The Fifth Day of Christmas

So, this is the Fifth Day of Christmas. 
Christmastide  is the shortest season of the Church year – just 12 days from December 25 to January 6 – the day of Epiphany.
Once again, the church seems out of sync with the rest of the world.
While the prevailing culture around us - and yes, most of us, also - cleaned up the debris from exchanging gifts on “Christmas” day, the church says, “Hold on.”  
Christmas isn’t over on Christmas day. 
There are eleven more days of Christmas!
Eleven more days of Christmas?!!!

No one we know will be celebrating 12 Days of Christmas – much less anything called Epiphany. 
[I’ve never heard a store around here advertising Epiphany sales.] 

But, it is a fact that in many cultures and many countries in the world, Epiphany is a much larger celebration than Christmas day!

Christmas is at the very heart of our faith. 
The stories of our faith that have been passed down through the ages to us speak to the very essence what Christianity is – how we relate to the creator of the universe and how we relate to others around us.

In fact, we really do not know the actual day Jesus was born – apparently it was just not important to those early believers. 
Jesus never talked about it. 
The Disciples never sang happy birthday to Jesus.  
And no one ever shared pictures of the baby Jesus.  
It was not important to them. 

What was important was what they believed was his message and the authority he must have to be delivering the message so clearly and so forcefully.

And, so we need to know, that no matter how good hearing and singing and believing certain things makes us feel –
the real meaning of the season has nothing to do with gifts, or trinkets, or lights, or candles, or trees, or parties, or dinners, or children, or movies, or shopping, or cards, or Santa, or crosses for that matter.

Christmas is for adults.

The key to understanding Christmas is Emmanuel.
Emmanuel is this Hebrew word that means, “God Is With Us”.

It is significant that we recall and remember that at this time in history – during the heyday of the Roman Empire,
in this particular part of world – an out of the way, nondescript place of no significance to anybody –
the ultimate authority of the universe, the Creator of all that is,
broke through the barriers – the walls of the cosmic egg –
and came to live among, alongside, and with us mortal beings. 
God is no longer confined to the highest heavens, or to the other side of the wall,
or to behind the curtain of the holy of holies. 
No, this is about Emmanuel.

God is with us, we say. 
At Christmas we remember the message and we celebrate the exact point when it happened in history. 
But, the kicker is, the real message is, that it didn’t just happen once and that was it. 
God did not simply open the door and say here I am and then leave.
Emmanuel, we say. 
God is with us, we say.
That’s what we remember through the Christmas stories.
And, Emmanuel, we believe.
God is with us – still. 
Today. 
And tomorrow, and all of our tomorrows – 
Every second of every minute of every hour or every day. 

Emmanuel.

- Clyde E. Griffith

The Night After Christmas

The Night AFTER Christmas by Albert Brewster

‘Twas the night after Christmas and all through the house,
again no creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
Mama in the bedroom; me asleep in my chair,.
totally relaxed without a worry or care.

When all of a sudden came a great rush of thought!
We had received so much more than we had bought.

And to think about that one Christmas day
was just about enough to blow you away.

The children had been especially nice to each other.
(You would never have guessed they were sister and brother.)

Together at the table; each in our place;
no pushing or shoving while I said grace.

We shared our love, our songs, our laughter.
We shared the chores and didn’t even have to!

Just what was it that made it all work?
Was it all planned, or simply a quirk?

As I think back I seem to recall
a series of messages from a man named Paul.
Andrew, Simon, John, and James,
Matthew, Bartholomew, and other odd names.

Someone is gone but is coming again,
We’re all brothers, or some kind of kin.

Coming from childhood these thoughts surround me.
Complex truths so simple they astound me!

The Word that reaches me doesn’t come through my ear -
from so far away - and yet so near.

Now I am looking for answers, and they must be viable.
I open the desk drawer, and dust the Bible.

We counted our blessings this wonderful day
and knew it could always be that way -

Or, would we let it escape us and again be gone,
when we get back to routine; and turn the TV on?

Bert Brewster  UMC Pastor: adbrewster@aol.com

Oh the Stories We Hear . . .

“Why is this night any different from all other nights?”

We become who we are by the stories we hear.
The stories we hear and the stories we tell give us clues about who we are.

At Passover, as Jewish families gather at sundown for their annual ritual, the honor is given to the youngest person present at the table to ask the question:
“Why is this night any different from all other nights?”
For centuries, this question is asked in households all over the world, year after year.  
“Why is this night any different from all other nights?”
The question is asked so the story can be told – and heard –  again and again.
It is good for us to get together at this time of year to hear the stories and sing the songs again. 
For it is in the telling and the singing and the hearing that we understand more about ourselves, more about the world around us, and more about our relation to our God.

Do you have a story that has been passed down through your family for generations?
Many families have these kind of stories that the elders tell the children year after year, generation after generation. 
Passing down the same stories of their origin, their uniqueness,
their relation with the world around them, 
and their relation with the Creator of the universe.   
Children grow up hearing the stories over and over again –  and learn to tell the stories to their children and to their grandchildren.

Tonight we hear stories about our faith, and we are reminded of how rich we really are,
we are reminded of the rich heritage that is ours,
we are reminded of the rich tradition of which we are a part.

But, the stories we hear, and the stories we tell, have no meaning apart from our experience of them. 
If the stories ring true to our experience, then our experience is informed and shaped by the
stories we hear.

Tonight, we celebrate the birth of a baby – 
an event of major significance to our faith. 
Some of you know what it is to give birth to a baby. 
All of you know someone who has given birth to a baby. 
It’s a pretty big deal. 
There is a flush of excitement. 
There is a rush to tell the news. 
When you hold a new baby, your heart quivers. 
You feel the power of life itself. 
No matter how bad things may be,
the birth gives you a sense of future, of hope.

