Page 40 - Presbyterian Connection Fall 2025

40 FALL 2025
ConnectionP R E S B Y T E R I A N
presbyterian.ca
JUST WONDERING...
The Early Childhood Summer Program
at Tyndale St-Georges Community
Centre in Montreal, Que., is supported
by Presbyterians Sharing.
Answered by Karen Plater,
Stewardship
Presbyterians Sharing is the name
of the national church fund that
supports mission and ministry in
Canada and around the world. It’s
one way that Presbyterian con-
gregations work together to par-
ticipate in God’s mission. Through
Presbyterians Sharing, we pro-
vide grants for special ministries,
camps and struggling congrega-
tions. We walk with Indigenous
people, seek justice, and serve
people who are vulnerable. We
help presbyteries start new con-
gregations. We support young
people through camps and na-
tional events. We help people dis-
cern the call to ministry and help
people study for ministry at our
theological colleges. We produce
and provide educational resourc-
es, host webinars and events,
and support governance and
justice work.
The Presbyterian Church
in Canada is a connectional
church—that means we have
formal ways of connecting our
ministries and working together.
Every congregation is part of a
presbytery; in fact, it is the pres-
bytery, not the congregation, that
officially calls and oversees the
together to participate in God’s
mission, and seeing what God
does with our gifts is part of the
joy of ministry.
Developing a plan to raise gifts
for Presbyterians Sharing doesn’t
have to be difficult. Some con-
gregations hold Presbyterians
Sharing Sundays and send in the
offering collected. They sell pies
and jam and hold fundraising con-
certs. They talk about the mission
and ministry undertaken through
Presbyterians Sharing using Mis-
sion Moments (presbyterian.ca/
mission-moments). They share
short videos in their worship ser-
vices. At the Stewards by Design
conferences, Dr. Kennon Callahan
always said “money follows mis-
sion.” When the mission of Pres-
byterians Sharing is presented with
joy and encouragement, people will
respond. Resources for Presby-
terians Sharing can be found at
presbyterian.ca/sharing.
Presbyterians Sharing is mak-
ing a difference in people’s lives.
Every year, the Connection news-
paper (also supported by gifts to
Presbyterians Sharing) dedicates
four pages to educate readers
on how gifts are used (see the
Spring editions), and many of
the articles in this newspaper re-
port on ministry supported with
gifts to Presbyterians Sharing. If
you want a full report of all that
Presbyterians Sharing supports,
read the Acts & Proceedings at
presbyterian.ca/aandp.
Submit your questions to [email protected]
I recently moved and now serve as an elder at a new congregation. I was surprised to learn that our congregation
doesn’t support Presbyterians Sharing. What’s the difference between funds sent to support presbytery, synod
and our denomination, and do congregations have to support them all?
ministers who serve our con-
gregations. Some mission and
ministry takes place through
presbyteries, such as: support-
ing camps, educational opportu-
nities, and specialized ministries
like Evangel Hall or ARISE. Pres-
byteries belong to synods and
congregations may also support
mission and ministry, such as
summer camps, through their
synod. Both the presbytery and
the synod issue assessments
that outline the ministry and
plans how they will be funded.
A congregation needs to pay the
assessment—it’s part of being a
Presbyterian congregation.
All congregations who are
part of the PCC are also mem-
bers of the General Assembly.
It’s through the General Assem-
bly that we decide what projects
Presbyterian congregations will
support together in the coming
year and into the future.
Presbyteries, synods and the
General Assembly are called “the
courts of the church.” That’s
because the decisions that they
make are binding on all congre-
gations. Just like in a democracy,
decisions made at the Session,
presbytery or synod level can be
appealed to the courts. General
Assembly has the final say.
Every year, a third of congre-
gations send both an elder and
a minister to General Assembly,
so a congregation is represented
every three years. These commis-
sioners discuss and vote on the
budget and direction for how we
will continue Christ’s ministry to-
gether in the world. That budget is
funded by the gifts congregations
give to Presbyterians Sharing.
The reports and recommenda-
tions considered at General As-
sembly are the result of hard work
done by the over 220 people who
serve on more than 34 commit-
tees, subcommittees and work-
ing groups reporting to General
Assembly. Committees, working
groups and staff collaborate to
develop educational resources,
share information and guidelines,
lead conferences and webinars,
provide coaching and mentoring,
write letters to governments, re-
flect theologically and participate
in ministry programs.
Now, unlike presbyteries and
synods, congregations are en-
couraged to support Presbyte-
rians Sharing (the General As-
sembly budget) by accepting an
allocation. Every year, they de-
cide how much they can give to
support the ministry, depending
on their circumstances. General
Assembly recommends that all
congregations support Presbyte-
rians Sharing with at least 10% of
their dollar base. The dollar base
is an amount that supports nor-
mal church expenses in a year.
It’s calculated using information
from a congregation’s statistical
report. This dollar base calcula-
tion doesn’t include mission gifts,
large building improvements, new
building construction, or debt
repayments. The congregation is
asked to prayerfully consider how
much they can support Presby-
terians Sharing each year and
report back an accepted alloca-
tion—the amount they realisti-
cally hope to send.
Some congregations put
their accepted allocation in their
church budget and guarantee to
send it every year. Other congre-
gations encourage members to
give designated gifts through their
offering, and they send in what
is gathered. There are congrega-
tions who use either method to
meet or exceed their recommend-
ed allocation. Many congrega-
tions accept a lower amount, for
a variety of reasons. If a congre-
gation can’t meet their accepted
allocation, there are no repercus-
sions. Whatever can be given is
gratefully and cheerfully received.
There is a lot of grace built into
this system. When it was initially
set up, people knew that con-
gregations across Canada faced
very different circumstances and
would have different abilities to
contribute to the General Assem-
bly budget—that’s why there’s
an allocation, which has a certain
voluntary aspect, rather than an
assessment, which is a bill that
must be paid. However, it was
intended that ALL congregations
would financially support Presby-
terians Sharing. It’s part of being
a connectional church.
Every year, some congrega-
tions are unable to support Pres-
byterians Sharing. Sometimes
they’ve undertaken a big build-
ing project that has stretched
them more than they expected,
or maybe they are going through
a time of conflict or difficulty and
are overwhelmed by their eve-
ryday expenses while trying to
faithfully serve their community.
Sometimes a major donor of the
congregation has died. Some
congregations find it challenging
to support Presbyterians Sharing
if they are in the midst of con-
sidering an amalgamation or dis-
solution. But, from time to time,
congregations also write to say
that they have decided not to sup-
port Presbyterians Sharing be-
cause they don’t agree with some
of the decisions made by General
Assembly. Whether or not con-
gregations should be able to try
and vote with their money rather
than their voting card, or choose
to step away because they don’t
agree with the majority, is an is-
sue we’ve never discussed, as
far as I know. What I do know is
that they are missing out on sup-
porting the excellent work we do
Worship at Mistawasis Memorial Presbyterian Church, Mistawasis First Nation,
Sask., a ministry supported by Presbyterians Sharing.