The September 2016 Synod Mission and Ministries Commission was full of our regular work as well as approving items to pass onto the Synod Assembly for consideration and approval. The full Commission serves as the Synod Board of Trustees. In this capacity they voted to: have funds from the Wurffel-Sills Fund support the Robert L. Washington Scholars...
About a year ago, and with the help of an Innovation Grant from the Synod of the Northeast, First Presbyterian Church of Ogdensburg, New York converted a room in its building into a versatile movie theater, as part of an ongoing effort to better serve its community and reach new people.
Since the beginning of the YAV program, there have been 10 YAVs who have built partnerships in Boston. The YAVs have gone on to live their faith in a variety of ways, from attending seminary to working for Americorps, to being a children's advocate at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, to enrolling in nursing school, to working...
After using the April Synod Mission and Ministries meeting for a retreat in which we reflected upon the synod’s foundational text Isaiah 43:19, the Commission went back to business the last weekend in June. We began with the unveiling of our new synod video, which in many ways is an expression of the Isaiah text. If you haven’t had...
Lima first came to the United States to assist another pastor in his ministry. He quickly discovered, however, that in many communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Brazilian immigrants lacked a church home. They had worshiped as Presbyterians in Brazil, but now they weren’t able to find a Presbyterian, Portuguese-speaking congregation that understood the unique challenges...
The Synod has historically supported campus ministries throughout our geographical bounds. One of these ministries is the Protestant Chapel Community, a ministry of Genesee Area Campus Ministries, led by Presbyterian Teaching Elder Laurie Tiberi. She gathers students for weekly Sunday worship and Wednesday Dinner Dialogues, as well as Saturday student-led bible study and service in a...
Kevin Hershey felt a call to ministry at a young age. He knew a closeness to God, a consistent back and forth interaction, a way of being in relationship, that he eventually realized set him apart from his peers. Many years later, he continues to live in this close relationship with the Sacred by leading a...
The Synod Mission and Ministry Commission met the last weekend in January. It was a spirit-filled gathering in which we accomplished so much work in 24 hours—all with a combination of seriousness, joy, laughter and fellowship. We began and ended with worship focusing on the words and ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is...
Last October, for the two days preceding the Synod’s Come to the Table event, almost 40 pastors and lay leaders from the Northeast under age 40 met for the second annual gathering of Emerging Leaders. In an aging denomination where more than half our worshipers are over the age of 60, young people, and especially young...
Westminster Presbyterian Church in Buffalo received the Katherine Hawes Award, which recognizes ministries that engage youth in all areas of the church’s mission, extending beyond the church into the community and the world. The youth fundraise all year for an annual mission trip to Hartford, Maine, where they assist the community in preparing for winter. The...