Session Highlights

The members of Session have taken the following actions in recent months:

• Learned that New York State has mandated annual sexual harassment training for staff and volunteers of non-profit organizations that work with children;
• Agreed to participate again with the Broome County Council of Churches Silver Bells program to provide Christmas gifts to homebound senior citizens;
• Reviewed the UPC building floor plans and agreed to assemble a task force with members from the Property, Music, and Decorating Teams, a member of Session, and one of the pastors to make concrete suggestions on better use of all the spaces in the building;
• Approved the Property Team’s request for $16,000 from the Extraordinary Expense budget line to finish the tower repointing project this year and to avoid the expense of renting the large crane next year;

News from Presbytery: A letter from Rev. Robert Peak, Cabinet Chair

Dear Sisters & Brothers of the Presbytery of Susquehanna Valley,

I am writing to you all on behalf of the Cabinet [the Presbytery’s governing council of Ruling Elders and Ministers]. We have heard from many of you who have spoken out about behavior occurring at our meetings and in our dealings with one another that is harmful to the Body of Christ. Cabinet has heard your concerns, frustrations, and dismay. We recognize that these issues are getting in the way of the important work the Presbytery is charged with, namely to help resource our churches, elders, and pastors. We have been praying, and we have discussed these concerns at Cabinet meetings and have tried different solutions. We have now recognized that we need help to address this problem. Therefore, just as churches can reach out to the Presbytery to help resolve discord, we as Cabinet have reached out to the Synod of the Northeast to give us guidance.

On June 25, the Cabinet met with Rev. Dr. Harold Delhagen, our Synod Leader, who shared with us ideas on how we might move forward. Cabinet decided to proceed with a Special Administrative Review Committee (SARC) working alongside a Consultant, Jim Fenimore. A SARC is a committee that reports its findings to us and to the Synod leadership but has no authoritative power. The SARC will review the life of the Presbytery, shining a light on us, observing our behavior patterns, our interactions, and provide assistance so that we may move forward in a healthy, positive direction. A SARC is accountable to the Synod, not the Presbytery, which allows them to do their work independent of us. Once their report is finalized, Harold Delhagen will coach us into that healthier place.

Cabinet became very excited at the opportunity to work with the Special Administrative Review Committee and Consultant Jim Fenimore. Dr. Fenimore has worked with churches in our Presbytery in the past and we are blessed to have him again to work with the whole Presbytery. As the work of the SARC proceeds, we will keep you apprised of the process and let you know how to participate when we know more.

We think that this direction we have chosen will produce a new beginning for this Presbytery and will help us to look at the future of ministry with the awe of that first Pentecost. God is doing great work among us, in us, and through us, and we want to get back to seeing what God is doing. We all enjoyed the “mini workshop” we did as part of our May Presbytery assembly meeting, and it produced ideas, new relationships, laughter, and cooperation. We ended that workshop feeling more hopeful in our churches and our hearts. Those days are returning to us and the SARC is going help us get there sooner.

In Christ’s Service,

Robert Peak, Cabinet Chair