On December 31st, the First Presbyterian Church of Waverly ceased to exist and we could not be happier!

Transcription

1 On December 31st, the First Presbyterian Church f Waverly ceased t exist and we culd nt be happier! The Waverly church was funded in 1847 as a missin church f the Athens, PA Presbyterian church. As anyne wh has lived in what we call The Valley wuld tell yu, it is hard t knw when yu pass frm Waverly t Suth Waverly t Sayre t Athens withut the signs. Over the years we have wrked with ur brthers and sisters at the Sayre and Athens Presbyterian churches n all kinds f missin prjects and wrship services. A year and a half ag Susquehanna Presbytery ffered churches the pprtunity t participate in the New Beginnings prgram. All three churches were already infrmally talking abut what we culd d t cperate mre, and participating in New Beginings was the next lgical step. Last spring, at the cnclusin f that prcess each f the cngregatins had independently decided that we needed t becme ne.

2 After a jint wrship service in July we had a three-in-ne cngregatinal meeting and vted 100 t 3 t merge int ne cngregatin n January 1st Valley United Presbyterian Church. We have nt lked back but rather are lking frward t what Gd is calling us t d in ur cmmunity. A PNC has been frmed and is hard at wrk lking fr a new pastr t lead us in ur new life tgether. Bth Presbyteries have supprted us in a fantastic manner as we mve frward int ur new ministry we will intially remain cnnected t bth. We see utselves as having a unique pprtunity t bring tgether nt nly ur churches but ur higher gverning bdies as we seek t d mre tgether than we ever culd apart. ====================================================== A Calendar f Prayer like the GA Missin Yearbk but fr ur Presbytery March 9 Laurens Judi Gage, Cmmissined Lay Pastr 16 Valley United (Waverly) 23 Crtland Christ Cmmunity Janet Adair Hansen, Pastr 30 Aftn Prayers Dear Friends, there are many in ur hearts and in ur prayers, may we hld in prayer clleagues and their families Cndlences Richard Lake, retired RCA pastr, past crrespnding member f SVP, frequent pulpit supply in ur cngregatins, and belved pet, went n t Glry n Tuesday (March 4). Please pray fr his wife, Phyllis, and the Lake family, fr the cmfrt f the Resurrectin. Service arrangements have nt yet been made. Prayers f healing Rev. Patricia Raube f Endictt-Unin underging surgery fr repair t her knee Rev. Bb Heinle at large member as he recvers frm brken leg Rev. Mark Piedmnte f Gilbertsville & Garrattsville wh cntinues t recver frm surgery Brenda Peak (wife f Rev. Rbert Peak f Jhnsn City) Cathy, Judi Gage s mther ================================================== Please cntact Cmmittee n Ministry c-chairs, Mark Mntfrt and Patricia Raube if yu have a pastral care cncern r need. =========================================================

3 Ethipian Partnership Team The Ethipian Partnership Team lks frward t reprting t the Presbytery at its May 31st Assembly. In the meantime, please click n this link: (r cpy and paste in yur brwser) t see a 15-minute presentatin f ur February trip. A full presentatin, with time fr questin and answers, has been scheduled fr Nineveh Presbyterian Church n Sunday, March 23rd, at 12:30pm. Yu're welcme t jin us then; we als hpe t schedule presentatin times in cngregatins n the east and west ends f the Presbytery. Stay tuned! Emrys Tyler, emrystyler@gmail.cm ===================================================== Lawyer ffering free wills (r updates) t teaching Elders Recently I learned that a clleague in ministry preparing fr retirement des nt have a will. I am sure he is nt alne. As part f his ministry Ruling Elder Ott Rthermel, a lawyer and member f the Red Dr Church in Onenta, ffers his services fr free t create r update simple Wills, Pwers f Attrney and Health Care Prxies fr any member r friend f the cngregatin wh plans t leave a minimum f 5% t the church. When I tld him abut ur clleague, he readily agreed t extend his ffer t all Teaching Elders in the Presbytery. The minimum 5% can be t any Presbyterian church(es), the Presbytery, r PCUSA prgram r ministry. As Ott ften tells us: If yu d nt have a will, yu re nt alne. Over half f all Americans d nt have ne. Withut a will, the State will determine where yur assets g and wh will raise yur children. My bet is that we all can make better chices than the State. In fact, withut a will, the State will appint an administratr t handle yur estate, further depleting yur assets and deferring the assets frm thse yu wuld like t receive them. Withut a will, n assets will be given t a charitable rganizatin, n matter hw imprtant that rganizatin was t yu during yur life time. The reasn s few peple have wills is nne f us like t think abut ur wn mrtality. Hwever, I ask yu t cnsider hw ften during ur Jys & Cncerns we hear abut thse wh die way t yung. If yu already have a will, yu may need t review it -- especially if yur children are grwn; if yu ve lst yur spuse; have divrced r remarried; r if yu re net wrth has increased r decreased substantially. If yu dn t think need a will fr yurself, d it fr yur family. Yu, rather than the State, can determine what gifts yu will leave t yur family, friends, r favrite charities. Ott Rthermel may be reached at (607) r rthermel@rthermellaw.cm The Presbyterian Fundatin ffers several tls t help yu rganize infrmatin and recrd yur pssessins as yu prepare t meet with an attrney. G t: May the peace f the Lrd increase fr yu knwing that yur affairs are in rder.

