Birthday Offering DONATION

In 1922, ten years after the Women’s Auxiliary of the Presbyterian Church in the United States was formed, the women sought an appropriate way to celebrate what the Auxiliary had meant to them. Mrs. Hallie Paxson Winsborough, Superintendent of Women’s Work, visited Miss Dowd’s School for Girls in Kochi, Japan, as part of a tour of mission stations in the Orient. She saw inadequate facilities and crowded rooms and recognized a need which could be met by Presbyterian Women in the United States. Returning home, she challenged all women of the church to give only one penny for each year of their lives (or a dollar) as a “Birthday Gift” to those school girls in Japan. Thus began a tradition of annual Women of the Church Birthday Celebrations. The offerings have enabled a long succession of new and often innovative mission projects to be accomplished both overseas and in the United States. Each year, projects are selected by the Creative Ministries Offering Committee from submitted proposals. Interpretive materials are prepared for distribution in the fall, and the offering is received in the spring. ***** We appreciate your generosity. Please be aware that this contribution will not be applied to your pledge commitment to Village if you have made one. *****