2014 Per Capita

The 2014 Per Capita rate is $31.00 per person. What exactly does that mean? 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.

How important is per capita? Per capita is as important as being Presbyterian!

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 receive your offering envelopes for 2014 (they may be picked up in the narthex hallway), you will see one marked “Per Capita.” Thank you for your contribution!