Narrative Budget for 2021

2021 Ministry & Mission Budget Allocation

Our budget process for 2021 was affected by the pandemic, as everything else in our lives has been. So this budget is based on what we actually spent in 2020, what we believe we might spend in 2021, and what we hope might happen as vaccinations are administered and it becomes safer to gather in ways that were usual before the pandemic. Some of the numbers will be too high, and others will be too low. But for this year, the descriptions of our five areas of life together remain the same, and we are saying what we want to be and do.

May God bless our efforts and our intentions with effectiveness, and grant us eyes to see our way forward for the future.

Nourishing Worship

The vital center of our life as a congregation is the Sunday morning worship service, when we gather as a family of faith. This is where our work begins and is nurtured — in the love and worship of God, and the community we are building to glorify God.

  • We welcome people of all ages and cultures, are open and affirming of LGBTQIA+ families.

  • We share the Word in a range of styles and experiences, striving to accommodate special needs.

  • The preaching is practical and focused on understanding and living the gospel in our world.

  • The music is varied and inclusive, featuring instruments from organ and piano to saxophone and drums, with a bell choir as well as a talented vocal choir to lead our singing.

  • As we pray for each other in good times and hard times, we grow together in faith.

  • Children are encouraged to participate in the conduct and leadership of the worship as they are able from an early age. A “Pray Ground” offers a space to play and participate in age-appropriate activities within the context of the worshipping community.

In 2020, we have worshiped online since Palm Sunday, and found ways to adapt what we do to reflect these priorities. One of the ways we have expanded our commitment to welcome and inclusion is by using subtitles that allow people with hearing impairment to understand what is spoken or sung. We have been providing worship packets to the children that are mailed each week before the service starts. They include the story from scripture and activities that can assist the children to understand the message or theme of the day.

Radical Hospitality

Early in our life together as United Presbyterian, the Session decided that we will welcome anyone who shares our vision of a place to grow, to gather, and to build each other up. Every encounter is challenging, and every day we learn more about how to love God’s people and provide a safe place for people to come together and grow together.

  • A cup of coffee on a cold morning.

  • A candlelight vigil as the community grieves for lives lost in tragedy.

  • A place for children to learn and grow after school in a safe and nurturing environment.

  • A chance to start again for adults who did not finish high school at the usual time.

  • A community coming from all walks of life, to serve and share a meal around tables every Tuesday night.

  • A community garden that helps to supply nourishment for those in need.

  • A venue for arts groups such as LUMA and Tri-Cities Opera to share their work in the downtown area.

This may be the place that we have felt the impact of the pandemic the most: we have adapted the lobby, the bathrooms, and the building use guidelines to be as welcoming as possible, but right now we cannot offer a welcome space or a chance to warm up with a cup of coffee. The Urban League’s after-school childcare program has been on hiatus since March, and although we hope that this partnership will resume, it is hard to say when it will be. And we have offered two concerts virtually, but it is not possible to offer space to the arts as we have in “usual time”. So our budget numbers here are purely aspirational: this is what we hope it will look like when the fog of uncertainty clears.

Challenging Conversations

Our growth as Christians begins in the worship of the living God, and is grounded in common prayer, study, and conversations with each other and with those who can teach us more about our world and how we can respond to it. These conversations are fostered through:

  • Monday night book studies.

  • Sunday morning center-based learning that is geared toward multi-generational conversation.

  • Movie showings and discussions.

  • Potluck dinners featuring speakers and witnesses who tell stories and invite us into new worlds.

  • Bible studies that focus on the meaning of the texts in their time and context, then consider what they mean in the 21st century.

  • Participation in wider community conversations through Children of Abraham, BRSC, Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier, and other partner organizations.

The ways in which we participate in conversations have shifted, but the interest and participation remain high, and we look forward to times when we can eat together and watch programs in the same room again.

Transforming Mission

We work to transform our community through alliances and outreach to people at risk in our society: the formerly incarcerated, the homeless, people with addictions. We share space, support PC(USA) mission programs and offerings, and:

  • Support two case managers in the “Walk with Me” program, helping people returning from incarceration.

  • Minister to the incarcerated through the Jail Ministry of Broome County Council of Churches.

  • Support community arts programs such as Tri-Cities Opera, LUMA, and PorchFest.

  • Work together with NAACP, PLOT, Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier, STAP, and BRSC to

  • end racism, confront violence, and bring new possibilities for life together in Broome County.

  • Offer hygiene products not covered by government assistance through our Care and Share Project.

  • Participate with VINES, CHOW and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier to ensure that everyone has access to nourishment.

We have expanded our community meal program by adding a food pantry, and we have integrated the Care and Share products into the pantry, so that we continue to serve the hungry and the unhoused in an expanded way, with “Grab and Go” meals, gloves and masks provided for those who need them, and partnering with Binghamton Food Rescue to deliver meals to people who are staying in a transient hotel as guests of the Department of Social Services.

Ties that Bind

The old hymn begins, “Blessed be the ties that bind our hearts in Christian love…” and we continue to explore new ways to connect with each other, to welcome newcomers to the family of faith, and to support those who are struggling in our midst. Some of the ways we accomplish this are:

  • Through small dinner parties and larger potluck dinners, visiting programs, shared work parties and an annual congregational retreat, we are growing together as a family of faith.

  • We are building a Deacons ministry to make sure that no one gets left behind, whether homebound, traveling, or going through a season of struggle and difficulty.

  • We bring worship services and communion to local nursing homes, and pastoral care and resources to Binghamton University through the newly formed Interfaith Council.

  • Work together with More Light Presbyterians toward the full participation of LGBTQIA+ people in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA) — and in society.

Our commitment to building connections continues, and we have found many different ways to keep in touch with each other, from a weekly “cocktail hour” on Zoom to a revived card ministry that acknowledges joys and challenges in people’s lives weekly. The Session drops off worship materials for people, and we create slide shows to help us keep each other in mind. We are working on new ways to gather outside, and planning for a time when we can restart some of these programs, with new insight and understanding gained from our time apart.