Celebrating the Epiphany of Emmanuel

Traditionally, Western Christianity recognized a Christmas Season of twelve days from December 25 through January 5.  
And January 6 is universally recognized as Epiphany. 

Epiphany is one of the three oldest festival days of the Christian Church. 
It commemorates, according to tradition, "the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles."

Epiphany, January 6 is also known as "Little Christmas," or "Three Kings Day."  
In some cultures, the gifts (which represent the gifts given by the Magi to Jesus, or the gift of Jesus) are given on this day, rather than on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
For some, this is a day of special feasting with elaborate traditional foods.

In the churches of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the recognition of Christ's divinity occurs first at his baptism by John in the Jordan River. For these churches this was the
breakthrough moment, the occasion on which it was recognized that this man was in fact the Son of God.
In churches of the West the evening preceding Epiphany is called Twelfth Night.  
Hence, the twelve days of Christmas.

In an article on About.com, Charles Henderson wrote:
"Personally, I like the idea that Christmas is actually a season  which stretches out from December 25 all the way through to the  New Year, culminating in Epiphany. 
This simple fact allows one  to separate the secular and commercial Christmas from the more  reflective period in which the actual significance of Jesus  Christ can be contemplated. 
A period of twelve days allows an  appropriate amount of time in which to probe to a deeper level  of understanding. 
Thus, Epiphany may redeem Christmas, and this  time of the year can indeed by an occasion for illumination and  discovery, a breakthrough moment in which those things that are  most real (and thus most divine) in human life come shining  through."

Traditionally, the word epiphany means "a showing forth" or "manifestation." 
In common usage it sometimes refers to a sudden recognition of something that was there all along, but for which there was only a vague intuition. 
Often the new recognition can be seen to have a cosmic dimension and can certainly be life-changing.
This cosmic aspect of a seemingly insignificant event is well-represented by the Epiphany day story of the Magi who followed a star in search of a new-born king whom they finally discovered in a very unlikely Jewish home.

During Advent we often heard the word Emmanuel and the phrase "God with us" as a way to describe the birth of Jesus Christ.
Epiphany is a time for discovering what this phrase truly means.
 
Check out NewCelebrations.com

Alternative Gift Catalog - Gifts of Food and Beverage

By enjoying Equal Exchange products you join a movement to support small-scale farmers.

Your actions as a consumer support or discourage actions by businesses.

By making the choice to buy fairly traded products, you help provide health care, education and technical trainings for farmers, workers, and artisans around the world. By supporting Equal Exchange, you join a movement to reclaim the food system – to make it better for farmers, consumers and the earth.

Equal Exchange is a partnership of 13 Christian church-related organizations,
over 40 small farmer organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States,
and Fair Trade organizations - Equal Exchange UK, Oke USA, Traidcraft, Fullwell Mill Ltd, and Ten Thousand Villages - as we build a movement for authentic Fair Trade and ultimately increase our impact in farming communities.

You can help by ordering coffee, chocolate, tea and food products. Check it out.

 http://www.newcelebrations.com/giftcatalog.html

Alternative Gift Catalog: Gifts of Food & Beverage

If you want to reclaim the real reason for the season,

     if you want to find Emmanuel,

          If you don't want to miss the coming of the Christ this year,

               remember the clues from our Christian Holy writings:

                    Whenever you do for the least of these, you do for me.

                                        (Check out the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31-46.)

Let us be clear, gift-giving is a good thing to do.

     Gift-giving is a concrete way of letting people know you are thinking of them,

           you care for them, and

                 that they are special to you.

But, let us thoughtfully give gifts that are affirming, life-enhancing, community-building,

and justice-celebrating.

Look over these suggestions,

          explore these opportunities,

                   and let your own thoughts springboard from them.

 ECHO— Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization —
is a non-profit, Christian organization dedicated to the fight against world hunger. ECHO is a growing network for sharing information, ideas, seeds for plants, training, techniques, books, and solutions to problems.

ECHO has been fighting world hunger for 18 years by providing seeds, information, and ideas to people in 140 countries

Find out more about ECHO here.

Make meaningful Christmas gifts here.

Through ECHO, you can give a gift that will last a lifetime!
ECHO’s Online Gift Catalog gives you the opportunity to donate in honor of a loved one.

Your hard-earned money will reduce hunger and improve lives worldwide and your recipient will have the heartwarming feeling knowing that a gift was made in their name!

Alternative Gift Catalog: Gifts of Food & Beverage

If you want to reclaim the real reason for the season,
     if you want to find Emmanuel,
          If you don't want to miss the coming of the Christ this year,
               remember the clues from our Christian Holy writings:
                    Whenever you do for the least of these, you do for me.
                                        (Check out the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31-46.)

