Presbyterians Sharing … contributions were down slightly from 2006, but have surpassed givings for the three years before that. The final tally for 2007 is $8,734,120 – with almost $2 million of that received during the first two weeks of January.
The final figure is $23,457 (0.26 per cent) less than contributions in 2006, but Karen Plater, associate secretary for stewardship, is thrilled with the outcome. “This figure represents another year of congregations working hard to support the mission and ministries that we do together as the Presbyterian Church in Canada,” Plater told the Record, thanking congregations and individuals for supporting the church in this way. “No matter what the circumstances, all of the people I have talked to expressed a commitment to reaching outside the boundaries of their local congregations and communities to do mission and ministry, and in the end, that is what Presbyterians Sharing… is all about.”
Although not mandatory, all congregations are expected to give to Presbyterians Sharing … which supports the work of the church through things like training leaders, helping international partners, growing innovative youth ministries, supporting healing and reconciliation ministries, and “speaking for the voiceless in our country and our world.” Expected quotas are assigned depending on the congregation's dollar base, which is money raised for all congregational purposes in a given year, minus funds collected for Presbyterians Sharing and other mission givings, as well as money used for debt repayment. A formula, on a graduated scale, is then applied to the resulting dollar base. The amount is approved (and possibly changed)
by the congregation and presbytery before being accepted. AM