Well, it was a big deal when a baby was born in Roman times, too. 
The biggest deal of all in those days was the birth of a child to succeed the emperor.  Everyone celebrated the birth of a baby Caesar – 
poets celebrated the birth of a baby Caesar ,
philosophers celebrated the birth of a baby Caesar ,
state officials celebrated the birth of a baby Caesar ,
singers and dancers celebrated the birth of a baby Caesar . 
The coming of the new leader meant the continuity of the empire.

If we lived at the time Jesus was born,
we would know the name of Augustus very well. 
He was the emperor of all the world,
the supreme ruler of all that was,
the number one guy,
the main man,
the big cheese. 
We would know all that. 
And we would know it because of the stories that were told, and the songs that were sung in those days.
 We would know by heart the story that appears on stone inscriptions found all over the Roman empire. 
The story of the birth of Augustus that goes:
Providence, that orders everything in our lives, has displayed extraordinary concern
and compassion, and crowned our life with perfection itself. 
She has brought into the world Augustus,
and filled him with distinguished goodness for the benefit of humanity. 
In her benevolence she has granted us and those who will come after us [a savior] who has made war to cease and who shall order all things well. 
The [epiphany] of Caesar transcends the expectations [of all who anticipated the good news]. 
Not only has he outstripped all benefactors who have gone before him, but he will leave posterity no hope of surpassing him. 
The birth date of our god has signaled the beginning of good news for the world. 
 
The beginning of good news for the world?
A savior? 
The birth of our God? 
Bringer of peace and good will? 
This was the popular and political belief of the day.

So, it is no accident that Luke makes sure we know that Jesus was born while Augustus was Emperor and Quirinius was governor. 
Of course, Luke did not know then what we know now,
by the time this story was being told by Luke,  Augustus, the so-called savior and
harbinger of good news, was rotting in his grave somewhere. 

But that baby (?),
that baby wrapped in rags,
that baby who spent his first days and nights lying in a manger,
that baby for whom there was no room in the inn – 
when Luke told this story, that baby's people were totally dismantling the very world of Augustus and Quirinius stone by stone. 
Luke is saying that even when confronted with world's most august force,
nothing compares to this Jesus.

Luke wants us to know that Jesus is in contrast to the Caesar: 
Augustus Caesar with his glitz and glamour, promises much and delivers little. 
Jesus appears insignificant, but behind him is the power of the living God. 
We see the lame walk. 
The hungry eat. 
The community that emerges around him is free from Caesar-like power. 
Strangers to God become friends of God.

We become who we are by the stories we hear.
The stories we hear and the stories we tell give us clues about who we are.

Emmanuel! 
Tonight is the main event:
The story we remember tonight is one in which God acted decisively and conclusively –  entering our world to be with us wherever we go,
whatever we do,
for however long it takes. 
Friends, tonight we celebrate Emmanuel.  
May each of you know with certainty that the light that was in the world at the beginning
still shines to illumine the darkest corners of your life.
We become who we are by the stories we hear.
The stories we hear and the stories we tell give us clues about who we are.
Aren’t you glad you came?

Friends, it's Christmas! 
Emmanuel! 
Our God is with us. 
Hallelujah! 
Amen!

The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, experienced this sermon by the Reverend Clyde E. Griffith  Christmas Eve, 2009.

Our Own Story of Christmas

Isaiah 52:7-10
John 1:1-14

So, it's almost Christmas.  For us in the church, this is the Fourth Sunday of Advent – a time for us to contemplate why we celebrate Christmas anyway.
Again, this year, during these weeks before Christmas, we have been looking at the very earliest documents we have to ascertain just how those earliest Christians celebrated Christmas –
hoping to find clues as to how we might have a better understanding and actually experience a better Christmas this year.

The first week of Advent, we looked at the very earliest writings we have –
the letters of Paul and some of the writings that were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hammadi and other places in the desert country of Egypt and Syria and Palestine,
and the very earliest Gospel in our Bible:
the Gospel of Mark – which was published around the year 70.

We actually have several texts now that were published during these early  years – during the first 75 years or so after Jesus was killed.
And, look as we may, it is obvious that none of these texts say anything at all about the birth of Jesus.  It just was not important to them.

Yes, Jesus was a pivotal figure in their history,
yes, Jesus was a pivotal figure in their faith,
yes, Jesus was a pivotal figure in their life experience – in their understanding of who they were and what they to do.
Clearly, they each articulate a faith that in Jesus, they saw God incarnate – God in the flesh – for them,  Jesus was Emmanuel – God with us.

The second week we looked at the second Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew, published some 15 years after Mark, and intended for a somewhat different audience.
Matthew begins his Gospel with a detailed genealogy setting Jesus firmly in the Jewish camp – a descendent of King David,
and even Father Abraham, himself.

In the 15 years between Mark and Matthew an interest in birth stories had developed.
Matthew’s community wanted to believe that their Jesus was no less a god than the mighty Caesar or any of the other gods they encountered among the cosmopolitan culture of the Roman Empire.
Every other god had a miraculous birth story to show their specialness, so, Jesus should have one, too.

The Gospel of Luke is the third Gospel of the collection in our Bible.
It was published some 15 years after Matthew.
And, again, it was intended for a different audience than Mark or Matthew.

Again, we are reminded that during these early years, indeed, for the first 100 to 150 years, there was no separate Christian church.
There were Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah and revered as Emmanuel – God with Us – and they would meet as small groups –
sometimes even sharing meals and resources and living arrangements –
but, when they worshiped, they went to the Temple.

We see Luke being addressed primarily to a predominately gentile audience to show that belief in Jesus in Emmanuel conflicted in no way with their ability to serve as good citizens of the Roman Empire.

And, we see that each of the Gospels have a very different starting place.
Matthew starts very differently than Mark does – again with that long genealogy.
And Luke starts differently than either Mark or Matthew does with that miraculous birth story – not of Jesus, but of John.
And, here in the Gospel of John, we have an even stranger beginning.

