The GRAPEVINE - December 1, 2006

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	Clippings - November 2006 THE GRAPEVINE Sharing Good News of the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse December 1, 2006 "Equipping our churches to fulfill Christ's Great Commission" CLAY "PRES-REC" KARATE CLASS [Picture unavailable] Although summer is just a memory for the Central NY area, this picture from Clay Presbyterian Church reminds us of many successful youth programs or Vacation Bible Schools that were held throughout the Presbytery. The picture, snapped by Helen Paratore, is a Karate class that was part of the Clay Presbyterian Recreation Time ("Pres Rec" for short). The regimen helped to instill physical fitness discipline and to raise self-esteem. It was great fun, too! The program was held mid-week for seven weeks. The theme of "Around the World in Seven Days" provided an emphasis on seven countries, so that one day each was devoted to learning about the geography and culture of Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Malawi, North Korea, and the Philippines. Food and craft activities also reflected the country. There were several field trips, including the Museum of Science & Technology (MOST), the IMAX show about the Great Barrier Reef, miniature golf, and activities at Onondaga Lake Park. The children enjoyed everything, but expressed much enthusiasm over the exercise, Malawi dancing, and the final pizza party. Organizers were church members Natalie Nelson, Doris Teye and Marny Baker. Helpers were Helen Paratore, Barry Nelson and college student Amanda Kurey. and Sue Doran, Presbytery Mission Coordinator FOCUS ON: KOREAN PARTNERSHIP UPDATE LEADERSHIP DELEGATION It was an honor and privilege to travel with Maxine Hunter, Morrisville Community Church, and Linda Russell, Auburn Westminster Church, from Cayuga-Syracuse to Seoul, South Korea in order to spend time with brothers and sisters in Christ from the Pyongyang Presbytery. Rev. Edward Kang joined our delegation in Seoul to act as translator. On the trip I learned so much about Korean culture and history. One interesting tidbit?the name Seoul means "snow wall" because the city is surrounded by mountains that protect it from the heavy snow. Most importantly, I had the opportunity to share in worship services and experience the deep faith of Korean Presbyterians. One morning we attended a Prayer Service at the MyungSung PC. These services are held weekdays at 5, 6, 7 and 8:30 AM with a daily total of 50-60,000 attendees! Sunday morning we worshiped at HanSung PC; and were given the opportunity to visit with the Sunday School classes. Praising God with 5,000 Christians at a time is an experience I will never forget. We also attended the Pyongyang Presbytery meeting. Our PC (U.S.A.) validated partnership with this Presbytery is now in its 7^th year. There I learned that Pyongyang Presbytery is now the largest in South Korea: having 200 churches with a total of 230,000 members. I congratulated them and promised to share this exciting news upon my return home. I was privileged to speak before the semi-annual stated meeting. With Ed translating I was able to give thanks from our Korean War Veterans for the overwhelming hospitality they experienced during their free visit last June; give thanks for the joint mission projects we have worked on [China, Malawi, N. Korea]; and share some future mission, educational, and youth programs that our Korean M&M team is pursuing. At the close of my speech I presented a gift of a Christ Candle, suggesting that they would consider lighting it at Presbytery Meetings. My final words were: "In John 8:12 Jesus tells us, ?I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.' Please know YOU light up our lives as we continue to work together. God bless." My faith has deepened and God's light is shining a bit brighter since I had this opportunity to share with these wonderful people. My sincere thanks to the Korean M&M Team for making this trip possible. --Gail Y. Banks, Presbytery Moderator MISSION OPPORTUNITIES Korean War Veterans (10 for free) and spouses (cost of plane ticket) are invited to visit Korea as the guests of Pyongyang Presbytery, April 13-20, 2007. Members of Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery are invited to travel in a second delegation of ten members, April 13-20, 2007, to Pyongyang Presbytery, as part of the ongoing mission of the Korean Partnership M&M Team. Their itinerary will overlap that of the Veterans, but the theme and focus for this group will be Peacemaking. Volunteer position for person to lead English-speaking Bible study and provide programs for students and young adults in English at Dongshin Church, located in the heart of Hong Kong, China. This is a 350-member Korean church of residents working in the city. The church attracts many young people from its metropolitan setting. It is the central mission church of Pyongyang Presbytery in this area. The position is for one year of service (will consider a six-month term) and provides full room and board expenses but no salary. Contact Linda Russell 315-253-3331. Host family to provide a 3-month home-stay experience for a 9^th grade Korean boy April-June 2007 to help prepare him for boarding school in