Embedded Files
Goals:
We are committed to the practice of hospitality, offering space to initiatives and groups that share our priorities.
We are committed to building up Binghamton, including our own neighborhood, through alliances and outreach to the formerly incarcerated, the homeless, people with addictions, and the working poor.
We seek to employ our resources of money, time, and talent in a variety of ways to accomplish the first two goals.
This has been a year of rebuilding and re-engagement, as the community emerges from the messy and stressful time that was the pandemic. We have streamlined and re-aligned our community meal and pantry programs and strengthened our partnership with the mutual aid program called “Stakeholders of Broome County”, supplying them with blankets, warm coats, clean socks, and small 8-hour tent heaters for the street teams to share with the unhoused in Binghamton. We supported this effort with a special offering on Palm Sunday again this year.
We collected new or gently used coats and household linens on Palm Sunday, remembering the people who spread their cloaks on the road to pave Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem. After worship, the coats and linens were distributed to the unhoused in Binghamton through our mission partners, the Stakeholders of Broome County.
Mission Projects:
Mission Projects:
The two biggest mission projects in terms of time and energy invested were the Community Kitchen & Pantry and the Sewing & Knitting Group.
Community Kitchen & Pantry: Our Community Kitchen & Pantry mission is staffed by our Kitchen Coordinator, Sherry Conklin. She reports:
So much has happened in the past year. The number of people that the Community Kitchen & Pantry serves is increasing monthly. Now that the federal emergency for COVID has ended and many of the extra benefits have ceased, we keep seeing more and more people. The pantry hours were decreased to once a week. The pantry is now open on Wednesdays from noon till five. Last year we averaged 35–40 families and now we are serving an average of 60–80 per week. Our meal program is growing also. We no longer offer takeout meals, but everyone that eats in the Fellowship Hall may have seconds or thirds depending on their desire. Every Tuesday 3–4 volunteers prepare the food for the evening, planning on serving about 150–160 meals. We go through about 100 cups of coffee and about 15 gallons of lemonade or sweet tea. There is a food delivery from the Foodbank of the Southern Tier on most Fridays of 1,500–3,000 pounds of food. Most Fridays Sherry, Alex, and Carol also go to the CHOW warehouse and return with 300–500 pounds of food. We now cook extra meals on Tuesdays for the UP-Comfort Center, supplying 30–40 portions to be served.
Every Tuesday 3–4 volunteers prepare the food for the Community Meal, which serves about 150 meals each week.
Families gathered after worship on Palm Sunday to decorate eggs for the guests of the Community Meal and Pantry.
The toiletries/hygiene products program is growing also. This is offered on the third Wednesday of each month as part of our pantry. We have about 70–80 guests who come to participate in this. People are allowed to make their own choices for what they need. Diapers are available for adults and children on any Wednesday. The need for diapers and pull-ups is a big deal.
Starting in January, we began partnering with the Stakeholders of Broome County Outreach program to provide them with food to deliver to the “camps” or unhoused. And we give the volunteers gas cards to help with their expenses. This program was made possible with a grant from the Foodbank of the Southern Tier for deliveries.
Records and statistics are kept on all our services and reported monthly to CHOW and the Foodbank of the Southern Tier.
I try to keep ready-made sandwich fixings each week in the kitchen, as we have people arriving during the week that are unhoused and hungry.
Four wonderful volunteers participated in the Binghamton University “Move Out Project”. This was a student-run initiative aimed at diverting waste from the landfill and donating back into the community, which they do by collecting items from students moving out of their college housing and working with a variety of donation partners who can accept the items and redistribute them to the people they work with. Our volunteers were able to get small appliances, refrigerators, cooking utensils, dishes, linens, and food stuff for our pantry. So far, we have given out 4 microwaves in just 2 weeks. So many people are living in rooms without stoves and can only cook with microwaves.
And yes, we also give out clothing, blankets, coats, underwear, socks, and shoes. This is available on Wednesdays and by special request.
I belong to the “Broome County Food Council” and am on their “Families and young children” committee. These meet every other month to work on food insecurity as well as attending CHOW meetings.
I am so proud to be a part of this church family with missions that do so much for the underserved.
Sewing & Knitting Group: During the annual reporting year of June 2022 to May 2023, members of the UPC Wednesday Sewing Group continued to meet every week, even during the summer months when many groups are on hiatus. Major activities continue to be designing and sewing quilts, and creating other items for the community.
In December 2022, the group distributed 43 quilts, hats, mittens, and “carry bags” for use on walkers to area nursing homes and community groups. During the year, quilts were given to new babies, Camp Sunshine in the state of Maine, and members of the congregation and friends of the church who were in need of a quilt for emotional warmth.
The Sewing Group’s mission hasn’t changed in the more than half-century that the group has been active: to help others by providing items of comfort throughout Greater Binghamton and beyond. Members worked on projects at home and met every Wednesday in person at the church or via Zoom to keep in touch with each other and provide updates on current happenings within the church family. Even when some sewing group members were in sunny Florida during the winter months, they stayed in close contact with the larger group.
