Gary Lucero Jr., a sophomore at the Presbyterian related Menaul School, has 20/20 vision that sees the promise of the future and the richness of the past.

He looks forward to the year 2020 when he will graduate from Menaul, a racial ethnic secondary school, and envisions himself well prepared to enter college and young adulthood thanks to his time there. He also looks back on years past and sees the impact of the school on his family members. His family’s history on the Albuquerque campus began more than a century ago.

“A lot of my family has gone there, so there’s a very big legacy, and that is important to me,” Gary says. One of Gary’s maternal great grandfathers, Jose I. Candelaria, a 1916 Menaul graduate, became pastor of Albuquerque’s Second United Presbyterian Church. In addition to serving at Second, Candelaria helped start several congregations in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.

Joe Candelaria, Gary’s grandfather and a 1950 Menaul graduate, worked for many years as a public school industrial education teacher. Menaul honored him with the Harper C. Donaldson Outstanding Alumni Award this year, citing his commitment to the values that Menaul seeks to instill through Christian education.

Two of Gary’s paternal great grandparents, Ofene Garcia, a 1934 graduate, and Carlota Romero, a 1937 graduate, met at Menaul and later married. Both were active in the Presbyterian Church throughout their lives.

“I come from a caring family, and they have done things to help the church and the school, and I am very proud of that,” he says. Gary has 28 relatives who attended Menaul, and his family continues its commitment to both the church and the school.

“Menaul School has made an impact on our lives, and we are beyond grateful for the opportunity to have our son attend such a wonderful place,” says Gary’s mother, Joanne Lucero.

While appreciative of the legacy he inherited, Gary also sees how the Menaul experience is shaping his future. “The small classes help a lot, and the
teachers and the coaches are very supportive,” Gary says. “I love it here.” Gary is a high-achieving student and is on the track and basketball teams.

Today Menaul students are beginning new legacies. Most come from homes where neither parent has attended college, and many sacrifice to send  their child to the school because it sends nearly every graduate to schools of higher learning.

Your gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering will help Menaul open the doors of opportunity for more students to begin their own legacies. Half of your gift will go to help Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges train future leaders for our church and society, and the other half will go to help past and present church workers and their families who are in critical financial need.

Return to Christmas Joy

In 2014, Elisabeth Scotland’s college graduation day turned from joy and celebration to trauma and heartache in an instant.

After receiving her diploma from Boston University, Elisabeth, along with family and friends, went to a baseball game at Fenway Park. While waiting for an elevator, Elisabeth casually leaned against the elevator doors. The doors opened at the wrong time, and Elisabeth fell 20 feet down the elevator shaft. Her multiple injuries included a brain injury that put her in a coma for a week.

Her parents, Rev. John and Anne Scotland, spent two months in Boston by Elisabeth’s side during her hospitalization and rehabilitation. The congregation John serves, Community Presbyterian in Brigantine, New Jersey, graciously granted John leave, but there were living expenses in Boston to be paid, and someone had to fulfill John’s pastoral duties while he was away.

Thanks to a Shared Grant from the Presbytery of West Jersey and the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions, the Scotlands’ expenses in
Boston were covered, and a newly ordained pastor from Community Presbyterian handled the congregation’s pastoral duties during John’s absence.

Caring Presbyterians in West Jersey Presbytery rallied around the Scotlands with prayers and financial gifts. Another crucial component of their support came from Presbyterians across the country who had given to the Christmas Joy Offering, which supports the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions.

The Christmas Joy Offering gifts also helped the Scotlands two years earlier when Superstorm Sandy damaged thousands of homes in their island community. Four feet of water flooded their basement, ruining the heating system, electrical panels, appliances, and other possessions. They received an Emergency Assistance Grant from the Board of Pensions to help with replacement costs.

“I think the emotional support was more important than the financial support,” John says. He explains that it was comforting to “know that somebody outside the community knew we were hurting and wanted to help.”

Thankfully, life is much better these days for the Scotlands and their community. In early 2017, Elisabeth, now an accountant in Philadelphia, passed her CPA exam. Also this year, John and Anne made a gift to the Assistance Program to help others get the kind of help they received.

