On Saturday, January 17, 2026, 10:00 AM - 12:00pm there will be an outdoor food drive in front of Prospect Presbyterian Church collecting non-perishable food items. Early drop-offs can be placed in the shopping cart under the stairs. To learn more about this program visit:
The donated food will be then taken to one of the Maplewood/South Orange Meeting Essential Needs with Dignity (MEND) food pantries.
Updated: Jan 13, 2025
Per Capita is a fundamental way in which all of the nearly 10,000 congregations and mid councils of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) connect, participate and share in the work of the wider church. Per capita is the primary source of funding for the Office of the General Assembly, and is how Presbyterians mutually and equitably share the costs of coming together to discern the Spirit’s leading for the future.
: It is how Presbyterians are trained to become better ruling elders, teaching elders and deacons, and ministers.
: It is how Presbyterians are helped to discern God’s call in their lives.
: It is how Presbyterians participate in the life of the wider church by serving on General Assembly committees and commissions, regardless of distance or financial resources.
: 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)
All Presbyterians are called to take part in the ecclesiastical and administrative work shared by the whole church though per capita giving. The amount for 2025 is $38 per member.
Please read the article below for one pastor's thoughtful look at a reason to give the per capita amount.
Updated: Dec 17, 2025
The Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey
This Advent week arrives carrying sorrow. As news of the mass shootings at Brown University and in Australia reach us on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, the familiar language of “preparing for Christmas” feels thin. Lives are interrupted and families are shattered. Once again, communities are stunned by violence that seems both shocking and all too familiar. In moments like these, the question is not whether the world needs love, it is whether love can possibly be enough.
Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth begins with disruption. Joseph discovers the life he imagined is unraveling as fear, confusion, and shame press in. His instinct is to protect himself and withdraw quietly. But the angel’s message draws him in a different direction - Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. Love, in this story, does not erase danger or uncertainty. Instead, love chooses presence.
Isaiah names the promise simply, God is not distant or untouched by human pain. God is with us in vulnerability, in grief, in a world where violence intrudes into classrooms, neighborhoods, and sacred spaces. Advent love does not rush to explanations or platitudes. It stays present to mourn and it refuses to look away.
For the church today, this kind of love matters deeply. When communities are traumatized by violence, by fear, by the constant churn of devastating news, the church is tempted either to retreat into sentimentality or to harden into numbness. Advent calls us to neither. Instead, we are invited into love that bears witness, love that grieves publicly, prays honestly, and stands alongside those who feel unsafe, unheard, or unseen.
Joseph’s obedience reminds us that love is not passive feeling; it is a decision shaped by trust in God’s presence. Love takes responsibility for one another’s safety and dignity. Love asks hard questions about the world we are shaping and the lives we are protecting. Love insists that violence will not have the final word.
This week, as we move closer to the manger, we do so with tenderness. We light candles not because the brokenness is gone, but because God has entered it. Emmanuel means that even here, especially here, God is with us. And that love, born in vulnerability, still has the power to change the world.
Steve Huston
Organizing Co-Leader
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