Texas beginning July 1. Host families to provide a 4-week home-stay experience for Korean high school students mid-July/mid-August 2007. (One week will be a Vanderkamp youth camp.) Host families for one or more of the four potential Global Partners (older youth) sponsored by our presbytery for one week, July 22-30, following Youth Triennium. For information or to volunteer for travel,hosting, planning, driving or helping, please call Sue Doran 315-245-0985. Mission: Choose to put Christ back in Christmas Make Your Own Mission Trip: Bring hope and help to our NYS southern tier neighbors. A 2-hour drive from Central NY will bring you to neighborhoods where nearly 4,500 families need your help to clean up and repair damage from June 2006 flooding. Gather willing workers and choose your own work schedule?come for a day, a weekend or longer. Men's groups, youth groups, Bible Study groups?all can be of help. Under age 16 must be accompanied by a parent. Up-to-date Tetanus shot required. Housing and meals are provided for out-of-town volunteers. Volunteers at the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery Mission Center will deploy your group where your skills can best serve our brothers and sisters who struggle to prepare for winter. Can you: remove debris, swing a hammer, scrub, repair plumbing, insulate, do sheetrock, cook for a crowd, work in an office? Call Lynn Shepard, SVP Mission Center, 12 Whitney Way, Bainbridge, NY 13733, 1-800-511-0086. Mississippi Mission III is the third team sent from Chittenango FPC to Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina, reports Rev. Dennis Doerr. This time members of Crossroads Church and Jamesville Federated Church joined the week of work and service. The following is an excerpt from the *First Pres News, Nov. 2006: "Why did we return again? Robin Roberts* of Good Morning America summed this up well when she wrote on the one-year anniversary of Katrina ?that of the 170,000 damaged homes, and of the 70,000 destroyed homes, only 5% have been repaired or rebuilt.' The Lord hasn't forgotten about these people and neither have we. The team worked on three different homes. They finished mudding and painting the front of Debbie and Boyd's home in Biloxi. The MM II team had finished the back half of their home in May. Another group worked on preparing an old trailer for a new family from the church, who had lost their home in the hurricane. The third group helped repair water damage and laid a new floor in the kitchen of a disabled woman facing serious health issues. All the homeowners were grateful and want YOU to know how much our coming has meant to them. The team would like to thank the congregation for their generous support of this trip. It gave $1,588 to send us with your ?Blessings for Biloxi' a third time." Excerpted from a thank you letter from Debbie and Boyd: "I am thanking the Lord for the beautiful people from Chittenango, NY?I never expected All of the work they did for us! You are All angels! If you could have seen Lilly when she got to pick out the color of her room?I have been going through depression off and on dealing with the house and then you guys came and helped us AGAIN, it was like a giant ray of sunshine was shining on us all and my heart began to smile again!!! (A really BIG smile!) There is no way to thank you enough! I am amazed that every single person that I met actually thanked me!! For letting them help us!! WOW unbelievable!! God is Good!! Thank you with all of our hearts! We Love You! God Bless You All!!" The Southern Comfort M&M Team has returned from a mission work trip in Luling, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. They will be helping to coordinate other trips, so please consider joining them or asking for information about how to send your own group. They are happy to share their experiences: Paul Dungey 315-253-3796 or: dungeypaulg@verizon.net and Sandi Yingling (who can also tell you about the upcoming mission trip to Campeche, Mexico in February 2007. Call her at 315-457-2259 or: slyingling@msn.com Sennett Federated Church sent Rev. Mark Keffer, Brian Chapman, Harry Hewitt, and 86-year-young Doug Riley to do home repair in Waveland, Mississippi. Their congregation had raised $2278 to provide for the missioners on a work trip arranged along with the Christian Missionary Alliance. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance reminds us that "the work in the Gulf Coast is far from over! Teams of people are needed for a Ministry of Hands and a Ministry of Heart." Call Linda Bates 228-604-2424 or: presbyrecovery@bellsouth.net Visit: www.pcusa.org/pda Make a special Christmas memory this year! [PICTURES UNAVAILABLE]: [L-R, above]: A banner created for the 1997 General Assembly held in Syracuse, was recently refurbished for the reception at FPC United, in order to honor Rev. Margaret Towner who had been ordained there in 1956. She was the first woman to be ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church in the USA. Members of FPCU, Diane Butler and Ellie Hunt, congratulate Rev. Towner upon her 50^th Anniversary of Ordination. [L-R, below]: Francesca Minale, a senior at Christian Brothers Academy, is flanked by proud parents Nick and Soyoung Minale after having received the 2006 