Most scholars agree now that this Gospel of John was published around 110 years after the death of Jesus.
Clearly this Gospel was addressed to people under stress –
there was a conflict between the communities of believers in Jesus as Messiah
and the communities of believers in John as Messiah;
and there was a widening rift between these communities of Jesus believers and the other believers of Judaism.
The break that we know today was occurring.
And this Gospel is written in that context.

Again, dwelling on establishing the specialness of Jesus with stories of his birth was not important to these people.
What was important, was how their faith in this radical new religion based on Emmanuel – based upon the Incarnation – based on God now being with us instead of dwelling from on high –
how life based on this new faith fits into the cosmic scheme of things –
and how it is different from the old ways of doing.

Curiously, we know from the writings of a Jewish Greek philosopher from Alexandria, Philo, that this concept of God as the Doer, the Speaker, the One who Acts, the Word was emerging in Alexandria some 50 years before the Gospel of John was published.

Here, Jesus is remembered not primarily as a specific man at a specific time in history, but
as the embodiment of a wisdom, a sophia, that pervades all things and all people.
The Word has existed from the beginning, and the Word came and dwelt among people, “they knew him not.”
Here, John tells the story in a radically new way.
Jesus is identified with the Logos – the Word of God –   and becomes something other than a man from Nazareth born of flesh and blood –
but nothing less than a construct of God –
a part of Almighty himself –
a very part of the cosmos itself.

Like I concluded last week,
I think it is important for us to ask why the Gospels treat the birth of Jesus differently.
And to remember that the story that you and I have learned and could tell on a moments notice, actually does not occur in any of our gospels.

The story you and I learned,
and the story you and I tell,
is really a composite of the stories we see in the Gospels.
We tend to take a part from one and combine it with a part from another and a part from another, and lo, we have our story.

But, if we actually did what those early Christians did, we wouldn’t revere any of the details of any of these stories;
but, we would come up with our own story – like they did.
A story that begins with an experience with Emmanuel –
an experience of God being with us –
and then coming up with an explanation as to how special that experience is.

For you and me to fully understand and celebrate Christmas, we have to seek out and identify times of Emmanuel for us:
times we have been in the presence of God,
times we when we have been absolutely convinced that God is with us.

And, so we say Where or where is Emmanuel today?
And we are on the lookout for signs of Emmanuel in our times:
for some, like the shepherds in Luke’s Gospel, it is in celestial music;
for some, it will be in coming to the Lord’s table as we do today;
for some, it will be in helping feed the hungry at the food closet;
for some, it will be in sharing special time with loved ones;
however and whenever and wherever;
This Christmas will be the best you have ever had when you open yourself to the presence of Emmanuel and recognize God with us.
Amen.

The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, experienced this sermon (along with the other sermons referenced here) during Advent of 2006.  
Clyde E. Griffith, pastor

Gaudete Sunday

For nearly a thousand years now, some churches have been celebrating this third Sunday of Advent as Gaudete Sunday. 
Gaudete is a Latin word meaning, literally, Rejoice!
And, specifically, this is to remind us that the only appropriate response to the Christmas story is rejoicing.
Emmanuel happened.
Emmanuel happens.
Emmanuel is.

This is of primary concern for all Christians everywhere.
It is the very basis of our faith.

Our story is that Mary heard the angel Gabriel sing the Lord’s song:

The Lord your God is with you.
He will sing and be joyful over you.
He will give you life!
The time is coming!
Nothing is impossible for God!

         And what did Mary do when she heard the Lord's song? 
She ran right away to visit her elderly aunt
Elizabeth....
And then she couldn't help herself. 
She started singing.

         You see, when you hear the Lord's song, you can't help but start humming along. 
Pretty soon, without even knowing it, you are tapping your foot to the beat. 
Pretty soon, you open your mouth and out it comes.  And that's OK! 
When you hear the Lord's song, you can't help but
join in.

         Remembering Zephaniah's words:
Sing and shout for joy!
Rejoice with all your heart!
The Lord your God is with you,
He will sing and be joyful over you,
He will give you life!
The time is coming!
Mary started singing. 
Nothing is impossible for God!

         Really,  that's our Christmas message today. 
Nothing is impossible for God! 

Today, as we go through this Advent season, as we prepare for Christmas this year,
we are aware that it is no less than Emmanuel that was being birthed through Mary.
So, knowing what we know, 
How can we keep from singing?
For Mary’s song, becomes our song.  
For Christ has come, Emmanuel!
To claim our years and days.
Both present now and coming still,
Accomplished fact and dream,
Let us join the song that Mary sings.

How can we keep from singing?






How appropriate it is for us, today on Gaudet Sunday, to recall that when Mary got the word from the angel Gabriel, she went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, and in the course of telling her what had happened to her, she burst into song.
Because, that’s the way it is. 
When we finally get it.
When we finally realize it.
When we finally understand Christmas means Emmanuel – that God is with us.
We can’t help but sing.

         You may have seen the article TIME
magazine did a while back about angels. 
The writers concluded their 8-page article with these words:
If heaven is willing to sing to us, is it too little to
ask that we be ready to listen?  
Right there in Time magazine!

         Friends, do it! 
This Christmas season,
Listen! 
Listen! 
Listen! 
Music is coming from on high. 
Listen!
     Sing and shout for joy!
Rejoice with all your heart!
The Lord your God is with you!
He will sing and be joyful over you!
He will give you new life!
The time is coming!
Nothing is impossible for God!
Listen. 

The Christmas story is about God breeching the barrier that people perceive that separates us from the holy. 
Luke wants us to know in no uncertain terms that the Christmas story is about God being with us.
And this is what became visible that night in Bethlehem so long ago. 
Emmanuel.
God is with us, it was announced.
God was with them then.
And God is with us now.
Emmanuel came then.
Emmanuel is here now.

