 10 - 11:30 AM - The Enrichment of the People of God (Bible Study, Theological Dialogues, M&M Team Presentations, David Olsen)
Ø 11:30 - 12:30 PM - The Fellowship of the People of God around the Lunch Table
Ø 12:30 - 1:30 PM - The Work of the People of God
Ø 1:30 - 2:30 PM - The Worship of the People of God
THEOLOGICAL LISTENERS/REFLECTORS
In order to be intentionally sensitive to the urgings of the Holy Spirit, the Presbytery will invite four members of the Presbytery (one Minister of the Word, one Christian Educator, and two Elders) to be our Theological Listeners/Reflectors during the Jubilee Year.
While not excluded from participating in the Jubilee Year programs, these Theological Listeners/Reflectors will be asked to covenant with the Presbytery to record and share their observations, insights, and learning during the Jubilee Year.
They will be invited to make written reports of one page or less to the Presbytery at each meeting and will write a brief summary document at the end of the Jubilee Year.
Potential Resource Persons
for
Enrichment of the Presbytery
The Capital Region Theological Center
Variety of programs and presenters. Located in Albany.
The Rev. William Carter
Jazz and Worship. Stewardship. Member of the Presbytery of Lackawanna. Led Fig Tree Assembly, Pebble Hill. Spoke at Presbytery Day a few years ago.
The Rev. Thomas Castlen
Congregational Transformation. Pastoral Relationships. Coaching of Pastors. Retired EP of Long Island Presbytery.
The Center For Parish Development
Variety of programs and presenters. Located in Chicago
The Rev. Timothy Coombs
Congregational Transformation. Creative worship using power point. Member of Albany Presbytery.
The Rev. Dennis Dewey
Biblical Storyteller. Member of the Presbytery of Utica. Website: www.dennisdewey.org.
The Rev. Laurie Ferguson
Coaching of Pastors. Member of the Presbytery of Hudson River. Did her PhD on the impact of coaching for local pastors. Recently trained coaches for Detroit Presbytery.
The Rev. David Olsen
Samaritan Counseling Center, Albany. American Baptist. Conducted Boundaries Awareness courses for Fab 5 PPG of the Synod of the Northeast.
The Spiritual Renewal Center, Syracuse
To assist us in spiritual discernment
The Rev. Barbara Renton
Retired. Former EP of Susquehanna Valley Presbytery.
The Rev. Maryann & Paul Rhebergen
Consultants. Center for Parish Development.
Elder Barbara Wheeler
President, Auburn Theological Seminary. Member of the Presbytery of Albany.
12-3-08 David H. Johnson
