Thanks to the Christmas Joy Offering, a church educator and her family receive emergency assistance in their time of greatest need
by Emily Enders Odom | Presbyterian News Service
Jenni Whitford (Contributed photo)
LOUISVILLE — A single phone call nearly 20 years ago turned Jenni Whitford’s whole world upside down.
Whitford and her young family had just returned from vacation when her husband’s workplace called.
“I came home from a session meeting and got a call that my husband, Ken, had collapsed,” recalled Whitford, who was then serving as a three-quarter-time Christian educator in her home church, First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Michigan. “When they asked me if I could come to the hospital right away and whether I had someone to stay with the kids, I said, ‘No, they’re coming with me.’”
No sooner had they arrived at the hospital when Whitford and her two children, ages 9 and 12, learned that 36-year-old Ken Ellis — a dedicated husband and father, for whom the most important thing in life was his children — had died of an aortic aneurysm.
“With a death, there’s so much that starts happening all at once,” said Whitford.
And because it was her husband who had carried the family’s medical insurance, she learned that their coverage was paid only through the end of the month.
“It was a hard time because the kids were so young,” Whitford said. “I knew they needed immunizations and healthy child check-ups. It was so scary. The fact that one hospital visit could put you out $20,000, that was always on my mind. We knew we could buy COBRA, which was super expensive. Everyone felt terrible for me.”
What’s more, not only had Whitford just lost her husband, but she was previously widowed at the age of 23 — and pregnant with her daughter — when her first husband tragically died in a motorcycle accident.
“To have two husbands pass away was so strange and horrible,” she said. “A lot of people were struck by that and wanted to help.”
Because Whitford has always been deeply involved with the church, her pastor was immediately by her side to offer both comfort and counsel.
“Since I was familiar with the PC(USA)’s four denominational offerings at that time, I recommended to Jenni that the Christmas Joy Offering was there to help church workers in times of need,” said the Rev. Jim Hegedus, an honorably retired member of the Presbytery of Lake Michigan, who was Whitford’s former pastor at First Presbyterian. “Jenni was a church worker and most definitely in desperate and unexpected need. What a blessing and a lifesaver the Christmas Joy Offering program was for Jenni and her family at that sad and heartbreaking time!”
Facing such a huge financial challenge at a time of “chaos, upheaval and huge emotions,” Whitford found just the support she needed through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions. The trusted PC(USA) agency, in partnership with the Presbytery of Lake Michigan, granted her immediate emergency assistance by covering the family’s medical premiums for two years.
The generous support that she received was made possible, in part, by the PC(USA)’s annual Christmas Joy Offering, a cherished Presbyterian tradition since the 1930s, which distributes gifts equally to the Assistance Program and to Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color.
“It is a testament to the Christmas Joy Offering that, after nearly two decades, the memory of the help Ms. Whitford received compelled her to share her story,” said Ruth Adams, director of the Assistance Program. “Though Ms. Whitford’s gift predates my time at the Board of Pensions, it is a wonderful reflection of how the denomination is at its connectional best when it works together. That is the lasting impact that the Christmas Joy Offering has, and why I am proud to be a small part of the legacy of this program.”
Since November 2022, Whitford has served as the director for Congregational Faith Formation at First Presbyterian Church in Granville, Ohio. And although she said that “life is pretty much normal” for her now, having the peace of mind that the Offering provided her then was lifesaving.
“It allowed me to focus on my kids and not be worried about that,” she said. “I had enough worries.”
Jenni Whitford is pictured with her blended family. (Contributed photo)
Today, those “kids” are now part of a larger, blended family that also includes her current husband, Chris, and Whitford’s son and daughter.
Whitford said that because she raised her family in the church, her children would say that if they needed something — even today — they would know exactly who to call.
And so does she.
“Because there are so many people who don’t know about the program or that they could be eligible, I have shared my story several times at both congregations where I’ve worked and at a meeting of the Presbytery of Scioto Valley, where my church is now,” said Whitford. “But since it’s something that needs to be repeated every three or four years, I probably need to share it again so that people know the opportunity is there, like it was for me.”
Whitford also considers it her responsibility not only to share her story, but also to share her gifts with smaller congregations who are unable to afford an educator on staff. It’s just one of the many ways in which she practices generosity toward those who have been — and continue to be — so generous toward her.
“It’s that great cloud of witnesses that I think about,” said Whitford, “people who I don’t know or never will meet who gave generously to the Christmas Joy Offering to help support people like me.”
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