08244
March 28, 2008
Per capita Web site goes online
Cyber offering provides resources for interpreting vital funding source
LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has launched a new Web site featuring interpretive and educational materials about per capita funding at the General Assembly level.
The site, Per Capita: The Presbyterian Covenant Community Fund, is sponsored by the denomination’s Office of the General Assembly (OGA).
It is designed to address such questions as: What is per capita? Why is it important? What do General Assembly per capita dollars provide?
Per capita is a set amount of money (apportionment) per member that congregations pay to the larger PC(USA). The money covers such things as the administrative expenses of the General Assembly, the OGA, and a portion of activities of the General Assembly Council (GAC) executive director’s office.
Per capita also funds the expenses of the PC(USA) General Assembly moderator and vice moderator, the Presbyterian Historical Society, and the production and distribution of the PC(USA)’s Book of Order, The Book of Confessions and other General Assembly publications.
And that’s not all the funds go for.
A complete list of church entities, agencies and programs supported by per capita funding at the General Assembly level is detailed on the Web site’s “What per capital supports” page.
“Per capita is the primary funding source for OGA,” said Sharon K. Youngs, OGA’s communications coordinator. “There’s always a lot of questions about it and so we wanted to offer some resources to help interpret it. And the plan is to add resources along the way.”
The Web site’s resources page includes a downloadable brochure with a detailed description explaining GA per capita. Also included is a link to Hubbard Press to order special-occasion pew envelopes, including one for per capita giving, for congregations that ask members to pay their per capita and regular offering amount.
A downloadable news article is available on the resources page, which details the origins and impact of the per capita apportionment as a means of financing the General Assembly. Also available on the resources page is an advisory opinion by PC(USA) General Assembly Stated Clerk the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick that provides clarification about per capita and its impact on the church.
A page outlining the “Importance of per capita funding” explains that per capita giving makes church governing possible, along with fostering unity in the church and allows the PC(USA) to maintain its historical awareness.
There’s also a “Frequently asked questions” page that sheds light on such queries as what per capita is, how long it’s been around, and who pays the apportionments and how much.
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