Most congregations in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are small. Pastors who serve them need to be able to live on a relatively small income, and to model good stewardship of limited resources. But when unforeseen circumstances make those resources insufficient, the larger church needs to be there to help. Through your gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering, we are.

From the beginning, Dana and Katy Perreard felt called to serve a small church. When the congregation they both served—he as director of youth ministries, she as director of children’s ministries—offered to help send him to seminary, they felt they should return that gift to the denomination. They worked through a seminary program that allowed Dana to complete seminary debt-free so that they could be open to accepting a call at a small church. That church turned out to be one Dana had visited on a summer mission trip, Community Presbyterian in Oakland, Oregon.

The Perreards firmly believed that staying out of consumer debt was crucial to maintaining the finances that would let them serve this small church, so they moved into a small house and did their best to keep expenses low. After a couple of years, Katy was able to do a little part-time teaching, and it looked as though their plan was working. Then their son, Caleb, began suffering with asthma, and their share of the cost of his medications was pretty high. Then Dana needed either dental implants or a bridge, another stiff expense. The final blow was learning that Dana had a brain tumor. The costs of preliminary tests alone would be high, not to mention the surgery to follow.

They just couldn’t see a way to pay all their expenses. Then Katy remembered that faced with a similar situation, her pastor father had applied for a grant from the Board of Pensions. The Perreards applied and got a Shared Grant, supported by both the Board’s Assistance program and their presbytery. The check arrived just in time to keep them from having to borrow money. Now, almost two years later, the family’s physical and fiscal health once again seem to be sound. With Katy doing more part-time teaching, the family has enough savings to cover similar emergencies if they arise.

The good news of great joy that awaited the shepherds was the birth of a new vision for humanity. That vision, which Jesus both lived and taught, is that we are most fully ourselves and most filled with God’s Spirit when we share our love with one another unstintingly. Today we have a chance to share our gifts with the larger family of the PC(USA). Half of our gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering go to the Board of Pensions’ assistance programs to help the faithful servants of the church meet unexpected financial needs. Half go to our racial ethnic schools and colleges to help students discover and develop their gifts and to share them with their church and community. Today let us share our gifts with all of God’s family through generous gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering.

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