And so, on this particular Sunday we are reminded that no matter what your circumstance –
no matter where you’ve been,
no matter what you’ve said,
no matter what you’ve done,
God is with you.
Emmanuel!  They said.
Emmanuel!  We say.
And that is cause for rejoicing.
Gaudete!
Rejoice!  Again I say Rejoice!
Let Christmas come.
Bring it on.

It’s about  about Emmanuel.
When we get that,
when we really understand the significance of what that means,
my Lord what a morning. 
How can I keep from singing?
Hallelujah!
Amen.

Whose Birthday Is It Anyway?

Ready or not, Christmas is coming. 
With every catalog we get in the mail,
with every card we receive,
with every Christmas song we hear in the stores and on the radio,
with every television special we see,
with every advertisement we see and hear and read,
with every invitation we receive,
we know Christmas is on the way.
And, it will come, wether we are ready or not.
And, so we begin to get somewhat anxious about it all, don’t we?

It is almost as though there are two Christmases:
one of the lights and trees and decorations and presents and reindeer and parties and snowmen –
and . . . .  and . . . . and . . . .
The one we talk about in church.

Sometimes, it seems that the two Christmases are not even of the same wavelength.

We know the Christmas story that most of the world around us celebrates – and we know it well – and we participate in it willingly and knowingly – often for very good reasons. 
We like the feeling that comes with giving and thinking about others and going out of our way to make someone’s day. 

But, you know, the earliest Christians did not celebrate Christmas.
    It just was not important to them.

No one knows when Jesus was born . . .
    No one kept a record – maybe he never told anyone – we don’t know
    It just was not important to them.
There is no record of the Disciples ever singing happy birthday to Jesus.

Of course, the first Christians knew Jesus,
they lived with Jesus,
they heard Jesus talk,
they saw Jesus laugh,
they felt Jesus hurt,
they saw Jesus sleep and eat and drink and do all kinds of bodily functions –
they experienced a living breathing person just as you and I experience each other. 

But, after a few hundred years, some believers began to question whether Jesus ever really lived at all.  
He was being remembered and worshiped as more of a god – than remembered as a real living breathing man who lived and died during certain days and years of the Roman Empire.

So, a small faction began to think it was important not to forget that Jesus was a real person. 
And if he was, we ought to remember when he was born. 
Trouble was, nobody knew when Jesus was born.

The very earliest writing we have in the New Testament is a letter from The Apostle Paul, written around the year of 35 AD.
The earliest Gospel we have is attributed to Mark.  The Gospel of Mark was most probably published around the year of 50 AD. 
In the past 60 years, many other documents have been discovered that date back to the very first decades after Jesus’ death.
When we read these documents looking for what they say about the birth of Jesus, we discover one thing in common. 
None of them have anything to say about the birth of Jesus.  Nothing.
It simply was not important to them.

A strong vocal faction of early believers thought it was just plain wrong to celebrate Jesus’ birthday – because that was too much like the world around them did when they celebrated the birthdays of the pagan gods, the Caesars and the Pharaohs.

But, there appeared a major debate in the middle of the third century.
Whether or not we would celebrate it, it would be nice to know when Jesus was born. 
So the speculation began. 
After a careful study of scripture, one prominent theologian of the third century calculated the birth date of Jesus must be May 20 [Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215)]
The debate began.  Others calculated that it must have been  April 18,
others thought it was April 19, and
still others were fairly certain it was  May 28.
One of the leaders of a powerful faction thought Jesus’ birthday should be remembered as
January 2 [Hippolytus (c.170-c.236)]
Others calculated it to be November 17,
others November 20, and
some, March 25.
And, so it went. 
It took over 300 years for the church leaders to agree on a date of December 25 to recognize as the birthday of Jesus.

And, even at that point, the believers were at odds with the culture around them.
Most of the world already celebrated major festivals on December 25:
the natalis solis invicti (the Roman "birth of the unconquered sun"),
and the birthday of Mithras, the Iranian "Sun of Righteousness" whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers.
The winter solstice, another celebration of the sun, fell just a few days earlier.
There were a lot of major celebrations going on at this time of year in most of the cultures of the world – and they had nothing to do with the church.
So, many believers thought it would be most inappropriate to celebrate Christmas at all.

And, in fact throughout history, there are long periods of years when nobody celebrated Christmas at all.
But, Christians have always had an uncanny ability to find ways to celebrate. 
And, in almost every culture where Christians found themselves, they appropriated local events and customs and made them their own.
And, oftentimes there were movements that would spring up to convince believers they should not participate in the cultural seasonal festivities –
sometimes by trying to convince people to remember the reason for the season,
sometimes by campaigning to put Christ back in Christmas,
sometimes by actually passing laws to ban Christmas celebrations altogether!

Imagine that, outlawing Christmas!
In the seventeen century, you may recall, Christian religious zealots took over the government of England. 
Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan Party actually passed legislation that outlawed Christmas. 
To them Christmas had become a time for lavish and raucous celebration and behavior and commercial exploitation – sound familiar? 
So, that was it. 
Plain and simple.
No more Christmas. 
(Sounds like a Dr. Zeus story, doesn’t it?)

And, it gets stranger. 
The people were outraged.
There was rioting in the streets.
Secret Christmas celebrations broke out all over England.
But, Oliver Cromwell retaliated.
Parliament decreed penalties of imprisonment for anyone caught celebrating Christmas.
Imagine that!
Being rounded up and being put in jail because you dared to celebrate Christmas!

Each year the “Christmas Police” would go through the streets a few days before Christmas warning people against celebrating Christmas. 
Businesses were not to be closed during the day  and there were to be no displays of Christmas decorations.

They went around and broke up any sign of Christmas celebration with force of arms. 

And the people rose up.
And the jails filled to overflowing.

