Leadership

• We have found ways to celebrate Holy Communion as a community gathered around computer screens instead of the Communion Table, and we know that the Spirit is with us even when we are together separately.

• We have received five new members into our worshipping community, even as we have said goodbye to members who have joined the church triumphant or moved to another community. And those who have moved away are still able to join us from time to time, by the grace of God and the gift of the internet.

• Shall we talk about Zoom meetings? We have a prayer meeting before worship on Sunday mornings and a regular gathering after worship “like coffee hour”. The Bible study continues to meet every Monday at noon and the Sewing Group meets on Wednesdays at noon. The vocal choir and the bell choir meet to practice and plan; the instrumental musicians sometimes gather in person to record. And of course, there’s the ever-popular Friday night cocktail hour, which we held in the park when the weather was good.

It’s hard to know when we will be able to gather in person, hard to say what the future will hold. But as long as we hold onto the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God made manifest in our love for each other, and the healing and connecting power of the Holy Spirit, we will be okay. And I can hardly wait to see what she has in mind for us next!

Blessings,
Pastor Kimberly

Nominating Committee Report

We are grateful to Doug Jones, Suzie Raboy, and Kathy Preston for extending their terms through January 2021 during the pandemic.

For the Session Class of 2024, the Nominating Committee places in nomination:

Suzie Northrop Raboy, for her second three-year term.

Kathy Preston, for her second three-year term.

For the Nominating Committee, 2021, we are seeking nomination of 2–4 members from the floor at the congregational meeting.

Two Session members will be selected at the February 8, 2021, regular Session meeting.

Some highlights:

• Alex Compton, from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton, preached on October 27, 2019

• Rev. Ellie Johns-Kelley from the Presbyterian Foundation preached on December 1, 2019, and led a workshop on stewardship

• Rev. Cindy Kohlmann, Resource Presbyter for the Presbyteries of Boston and Northern New England and Co-Moderator of the 223rd General Assembly, Rev. Dr. Amaury Tañón-Santos, Synod Networker for the Synod of the Northeast, and Rev. Naomi Washington-Leaphart, Director of Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs in the Philadelphia Mayor's Office for Public Engagement, preached in August 2020

UPC Binghamton 2020 Statistical Report

Total Active Members, 12/31/2019: 159

Losses during 2020:

Deaths: 8 — Marjorie Emma, Helen Flack, Marilyn Myers, Russell Sprague, Frank Benjamin Swan, Richard Ward, Sandra Warner, Patricia Wilson
Removed:
Inactive:
Transfer:
Total: 8

Additions during 2020:

New: 3 — Sara Lieberman, Felix Rwabukwisi, Jessica Rwabukwisi
Transfer: 2 — David Davis, Margaret Davis
Reinstated:
Total: 5

Total Active Members, 12/31/2020: 156

Minutes of the Annual Congregational Meeting (Part Two)
June 9, 2019

Part Two of the Annual Congregational Meeting of the United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton was held at Otsiningo Park, Binghamton, NY on June 9, 2019. The Rev. Kimberly Chastain served as Moderator. The meeting was properly called and a quorum was present.

Call to Order and Opening Prayer at 11:10am by Pastor Chastain.

Pastor Chastain explained that the purpose of this part of the congregational annual meeting was to receive team and committee reports and to conduct other business proper to the consideration of the congregation that is not related to finance and budgets.

Meeting Minutes: Pastor Chastain directed the members’ attention to the Congregational Activity Report for June 2018–May 2019, specifically the minutes of the June 10, 2018, Annual Congregational Meeting on page 9; the minutes of the August 5, 2018, Special Congregational Meeting on page 10; and the minutes of the February 3, 2019, Annual Congregational Meeting on page 11. The congregation voted to approve the minutes.

Nominations and Elections: Pastor Chastain directed the congregation’s attention to the Nominating Committee Report on page 14. Sally Hunt is nominated for a second three-year term, Louis McKeage is nominated for a first three-year term and William Sands is nominated for a first three-year term. The UPC Bylaws call for a Nominating Committee composed of four members from the congregation and two from the Session. The Session will appoint their representatives at the next regular Session meeting. Catherine Ciganek, Jean Hill, Jon Morse, and Judy Westcott were nominated from the floor. A motion was duly made, seconded, and passed to close the nominations and elect the slates as presented.

Congregational Activities: The congregation expressed their appreciation to Scott Kindig, UPC Office Coordinator, for working up to the last minute to create an outstanding set of reports. Pastor Chastain encouraged the members to submit their reports in a more timely fashion. UPC member Chris Burger urged the members to read the entire report to realize the amazing work the UPC accomplishes. He also noted that our work is recognized in the larger community.

The congregation applauded Pastor Chastain for receiving one of three Citizen Action of New York Phoenix Awards on June 6, 2019 for her work in social and racial justice. Pastor Chastain commented that she felt the award really recognizes the work of the entire UPC.

Adjournment: Pastor Chastain called for further business and hearing none, adjourned the meeting with prayer at 11:20am.

Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia S. Burger, Clerk

Moderator: Rev. Kimberly Chastain

Approved by Session on: June 11, 2019

Minutes of the Annual Congregational and Corporate Meeting
February 16, 2020

The Annual Congregational and Corporate Meeting of the United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, New York was held in the sanctuary of the church on Sunday February 16, 2020. The Rev. Kimberly Chastain served as Moderator. The meeting was properly called and a quorum was present.

Call to Order and Opening Prayer at 11:15am by Pastor Chastain.

Minutes of the Annual Congregational and Corporation meeting on February 3, 2019, were approved on a motion duly made and seconded.

Rev. Chastain reminded the members that this meeting would include receiving the financial reports and voting on the pastors’ terms of call. She directed the congregation’s attention to the 2019 Statistical Report on page two, noting the nine members who passed away in 2019. The current membership is 159.

Rev. Chastain directed the congregation to the 2020 budget handout. She explained that this year it is a graphic narrative with five columns labeled Nourishing Worship, Radical Hospitality, Challenging Conversations, Transforming Mission, and Ties That Bind. She said that this format better reflects the priorities of the congregation and that the building and its stewardship as well as the staff are a central part of all that the congregation does in the community and the world. She then called on Lou McKeage, Treasurer.

Financial Report: Mr. McKeage commented that previous reports were all financial documents that didn’t really tell the story of the church and its activities. He informed the congregation that the complete financial reports are available to any member.

Mr. McKeage reported that 2019 ended approximately $13,000 under budget. In response to several questions, he explained that the value of the church’s investments was $7,825,985 on January 1, 2020, compared to $7,684,379 on January 1, 2019. Of those funds, $5.3 million is restricted by the donors and the church uses the earnings; several other smaller funds are restricted to certain purposes, for example the bell choir. He noted that the financial markets have done well the last couple years but that trend should not be counted on. UPC has a large legacy and the Session understands its responsibility to use it well.

Mr. McKeage pointed out that each column in the new format includes a picture and bullet points that describe each category. The total budget for 2020 is $897,374, compared to $799,358 in 2019. The breakdown of the categories is

Nourishing Worship: $186,925 (20.8%)
Radical Hospitality: $186,227 (20.8%)
Challenging Conversations: $150,685 (16.8%)
Transforming Mission: $215,682 (24.0%)
Ties That Bind: $157,853 (17.6%)

Rev. Chastain reported that the Personnel Team and the Session understand that annual percentage cost of living raises simply continue to increase the gap between higher and lower wage earners. To rectify that, UPC staff salaries are being adjusted so that the minimum salary will be $15.00 per hour by the end of 2020.

Rev. Chastain thanked Mr. McKeage and commented that the building is a busy center of the community with over 18 different organizations using it in some fashion. She thanked the Session for their hard work and asked the current members to stand to be recognized.

Pastors’ Terms of Call: Rev. Chastain reminded the members that a pastoral call involves three groups — the congregation who calls the pastor, the pastor who accepts the call, and the Presbytery which oversees the call. She and the Rev. Becky Kindig then left the room and the Clerk presided to review the Terms of Call for the pastors.

On a motion duly made and seconded, the Terms of Call for Rev. Chastain and Rev. Kindig were approved. Rev. Chastain and Rev. Kindig then returned to the room.

Meeting Adjourned and Closing Prayer by Pastor Chastain at 11:45am.

Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia S. Burger, Clerk

Moderator: Rev. Kimberly Chastain

Approved by Session on: March 9, 2020

Mission and Community Partnerships

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.

• We have been challenged to live into these goals this year. Because of the pandemic, the building could not service as the focus of our hospitality as it has in the past, and so we have had to adapt our programs and exercise creativity and stewardship to continue reaching the community.

Mission Projects: The three biggest mission projects in terms of time and energy invested are the Community Meal & Food Pantry, the Care & Share project, and the Sewing & Knitting Group.

The Care and Share Project is a hygiene-product distribution program designed to supplement the SNAP and EBT assistance given by Social Services. Historically, the program involved 8–10 congregants as workers on a regular basis, and provided an opportunity for ACA workers to “table” in the lobby and meet with individuals about healthcare needs. We also had tables from the WIC program and Catholic Charities.

Other Projects:

Walk with Me: In this 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. This year we have also begun to provide space for the Southern Tier AIDS Program Work-Ready 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. Our contribution in 2019 was $592, which is divided 50% to 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 care givers), Hospital Ministry (serves both UHS hospitals with 24/7 pastoral care, and trains volunteers for support and advocacy), and the Jail Ministry.

Support through Providing Space: Our building is used for so much more than worship and church programs. We engage with the community around us by offering space to gather and socialize, 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.

Almost all of our partnerships in the building have been on hiatus since March 2020, with the exception of the the Binghamton City School District’s Adult Education and Alternative High School, which continues its program in a modified form during the pandemic and is looking forward to reopening in the fall of 2021.

UPC maintains many integral community partnerships to create the largest impact on our friends and neighbors. We serve the children and families of our community, hosting the Broome County Urban League’s school-year and summer childcare programs in 2019 and early 2020, one of few school-age childcare options downtown.

Future Plans: It is our hope that we will be able to begin to expand our programs again as we move forward into 2021. 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.