Ann Cobb sews rows of quilt squares together. While pretty in pink, Sewing Group members are not required to match their outfits to the fabric they're working on!
Marian Timson, the Sewing Group's newest member, works on sewing together quilt squares.
June 2022–May 2023 Activities:
Members worked at home or met in person at the church, creating nearly 60 quilts.
Items were displayed in the sanctuary and dedicated on November 20, 2022.
In December 2022, quilts, walker “carry bags,” scarves, hats, and mittens were distributed to Willow Point Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; Hilltop; Elizabeth Church Manor; Good Shepherd Fairview Home; YWCA; Bridgewater Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing; Ideal Senior Living Center; and NoMa (North of Main).
Quilts were provided to Camp Sunshine in the state of Maine, a program that assists children with life-threatening illnesses, arranged by Chris and Cindy Burger.
Hats, mittens, and scarves were provided to our UPC lobby community and guests at the Food Pantry. Others in the congregation and friends of the congregation donated hats and mittens to supplement the Sewing Group’s offerings.
The group welcomed a new member, Marian Timson, who is a long-time member of the John Hus Presbyterian Church and joined our group after moving to the Good Shepherd-Fairview Home in Binghamton.
Jan and Len Hoover are long-time Sewing Group members. Len helps organize supplies, troubleshoots equipment, gets the group's lunch ready, and keeps the jokes flowing. Jan ensures that all of the quilts are pressed to perfection!
At noon, the group puts down their needles and thread and enjoys lunch and conversation. Pastor Kimberly and Pastor Becky are frequent attendees. Sewing Group members Zoom in from near and far.
Future Plans: The group will continue its mission of crafting comforting and functional items for those throughout the community, in addition to accepting and sorting fabric and yarn donations received from the community. Gratitude from recipients continues to be strong. The group is always seeking new members, regardless of prior experience or skill level. For more information, please contact the church office or one of the group’s members.
Current Members: Cindy Burger, Cindy Chadwick, Ann Cobb, Ellen Hancock-Berti, Jean Hill, Janet & Len Hoover, Margaret Sands, Marion Timson, and Nancy Walter, and Pastors Kimberly Chastain & Becky Kindig.
Other Projects:
Other Projects:
Support for individuals returning from incarceration: Through the “Walk With Me” program, we partner with the Family Enrichment Network and Justice and Unity in the Southern Tier to better the conditions of people returning to our community from incarceration. We fund two part-time case managers, and we reach out to community agencies to develop training, support, and job development as the reentry process progresses. We also provided space for the Southern Tier AIDS Program’s “Ready-Set-Work” class, which helps returnees to learn the skills necessary for finding and holding a job.
Presbyterian Mission: The Presbyterian Mission Agency is the ministry and mission agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The PMA strives to inspire, equip, and connect all Presbyterians for the church’s work. Our congregation actively supports the PMA through four special offerings:
The One Great Hour of Sharing offering supports hunger and disaster relief, and self-development of people.
The Pentecost offering supports children at risk, and youth & young adult ministry.
The Peace & Global Witness offering supports peacemaking and reconciliation.
The Christmas Joy offering supports church leaders — past, present, and future — with contributions divided 50% to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions and 50% to Racial/Ethnic Education at Presbyterian-related schools and colleges.
Broome County Council of Churches: Projects UPC is involved with include CHOW/Broome Bounty, Faith in Action (trains volunteer caregivers), and the Broome County Jail Ministry.
International Gifts: We are blessed to have a mission relationship with Whuti-Srogboe Evangelical Presbyterian Church (in the South Volta region of Ghana) through our member and their son, Dr. Elikem Nyamuame. The church runs the only elementary school in the region. We pledge $1000 every year to support the work and periodically collect special offerings and donations of school supplies and musical instruments that Elikem brings to them when he visits his family there.
Our participation in the Afghan immigration project came to a successful conclusion as our sponsored family have all gotten jobs and green cards and are on their way to citizenship. We continue to partner with the ACA and other congregations, especially Temple Concord, to support efforts to settle refugees in our community.
Dave Ruston and Greg Patinka have opened the door for another kind of refugee involvement with their work with the Samaritans of Tucson and the Casa de la Esperanza in Sasabe, Mexico. This program searches for travelers in the desert in an effort to save lives at the Mexico–US border. Dave and Greg learned about the migrants who come to our borders seeking refuge and safety, and participated in the humanitarian missions that offer water and other life-conserving services to the people who are in desperate need. Two of their mission coworkers, Dora Rodriguez and Gail Kocourek, started the Casa Esperanza resource center in Sasabe, Mexico, to aid travelers after the US began deporting busloads of travelers into a community with very limited services. These two dynamic women have joined us via Zoom and video message during worship to tell us more about their work and the people they encounter. We hope to have a more in-depth training program about the reasons and conditions that compel the waves of migration this fall.
