Christmas Joy Offering

                                                     The Christmas Joy Offering

The Christmas Joy offering is a cherished Presbyterian tradition since the 1930’s.  Because Advent and Christmas are a time for celebrating the arrival of “the true light” (John 1:9), this offering provides us the opportunity to support those in need of help and hope.  Alongside this message of promise and fulfillment, we also hear the encouraging words, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” from John 1:4.  When we give out of the abundance of God’s blessing in our lives, the light of Christ shines through us and illuminates those in need of help and hope.

The Christmas Joy offering gifts will be distributed equally to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions and to support education at Presbyterian related racial ethnic schools and colleges.  It helps support pastors, missionaries, and retired church workers who have unexpected needs they cannot meet.  Through the schools and colleges, it helps provide opportunities to the students to give them a great education in every respect; most of the students come to the school undereducated and go on to lead productive lives as teachers, doctors, judges, pastors, engineers, all building better communities from the support they received.

One woman helped from the Christmas Joy Offering is Jackie; she is the widow of a Presbyterian minister and was helped through the gifts of the Christmas Joy Offering.   After her husband had passed, she was trying to raise their children, and she was barely scrapping by.  She had read an article in a General Assembly publication and learned about the Board of Pensions Income Supplement Program, she called the hotline and found the help she needed.  Your gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering will help supply funding to the Board of Pension Income Supplement Program and give those, like Jackie, a ray of hope and light to illuminate the darkness.

We will be collecting The Christmas Joy Offering during the Advent season, which lasts through Christmas Eve.

You can visit www.presbyterianmission.org/christmasjoy to read more stories and see what a difference you can make with your contribution.

In Him was life and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.  John 1:4-5