The people would not be denied.
They took to the ballot box and voted the Puritans out of power.
Christmas was back.
The very idea. 
Outlawing Christmas.

Meanwhile, over here in the new country, the zealots persisted. 
Christmas was outlawed and not celebrated in many colonies for years. 
In fact, Christmas remained illegal in Massachusetts until sometime after 1850!

So, there is nothing new here. 
It seems that ever since day one, there was some controversy between what the church thought should be remembered and celebrated
and what and how the world around them celebrated.

Recognizing this historical reality doesn’t really do much to ease the conflict today, does it?
Christmas is celebrated in public schools without singing Christmas songs or telling Christmas stories.
All kinds of merchants appropriate seasonal music and messages to sell their products.
And fa-la-las are sung in synch with cash registers.

And, as it so often happened in the past, today the Christmas of the church gets short-shrift in our celebrations.
For the church, Christmas celebrates one of the most fundamental of beliefs – what is called incarnation. 
Specifically, the incarnation of God – that is, literally, God in the flesh. 
What we also call Emmanuel – God is with us!

The profoundness of this message is shown in the beginning words of the Gospel of John:
this is a time to recall that God existed before time began –
and all things that are and that ever will be were brought into existence by God. 
God is described as the eternal logos – the Word with a capital W. 
And John reminds us that this eternal logos, this Word, this God,
came into the world with flesh and blood –
bridged the gap – came to be one of us – came to live with us. 
And that is Emmanuel means.
God is with us. 
– a profound statement, to be sure.

At this time of year we take time to hear that God is no longer “other”,
God is no longer “out there”,
God is no longer to be appeased with sacred rites and sacrifices,
God is no longer relegated to the realm of religion – apart from where we live and work and play.

So, I am kind of on a personal crusade to never slough over the essential message of the season – the reason we in the church have celebrated the season for so long. 
Because, this is the only place that this message will be proclaimed this year –
you won’t hear it in the schoolroom,
you won’t hear it on television,
you won’t hear it on the radio,
you won’t read about it in the newspaper or magazines,
you won’t hear Rush Limbaugh talking about it,
you won’t hear Charlie Rose talking about it,
you won’t hear Oprah talking about it,
you are not likely to hear your neighbor or friend talking about it.

The bottom line is this:
however touching they are to our heartstrings,
however much we love to hear them and to sing about them,
however much we enjoy the feelings prevalent this time of year,
the birth stories are not really about the baby Jesus.

The birth stories are told and remembered because of the adult Jesus –
and what people experienced with him during his earthly ministry,
and what people experienced because of him after his death –
and what people have experienced through him through the ages,
and what people continue to experience with him day and day out. 

For me, at its essence, Christmas is really about Emmanuel. 
That Hebrew word that means “God With Us”.  
For all those early Christians,
for all those writers of faith documents for their communities,
this word reflects what they affirmed had happened in this man from Nazareth –
what they continued to experience long after he had gone –
that Jehovah –
the great I Am –
God Almighty –
Creator of the Universe and all the worlds that are –
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob –
the One God of the faith of our fathers and mothers –
deigned to enter our world and become as we are
to let us know there is no separation now from holy and mundane,
from sacred and profane,
from work and ritual.
No. 
In this man from Nazareth, we see Emmanuel! 
Through this man of Nazareth, we know Emmanuel.
With this man of Nazareth, we experience Emmanuel.
God is With Us.
That’s what we hear.
God is with us.
That’s what we sing.
God is with us.
That’s what we believe.
God is with us.
That’s what we celebrate.
Each and every year at Christmas.
Each and every week in worship.
Each and every morning when we get up.

Emmanuel!  This Christmas.
Emmanuel!  All year long!
Emmanuel!  Every minute of every hour of every day of your life!

We have a story to tell.
We need to find significant ways to celebrate the incarnation and the revelation of this one we call Emmanuel – Jesus our Christ.

Somehow, we have allowed non-Christians to take over our territory, our message, our celebration.
We should be the ones known for partying.
We should be the ones known for celebrating.
We are, really, the only ones that have anything worth celebrating, don’t you think?

This year, let us – you and me – be the ones to tell the stories, to tell the news.
Let everyone who lives shout and sing!
Our God is great and lives among his people!
Emmanuel!  Amen.

This sermon was shared with the congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, December 6, 2009, by the Reverend Clyde E. Griffith.

Advent Anticipation

What are you expecting for Christmas this year?

Probably not much, huh?

Especially these days with a general malaise pervading our world, the war drums pounding louder and louder, the seemingly unending threats from terrorism, the economic doldrums, and the years and years of Christmases past, most of us will approach Christmas this year with low or no expectation.  

While the world around us views these days before Christmas as a time for buying gifts and parties and entertaining, the Christian church calls this a time of Advent – a time of expectancy.

“The coming of the Lord has been the inspiration of the Christian world.  The power of any life lies in its expectancy.”   These words were written some 200 years ago by Phillips Brooks, who also wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem”; but, they are pertinent today: The power of any life lies in its expectancy. 

What you expect affects what you see.
What you expect affects what you experience.

Expect the worst, and you usually find it, don’t you?
But, the thing is, there are always surprises, aren’t there?

During these days before Christmas, our Advent season, we will be looking at stories in our faith that are about expectancy – and surprise. 

For us, Christmas is about surprise.  It is about the presence of Emmanuel – God With Us.  In the stories we remember and read and tell at Christmas, almost everyone is surprised, aren’t they?  Mary was surprised.  Joseph was surprised.  The Shepherds were surprised.  The folks in Bethlehem were surprised.  The political leaders of the day were surprised.  Even the wise men were surprised.  (Perhaps the only ones who were not surprised were Old Anna and Old Simeon who lived with the complete expectation that they would see and experience Emmanuel in their lifetimes.)

