Presbyterians have long celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ by giving generously to an Advent offering. The Christmas Joy Offering dates back to the 1930s when the former Presbyterian Church in the United States (PSUC) began an offering to supplement inadequate retirement income and provide supplemental medical insurance for former ministers, missionaries, church workers, and their families. In the late 1940s that became the Joy Gift.
In the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA), a Christmas offering was first taken in 1960. Called the White Gift, its funds were used for general mission and world relief. In 1964 the name was changed to the Christmas Offering, and receipts provided support for health and welfare concerns related to children. The emphasis on global work with children continued until 1973, when the offering was used to assist former servants of the church who were living on inadequate pensions.
In 1974 minority education was added, and in 1979 nursing home care assistance was also included. Funds were distributed evenly between the Board of Pensions and minority education.
In 1988 the PCUS and the UPCUSA offerings were joined into one offering, the Christmas Offering Joy Gift. The General Assembly set a goal that neither the Board of Pensions nor the racial ethnic schools would suffer in the merger of the Joy Gift and the Christmas Offering. To accomplish that, the 1987 General Assembly originally set a distribution ratio of 65 percent to the Board of Pensions and 35 percent to the racial ethnic schools. It was several years before the General Assembly decided that the fairest way to achieve their goal was to divide the offering evenly.
In 1989 the offering was renamed the Christmas Joy Offering, and in 1991 the 203rd General Assembly changed the distribution of funds to 50 percent to the Board of Pensions and 50 percent to the Presbyterian racial ethnic schools and colleges.
The Christmas Joy Offering will be received on Sunday, December 10th, during both morning worship services and at the Joy Gift Program that evening.
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