Let us be clear, gift-giving is a good thing to do.
     Gift-giving is a concrete way of letting people know you are thinking of them,
           you care for them, and
                 that they are special to you.

But, let us thoughtfully give gifts that are affirming, life-enhancing, community-building,
and justice-celebrating.

Look over these suggestions,
          explore these opportunities,
                   and let your own thoughts springboard from them.

Gifts of Food & Beverage:

Koinonia Partners, Inc. is a Christian organization seeking to be a "demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God".

Founded in 1942 by Clarence Jordan, author of The Cotton Patch Gospels, Koinonia Farm is an intentional community in Southwest Georgia.  

(Check out the history of Koinonia Farm!)

They write: “We are committed to non-violence and peaceful solutions to society's problems, reconciliation among all people, Christian discipleship, and the empowerment of the poor, the neglected and the oppressed.

We come together, united in our belief in God, to participate in community life, outreach ministries, and business enterprises.”

Check out their Pecan Products

Items from their Bakery

Fair Trade Chocolate

Christmas With More Meaning and Less Money

You asked for ideas about celebrating Christmas with lots of spirit and little cash.

Choosing to simplify Christmas can be enriching, no matter why you've arrived at that choice.

Don't be concerned that your children will suffer just because money is tight this year.

What's important to them is that you're all happy together.

Remember that for children what's important is the process, not the finished product.

You "can" create a storybook Christmas for yourselves and your kids if you model it after the Waltons or Little House on the Prairie, rather than TV ads showing "perfect" family gatherings.

In fact, why not give them the gift of family-activity nights, instead of mindless TV watching?

Plan to watch only the Christmas specials you KNOW will help increase the gratitude and wonder.

You want them to feel this season.

Let everyone be involved in the planning and the doing.

Here are some starter ideas:

SPIRIT:

1.  Putting magic into holidays takes a flight of fancy, not a spending spree. Creating Christmas spirit is like believing in fairies: it takes some we WILL-thinking, instead of we WON'T (as in we won't have, we can't afford, etc). For thousands of years people made their own fun. You can do it, too. .

2.  Use what you have: your imagination and knowledge, combined with the resources at hand or within this year's budget. You know some Christmas songs. Teach them to your children. Gather family and friends, hold a practice session, then go caroling at a nursing home, hospital, shelter and/or around your neighborhood. You'll feel great!

If your children are old enough, tell them stories about your favorite childhood Christmas.

Make up one.

Check a few books out from your library and read a new story every night for a week.

Your librarian will help you choose the best ones. 

Check our lots more ideas here: NewCelebrations

THE CHRISTMAS PLEDGE

Believing in the beauty and simplicity of Christmas, I commit myself to the following:

1.  To remember those people who truly need my gifts.

2.  To express my love for family and friends in more direct ways than presents.

3.  To rededicate myself to the spiritual growth of my family.

4.  To examine my holiday activities in light of the true spirit of Christmas.

5.  To initiate one act of peacemaking within my circle of family and friends.

-from Unplug the Christmas Machine , by Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli





http://www.newcelebrations.com/christmaspledge.html

Ten Tips for a Simpler, More Meaningful Christmas

1.  Plan ahead. Instead of going on auto-pilot the day after Thanksgiving, hold a family meeting to decide what the group really wants to do and who’s going to do what.

2.  If you need a symbol for giving (in addition to Jesus and the Magi), learn about St. Nicholas. Santa Claus has been completely taken over by commerce.

3.  Avoid debt. Refuse to be pressured by advertising to overspend.

4.  Avoid stress. Give to yourself. Don’t assume that things have to be the same way they've always been.

5.  Draw names rather than everyone giving something to everyone else in your giving circle. Set a ceiling for each recipient. Give children ONE thing they really want, rather than so many gifts. If need be, pool funds.

6.  Give appropriate gifts. Get to know the recipient. Give what they want to receive, not what you want to buy.

7.  Give alternative gifts. 
         Give 25% of what you spent last year to the needy… individuals or groups                   locally, nationally or internationally.

         Practice Fair Trade. Buy crafts and clothing from developing countries at alternative gift markets, not from commercial importers, so that artisans receive more for their work.

        Give of yourself, not just “stuff” – a coupon book for future services (such as baby-sitting or an “enchanted evening”);

        something baked, sewn, handmade, composed, etc.;

      or a family service project, such as working together at a soup kitchen.

8.  Celebrate Advent for four weeks before Christmas. Use the booklet “Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?” or some other appropriate guide.

