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    United Methodists of Upper New YorkLiving the Gospel. Being God's Love.


    news article

    The New York State Council of Churches meets at the United Methodist Center

    December 19, 2017 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

    The United Methodist Center hosted the New York State Council of Churches (NYSCOC) on Thursday Dec. 14 for their executive committee’s quarterly meeting. This meeting was attended by the Rev. Bill Gottschalk-Fielding and the Rev. Marti Swords-Horrell of the Upper New York Conference; the Rev. Gideon Jebamani and Bishop Mary Glasspool of the Episcopal Church; Phil Garvey of the Presbyterian Church; chair of the committee, the Rev. Dustin Wright of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Rev. Alan Dailey of the United Church of Christ; the Rev, Peter Cook, NYSCOC Executive Director; and Nancy Lapierre, NYSCOC office manager.

    The NYSCOC has three areas of focus, which include advocacy, prison chaplaincy, and education. The committee reviewed some of their successful work this past year, including:

    • The promotion of supportive and affordable housing, seeking to build church-government-private sector partnership to build low-income housing.
    • Offered ongoing support to chaplains serving in NYS institutions. (NYSCOC is authorized by NYS to certify all Protestant chaplains serving state prisons, mental health facilities, and youth detention facilities).   
    • Shared success of the “Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide Conference” held at Fulton-Montgomery Community College last summer. They focused on how to bring rural and urban leaders together to address shared issues of justice.

    During this meeting, a budget for 2018 was adopted in support of NYSCOC work. The Upper New York Conference’s 2018 budget provides support for NYCOC’s work. The ecumenical work done by the NYSCOC shows the success that can stem from Christians working together on social justice issues.


    With more than 100,000 members, United Methodists of Upper New York comprises of more than 675 local churches and New Faith Communities in 12 districts, covering 48,000 square miles in 49 of the 62 counties in New York state. Our vision is to “live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be God’s love with our neighbors in all places."