Where have you seen hope recently?
We see hope in the faces of each of us gathered here in worship. We feel hope through signs of mercy and grace shown to those in our communities during this busy season. We show hope through acts of loving kindness. We know of hope in the face of a child or an elder whom we love and trust. We trust in the hope of the Christ Child, for whom we prepare a way so he can prepare a way for us to know the fullness of God’s love.
There is hope all around us while we wait during this season of Advent.
Every year, the Christmas Joy Offering, one of the four churchwide Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), combines thousands of congregations’ gifts to bring hope through education and emergency assistance.
Three Presbyterian-related schools that equip communities of color — Menaul School in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Presbyterian Pan American School in Kingsville, Texas; and Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama — provide a transformative education for students all around the globe. These jewels in the Presbyterian crown prepare the way for students from every walk of life to be active, compassionate and informed citizens of the world. Beyond their schoolwork, these students live together in a supportive intentional community where they prepare the way for one another through acts of generosity, mission and service. In their lives together, students experience the love of Christ that we all meet anew at Christmas.
Like the schools and colleges that equip communities of color, the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions prepares a way of peace and flourishing for church workers in times of financial crisis. This program provides life-giving and critical assistance in the most tender moments of church workers’ lives, like health or housing instability. The prophet Isaiah tells us that God is a bringer of comfort as we make the paths straight by offering food to the hungry and satisfying the needs of the afflicted. Jesus, the Light of the World, brings hope, so we can do just that through our receipt of the Christmas Joy Offering to support this vital assistance program.
Our gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering make all of this preparation possible. These gifts will combine with others from congregations throughout our denomination to do our part to repair the world and ensure that every person — whether they be a high schooler, college student or church worker — has the tools they need to flourish. Your gifts prepare the way for the God we know in Jesus Christ, the child whose birth we will celebrate soon. Thank you for all the ways that you give.
Let us pray~
O God, may that little child born in the manger show us your ways of peace this day and every day as we prepare the way for his reign in our world once more. In his name, we pray, Amen.
Gifts to the Christmas Joy Special Offering of the PCUSA will be received throughout December. By giving to the Christmas Joy Offering, you will be providing assistance to current and retired church workers in their time of need and developing our future leaders at Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges. Please consider giving to the Christmas Joy Offering in addition to your regular giving. Give online or by check — mark gifts “JOY”.