Programs & Events

Discover Our Sacred Sites: Experience the architecture, culture, and history of our community

Sunday, May 21, 11am–4pm (at various locations)

Come out for this year’s Sacred Sites Open House, co-sponsored by the Preservation Association of the Southern Tier (PAST) and The New York Landmarks Conservancy. This statewide event is free and open to the public. To obtain a listing of the 21 sacred sites open in the Southern Tier, Binghamton, Johnson City, Endwell, and Endicott, go to pastny.org, or check at your local libraries, history centers, and religious sites. This is an opportunity for the public to be a tourist in their own neighborhood and view the interiors of these magnificent buildings.

UPC will be open next Sunday from 2pm to 4pm, and we’re looking for a few volunteers to help greet visitors and show them our space. We especially need a volunteer or two who are willing and able to lead the climbs of 100+ stairs to the top of the bell tower. If you’re interested in helping us welcome the public for this event, please contact the church office.

Juneteenth Celebration on June 17 and 18

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was official on January 1, 1863, it was not enforced in Texas until after the surrender of the Confederate army and Union troops arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865. For generations in the African American community, it has remained a day of remembrance, joyous celebration, and hope: remembrance of the hardships and pain of enslavement; joyous celebration of survival; and hope for the opportunity and peace that freedom ought to bring. For white Americans, it has become a day to celebrate with Black Americans, but also to recognize that the struggle for justice and equality continues.

Becky and Ken Mebert visited some key sites on the Civil Rights trail in Georgia and Alabama this spring, and Becky will reflect on their experience during the worship service on June 18. We will sing “Lift Every Voice,” considered the African-American National Anthem, and pray that together, we will see the day when the struggle is over and freedom and peace prevail.

The community celebration will kick off at noon on Saturday, June 17 in the park at 50 Carroll Street (called “Assata Shakur Park” in the Black community and “Columbus Park” in the white community. Our congregation has been a sponsor for the celebration since 2018, and everyone is invited to join in a fun-filled day of food, music, fellowship, remembrance, liberation, and education.

News from the Kitchen

by Sherry Conklin, Kitchen Coordinator

We have received a grant that has enabled us to partner with the outreach people from the Stakeholders of Broome County group and get food delivered to the unhoused in the area. We will use this grant to supply these volunteers with food, can openers, basic hygiene products, and drinks for people. This will also be used to give the volunteers gas cards to help with the delivery expenses. This process is working out very well and may develop into deliveries to the motels.

The Easter egg dyeing event was a big hit again this year. It was well attended by young and old. The guests at the community meal and at the pantry appreciated being remembered this way.

The meal and pantry have many needs so donations are always welcome. We’re specifically looking for old T-shirts (stained or with holes is okay) to make into grocery bags for our shoppers. These bags work out better for our “walking” shoppers. We could use some more can openers from the dollar store. Does anyone have spare booster seats or highchairs for our dining room? We usually serve about 3 to 5 children at our meal on Tuesdays and we only have 2 highchairs.

Sherry would like to organize a team to participate in the CHOW hunger walk this September. The walk is being held at Oakdale Commons on September 24 from 12 until 3. The Beer Tree Factory will have a room set aside and will donate a portion of the food sales to CHOW. This should be a fun event. We would love to have a large representation from United Presbyterian Church participate since CHOW does so much for our pantry and the community. Anyone interested may contact Sherry by email meal@upcbgm.org. This is CHOW’s largest fund raiser for the year.

UPC’s “Zoom room”

Modern technology is marvelous! Thanks to the Zoom meetings system, we can gather virtually even when it’s difficult to be together in person. We’ve used our “Zoom room” for worship but also for prayer groups, book studies, hymn sings, and social times.

You can join our meetings and worship services online via your computer, tablet, or mobile device by going to https://upcbgm.org/zoom. If you’ve never used Zoom before, you’ll be prompted to download the Zoom meetings app, which will ask for permission to use your microphone and your camera. We use our “Personal Meeting ID” for worship and most of our programs, so they’re always in the same familiar place.

You can also call in over the phone, if you don’t have a microphone on your device or you can’t join online. To join as a phone call, dial 1-646-558-8656, then enter our Meeting ID: 865 274 8433 #

If you have questions or need help using Zoom, feel free to call the church office for assistance.

Bible Study

Mondays, 1–2pm, in the Study or the Zoom room

We’re reading from Marcus Borg’s Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written, and everyone is welcome to join us in person or on Zoom. Those who gather at the church meet in our new “Study” (Room 102, next door to the Nursery).

The general format is to read the introductory material for each section, then to read through the Biblical texts and talk about what it meant for early Christians and what it might mean for us today. We try to discipline ourselves to keeping the conversation to an hour every week.

Sewing Group

Wednesdays, 10am–1pm (with Zoom lunch hour, 12pm–1pm)

by Cindy Chadwick

We’re not sure who counted them all, but statistics indicate there are between 9 and 11 million quilters in the country. Our bet is that very few have been together as a group for more than a half-century like the Wednesday Sewing Group! Gathering each week to craft crib- and lap-sized quilts for the community, the group also makes “carry bags” for use on walkers, mittens, hats, scarves, pillows, and more.

Sewing Group members Janet Hoover, Jean Hill, Ellen Hancock-Berti, and Ann Cobb.

The group’s creations are donated to the following charities and care facilities:

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
NoMa (North of Main)
Camp Sunshine (for families affected by life-threatening childhood illness)

Quilts are also given to newborns and other special people in our congregation. Hats and mittens are provided to our Food Pantry and Community Meal guests as needed. Want to help spread warmth and hope? Join the Sewing Group on Wednesdays from 10am to 1pm in UPC’s Upper Lounge. No extensive sewing experience is necessary. Projects can be worked on at home if you’re unable to attend on Wednesdays. (You’ll miss the cookies, chips, pickles and tea, though!) No special sewing skills are needed for cutting squares, design layout, pinning, tying, setting the table for lunch, or heating water for tea. Sewing machine and hand hemming skills are a plus.

Even if sewing isn’t your thing, everybody is invited to join us at noon for our social lunch hour. Those who can’t come to the church in person can join us in the Zoom room. Bring your own lunch and enjoy the company!

Sincere in its mission to provide warmth, comfort, and care to others, Sewing Group members gain much in return. As aptly said by Ann Cobb, a 50-plus-year member of the Sewing Group, “Where there is love, there is hope, and we love what we do.” Pardon the puns, but the cohesiveness of this group mends their souls and keeps them in stitches as they work to help others. Please join! Reach out to the church office if you’d like more information.

Zoom Happy hour

Friday evenings, 5–6pm

Bring your own beverage, “Zoom in”, and join the fun as we catch up on the events of the week and share how we’re doing. It’s a great way to keep in touch while it remains complicated to be together in person.

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