2015 Per Capita

Per Capita is the amount First Presbyterian Church is responsible to pay the Presbytery of Grand Canyon for each member. The amount for 2015 is $31 for one member, $62 for two.

What is the Per Capita money used for? The Department of the Stated Clerk at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) explains it this way:

The Westminster Confession of Faith says, “all believers are, therefore, under obligation to sustain the ordinances of the Christian religion where they are already established, and to contribute by their prayers, gifts, and personal efforts to the extension of the Kingdom of Christ throughout the whole earth” (The Book of Confessions, 6.058).

Per capita is a fundamental way in which all of the nearly 11,000 congregations and mid councils of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are connected and participate in the work of the wider church.

Because it is rooted in the connectional and covenantal nature of the Presbyterian church, as affirmed by the ordination vows taken by elders and ministers of the Word and Sacrament, per capita could be called the Presbyterian Covenant Community Fund….

Per capita funding is how Presbyterians mutually share the costs of coming together to discern the Spirit’s leading for the future:

• It is how Presbyterians are trained to become better elders and ministers.
• It is how Presbyterians discern God’s call in their lives.
• It is how Presbyterians participate in the life of the wider church by serving on GA committees and commissions.
• It is how Presbyterians participate in the life of the Church universal as we commit ourselves to work and live in fellowship with “all persons in every nation” (Book of Order, G-4.0101)

To learn more about the history of the per capita offering, go to: http://oga.pcusa.org/media/uploads/oga/perspectives/perspectives-nov07-per-capita.pdf

When you pick up your offering envelopes for 2015 (they are in the narthex hallway), you will see one marked “Per Capita.” Thank you for your contribution!