{"id":832,"date":"2018-12-11T18:27:47","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T18:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/weekly-offerings\/?p=832"},"modified":"2018-12-11T18:27:47","modified_gmt":"2018-12-11T18:27:47","slug":"christmas-joy-menual-school-molds-spiritual-formation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2018\/12\/11\/christmas-joy-menual-school-molds-spiritual-formation\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Joy: Menual School Molds Spiritual Formation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Luci<\/h4>\n

While a summertime academic emphasis is not unusual for high-achieving high school students, Lucianna (Luci) Astorga\u2019s educational focus between school years has been much different than that of most of her scholastically minded peers. Since the eighth grade, this honor roll student\u2019s summer priority has been on earning tuition for the upcoming academic year at the school she loves, the Menaul School in Albuquerque, New Mexico.\"\"<\/p>\n

Her education at Menaul also has been made possible in part by gifts to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)\u2019s Christmas Joy Offering, which supports Menaul and the church\u2019s other historically Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color. The Offering is especially important for families with limited financial means like Luci\u2019s. Although her mother Dolores is a single mother unable to work due to a medical disability, gifts from the Christmas Joy Offering helped open the door for Luci and her two sisters, Marianna, her twin, and Esperanza, a May 2018 graduate, to attend Menaul.<\/p>\n

Luci says Menaul lived up to its reputation in both its academic and spiritual emphases. \u201cChapel and religion classes really help with spiritual growth,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing able to grow spiritually is one thing that really drew us here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Menaul has also helped stretch her intellect, she says. \u201cThe classes here aren\u2019t the easiest classes. They are challenging, so you really have to be on the edge of your seat and ready for anything that comes at you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Known around campus for her infectious smile and cheery attitude, Luci isn\u2019t blind to the needs of her community and the larger world. Luci says Menaul\u2019s service projects and mission trips have helped shape her career aspirations. She would like to be a nurse or a teacher. \u201cI really do want to help people,\u201d she says. \u201cI know that sounds like a clich\u00e9, but that (desire to help) is what I got from Menaul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Your Gifts Make Luci’s Experience Possible<\/h4>\n

Because of your gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering, students like Luci and her sisters are entering adulthood prepared to serve others. One half of the offering goes to Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color like Menaul, while the other half provides assistance for current and retired church workers and their families with critical financial need. Our gifts support leaders in our Church and in the world \u2014 past, present and future.<\/p>\n

Let Us Pray<\/h4>\n

Giver of fields to tend and classrooms in which to grow, we give you thanks for the work that is ours to do. Bless each act of effort that develops the mind and deepens the spirit. And bless each act of generous giving which comes from you and supports the work we do together. Amen.<\/p>\n

Join Us<\/h4>\n

For more information and resources related to the Christmas Joy Offering, visit presbyterianmission.org\/christmasjoy<\/a>.
\n<\/u> This post is based on the Minute for Mission script which can be found on our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0as a\u00a0script<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please give generously to the Offering:<\/p>\n