This Sunday as we celebrate World Communion with breads of the world, we will also take the Peace and Global Witness offering. This is one of the four yearly offerings of the Presbyterian Church (USA) which we participate in. Each offering has a different purpose and together they maintain wonderful and very important ministries.
One Great Hour of Sharing is the biggest and most well-known offering, especially since other denominations participate as well. It supports hunger relief, disaster assistance, and our program called “Self Development of Peoples” worldwide. The Pentecost offering supports young adult volunteers and children at risk. The Christmas Joy offering supports leaders past, present, and future, with assistance programs for college students and retired pastors. For years we have taken a Peacemaking offering, which at the 2014 General Assembly was expanded and renamed as the Peace and Global Witness offering. The broadening of the offering means it now includes other aspects of global mission that have been underfunded. And in case you are allergic to the colonial connotations of the word “mission,” please know that our church is spectacular at being culturally sensitive, politically appropriate and creatively collaborative in our mission. We don’t have missionaries any more — we have mission co-workers, joining alongside local organizations, churches, seminaries and more in their ministries around the world.
So, this offering supports our peacemaking, reconciliation, and outreach efforts as we seek to be God’s people in the world. Up to 25% of the received offering stays right here at MPC, 25% goes to the San Francisco Presbytery, and 50% to the Presbyterian Mission Agency where it is disbursed to our ministries around the world.
Our MPC portion has for several years been contributed to OCO – Oakland Community Organizations. Among the work of OCO is Lifelines to Healing, a campaign which works to address the root causes of violence and crime in Oakland and the cycle of mass incarceration that disproportionately affects the lives of young Black and Latino men. As another example of what our funds do at the Presbytery level, I’d like to mention the program “Peace Camp” in Richmond. Each summer at Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church they have a camp for school-age children to learn violence prevention and peacemaking methods that they can use in their schools, homes, and neighborhoods. They begin as young as 1st grade! What a valuable program in a neighborhood that can surely use it.
As we have prayed for peace in so many ways over the last month, I hope that you will also be generous in contributing to this offering on Sunday.
Blessings,
Talitha