Greetings to the Leaders of MVP:

I joined a fraternity my first year in college. It offered one of the few outlets for socializing and activities. (Not much of a party school, right?) One of the key aspects of being a "brother" was serving the others and paying the dues. The service kept the house in good shape and provided opportunities to help others. The dues paid for the upkeep, the programs and the expenses of owning something. Some of the dues even went to the national offices. We all knew that whether we were early with our payment, on-time or late, we needed to make the payment. Otherwise, the "brotherhood" would suffer.

Per capita is similar to my fraternity dues. We have joined together in this "brotherhood and sisterhood" called Muskingum Valley Presbytery and the larger PCUSA. It provides socializing, educating, assistance and support, and a place in which we can serve others. Our Per Capita payments help to keep the house in order, to pay the pesky bills we all have, provide the leadership that any organization needs, and allows us to host times of learning, growing and helping. You may sometimes wonder what we receive for the payment, or think we receive very little, but that would be short-sighted. Ask any congregation that is facing troubling issues, a pastoral search or avenues to train the ruling and teaching elders and you will soon find that the return for the dollar is enormous.

With this letter, the Council and Administration Committee ask you to collect and make your payment on your per capita. The per capita for your specific church is included at the bottom of this letter for your convenience. It may be early, and we deeply appreciate the cash flow upfront. It may be on-time, in which we can rest easy and sigh deeply as the funds are available to meet our needs. Or it may be late, in which case later is better than never, but still causes some consternation as we ponder what funds we will have. Please do not allow someone else to bear the brunt of your payment schedule, but rouse yourself to return your per capita as soon as possible. Then, rest easy for it is done, and, watch in wonder in which way it used for the advancement of the Kingdom of Jesus.

With thanks and blessings to you all,

The membership number used in the letter for your church is as of December 31, 2013. It was derived from either a) the Stastical Information submitted for your church; b) a report made to your Parish Elder; or c) the file for your church at the Mission Center.