The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s four annual Special Offerings would be reduced to three and restructured to cause-based instead of program-based purposes under a proposal approved by the 226th General Assembly’s Financial Resources (FIN) Committee (FIN-12).
The committee also approved the creation of a task force to study clergy pay equity and bring its findings to the 228th General Assembly in Milwaukee in 2028.
The full assembly will consider the recommendations when it meets here next week.
Currently, the denomination’s four Special Offerings, and their purposes are:
- One Great Hour of Sharing, received during Lent to support Presbyterian Disaster Resistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program and the Self-Development of People.
- Pentecost offering, received during the season of Pentecost to support children, youth and young adults.
- Peace and Global Witness, received around Peacemaking and World Communion Sunday, which falls on the first Sunday of October. It is divided three ways: 25 percent stays with the congregation; 25 percent goes to mid-councils; and 50 percent goes to the denomination.
- Christmas Joy Offering, received during Advent to support PC(U.S.A.) and split equally between the denomination’s racial-ethnic schools and colleges and the Board of Pensions Assistance Program.
The recommendation came from the Special Offerings Task Force, created by the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board to “consider a comprehensive reshaping” of the offerings. They concluded the “lowest councils” were confused about the purpose and impact of the offerings, if they were even aware of them.
As a solution, the task force recommended the Pentecost offering be dropped and the remaining three be expanded and refined to cause-based rather than program-based purposes.
That change “would give leadership of the Presbyterian Mission Agency or the new unified agency more latitude and flexibility to make decisions,” said Vince Patton, co-moderator of the task force.
Among the benefits the task force cited were: fewer offerings with clearer themes and more desired impacts; increased flexibility for allocation to make ministries more adaptable by removing fund restrictions; and empowering the PMA Board and executive staff to fulfill mission objectives.
The Special Offerings Task Force projects the changes would increase total offerings from the currently projected $11.19 million in 2026 to $12.56 million.
The task force projects the changes would increase total offerings from the currently projected $11.19 million in 2026 to $12.56 million.
The One Great Hour of Sharing and the Christmas Joy offerings would retain their names because of their familiarity and history, but some beneficiaries would change. The Pentecost offering would be eliminated, and support for youth and young adults would move to the Christmas Joy offering. Racial-ethnic schools would receive 35% of the offering and the assistance fund another 35%.
In addition to the reduction, perhaps the major change recommended, and the one which drew the committee’s most questioning, was the realignment in the current Peacemaking and Global Witness offering, which would be renamed the World Communion Offering with 100% going to the denomination. A grant process would be created for congregations and mid councils to apply for funds to support eligible ministries.
The committee’s questions mostly involved the decision for the denomination to receive the full offering, which it would redistribute through a grant process. Commissioners noted that many congregations and synods rely on their shares of the Peacemaking offering to fund ongoing programs and ministries. Also, they were concerned that having to apply through a grant process would discourage many small congregations.
Commissioners were concerned that having to apply through a grant process would discourage many small congregations.
The recommendation would also lengthen the time between reviews of the offerings and the Presbyterian Gift Catalogue from four to six years to give more time for analysis and implementation.
In the end, the committee approved the task force’s recommendation without amendment by a vote of 33-10. There was an effort to reconsider the motion after technical issues cropped up during the discussions, but it failed.
Clergy pay equity
The committee also approved a request from the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) to create a Clergy Pay Equity Task Force “to explore and create a model or models for equitable pay for PC(USA) clergy” (FIN-11).
The committee also approved a request from the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) to create a Clergy Pay Equity Task Force.
“It has become more clear and evident that we need a comprehensive process of engaging pay inequity among our clergy,” PMAB co-Moderator Michelle Hwang told the committee, noting that “communities of color are suffering more than they need to.”
The committee’s primary concern centered around finding qualified members of the task force, especially representatives from other denominational committees or boards because other personal and church responsibilities make it hard for some to take on more appointments. As a solution, the committee amended the recommendation to expand representatives from only current members of the various entities to include any member who had served within the last five years. The amended recommendation was approved by a vote of 39-5.
