{"id":2075,"date":"2023-12-21T14:31:16","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T14:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/weekly-offerings\/?p=2075"},"modified":"2023-09-14T14:35:45","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T14:35:45","slug":"theres-really-no-way-you-can-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2023\/12\/21\/theres-really-no-way-you-can-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018There\u2019s really no way you can fail\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"\n

Like the Magi from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem only to return home another way, the route of mother-daughter duo of Carla Louca and Susannah LeMay took some unexpected turns.<\/p>\n

Their respective roads surprisingly led them to study in the same place at the same time, at Presbyterian-related Stillman College<\/a> in Tuscaloosa.<\/p>\n

Carla began her undergraduate education in 1998, but she left school after only a year. When her daughter Susannah was born, followed by twin sons\u00a0not long afterward, she took a break to raise her family. After years of working unsatisfying jobs, she knew she needed something more \u2014 an intellectual challenge and spiritual connection \u2014 and she found it at Stillman.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, her daughter Susannah was living and studying in South Korea, where her military father was stationed at the time. But she also wanted to find something meaningful.<\/p>\n

\"\"Wanting to go into music, her mom suggested she come to Stillman to study music journalism. Once Susannah transferred and joined in activities at the school, she learned that as you get into the community, \u201cthere\u2019s really no way that you can fail,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you want to succeed, people will absolutely give you the tools and the knowledge that you need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Providing students like Carla and Susannah with the support they need to succeed is what the PC(USA)\u2019s\u00a0Christmas Joy Offering<\/a> is all about. The Offering distributes gifts equally to\u00a0Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color<\/a> and to the\u00a0Assistance Program<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Board of Pensions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cStillman College has long been the place where students can find an opportunity to work on making their dreams a\u00a0reality,\u201d said Dr. C. Mark McCormick, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. \u201cCarla and Susannah have unique stories. The fact that they have both flourished in their\u00a0studies, and they both confess that their relationship with one another has grown to new breadths and depths, is in no small part due to the nurturing community they found here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carla is grateful to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the gifts that made her and her daughter\u2019s education possible. She shares, \u201cWhen I think about how I have grown more spiritually and what I have learned at Stillman, especially what Dr. King said about the light of Christ being in everyone, to be able to see that light of Christ reflected in my own child is a really beautiful thing to experience as a mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering help bring the light that can help those like Carla and Susannah \u2014 and so many others \u2014 shine. Please give what you can, for when we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let us pray~
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/span>God of wisdom and compassion, we thank you for ways that you shape our hearts and souls and minds. Be with those who learn and those who teach. May our generous gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering support this vital mission. In Jesus\u2019 name we pray. <\/em>Amen<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like the Magi from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem only to return home another way, the route of mother-daughter duo of Carla Louca and Susannah LeMay took some unexpected turns. Their respective roads surprisingly led them to study in the same place at the same time, at Presbyterian-related Stillman College in Tuscaloosa…. Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":333,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[17,1755,11,13,1186,1743,3751,145,146,65,6],"class_list":["post-2075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas-joy-offering","category-special-offerings","tag-board-of-pensions","tag-board-of-pensions-assistance-program","tag-christmas-joy","tag-christmas-joy-offering","tag-education","tag-matthew-25","tag-racial-equity","tag-racial-ethnic-and-womens-ministries","tag-racial-ethnic-leadership-development","tag-racial-ethnic-schools-and-colleges","tag-special-offerings"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018There\u2019s really no way you can fail\u2019 - Where Your Heart Is...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2023\/12\/21\/theres-really-no-way-you-can-fail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018There\u2019s really no way you can fail\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Like the Magi from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem only to return home another way, the route of mother-daughter duo of Carla Louca and Susannah LeMay took some unexpected turns. 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