Special Offerings Review
The 2008 General Assembly initiated a major review of our four, church wide special offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing, Peacemaking, Christmas Joy and Pentecost. I was invited to meet with the review team today to share my perspective and reflections.
Some of my thoughts:
The Special Offerings are on automatic pilot. Churches that gather them do so with a sense of inertia and repetition, not any real, new energy or commitment.
The causes which the Special Offerings now support are so fragmented that few people understand what they are for and what they support.
One Great Hour of Sharing, because it is old and gathered at Easter time, continues to be very strong; although there is not much new energy to grow it. We have almost universal participation in OGHS.
The Board of Pensions has a strong, good reputation in the church and thus the Christmas Joy offering receives good support; although, I suspect, there is little enthusiasm for the support of racial ethnic colleges which is also part of Christmas Joy’s purpose.
In our Presbytery the Peacemaking offering tracks with a small group of churches who are reliably committed to this program; there is not any new energy emerging for growing this cause or purpose.
There is little energy or enthusiasm for the Pentecost offering in our Presbytery. I expect that very few people know its purpose.
I believe one of the offerings needs to be redirected to World Mission, and I believe this change will be well received.
Despite my less than positive perceptions, the Presbytery of Carlisle continues to be one of the top special offering giving Presbyteries. Thank you Presbytery of Carlisle!
I am very interested in gathering your thoughts, perceptions and ideas about our four special offerings. I am especially interested in gathering ‘best practices’ about ways they are interpreted, explained and gathered in your congregations. Please email your thoughts.