Human Rights Youth Award for her service in education and fund raising events for Amnesty International. The family are members of The Korean Presbyterian Church of Syracuse. As a guest for a week of mission interpretaion in the Presbytery and hosted by The United Church of Fayetteville, Rev. Dr. Maqsood Kamil, a Presbytrerian minister and seminary professor in Pakistan, relaxes for a day at Niagara Falls before heading to New Jersey to speak about being an International Peacemaker and a Christian in his violent homeland. [L-R, above]: Rev. Changman Jang, Chair of the International Partnership Committee of Pyongyang Presbytery, South Korea, listens to a presentation by Elder Gail Y. Banks, Moderator of the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse, during the semi-annual presbytery meeting held in Seoul in October 2006. Rev. Edwin Kang, Honorably Retired, acted as translator for the visiting Leadership delegation. (The gold sign behind them had been left from a recent performance by the "Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.") [L-R, below]: Rev. Hyoung-Bae Cho (Associate Pastor of Rev. Jang's Rokwon PC) and his wife Og Gil ("Jackie") Huh, pose with Rev. Ed Kang, translator, Elder Maxine Hunter, Co-chair Korean Partnership M&M Team and member of Morrisville Community Church, Elder Gail Y. Banks, Moderator of the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse and member of Howlett Hill PC, and Elder Linda Russell, Co-chair Korean Partnership M&M and Christian Educator from Auburn Westminster PC. Behind them is the world map showing Korean Global Mission projects. They worshiped at MyungSung PC, the largest, having 80,000 members! AROUND GOD'S VINEYARD: Planting the Seeds: Welcome to Vicar Emilie Theobald, the new ECLA Intern for Atonement Lutheran Church. She will be working for a year with the ecumenical partnership that includes South PC and Onondaga Valley PC, and is also enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Roots & Shoots: The Form of Government Task Force was named at the 217^th General Assembly (2006) to consider a major revision of the first section of the Book of Order. This is the first revision to the Form of Government section since reunion in 1983. Their report must be completed by Sept. 2007. The initial drafts of the proposed changes were released on Oct. 25^th and may be seen at: http://www.pcusa.org/formofgovernment Transplanted: A new list of missionaries who have returned to the US and who may be asked to provide mission interpretation is available in the Presbytery Office 315-446-6110. Maturing Growth: On Nov. 10^th, there was a Service of Praise and a celebration at Liverpool FPC for the 10^th Anniversary of Joe Traver's sharing of his faith journey and God's call to personal ministry. Flowering Abundance: In the spring of 2006, Auburn FPC initiated a mission program called Muddy Hands Ministry that would involve several projects during the year. The first project was to build and install benches and a permanent campfire pit at Vanderkamp. A fundraiser to help cover the cost was a spaghetti dinner. Tom Hall, Executive Director of Vanderkamp Center, expressed great appreciation for the completion of the project. Pictures of the workers may be viewed at www.1stpresbyauburnny.com Harvesting the Bounty: Mark Pederson and Catherine Byrne from Auburn FPC presented an organ/piano duet concert at the Willard Memorial Chapel on Aug. 30^th. Mark has been the organist at FPC since he was sixteen. Catherine is the Christian Education Director. Their selections included sacred pieces, two songs from The Sound of Music, and a special arrangement of America. The concert concluded the summer noontime series. Community Tendrils: As a result of its "Tools & Blankets" collection, Church World Service/Upstate NY awards blanket banners to the top 20 churches in the region, based on per capita giving. Three of our presbytery's congregations won: #6: Chittenango FPC, #13: Amboy Belle Isle United Church and #14: Marcellus FPC. Eight others were Presbyterian, too! Happy Birthday to CWS on its 60^th this year; and Upstate NY on its 30^th. For better ideas to celebrate giving at Christmas, order their free "Alternative Holiday Market Packet", that contains instructions for your congregation to hold an alternative holiday fair, a poster, gift vignettes, the "Best Gift Catalog" and an order form for gift cards. Call 888-297-2767 or marnett@churchworldservice.org For other alternative gifts that will benefit artisans around the world through fair trade agreements for the price of their work, visit the Fair World Marketplace in Dewitt Plaza, near the corner of Erie Blvd. at 4471 East Genesee St. Needed Francis House: a vibrant, warm and loving home for persons who are terminally ill, is in need of 100 volunteers. It is a most rewarding ministry with a variety of service that may interest you. Speakers are available for your group. Call Christine Collins 315-475-5422 or info@francishouseny.org Resource "Starting & Supporting Single Adult Ministries": Call 800-524-2612.