Posts Categorized: Special Offerings

Celebrating the 2021 Christmas Joy Offering with Our Youth

Engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been easier or more important, whether you are engaging them in-person or virtually. There are numerous ways children can connect with the upcoming Christmas Joy Offering, sharing in the joy of the perfect gift, Jesus Christ. This year’s curriculum was written… Read more »

‘Mi casa es su casa’

By Lemuel Garcia-Arroyo “Welcome one another … just as Christ has welcomed you.” (Romans 15:7) “Mi casa es su casa” expresses a sincere welcome to all. One hears this phrase often in Latina communities. When guests are in one’s home, they become part of one’s family. As a child of the manse — our home… Read more »

Peace & Global Witness: The Light Shines On

Have you ever felt so far from God’s peace that you couldn’t even imagine it? Natalie Pisarcik testified during Sunday worship in her home congregation, First Presbyterian Church of Boonton, New Jersey, that she was in that place. A place so dark that she was ready to end her pain. Ready to take her own… Read more »

Peace & Global Witness: The Light of Understanding

As well traveled and as fully versed in Presbyterian mission as he is, Tom Elander was still surprised by what he witnessed and learned at the U.S.-Mexico border last winter. As a participant in a travel study seminar hosted by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program to help better understand the real-world impact of migration and immigration… Read more »

Peace & Global Witness: Seeking Light Through Creative Expression

Beirut’s 2020 port explosions shattered Nada Raphael’s world. The devastating blast that tore through the port area of Beirut — one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history — left hundreds dead, thousands injured, an estimated 300,000 people homeless and artists like Raphael psychically wounded. “Beirut is my city,” said the Lebanese-born photographer, videographer and… Read more »

Peace & Global Witness: A Light in the Clearing

When the prophet Elijah, deep in the throes of an existential crisis, fled to Mount Horeb in search of God, he was met instead with the sound of sheer silence. Natalie Pisarcik knows just how he felt. “There was a time in my life where I was on the bottom,” Natalie testified during Sunday worship… Read more »

Celebrating the 2021 Peace & Global Witness Offering with Our Youth

Engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been easier or more important, whether you are engaging them in-person or virtually. And the Peace & Global Witness Offering is especially important as we learn that no one is too young to be a peacemaker! First and foremost, the Peace… Read more »

Energy Flows Where Attention Goes

By Chris Roseland Recently, the Office of the General Assembly released the 2020 annual statistics report showing a decline in membership last year at just over 56,000, which is about the same loss rate as has been reported since 2016. For 2020, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) counts a total membership of about 1.24 million members,… Read more »

Pentecost: Living the “DREAAM”

Tracy Dace, a passionate advocate for at-risk youth had just relocated to Champaign, Illinois, to start a doctoral program in special education at the University of Illinois when he found his heart calling him back into the community and, eventually, through the doors of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) congregation. As Tracy was working in schools,… Read more »