4 Blessings, Cynthia Waltn-Leavitt Pastr at the Red Dr Church ======================================================== Cme hear abut 21st century missin wrk in Krea! On Friday, April 4, Kurt and Hyeyung will be at United Presbyterian Church 42 Chenang St., Binghamtn, NY fr an evening presentatin. They will tell abut their experiences wrking with ur missin partners in Krea, and they will highlight pprtunities fr yung Americans t serve as Yung Adult Vlunteers in this cuntry and abrad. The evening begins with dinner at 5:30pm, fllwed by prgram at 6:30 pm. T reserve yur place fr dinner: call (607) by March 30. Please click here fr brchure: Missin Wrk in Krea ================================================ Need a cpier? The United Presbyterian Church has a Knica 7020 Cpier "fr the asking". It is an lder mdel but still wrks well. It may need a servicing after a perid f nn-use. First cme, first served. Call the Church Office at ====================================================== Save the Date! fr Leadership Develpment Day Fellwship * Plenary * Wrkshps * Resurces Saturday, March 22, 2014 at First Presbyterian Church 296 Main Street, Onenta Questins in the meantime, cntact a planning team member: Judi Gage at 607/ r jagage93@gmail.cm Sarah Hker at 607/ r fpcpastr@delhitel.net Mark Mntfrt at 607/ r mark.mntfrt@gmail.cm Garrett Schindler at 607/ r garrettschindleer@gmail.cm Cynthia Waltn-Leavitt at 607/ r cynuff@stny.rr.cm ================================================== Tw Friends Training fr Alzheimer's Triathln

5 Tw friends are teaming up t make a difference as they cmpete in a triathln t raise awareness f and funds fr the wrk f the Alzheimer's Assciatin. Marin Weisse f Lckwd and Rev. Cynthia Huling Hummel,f Elmira are training fr the Indr Warrirs Triathln that will be held n April 6th at Gld's Gym in Liverpl, NY. The event includes swimming, running and biking. Bth athletes are cmmitted t raising awareness as well as funds. Fr Huling Hummel, the event is very persnal: She is cmpeting fr herself and fr lved nes. In 2011, she was diagnsed with Amnesiac Mild Cgnitive Impairment, a precursr t Alzheimer's disease. Because f cgnitive difficulties, she had t leave her psitin as the Pastr f the First Presbyterian Church f Waverly. Despite her disability, she leads a full and active life, vlunteering at and fr lcal rganizatins and ding what she can t help. She is als auditing classes at Elmira Cllege. Huling Hummel serves n the Early Stage Advisry Cuncil fr the Alzheimer's Assciatin and is a Peer-t-Peer cunselr. She has als been participating in an Alzheimer's clinical trial fr the past three years. Alzheimer's runs in her family. Her mther, maternal grandmther and uncle all were diagnsed with the disease. Her hpe and prayer is that a cure fr Alzheimer's and ther dementias will be fund. As a nurse, Marin Weisse wrked with many Alzheimer's patients and their families. She saw first hand hw it affects the patient and their families. One clear memry while admitting a patient t a lng term care psychiatric unit in 1983, has stayed with her. The wmen came in with her family and grandchildren. Her yung granddaughter came back by herself the next day and her grandmther had n idea wh she was. All f us deal with lss f lved nes every day. But lsing their memry f their life is especially hard. As fr the triathln, this presents a new challenge fr Weisse, wh said, " Running fr ten minutes, swimming fr 10 minutes and bicycling fr 30 minutes shuld be fun and it is fr a very wrthy cause. We need t find a cure fr Alzheimer's and find ways t effectively treat it befre peple lse their memries frm their life." T spnsr the wmen, please visit the website fr the event: Click n the Indr Warrir event and select Athlete Registratin is Open Yu may als mail yur check t the Alzheimer's Assciatin Central New Yrk. 441 West Kirkpatrick Street, Syracuse, NY Fr additinal infrmatin n the event, please call Grant Fletcher at ========================================================== Minutes in Secnds Digest f Actins Taken at the Stated Meeting f The Presbytery f Susquehanna Valley First Presbyterian Church f Delhi, Saturday March 1, 2014

