You might think that Carol and Ken Tracy would be bitter about their lives in the church. After all, they used up all their resources to go to seminary. After they each earned their master’s (his in divinity and hers in art and religion), they began serving churches. And their ministry didn’t follow the usual arc of moving from small to larger and larger congregations: for almost their entire ministry, they served very small churches. Then in one of the churches they served the manse itself made Carol sick, and by the time she was diagnosed, she’d lost 70 percent of her lung function. Doesn’t sound like great payback for dedicating your life to serving small churches, does it?

But if you suggest that to the Tracys, they’ll set you straight real quick. They’re not angry or bitter about anything related to their ministry, just sad. “We loved what we were doing and wish we could have continued doing it a while longer, but how can you be angry when you’ve had the chance to do what you love?”  

In fact, they say, Carol’s illness has given them the chance to see a new dimension in their partnership with the church they love. “We always saw our ministry as a partnership — between Ken and me, with the people of the Northwest and of Alaska, and with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). And the way the church stepped up when we needed the help has only confirmed the joy of that partnership,” Carol says. “Especially since it has helped us maintain enough health that Ken is able to continue an active ministry even in retirement.”

That partnership is what the Christmas Joy Offering is all about. For students at racial ethnic schools and colleges, our gifts mean support for their journey of discernment as to what they are called to do and training to prepare them to do it. For those like Ken and Carol who have been following a call to serve the church, our gifts offer us a chance to accompany them in their ministry by providing support at the times they need it. Today we can strengthen those partnerships of faith with our gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering. In thanks for past faithfulness, in hope for future possibilities, let us give generously and joyously.

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