About Our Church | First Presbyterian Church Ulysses

History

Our church was built along Main Street in 1819 so has existed for more than 200 years! Currently, we have about 100 members with 30 attending regularly. For a small church, we are known for our outreach in the community. We are blessed with a separate Fellowship Hall with a kitchen that can host church as well as community events. The service itself is traditional in design with a reputation for good music and thought-provoking sermons. There is active lay leadership through all aspects of the church. We welcome all who enter our doors, regardless of age, race, socioeconomic class or sexual orientation. Ramps from sidewalk to building entrances, and a ramp inside the Fellowship Hall provide accessibility.

The First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses (FPCU) was organized in January, 1803; it met monthly in a home and later in a log cabin built for worship about 4 miles south of Trumansburg, and finally in a Gothic building on the present East Main Street site. In 1848 that wooden sanctuary was taken down and replaced with a new brick church, reusing the materials for a second smaller meeting house next door. Both buildings are in the Greek Revival style.

The chancel space is large enough for a vocal choir, bell choir, and the Steinway Grand piano. The Cassavant pipe organ, installed in 1923, has been extensively updated and maintained, with recent renovations in 2020 and ongoing. The sound system is current and the building is a preferred acoustical venue for the community.

Our Fellowship Hall, formerly called “the Chapel,” has been used for worship services during major church renovations, national energy crises, and for rental space, currently fully occupied. The main room includes a deep, multi-purpose, closeable stage and a Steinway studio piano. Ninety people can be seated at tables. The two-floor addition houses a large kitchen, two church offices, and multiple classroom spaces, now rented by the Trumansburg Community Nursery School and the Trumansburg After School Program. The Sanctuary is listed on the National and New York state registers of Historic Places. The most recent renovation was completed in 2005. The building retains its Greek Revival exterior with a classical painted trompe l’oeil interior, one original pulpit, one moveable pulpit, and flexible performance space. The pews can seat 200 persons.

Serving

Here are some of the activities and causes we support:

-Trumansburg Food Pantry. FPCU shares in the bi-weekly staffing to help feed those who need it in our community.

-CROP Hunger Walk: This nationwide effort to feed the hungry is well supported each year.

-We support local youth in need through the Trumansburg and South Seneca School Nurses’ Discretionary Funds.

-Ulysses Presbyterian Women hold rummage sales that provide clothing and household goods to the public at very low prices.

-Mission Knitters have made and given hundreds of knitted prayer shawls to those in our prayers or celebrating a special event.

-Donations and support are given to the Christmas Bureau, Hospicare, the public library, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Heifer Project, Church World Service, and the Presbyterian Camp Whitman on Seneca Lake.

-We have responded in times of crises to natural disasters.

Learning

Some think that Sunday School is just for kids. There is considerable energy and excitement around our adult studies curriculum. We are a church that offers an opportunity for adults to speak their mind on important matters of the day.

Each Sunday after church, a number of us stay to discuss current events of the day. The Wired Wordcurriculum suggests topics and provides readings, including scripture, to supplement the topic. Discussions are usually led by a lay leader – not the pastor. Conversations can be quite lively! Participants come from different backgrounds with different points of view, ranging from conservative to liberal on the political spectrum; rarely is there a consensus of opinion. We work hard to hold civil conversations and to listen to others with whom we might disagree. All are welcome to join in the conversation. We learn from each other through careful listening. Here are some examples of topics that we have recently discussed:

Should Students be Taught about Moral Shortcomings Revealed in Their Country’s Own History?

American Young People Say What Matters to Them Doesn’t Seem to Matter to the Church

How to Handle the Rising Rage Epidemic

‘Nice’ Is Not a Biblical Word; ‘Kindness’ Is

Chronic Pain Creates Challenges for People of Faith

Does the Use of Masculine Language Distort the Meaning of Scripture?

Juneteenth Established as Federal Holiday

Recent Surveys Reveal Shifting Worldviews About God and Religion

Israel-Gaza Conflict: No End in Sight

I Was in Prison and You Visited Me

Music

Vocal Choir – The choir rehearses Thursday evenings in the Sanctuary at 7:00pm for ninety minutes, and on Sunday mornings before the service at 9:15am. Ask any choir member—we share a love of singing, camaraderie and laughter! We travel the seasons of the church year in song and our Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols service is a time of beauty and warmth expressed in music. Talented extra instrumentalists join us from time to time, adding to the soul-stirring sounds of our Cassavant pipe organ and our Steinway grand piano.

Bell Choir – FPCU owns a beautiful set of Whitechapel handbells that spans five octaves. Although the bell choir is currently on hiatus, it has a long and proud history. Plans are underway to resume playing with fewer bells to accommodate the reduced number of ringers currently available. If you’d like to ring bells, we’d like to hear from you!

Leading

As Presbyterians, we ascribe to the Protestant idea of the priesthood of all believers; all are called to deliver God’s message of love to the world. We see this belief in action as members use their varying gifts to contribute to the worship service and other church activities, to form caring relationships with both fellow congregants and those outside the church, and to be servant leaders in our community and throughout the world.

How We Are Organized

The Session – As prescribed for churches within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) our governing Session consists of “ruling elders” elected by the congregation. We presently authorize nine persons, who serve for three-year terms. The pastor is always the Moderator and a Clerk of Session is elected to serve as secretary for the Session and for congregational meetings.

Church Committees – Our multiple committees on ministry support the pastor, congregation, and church within the three umbrellas of Outreach, Program, and Support. Each committee has a member of the session, a chairperson, and any number of interested congregants.

Music and Worship – This dedicated group supports the pastor and the music director for weekly worship experiences. It prepares communion, tidies up the Sanctuary, and oversees greeters and nursery to keep things flowing smoothly.

Christian Discipleship – is responsible for creating educational opportunities to form lives in the patterns of Jesus for children and adults.

Care and Mission Ministries – provides opportunities to support church missions and reach out to those in need locally, nationally, and worldwide. We take care to stay connected to those who are ill, less able, or bereaved, by visiting, sending cards, and delivering meals.

Congregational Life – offers ways for all members and friends of the FPCU to be actively involved in the life of the Church. Coffee hours, shared suppers, special parties, and events with our nursery school families help us to know each other better.

Buildings and Property – manages the care of our facilities, including the Sanctuary, the Fellowship Hall, and the grounds. Our volunteers take responsibility for interior maintenance when possible, and for outdoor mowing, planting, snow-shoveling, and clean-up in every season to keep our piece of Main Street looking good.

Personnel – helps the Session and the Congregation to support and evaluate the performance of all persons employed by the church.

Budget and Finance – works closely with the treasurer and pledge secretary to oversee and report on the responsible collection, expenditure, and records of all monies entrusted to the church.

Ulysses Presbyterian Women – Ulysses Presbyterian Women is not a committee appointed by the session, yet it supports the mission and ministry of our First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses congregation. Ulysses Presbyterian Women is associated with the Geneva Presbytery Women, and we attend some monthly meetings of that group. Geneva Presbyterian Women https://www.presbyteryofgeneva.org/presbyterian-women-2 and Ulysses Presbyterian Women align with the mission of the Presbyterian Women (USA) https://www.presbyterianwomen.org.

First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses

69 E. Main Street P.O. Box 597

Trumansburg, NY 14866

607-387-8185

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