6 Presbytery Mderatr Judi Gage (Laurens) pened the assembly with prayer at 9:06 am. A qurum was present 26 churches were represented by Ruling Elder Cmmissiners, 24 Teaching Elders, 3 Cmmissined Lay Pastrs, 4 Ruling Elders with vte due t ffice, and 22 visitrs r hst church helpers. First time cmmissiners were intrduced. The Rev. Paul E.C. Hamiltn (Episcpal Priest) was intrduced as a guest and seated as an bserver. The ttal enrlled attendance was 79. Hst Pastr, the Rev. Sarah Hker gave a welcme and directins abut the building, histry rm and mealtime. Wifi is weak/unavailable in the sanctuary, s peple needing it beynd the rm were directed t cnsult Bea Mney. The Agenda was apprved and the Minutes f Nv. 2, 2013 were apprved with date crrectins in the COM reprt and editrial crrectin t a name in the rll. The Rev. Cynthia Waltn Leavitt reprted fr the Cmmittee n Lay Preaching and distributed a written reprt that was nt previusly available. N instructr was fund fr New Testament this semester s several participants are using an nline New Testament curse available thrugh Princetn Seminary. Cabin Hill has issued a challenge gift f $500 t the training prgram, encuraging ther churches t d likewise. Presbytery acted n the reprt f the Nminating Cmmittee given by Lynn Shepard electing: Ruling Elder Tm Bnne(Crtland UP) t the Cabinet, class f 2016 (term 2) Ruling Elder Charles Bllinger(Laurens) t the Cabinet, class f 2016 (term 1) Ruling Elder Linda Breffle(Jhnsn City) t Cmmittee n Lay Preaching, class f 2016 Teaching Elder Pat Raube(Unin Endictt) as c chair Cmmittee n Ministry Teaching Elder Lisa Ruth Mays(Waltn) t the Cmmittee n Ministry, class f 2015 (term 1) Teaching Elder Jared Stephens(Stamfrd) t the Cmmittee n Representatin, class f 2016 (term 1) Teaching Elder Sarah Hker(Delhi, First) t the Synd f the Nrtheast, class f 2015 (term 1) There were n nminatins frm the flr. A mtin t revise class years fr the Cmmittee n Lay Preaching was adpted, and later in the meeting, amended again, adjusting class years fr these cmmittee members: Janet Schwengber t 2014, Chris Hker t Since n YAAD t GA was nminated, later under new business, a mtin was apprved t empwer Cabinet t appint a Yung Adult Advisry Delegate t the General Assembly if an applicatin is received. Ruling Elder Sarah Erckert(Nineveh) reprted fr the Ethipian Partnership Team, reading an additinal reprt frm the grup which has just returned frm visiting Ethipia. The quarterly reprt f the team was available in printed frm[#5]. If yu wuld like t schedule a presentatin n the visit t Ethipia at yur church, cntact Emrys Tyler.

