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"Up Your$" |
| Introducing
Witherspoon Society's
A Campaign to Encourage Every
Presbyterian to Up Your Giving
to the Church
In light of the hard economic times our
beloved Church suffers, Witherspoon Society challenges every
congregation to increase your giving by $1.00 per member and every
member to increase your giving by $100.00.
Some options for increased giving include:
General Mission
Designated Giving Opportunities:
 | Local Congregation |
| Washington Office |
| Women's Ministries |
| Peacemaking Program |
| Hunger Program |
| Presbyterian Disaster Assistance |
| National Network of Presbyterian College Women (NNPCW) |
| Worldwide Ministries |
| Racial Ethnic Ministries |
| Your Favorite: _____________ |
If you're interested --
Send a note,
tell us your questions, and we'll provide UpYour$ stickers and
information sheets.
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| How to give
An update on "Up Your$" campaign to support
our church
Prepared by Jill Acree, Witherspoon
Secretary/Communicator
[10-7-02]
We're delighted people have noticed and asked about
the "Up Your$" campaign - a low-key effort to encourage
Presbyterians to increase their giving to the Church.
We have suggested a few denominational programs that
we think merit our support, but they are just a small sample of the
options for giving, from General Mission to specific programs. We have
pointed to programs that represent some of the Witherspoon Society's
areas of concern: peacemaking and international issues, social and
economic justice, women's concerns, inclusivity in the church, and
environmental stewardship.
We only regret that we have not been able to mention
more possibilities, but we hope these will give you some idea of what
you might do.
Individuals wishing to Up Your giving should mail
checks to:
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Central Receiving Service
Section 300
Louisville, KY 40289
Congregations or sessions sending special "Up Your$" gifts
should send them through their usual receiving site.
Be sure to state the project number and name (if any)
on the memo line of the check.
If you have questions about a project, or need other
information, call the Extra Commitment Opportunities office at
1-888-728-7228, ext. 5650.
| To support the General Mission of the church,
make your check payable to PC(USA) and indicate "General
Mission" on the memo line. |
| To support your local congregation, just add
your check to the offering on Sunday -- and perhaps mention the
reason for your extra support. They'll be happy to see it. |
| To support the Presbyterian Washington Office (Public
Policy Advocacy), specify #865714 on the memo line.
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| To support Women's Ministries, specific
"Women's Ministries" on the memo line; there's no
numerical designation.
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| To support the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program,
specify #352103 on the memo line.
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| To support Presbyterian Disaster Assistance,
specify #9-2000148 on the memo line.
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| To support the National Network of Presbyterian
College Women, specify #049991 on the memo line.
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| To support WorldWide Ministries, specify
#153000 on the memo line.
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| To support Racial/Ethnic Ministries, specify
#154000 on the memo line. |
Additional information on most of these programs is available through
the PC(USA) web site.
On behalf of our
whole church, and the world we serve in Christ's name, we thank you!
For a full listing of current Extra Commitment Opportunities, you can
order a free catalog from
Presbyterian Distribution Service
Presbyterian Church (USA)
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202-1396
or call
1-800-524-2612
Request PDS #68-700-02-085
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Why
the "Up Your$" campaign?
By Trina Zelle
[6-20-02]
The "Up Your$" campaign (or in the KJV, the
"Up Thine" campaign) spontaneously emerged from April's
Witherspoon Board meeting as a way of encouraging individual
Presbyterians and congregations to increase their giving to the
denomination.
We were looking for constructive ways to respond to
the regrettable practice of withholding funds from the whole church body
as a form of dissent. Such activity exacerbates the ongoing financial
crisis in the PCUSA, one result of which is the diminishment of our
ability to do the mission Jesus has called us to do. This includes a
cutback in personnel. The loss of thirty-four missionaries is a logical
outcome of such withholding, and certainly does not show any lessening
of commitment on the part of national staff.
This leads the Witherspoon Board to suggest that the
rest of us do our best to compensate for this loss. After all, that's
what families do in times of crisis: leap into the breach and do
whatever it takes to repair the damage.
That's what the Witherspoon Society is saying:
"Up Your$." |
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Visit
our lively
new website! |
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GA actions
ratified (or not) by the presbyteries
A number of the most important actions of the 219th
General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries,
confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.
We provided resources to help inform the
reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.
Our three areas of primary interest have been:
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Amendment 10-A,
which removes the current ban on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender persons being considered as
possible candidates for ordination as elder or ministers.
Approved! |
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Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. Disapproved, because as an amendment
to the Book of Confessions it needed a 2/3 vote, and did not
receive that. |
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Amendment
10-1, which adopts the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. Approved. |
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If you like what
you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and
growing!
Please consider making a special
contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve
this service.
Click here to send a
gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.
Or send your check, made
out to "Presbyterian Voices for Justice" and marked "web site," to
our PVJ Treasurer:
Darcy Hawk
4007 Gibsonia Road
Gibsonia, PA 15044-8312 |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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