You see, we remember and celebrate Christmas because of Emmanuel – a concept so radical and so surprising that it affects our entire world-view. 

Our Christmas stories confirm that God’s ways are mysterious.  
God really does seem to prefer to be incognito.  
This seems to have been true 2000 years ago.  
And it seems to be true today, doesn’t it?

For me, our primary task during Advent is to point to signs of the presence of this incognito Emmanuel in our world and lives today.  
Our Advent theme song could be:
“Where, O where is Emmanuel?  Where, O where can he be?”

Like that children’s game, Where’s Waldo?, let us hone our discernment skills so we can see Emmanuel in these days and times of our lives.

During these Sundays ahead, we will tell the stories from our faith-history –  stories you will hear no where else! 
These are stories we need to hear, again and again.
These are the stories our children need to hear, and our children’s children need to hear!
These are stories that speak to what we may expect to experience – if we only knew where and how to look.

Where else are these stories being told today?  
Not on TV. 
Not in school.  
Not in many family gatherings.  
It is so important to make church a part of our schedule – especially at this time of year. [Yes, I think there should be a rule: no opening of presents until after the Christmas Eve Candlelight service of stories and songs.]

The power of any life lies in its expectancy. 
Expect more.
Expect God to be with us in our malaise.
Our God is with us!
Don’t miss his presence this year!

See you in church,

    Clyde Griffith

'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.

The Season of Advent Begins

Advent begins December 1!

Advent is a time the church concentrates on preparing for Christmas. 

Although the commercial culture in which we live begins the “Christmas” season right after Halloween these days, the church traditionally celebrates twelve days of Christmas beginning Christmas Day, December 25, and ending with what is called The Epiphany, January 6.

And so, this time before Christmas, this time of Advent,
is a time for us to prepare ourselves for Christmas. 

Christmas is so important to our faith. 
It is so basic to our understanding of God and Jesus. 
Without Christmas – and the stories that are told about it –
the rest of our faith would be nonsense. 

I really like Advent and Christmas and Epiphany. 
It gives us a chance to get down to the raw basics and to hear stories that impact our faith and how it gets expressed in our lives.

The Christmas stories are stories of theophanies – encounters with the holy – culminating in the ultimate theophany: Emmanuel! –
the incarnation of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
the Creator of all that is,
the great Jehovah, 
into our very lives.
The Christmas stores are stories of cracks that occurred in the cosmic egg that traditionally separates the holy from the mundane –
cracks through which people were able to glimpse the divine,
cracks through which people encountered the holy. 

During this Advent season let us purposefully focus on these encounters with the holy from days gone by – through the stories we hear and the stories we tell.

Through our telling and hearing these stores again, this Christmas, maybe, just maybe, you and I can encounter the Holy.

Oh, I am convinced that we do encounter the holy just as we hear they did in days of yore. 
It’s just that usually, we don’t recognize it when it happens. 
Even when the very skies open and the celestial voices sing, we are prone to ignore it –
perhaps because we are so preoccupied with enhancing our own display.

The stories of our faith are good stories. 
And, they have lasted through the years because they speak of truth – truth that ring to the heart of all who hear them.

But, if we let them remain as stories of people of another time, of days gone by, we do them – and we do us – a disservice. 
For, they are true. 
And they speak to our reality.

This year I invite you on a quest to encounter the holy. 
I am convinced that we can.
I know that we do. 
Let us take this time before Christmas to sharpen our senses and to hone our skills so that, like the people in our Christmas stories, we can point to times the holy breaks through in our lives,
to recognize it when it happens,
and to celebrate when it does.

So, in church each week look for the breakthroughs in the stories of our faith and in the days of our lives.

Pay attention to the messengers of the Lord that come to us – is they did to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds.
 
Be alert to our dreams and heed them as Joseph and Simeon and the Magi did.

Listen for the celestial song – the music of the spheres – as the shepherds heard.

See what happens when hospitality is practiced – remembering  the Innkeeper and the Table of The Lord.

And, we will learn to celebrate the incarnation – Emmanuel! – Christmas Day and every day.

This Christmas we are on a quest to encounter the holy. 

That's what Advent means to me.
A time to prepare for Christmas - an event you don't want to miss - but, alas, most folks will.

Clyde E. Griffith, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Editor@NewCelebrations.com

This Thursday:

Making ThanksGiving ThanksLiving #2

As a day that gives voice to our highest ideals, Thanksgiving can be a time to remember with gratitude and humility that we alone are not responsible for whatever bounty is in our lives. 
It can be a time to confess that part of our bounty has come at the expense of others, including native Americans, slaves, farm workers, and hosts of others we do not even know. It can also be a time to share what we have with others, and include in our celebrations those who would otherwise be alone.

Finally, Thanksgiving can be a time to commit ourselves to creating a world where hungry children are fed, the homeless are provided with shelter, and those who suffer discrimination because of race, sex, religion, or age are respected.
May this ThanksGiving be your best ever.

New Celebrations NewsLetter 2019-4

Thank you for reading this modest newsletter.
My intention is to periodically send you some articles, links, and resources that you may find stimulating and suggestive --
articles that promote more simple, more faithful, more perceptive celebrations for the holidays and events we and our culture deem appropriate.

This is the time to plan for a congregational event to enable your members to explore new ways to celebrate Christmas this year.
It is not too late.

This edition of New Celebrations Newsletter explores the benefits of holding an Alternative Gift Market for your church and community.  Read through some of the suggestions, check out some of the resources, and use these words to stimulate your thinking about what you can do in your situation.

Perhaps some of these suggestions will prod your thinking.
You are urged to explore some of the resources in this edition of NewCelebrations Newsletter.  My wish is that, this year, you and your church will have the most meaningful Christmas celebration ever: that many will come to see, to know, and to celebrate Emmanuel in their lives as never before.

I would hope that you feel free to copy some of these resources
and circulate them among your church friends and other
acquaintances.