7 There were n reprts frm Preparatin fr Ministry, Christian Nurture r Justice in Missin. Stated Clerk Jim Martin (Andes) presented his written reprts. There have been a number f changes t the by laws previusly apprved which have been cllected and the result was presented in bklet frm. Presbytery apprved a mtin t adpt the revised by laws if the mtin by Cuncil t change its name t Cabinet is apprved during the Cabinet Reprt. The by laws have been wrked n several times with the gal being t split them int by laws and standing rules, which will likely be presented this fall. The annual statistical reprts were summarized even thugh 6 churches have nt reprted, and will be published fr the next Assembly. A summary spreadsheet chart f the 2013 terms f call/cntracts fr all churches and pastrs was presented as required in the Synd checklist fr Presbytery minutes. The annual balancing f the rlls and the rll f Teaching Elders as well as the 'reserve rll' f the Permanent Judicial Cmmissin were presented in written frm. Presbytery cntinued with Wrship and the Lrd's Supper led by Judi Gage, Sarah Hker, Bev Ballard, Susie Little, J Ann Aymar, Fred Onasch, with Lisa Ruth Mays and Jared Stephens fficiating at the table and Becky Kindig and Rger Halbert assisting in serving by intinctin. Music was prvided by James Andrews, Wyva Hasselblad, Marena Vittri Schindler and the Handbell Chir "A Pealing Sund" $ was cllected with half t the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and half t supprt the Msaic f Peace Cnference spnsred by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Prgram and attended by Ben Althaus (Delhi First). Cabinet Chair Lisa Heckman(Endwell, Nrthminster) gave the Cabinet Reprt. Actin items apprved by Presbytery: * Renaming the Presbytery's Cuncil t Cabinet * T reimburse Presbytery funds fr the expenses it has incurred frm the upkeep f the Guilfrd Center church building frm the prceeds f the sale f the building. * That all remaining prceeds frm the sale f the Guilfrd Center church building be placed in a fund t cver future prperty matters and ther legal matters related t prperty. * T reverse the earlier decisin (Nv 2) t send an Overture t the General Assembly regarding cnslidating Waverly, Athens and Sayre churches int ne cngregatin called "Valley United Presbyterian" and instead creating a Larger Parish f thse three churches (with the name still being "Valley United Presbyterian"). * T receive the year end Financial Reprts fr 2013 (reprts #11 #13) Other actin and infrmatin items by Cuncil: The rganizatinal chart f the Presbytery has been mdified (tweaked) by Cabinet. Authrizing the Stated Clerk t sign the lan guarantee fr refinancing the Cnklin mrtgage Cuncil apprved a prperty easement fr the Stamfrd Church regarding a driveway fr a neighbr.

8 Renewal f the Treasurer psitin cntract fr 6 mnths while reviewing the psitin. Cluster grant f $2000 fr the Ethipian Trip Msaic f Peace Cnference funding $500 apprved by JIMM Team ut f Peacemaking funds and half f tday's Presbytery wrship ffering, tgether with a Creative Ministry grant s that the ttal f all three surces is $1500. Revising the Budget t add rental fee fr strage rm at Binghamtn United and figures related t staff salary increase f 5% frm Returning $10,000 excess fld relief funds t Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Sharing f Gd News Over 14 peple shared nearly tw dzen items and annuncements f Gd News frm the churches. The Cmmittee n Ministry reprt was given by c chair Mark Mntfrt. There were n actin items and in additin t the printed reprt he annunced that Cnklin has a new pastr, the Rev. Gerge Carltn Mre, and that revised lists f COM liaisns and churches are n the website under COM dcuments. The planned wrkshp/cnsultatin n Pastral Cmpensatin was cndensed radically and held during the meeting, with a PwerPint presentatin prepared by Mark, alng with questins and answers frm 8 10 peple. These cnversatins will cntinue in upcming Presbytery Assemblies. He als reprted that the Bard f Pensins is asking us as a Presbytery hw we will apprach and assist churches and pastrs wh face the new medical deductible prvisins and we will include this in ur discussins. Mark, the Stated Clerk and Sarah Hker frm PSV will attend the Reginal Benefits Cnference in Philadelphia in May, prir t ur next meeting. Presbytery adjurned befre lunch with prayer, at 12:18. The next Stated Assembly is at Unin Presbyterian Church, Endictt n Saturday May 31.