$7.99 for PDS #70-270-04-007 or: www.pcusa.org/marketplace In Memoriam Rev. Robert R. Hooper, Honorably Retired, died on Nov. 8^th. He served congregations in Great Neck, Long Island, 25 years at the Hannibal Community Church, four years in Tunkhannock, PA, and most recently as a supply pastor at the New Haven, NY, Congregational Church. He is survived by his wife Rita and sons David (Courtney) Hooper of Austin, TX, and James (Alyssa) Hooper of Farmington, and his brother Richard (Lorraine) Hooper of Ohio. A funeral service for a "packed house" was held on Nov. 11 at the Hannibal Community Church, with a reception provided afterwards at the Hannibal Methodist Church next door. Interment was in the Hannibal Village Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Vanderkamp Ecumenical Camp Association, Martin Road, Cleveland, NY, the Hannibal Community Center, Hospice of Oswego County or the church of your choice. Cards may be sent to the family at 316 Rochester St., Hannibal, NY 13074 Employment Administrative Assistant: PT, with bookkeeping, secretarial and computer skills. Send resume to: Personnel, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 17 William Street, Auburn, NY 13021 Organist: PT, for Sunday services, Wednesday rehearsal, and special events. Northminster PC, North Syracuse. Call 315-458-0393. Volunteer Handbell Choir: new members welcome from the community at large. It is not a huge commitment and it's great fun. There are no prerequisites to join and church membership is not required. Rehearsals are Thursdays from 7-8 PM; performances in church about once a month. Contact Syracuse FPC United Music Director, Susan Sady at 315-793-0649 or ssady@adelphia.net Westminster Manor The Board of Directors of Westminster Manor wishes to thank two churches for support of our senior living facility in Auburn, New York. Sennett Federated Church has just pledged a yearly amount for this facility that is truly appreciated. Auburn Westminster PC let us use their beautiful facility for a benefit concert by the Master's Touch Chorale that was a great success. This church also gave the Manor a grant toward the new handicapped-accessible front doors that were recently installed. We are so grateful for their support. Westminster Manor provides a comfortable home-like atmosphere for those elderly adults who no longer can be in their own homes. If you would like to learn more about this facility, please contact Executive Director David Lansford at 315-252-0507. In Thanksgiving "I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers." [Ephesians 1: 16] Recently, I had the opportunity to thank someone who indirectly made it possible for me to answer God's call to be a minister. The Rev. Margaret Towner set an historical precedent on Oct. 24, 1956, when she became the first woman to be ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PCUSA. As she was ordained right here in our own presbytery at FPC United in downtown Syracuse, the Presbytery hosted a reception for her on Oct. 15. As a female pastor myself, I appreciate the courage and efforts of Rev. Towner and other women like her, who opened the doors for all women who are called by God to serve in ordained ministry; and so I was honored to meet her. No sooner had I offered my thanks for making it possible for women today to be accepted in this traditionally male-oriented profession and calling, when she surprised me by offering thanks in return. "Thanks for carrying on the vision," she said, "and for making the struggle worthwhile. Thank you for answering God's call and continuing on the work of ministry." I couldn't believe it. This trail-blazing, courageous, and remarkable woman thanked ME! What an example of humility, faith, and gratitude for God's blessing, being passed on to another. Her attitude of thanksgiving was not only an example to follow, but it uplifted my spirits as well, and reaffirmed my calling as she blessed me with her kind words?What a better world this would be if we all remembered to thank God and each other for these blessings in our lives?I invite you to join me in making it a daily goal..."Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." [1Thessalonians 5: 18] --Rev. Debra Thomas, Weedsport FPC, Excerpted from "The Steeple Chimes," November 2006 MAY THE JOY THAT GOD BROUGHT TO THE WORLD IN THE FORM OF A BABY NAMED JESUS RESIDE IN YOUR HEART NOW AND ALWAYS! Mary said, "My heart praises the Lord; my soul is glad because of God my Savior, for he has remembered me, his lowly servant! From now on all people will call me happy, because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me. His name is holy; from one generation to another he shows mercy to those who honor him." [Luke 1: 46-50] Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Staff of the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse Earl Arnold Sue Doran Dave Johnson Janet Newman Renee Perry Mark Peters Linda Russell July 18, 2006: The last gathering of the full Presbytery staff ("full" from eating a Farewell Lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse for Rosemarie Sandford before she married and moved to Iowa!) Pictured L-R: Rev. Earl Arnold, Stated Clerk; Sue Doran, Mission Coordinator; Rose Sandford, Administrator; Rev. David Johnson, Executive Presbyter; Rev. Janet Newman, Volunteer in Peace & Justice; Linda Russell, Volunteer Resource Center Coordinator; W. Renee Perry, Bookkeeper; not pictured: Mark Peters, Treasurer.