Every Advent, we take up an offering that goes beyond our own walls — a tangible expression of the hope we proclaim. This year’s Advent theme, A Weary World Awaits, feels particularly true. After a long and exhausting year — globally, nationally, and for many of us personally — we are once again looking for light that feels too slow in coming. And yet Advent reminds us that God does not stand far off. In Jesus, God draws near to a weary world with hope, peace, joy, and love.
Our Advent Offering is one way we embody that same nearness — by stepping toward those carrying heavy burdens and toward communities longing for relief. After a year marked by so much devastation, we felt called to support organizations meeting people’s most basic needs, especially as more and more find themselves in vulnerable situations. The recipients of this year’s Advent Offering at Christ City Church are:
ANGEL SCROGGINS MEMORIAL FUND
Established in 2021 to honor a beloved member of our church, who passed away in 2020, this fund supports young people in the transition to adulthood—whether through college, trade school, entrepreneurial training, or other paths. It’s a way of extending Angel’s legacy of encouragement and possibility to the next generation.
Run by Capitol Hill United Methodist's Food & Friendship Ministry, ODB serves breakfast every single morning, year-round—no questions asked. It's more than food: it's connection, a warm space, and a hub linking people with social workers, healthcare, and community. The need has grown sharply this year, with more people seeking help with basic necessities. This is an essential local ministry to our neighbors here in DC.
Peace & Hope International has been a global partner for many years as they have been working in Latin America alongside communities living under the crush of poverty and violence, helping families build lives of dignity and safety. This year, massive cuts to US foreign aid hit organizations like Paz hard — right when their work matters most — and we want to help.
Founded in 2010, TDO is responding to the unfolding genocide in Darfur — a situation UN agencies have described as both the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and the world’s largest displacement crisis. TDO is on the ground in El Fasher, supporting displaced families, where resources are desperately scarce. Partners in the region recommended TDO to us as an org doing essential work in impossible conditions.
The season of Advent asks us to wait — and to give. Not because giving solves everything, but because it reflects, however imperfectly, the God who gave Godself. In a weary world, generosity is resistance. It's hope made visible.
The Advent Offering will remain open through the end of the year. We invite you to prayerfully …