“Having a Presbyterian family was a big blessing to us and helped us come through tragedy,” he says.

The Christmas Joy Offering is one way the Presbyterian family blesses people in need. Half of your gift will help current and retired church leaders and their families who are in critical financial need. The other half will help Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges train future  leaders. Your gift will make a difference for the church today and tomorrow.

Return to Christmas Joy

As an urban minister for more than 40 years, Bob Forsberg dedicated his willing hands, generous heart, and sharp mind to serving people society
had cast aside.

Last year however, at age 91, the mental capacity that had served this Presbyterian minister so well began to fade. His memory loss became so debilitating that Bob, after years focused on helping others, found himself in need of help.

Bob’s retirement income was enough to pay the bills at his retirement community in Oakland, California, but he had few other resources. Before retirement, Bob had earned a modest salary at Wider City Parish, serving among economically disadvantaged people in New Haven, Connecticut.

Bob believed he should be paid no more than the average worker in his impoverished neighborhood. He and his family qualified for public housing and made their home there. Yet Bob was adept at leveraging ministry funds from churches and charitable foundations for initiatives ranging from youth work to affordable housing. He advocated for better schools in his community and for civil rights, both locally and nationally.

In retirement, Bob relocated to the West Coast to be near his children. He eventually moved to a retirement community and functioned well in an independent living unit until last year. When dementia forced him to move into a memory care unit, the added service was more than Bob could afford over the long term. His children were grieved by the possibility of having to move their father to another facility.

“We looked around at places nearby in the price range that we could afford, but it was very upsetting to see those conditions and to think about my dad being in those circumstances,” says his daughter, Barbara Forsberg.

Thanks to gifts made to the Christmas Joy Offering, Bob didn’t have to move. Help from the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions has enabled him to receive high-quality care in familiar surroundings.

“For a family like ours and for a person like my dad, who has served his entire career in the Presbyterian Church, it has really been a lifesaver,” Barbara shares. “I don’t know if he would be doing so well if we had to move him to another place.”

Barbara notes that it was generosity, a trait that Bob so faithfully incarnated, that came to Bob’s aid in his time of need.

“This is a very moving thing,” Barbara says, “and the irony is I don’t know if he is even aware of it in his mental state. But certainly for those of us who are caring for him, it is a wonderful circle.”

That circle of caring is possible because of congregations like ours that give to the Christmas Joy Offering. Half of the Offering will help past and
present church workers and their families who are facing critical financial circumstances. The other half goes to Presbyterian-related racial ethnic
schools and colleges to train future leaders.

Return to Christmas Joy

Follow Christ’s Lead This Advent Season

Every year, society expects us to celebrate the holiday season even bigger and better than years before. This year, coming together to reclaim Advent and Christmas can be both humbling and fulfilling. As we excitedly await the birth of Christ, it’s important to remember the reason for the season: the newborn Servant of All.

With Christ at the center this holiday season, we can follow in his example of servant leadership by serving our brothers and sisters in faith. Through the Christmas Joy Offering, we are able to support those in our community and give them the gift of hope.

Funds from the Christmas Joy Offering help the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions provide critical financial assistance to eligible workers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and their families, and to qualifying retired church workers and their families.

The Christmas Joy Offering also supports the education and development of our future leaders at Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges. These schools are dedicated to creating opportunities and environments for racial ethnic students built on a foundation of Christian values. The Offering benefits Menaul School and Presbyterian Pan American School, two secondary schools that ready students for a path of higher learning, as well as Stillman College, where graduates are prepared for lives of leadership and service.

By giving to the Christmas Joy Offering, we can share in the hope of Christ and celebrate his leadership by providing support to our church workers, racial ethnic young people, and their families.

Ways to Give:

• Use the special pew envelopes at the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, December 24, 2017
• Text JOY to 20222 to give $10
• presbyterianmission.org/give/christmasjoy

Links:

• Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions | http://www.pensions.org/PlansAndPrograms/AssistanceProgram/Pages/default.aspx
• Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges | http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/resc/
• Menaul School | menaulschool.com
• Presbyterian Pan American School | http://www.ppas.org
• Stillman College | http://www.stillman.edu