9.  Put the gifts under the tree shortly before opening them. Then take turns opening them around the tree, not all at once, so that each gift can be admired and each giver thanked. Read to each other, tell stories, play “The Christmas Game,” leave the TV off.

10.  Make changes slowly but persistently. Don’t try to change everything and everybody all at once. The resistance will make you feel defeated and lonely.

Post on the Refrigerator & Bulletin Boards. Share with Friends & Relatives. Copy in Newsletters.

For more help and a free catalog of ideas, contact  http://simplelivingworks.org/.

©1997 http://simplelivingworks.org/. Used by permission.


http://www.newcelebrations.com/advent.html

'Twas the Night Before Advent

'Twas the beginning of Advent and all through the Church
 Our hope was all dying –  we'd given up on the search.
 It wasn't so much that Christ wasn't invited,
 But after 2,000 plus years we were no longer excited.
         
 Oh, we knew what was coming –   no doubt about that.
 And that was the trouble –  it was all "old hat."
 November brought the first of an unending series of pains
 With carefully orchestrated advertising campaigns.
         
 There were gadgets and dolls and all sorts of toys.
 Enough to seduce even the most devout girls and boys.
 Unfortunately, it seemed, no one was completely exempt
 From this seasonal virus that did all of us tempt.
         
 The priests and prophets and certainly the kings
 Were all so consumed with the desire for "things!"
 It was rare, if at all, that you'd hear of the reason
 For the origin of this whole holy-day season.
         
 A baby, it seems, once had been born
 In the mid-east somewhere on that first holy-day morn.
 But what does that mean for folks like us,
 Who've lost ourselves in the hoopla and fuss?
         
 Can we re-learn the art of wondering and waiting, 
 Of hoping and praying, and anticipating?
 Can we let go of all the things and the stuff?
 Can we open our hands and our hearts long enough?
         
 Can we open our eyes and open our ears?
 Can we find him again after all of these years?
 Will this year be different from all the rest?
 Will we be able to offer him all of our best?
         
 So many questions, unanswered thus far,
 As wise men seeking the home of the star.
 Where do we begin -- how do we start
 To make for the child a place in our heart?
         
 Perhaps we begin by letting go
 Of our limits on hope, and of the stuff that we know.
 Let go of the shopping, of the chaos and fuss,
 Let go of the searching, let Christmas find us.

We open our hearts, our hands and our eyes,
To see the king coming in our own neighbors' cries.
We look without seeking what we think we've earned,
But rather we're looking for relationships spurned.
        
With him he brings wholeness and newness of life
For brother and sister, for husband and wife.
The Christ-child comes not by our skill,
But rather he comes by his own Father's will.
         
We can't make him come with parties and bright trees,
But only by getting down on our knees.
He'll come if we wait amidst our affliction,
Coming in spite of, not by our restriction.
         
His coming will happen -- of this there's no doubt.
The question is whether we'll be in or out.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock."
Do you have the courage to peer through the lock?
         
A basket on your porch, a child in your reach.
A baby to love, to feed and to teach.
He'll grow in wisdom as God's only Son.
How far will we follow this radical one?
         
He'll lead us to challenge the way that things are.
He'll lead us to follow a single bright star.
But that will come later if we're still around.
The question for now: Is the child to be found?
         
Can we block out commercials, the hype and the malls? 
Can we find solitude in our holy halls?
Can we keep alert, keep hope, stay awake?
Can we receive the child for ours and God's sake?
         
From on high with the caroling host as he sees us,
He yearns to read on our lips the prayer:
          Come Lord Jesus!
As Advent begins all these questions make plea.
The only true answer: We will see, we will see.
      
   
By  J. Todd Jenkins
      First Presbyterian Church
      Fayetteville, Tennessee 

Note:  I have been sharing this poem for over 25 years and have lost touch with J. Todd Jenkins.  If you know of his whereabouts, please let me know.

How Your Christmas Can Different This Year

Tired of the “Christmas rush,” when the season for festive joy gets hijacked by commerce, anxiety, maybe even exhaustion?

Sometimes we’re tempted with the thought of simply opting out. However, a life devoid of celebration - of parties and feasts and, yes, even extravagance - is no way to live.

What to do? Imagination is the key. Be inventive, establish new rituals (or revise old ones): within your congregation, your family, even your workplace.

What follows is a list of practical suggestions.  Use them to grease your own imagination. And remember: Perseverance is more important that heroic effort.  This year decide on one or two changes. Then build on these in the future. Use these initiatives to establish and maintain new relationships.

Take a look at these suggestions published by the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America - but no longer available from them.