Clyde Griffith
On the world wide web at www.LiveAbundantly.com
__________________________________________________________________________

Consider Hosting an Alternative Gift Market

An increasingly popular idea that is being done at hundreds of churches throughout the USA is the hosting of an Alternative Gift Market.  Typically, the market is hosted by a local church -- or group of churches -- and involves local, national and international mission and relief agencies.

The traditional Market takes place in a special location, like a church patio, fellowship hall, or a neighborhood community center. Colorful booths are set up representing the various
Alternative Gift projects. Gifts are purchased by persons attracted to the Market for projects in the U.S. and developing countries that are working to save lives and preserve our planet.



An Alternative Gift Market is a different kind of shopping experience. Gifts are purchased in honor of family members and friends in a market setting. Instead of buying a box of candy for Aunt Mary, a shopper at this market might purchase health care for children in Kenya or purchase a solar powered computer for a classroom in the Dominican Republic. Then Aunt Mary gets an attractive card telling her about the life giving present given in her honor.
 
An alternative to the Tradional Market is an Online Market whereby a church can pick a project to fund and set up an online campaign. The church then promotes an online link to their Alternative Gift Online Campaign.  Check it out.



Alternative Gifts International helps you think through the process and offers a bevy of materials to  help you.
   
Check out their web site:  https://alternativegifts.org/ 

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Alternative Christmas Community Festival

An Alternative Christmas Community Festival is a concrete, exciting way to offer ideas and support for those who want to have more meaningful Christmas celebrations. It is also a positive way to introduce the need for change to people unaware of the problems connected with the way we celebrate Christmas.

Many churches organize alternative Christmas events in the fall to encourage alternative giving and to help members simplify their celebration. The four basic plans are:

1. Sell crafts and clothing from the Third World.
This encourages Fair Trade and the second pillar of Voluntary Simplicity: Learn from the World Community.
Family and friends get beautiful gifts at reasonable prices.
Third World artisans get a better price for their work through these volunteer fairs and shops than through similar commercial importers.

2. Encourage people to give funds to worthwhile organizations in someone else's name instead of a purchased gift.
The gift is doubled - for the recipient of the funds and the recipient of the honor. Usually a gift card goes to the honoree telling something about the recipient organization.

3. Hold a workshop on alternative ways of celebrating Christmas.
Such a workshop goes beyond gifts, to the "why's" and "how's" of celebrating Christmas. Use the classic "Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season" ($10) and "Leader's Guide to 'Unplug the Christmas Machine' Workshop".  The Leader's Guide is available as a free download here.

4. Set up an alternative gift site on your web page and promote it to church members and friends. 
Several alternative programs have made this easier.  Check out my favorites:
Presbyterian Gift Catalog https://presbyteriangifts.org/
Heifer Project International https://www.heifer.org/
Koinonia Farm Store  https://koinoniafarmstore.com/
SERRV International  https://www.serrv.org/
Ten Thousand Villages   https://www.tenthousandvillages.com
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Featured Book Review
Simplify Your Christmas: 100 Ways to Reduce the Stress and Recapture the Joy of

the Holidays
By Elaine St.James

Simplify Your Christmas was published in 1999, but is still available at amazon for basically the cost of postage.  In it Elaine St. James shares-in brief, easy-to-read essays-a variety of tips that will help readers deal with the seasonal overload. For example, Just Say No to Elmo, Eliminate Turkey Torpor, and Slay the Secret Santa.

A reader from Ohio writes:
"This book is chock-full of great tips for reducing the stress we all feel at holiday time.
How much should we spend on our tree?
Did I get the kids enough presents?
What do I get for Aunt Sue THIS year?
How can I get out of the office party without riling the boss?"               

One of my favorite section begins on Page 29 with "Take a Poll". Here, you're encouraged to ask your family members how they really feel about your holiday traditions. What traditions do they like enough to keep doing? Which are painful, boring or ridiculous enough to dump?

Another home run is found on page 87: Rethink your Christmas Card Tradition. St. James gives good advice on how to give your holiday mailing list (why not apply this advice to your Christmas gift list, too?) a liposuction treatment. And, all without guilt!

This book is intelligent and certainly seems to have a wide audience. Frankly, anyone with financial concerns (do you still want to be paying Christmas credit card bills next July?), time
restraints (wouldn't you rather spend the time taking your kids to the movies?) or emotional issues (if the hoidays are supposed to be peaceful, gracious and dignified, then why am I so
depressed?) should find St. James' advice helpful. Try just 10 of her tips and your life this December will improve.

I liked this book so much that I'm going to give IT for Christmas!

For more information, and/or to purchase this book, click here:

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Invitation to Share

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, pass New Celebrations on.
New Celebrations is meant to be a clearing house, a resource, of practical information folks can use.  The idea is that we could all use some help in overcoming the mass-merchandising influences of how we celebrate the holidays and events in our lives.
New Celebrations Newsletter is intended to be shareware.
As Arlo Guthrie pines: When one person does something, it is pretty much ignored.  
When two people join in doing something, people raise their eyebrows.  
When three people get together to do something, it becomes a movement...
Our celebrations CAN be more faith-full and less stress-full.
Help spread the word.  Forward this message to everyone you can think of.
__________________________________________________________________________


Check out our Web Site:  NewCelebrations.com .

New Celebrations 2019-3

New Celebrations:
Alternative Resources for Discovering and Celebrating Emmanuel
Throughout the Year: 2019-3


Welcome to New Celebrations Newsletter 2019-3!

Thank you for reading this modest newsletter.
My intention is to periodically send you some articles, links, and resources that you may find stimulating and suggestive -- articles that promote more simple, more faithful, more perceptive celebrations for the holidays and events we and our culture deem appropriate.

