Advent Mission Opportunities

for December, 2006

Christmas Joy Offering

On Sunday, December 24th, we will receive the annual Christmas Joy Offering.   A Presbyterian tradition for almost seventy years, the Christmas Joy Offering is one of three special offerings we at First Presbyterian Church take each year to support specific causes that help those in need.

Fifty percent of the Christmas Joy Offering is distributed to the Board of Pensions for assistance programs supporting retired and active church workers, their spouses, and families.   Often those who receive assistance are former missionaries who serve the Lord in most demanding locales around the world.   The other fifty percent supports Presbyterian- related racial ethnic education through the General Assembly Council.

Within our Synod of Alaska-Northwest, our offering will in part support Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska.   Sheldon Jackson is the oldest continuous service educational institution in Alaska founded in 1878 by Presbyterian missionaries.   The four year college is open to all who qualify, especially native students from Alaska and the region.  

We ask that you prayerfully consider your gift to the Christmas Joy Offering on Sunday, December 24th.

Mission Interpretation

19 shoeboxes doesn't seem like a big deal.   In the scheme of things, it's not even a drop in the bucket. But there will be 19 children who will see it differently. 19 children who will see God's love in the form of a shoebox, just for them. No strings attached, no infomercial to sit through, no reason other than it's Christmas. And that someone loves them. And for that Operation Christmas Child was a great success.