The Session has been working hard to fulfill the mission of the United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton — to follow Jesus Christ by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. We take seriously our charge from the Book of Order that we have “the responsibility for governing the congregation… to provide that the Word of God may be truly preached and heard; … to provide that the Sacraments [baptism and the Lord’s Supper] may be rightly administered and received; … [and] to nurture the covenant community of disciples of Christ.” (Book of Order G-3.0201)

The Session meets almost every month, usually on the second Monday of the month. Session members take turns providing refreshments and opening the meeting with prayer. We spend 15 to 20 minutes at the beginning for study and reflection on a passage from scripture or another inspirational piece. The next one to two hours are devoted to the clerk’s report of member changes and correspondence, reports from the pastors, and reviewing reports and requests from the various teams. We review the church’s finances, vote on action items from the teams, decide who will attend the next Presbytery meeting, and close with prayer. The hard work is interspersed with laughter and strengthening our relationships with each other.

Activities this year included holding a retreat in July 2017 for new and continuing Session members; reviewing and updating the church’s policies and procedures; approving the use of the UPC campus for the Poor People’s Campaign event in October 2017, which drew hundreds of people; voting to concur with Overture 006 from Hudson River Presbytery On Directing the Board of Pensions and the Foundation to Divest from Fossil Fuel and to request the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery Cabinet to concur; voting to partner with Southern Tier Solar Works to assist with outreach regarding “REVitalize Binghamton,” which seeks to provide access to solar energy for low and moderate income residents; voting to support the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition for a market analysis and business plan for the Many Hands Food Cooperative to establish a grocery store on the north side of Binghamton; appointing a task force to develop a “Deacons’ Ministry;” and voting to have UPC listed on the “More Light Presbyterians” registry as an open and affirming church.

Please keep the Session members and the pastors in your prayers.

Highlights from Session

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

• Approved three requests for infant baptisms on Pentecost Sunday, May 20;
• Reviewed the evening worship service held on Bridge Run Sunday (May 6) and directed the pastors to plan an evening service once each month during the summer;
• Approved the Spiritual Formation Team’s plan to use the Don and Betty Law Fund to present a program on the St. John’s Bible early in 2019;
• Heard reports about the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery Assembly on May 5, when the Valley United Presbyterian Church in Waverly, New York State was dismissed to the Lackawanna Presbytery in the Synod of the Trinity in Pennsylvania;
• Reappointed Cindy Burger as Clerk of the Session and Lou McKeage as Treasurer of the Corporation;
• Voted to support the Urban League Juneteenth Celebration with a financial donation;
• Agreed to continue the work of the Partners Together Task Force and dismissed the Task Force with thanks;
• Heard a recommendation from the Personnel Team to hire a consultant to work with the congregation and help us discern our best path to Doing Justice, Loving Kindness, and Walking Humbly with God as we work to serve Christ in our community, and directed the Team to provide the Session with more information;
• Agreed to hold additional Sunday services at 4:30pm on June 24, July 22, and August 26 with a potluck dinner following;
• Learned that the Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry Church Support Team training event has been rescheduled to Saturday July 21 at UPC;
• Accepted a bid to provide portable toilets at UPC during LUMA Fest on September 7 and 8; and
• Agreed to a request from several UPC members to “adopt” the VINES garden on the church property and maintain it this summer.