{"id":1929,"date":"2022-01-11T14:16:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T14:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/weekly-offerings\/?p=1929"},"modified":"2022-01-11T16:58:07","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T16:58:07","slug":"per-capita-whats-in-it-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2022\/01\/11\/per-capita-whats-in-it-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Per Capita: What\u2019s in It for Me?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By William McConnell<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

It\u2019s that time of year again: time to take a quick breath to recall Advent and Christmas celebrations; time to look ahead to what the new year will bring. It\u2019s also time to consider your local congregation\u2019s missional priorities and the financial pledges you have received so that a budget can be finalized.<\/p>\n

And about that budget: What is this \u201cPer Capita\u201d number that the presbytery sends us? Are they asking for money, again? What does Per Capita do for me? What does it do for my church?<\/p>\n

These are all important and appropriate questions. As a connectional church, our work is maintained, sustained and funded by a financial system called \u201cPer Capita.\u201d In this system, each governing body above the local congregation\u2019s session determines how much it will cost to do what the \u201cBook of Order\u201d and the next higher governing council require. Each body also calculates what it will cost to do the ministries it believes God is calling it to do. And the General Assembly determines the cost of maintaining the structures and systems at the national level that support the internal work of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its relationships with other faith communities around the world.<\/p>\n

Has your congregation ever benefitted from Per Capita payments made to your presbytery, synod or the Office of the General Assembly? Before you say no, let me ask you to consider the following questions:<\/p>\n

Has your pastor ever consulted with presbytery leadership for guidance?<\/p>\n

Have you ever searched for a new pastor?<\/p>\n

Has a member of your congregation sensed a call to ordained ministry and begun the discernment process?<\/p>\n

Has your pastor or Clerk of Session referenced the \u201cBook of Order\u201d when your Session is making decisions?<\/p>\n

Have members of your congregation served as commissioners to the General Assembly?<\/p>\n

Has a member of the Office of General Assembly staff ever attended your presbytery meeting to help interpret the church\u2019s work?<\/p>\n

Have you read statements from our Stated Clerk, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, about issues facing our world?<\/p>\n

If you answered yes to any of those questions (and there are many more), you and your congregation have benefitted from the dollars you have contributed to Per Capita.<\/p>\n

Want to learn more? On Sunday, January 23, 2022, the PC(USA) will lift up Per Capita as a special emphasis. The Epistle lesson for that day is 1 Corinthians 12:12\u201331a (\u201cThe body has many members\u201d). The PC(USA) website (http:\/\/pcusa.org\/percapita<\/a>) houses free resources to assist you in planning your worship service or incorporating a Per Capita discussion in Sunday School classes or educational activities. There are video \u201cMinutes for Mission,\u201d a sermon starter, liturgy suggestions and even a new hymn (to the tune we know as \u201cBlest Be the Tie That Binds\u201d). You\u2019re welcome to use these resources in any way you like.<\/p>\n

Our church is a connectional body of believers. We thrive when every member of the body is healthy and works together. At its core, Per Capita helps us to do just that.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.\u00a0For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body \u2026 and we were all made to drink of one Spirit\u201d (1 Corinthians 12:12\u201313).<\/p>\n

William McConnell, CFRE, is a Mission Engagement Advisor for the Presbyterian Mission Agency serving the Central region of the United States.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By William McConnell It\u2019s that time of year again: time to take a quick breath to recall Advent and Christmas celebrations; time to look ahead to what the new year will bring. It\u2019s also time to consider your local congregation\u2019s missional priorities and the financial pledges you have received so that a budget can be… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":1930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,86],"tags":[3131,3514,80,3016,3022,3513,2464,3512,3515],"class_list":["post-1929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-assembly","category-giving","tag-book-of-order","tag-corinthians","tag-general-assembly","tag-j-herbert-nelson-ii","tag-office-of-the-general-assembly","tag-pastors","tag-per-capita","tag-per-capita-sunday","tag-stated-clerk"],"yoast_head":"\nPer Capita: What\u2019s in It for Me? - Where Your Heart Is...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our church is a connectional body of believers. 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