Dora Rodriguez (left) and Gail Kocourek (right) started the Casa de la Esperanza center in Sasabe, Mexico. The center offers a place where migrants dropped off by the US Border Patrol can get a meal and clean clothes — as well as new shoelaces, since the Border Patrol confiscates those when they process migrants, but does not return them when the migrants are released.
Support through Providing Space: Our building is used for so much more than worship and church programs. UPC maintains many integral community partnerships to create the largest impact on our friends and neighbors. We engage with the community around us by providing information and resources to help as we are able, and by serving as a meeting space and home to other agencies whose missions align with our own. By keeping various programs going, we are creating trust and friendship with people from downtown Binghamton and all the surrounding neighborhoods. In measuring the church’s impact on the local community, we are able to make note of that change. We as a congregation are blessed to see change in the lives of those we serve, and change in our spiritual lives for the better.
Associates for Training and Development (A4TD), with a handicapped-accessible office on the second floor, administers the U.S. Department of Labor’s Senior Community Service Employment Program in central New York and northeast Pennsylvania. The SCSEP is a work-based job training program for income-eligible, unemployed job seekers age 55 or older.
We continue to host the Binghamton City School District’s Adult Education and Alternative High School, which occupies most of our second floor. This year they graduated 25 students.
For several years, one of our major partners has been VINES (Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments). Housed in the basement office suite, VINES makes it possible for people of all incomes to grow their own food or access locally grown produce. VINES serves over 2,000 families through its community gardens (including the one in our front yard), Grow Binghamton youth program, and Farm Share veggie subscription program, as well as offering cooking and gardening classes for the community. This year VINES broke ground on a 4,000 square foot “Net Zero Energy” building at 157 Susquehanna Street. When completed, this building will combine all of VINES offices, produce coolers, warehouse spaces, and equipment under one roof.
The VINES Grow Binghamton program recently marked its first year employing youth throughout the year, adding in a spring and fall session in addition to the traditional summer session. A full-year program provides more time for positive youth-adult partnerships, additional field trips engaging in local policy advocacy around food, farming, and nutrition, and youth involvement in building community gardens. This allows Grow Binghamton Youth to put to use and share the skills they honed in the summer, bolstering the understanding of agriculture within the community.
We support advocacy and civil rights through our partnerships with two organizations whose offices are on our second floor. The Labor/Action Coalition Workers’ Center of the Southern Tier is a grassroots organization focused on bringing about economic justice through promoting dignity and human rights in the workplace. Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier (JUST) is a community organization dedicated to dismantling mass incarceration and mass policing in the Southern Tier. JUST advocates for change in social conditions and institutions that contribute to mass incarceration, including poverty, racism, the criminalization of persons with disabilities, and the school-to-prison pipeline. We regularly work with the Stakeholders of Broome County, providing them space and use of equipment for their community programs such as tenants’ rights and anti-racism training.
We partner with many individuals and groups in our local arts community, including the LUMA Projection Arts Festival, the Tri-Cities Opera, and the Classical Pianists of the Future. We’ve been delighted to provide space to a couple of local piano studios who have used the sanctuary grand piano for their recitals.
Our partnership with the Presbytery of Susquehanna Valley continues as we house the Presbytery’s records archives and provide storage for equipment used for events and assembly meetings. Since April 2022, we have also served as their “post office”, receiving their mail and faxes and passing them on electronically to the appropriate committees or to the presbytery’s staff. The Co–Stated Clerks are our own member Chris Burger and Pastor Becky. The new Lead Presbyter for Transformation, Rev. Dr. Greg Garis, occasionally stops by to borrow our scanner/copier or to have a small-group meeting in the Study.
Most startling for all of us was the request we received in December from the Addiction Center of Broome County to house an overnight comfort center with 42 beds. We cleaned out four rooms on the first floor and underwent some remodeling to make the space usable, added two industrial washers and dryers in what used to be a Sunday School room, and opened our doors to the new program the week after Easter. The program is fully staffed and administered by ACBC; our Community Meal program supplies some meals for the guests each week, and our community has rearranged the way we use some of our spaces.
The Library Lounge and Chapel have been transformed into an overnight comfort station where unhoused adults in our community can sleep five nights a week in a secure and climate-controlled space.
We are so happy that we can partner with so many organizations that are helping to make a real, positive impact on the lives of people in downtown Binghamton and the surrounding area. Thank you for your support in welcoming all of these groups into our building to do ministry with us!
Future Plans:
Future Plans:
It is our hope that we will be able to continue expanding our programs as we move forward into 2023–24. We anticipate that VINES will move into their new building in 2024, and we look forward to what new partnerships may develop in the coming year as the basement office space becomes available for use. We are grateful that God has given us the resources to be a mission center in downtown Binghamton. We would be glad to hear from you about the priorities you hold as we begin to envision the future anew.
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