Our Church Family

Join Us for Worship — in person, online, or over the phone

We worship together on Sundays at 10:00am, both in person in the sanctuary and online. The service is livestreamed on our public YouTube Channel, our Zoom room, and our website, and is also accessible on YouTube any time. Those who can’t access the worship videos online can call in on the phone to listen live on Sunday mornings, using the Zoom information listed below. So if you are not ready or able to come “in person”, you are welcome to participate as you are able.

Everyone is invited to join us as we pray, hear God’s word read and proclaimed, share our joys and concerns, and experience worshipful music.

If you’re joining us in person, here’s what you need to know:

Masks are optional while our community’s reported Covid rates remain low. Air filtration units are deployed throughout the sanctuary to enhance your safety, and doors are open to the outside (weather permitting).
We will continue to have masks available, and if you have any symptoms of a potentially contagious illness, we ask that you put on a mask to protect those in our congregation who have compromised immune systems.
Printed worship guides are placed by each door for you to pick up on the way in, and the hymns are printed in the worship guide.
Offering plates are placed by the doors of the sanctuary, but we do not pass them during the offertory. You are still invited and welcome to use our online giving portal or to mail a check to the church.

If you’re worshiping with us online, all of the hymn music and prayer words are shown on the screen, and live captioning is used for unscripted parts of the service such as the sermon and the sharing of joys and concerns. If you watch on a small screen and need the printed version of the worship guide, it is available for download from our website each week, or it can be mailed to you upon request if downloading & printing is not an option.

It would be good to have you with us.

Session Highlights

Session has continued its business of governing UPC since the Spring newsletter. Much of the business is routine, but here are some highlights.

Sally Hunt was welcomed back to Session following the congregational meeting in June. She replaces Suzie Northrop Raboy, who completed two consecutive terms and was not eligible for reelection. Andy Chadwick and Matt Johnson were elected to second two-year terms. The June 2022–May 2023 Congregational Activity Reports that were presented at the meeting can be found at sites.google.com/upcbgm.org/congregational-activity-22-23

Session also accepted with regret Aaron Whitney’s resignation from Session. His life in Florida is taking more time and doesn’t allow him to commit the time necessary for Session. We wish him all the best as his job continues to develop and he and Steve prepare for their upcoming wedding.

There has been a slight change in UPC staffing. As of July 1, Becky Mebert has stepped back from her role as Music Coordinator; she remains the primary Accompanist. Aimee Backus has assumed the role of Music Coordinator as well as retaining her position of Choir Director.

The warming station operated by the Addiction Center of Broome County, now called the “UP Comfort Center” (since warming isn’t appropriate in the middle of the summer), is up and operating. While its current schedule is Sunday through Thursday nights, the plan is to increase operations to 7 nights a week. A dialog has begun among surrounding businesses to address concerns and work together to remedy them before they get out of hand.

Session has also undertaken a project to address signage around the church facility in an endeavor to make our building more user-friendly for visitors and users who aren’t familiar with the layout. Even members may be more confused as the use of various spaces within the building change. If anyone has thoughts on this, please talk to any Session member — your input can help us make our church more welcoming!

Congregational fellowship is back, at least on Sunday mornings! Originally, the idea was to hold coffee hour in the Narthex with the front doors open to allow for better air circulation. Since that’s not the door most people use to enter and exit the sanctuary, coffee hour has moved to the front of the sanctuary. Sunday morning fellowship now joins the weekly Bible study, Sewing group, and UPC’s Zoom Happy hour (virtual) as opportunities to interact with other members of the congregation. Additional possibilities that have been mentioned include a return to book discussion groups, a walking club, a UPC work day, small-group dinners, and a game day/night. We’re open to other ideas you may have!

Please don’t hesitate to ask any member of Session about what we’ve been doing!

Andy Chadwick
Clerk of Session

Snail Mail Still in Fashion

The Card Committee continues its mission to acknowledge events, milestones, joys, and concerns within our church family with special greetings. This includes births, baptisms, birthdays, deaths, illness and injuries, surgeries, challenges, travels, graduations, new jobs, retirements, holidays, thank yous, moves, anniversaries, and other occasions and situations.

Members and friends of our congregation are encouraged to provide the church office with birth dates (if not already on file) so that we can be sure folks receive celebration greetings from our church family. No need to provide us with the year if you’d rather keep that to yourself!

We encourage you to let us know of any occasions to recognize, or if you know of someone who might simply enjoy receiving a special card from the church “just because.”

The committee welcomes additional “card senders” and encourages anyone wishing to join the group to contact the church office or one of the members (Cindy Chadwick, Margaret Davis, Jenni McKeage, Lana Ogden, Suzie Northrop Raboy).

Supporting Our Mission and Ministry

We live in an era of uncertainty. The uncertainty of floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes — climate change. The uncertainty of aggression through war, gun violence, human trafficking, and international conflict. The uncertainty of employment, inflation, illness — a global pandemic.

However, humanity always has, in one form or another. Long ago, the Psalmist wrote: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4, NRSV). Today, as a community of faith, we claim God’s promise — you are with me.

The Peace & Global Witness Offering draws Presbyterians together and provides education and exposure to siblings in Christ who work for peace every day. Gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering enable the church to promote the Peace of Christ by addressing systems of conflict and injustice around the world and here at home. Our support of this offering helps encourage our church partners in Ukraine as they struggle against the trauma of war. It helps congregations begin to address the growing mental health crisis and the increase in the number of suicides in their communities. It provides resources for congregations seeking to address issues of gun violence in their communities.

You are invited to visit the Peace & Global Witness website (pcusa.org/peace-global) to learn how your support of this Offering helps peacemaking efforts both in the U.S. and around the world. As a community of faith, we want to deepen our commitment to peacemaking so that it becomes a visible and profound witness to our community.

As Presbyterians, we claim Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace and pattern our lives in the compassion, kindness, and grace that he shows us. God is with us. May we joyfully bring that peace to all those we care for, love and serve.

You can contribute to the PC(USA)’s Peace & Global Witness special offering online at pcusa.org/peace-global or text PCUSAPEACE to 41444, or send a check to the church office marked with “special offering” in the memo line.

Online Giving to UPC

We are able to receive tax-deductible contributions online through our website (upcbgm.org/giving/donate). Contributions can be made by E-check or credit card, and can also be set up as a recurring gift.

We encourage you to lift up in prayer how God will use you to bless UPC in fulfilling our mission to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.

Get Involved!

Our church teams are always welcoming new team members. If you’d like to help with or learn more about the workings of the church, talk to one of the pastors or the elders on Session: Card Committee, Pastor Kimberly; Finance, Lou McKeage or Andy Chadwick; Personnel, Marilynn Guinane; Property, Pastor Becky; Worship & Music, Andy Chadwick.

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