In his book Hundred Dollar Holiday and in his workshops, Bill McKibben reminds us: 
"The reason to change Christmas -- the reason it might be  useful to change Christmas -- is because it might help us  to get at some of the underlying discontent in our lives.
Because it might help us see how to change every other  day of the year, in ways that really would make our whole  lives, and maybe our entire 365-days-a-year culture,  healthier in the long run....

If there's one way in which the world has changed more than any other since 1840,...it's that we've become such devout consumers. That consumption carries with it  certain blessings... and certain costs...
 
 [T]he greatest cost may be the way it's changed us, the  way it has managed to confuse us about what we really  want from the world.We weren't built just for this life we find ourselves  leading - we were built for silence and solitude, built  for connection with each other and the natural world,  built for so much more than we now settle for. Christmas is the moment to sense that, the moment to reach for the real joys.”

Perhaps some of these suggestions will prod your thinking.
You are urged to explore some of the resources in this edition of NewCelebrations Newsletter.  My wish is that, this year, you and your church will have the most meaningful Christmas celebration ever: that many will come to see, to know, and to celebrate
Emmanuel in their lives as never before.

I would hope that you feel free to copy some of these resources and circulate them among your church friends and other acquaintances. 
Clyde Griffith

 ________________________________________________________________________

 Christmas Planning Workshop

Good for an early fall event to explore the church's role in celebrating Christmas.
Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli suggest the following format:

 1.  List the church's traditional Christmas activities and consider these questions:
      Who is responsible for planning and carrying each one out?
      Who is each of the programs designed to benefit?
      Which work well?

 2.  What should the church's goals be at Christmas?
      Take some time to dream about creative ways the church could be a more
        positive force in restoring the meaning of the celebration.
      How well do your current holiday activities further your goals?

 3.  Formulate specific ways to reach these goals.
     You may wish to take these questions into consideration:
      How can the work involved in these activities be redistributed to relieve
        hardworking church members and include new, lonely, or single people?
      How can ongoing church responsibilitiesbe reduced so that church leaders
        can spend more time with their families?
      How can church sermons and education classes reinforce the ideas
        generated in this planning session?
 
(From Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love & Joy Back Into the Season -- explore this idea and many others in the book.)
 _________________________________________________________________________

 New Christmas Celebrations

Here are just a few of the ideas presented in Unplug the Christmas Machine that churches around the United States have come up with to make their church programming more consistent with the spiritual meaning of Christmas:

    Make Large Poster of Christmas Pledge. Encourage members to sign.
    Decorate Tree.
        Begin the season with an undecorated tree.
        Each family that does an act that expresses the Christmas spirit is
        entitled to bring an ornament to put on the tree.
    Christmas Past.
        Have children interview grandparents for stories of Christmas long ago.
        Print the stories in special church newsletter.
    Father-Children Gift Wrapping Session.
        Ask all the fathers and their children to bring family presents and wrapping
        paper to a special gathering.
    Change Gift Giving Day.
        Encourage the exchange of gifts on St. Nicholas's Day, December 6,
        rather than Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, to save the true holiday for
        religious expression.
    Cut Christmas Expenditures by 10%.
 _________________________________________________________________________

Check out our webpage: NewCelebrations . . .

New Celebrations:
Alternative Resources for Discovering and Celebrating Emmanuel
Throughout the Year: 2019-2

Clearly, it is not too early to start thinking about how we may celebrate Christmas this year.

You can be sure the "Christmas machine" is well underway with its plans to affect our Christmas celebration.
To have any impact,
to have any influence,
to have any hope of celebrating Emmanuel,
we need to make our plans now.

A good way to begin is to make a list of what was done last year at your church, or in your family.  As you evaluate your list, make a pledge to add ONE MAJOR activity this year -- along with what ever other actions you may deem do-able.

You are encouraged to have a brain-storming session with yourself,
with your key church leaders,
with your family,
with whomever will participate.

Perhaps some of these suggestions will prod your thinking.
You are urged to explore some of the resources in this edition of NewCelebrations
Newsletter.
My wish is that, this year, you and your church will have the most meaningful
Christmas celebration ever: that many will come to see, to know, and to celebrate
Emmanuel in their lives as never before.

I would hope that you feel free to copy some of these resources and circulate them
among your church friends and other acquaintances.

Clyde Griffith
 ________________________________________________________________

Preparing for Christmas 2019: Plan New Major Activity

Depending on what you are currently doing, plan an event to extend the reach of
your Christmas doings.  Look at what others are doing.  Perhaps you will find
something here that stimulates your thinking.  Remember, plan now so an event
can be held early enough to make a difference for celebrations this year.

Plan a workshop around the theme: Unplug the Christmas Machine. 
Through this workshop your church will help its members create more rewarding,
more spiritual, and less stressful celebrations. Participants have an added benefit
of being able to function as a built-in support group for each other during the
holiday season.  Highly recommended! Try it!
(Free Leader's Guide Resource available at Simple Living Works. )

 

Plan a workshop around the theme: Whose Birthday Is It Anyway? 
This most excellent resource was published each year with new material for 26 seasons!
Many churches use the contents of this publication for a church-wide workshop. 
Others make varied use of it by Sunday School classes, special children's activities, and other events.
All 26 issues are available free for you to pursue and use from Simple Living Works.
 





Plan a workshop around Bill McKenna's  Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case for a More Joyful Christmas. 
This is an excellent resource for stimulating thinking about planning holiday
celebrations around what is really important.  Although now out of print, Amazon is still showing plenty plenty of used hardback editions for $5.25 (including shipping).
(There will be more about this particular resource in a later edition of the New Celebrations Newsletter.)



Plan to host an Alternative Gift Market.
 Stimulate thinking about new ways of celebrating by hosting an alternative gift market for your church and community.  Churches that have done this report excellent benefits.  
A whole issue of the New Celebrations Newsletter will be devoted to this topic later next month.


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A Christmas Pledge

Prepare, publish, promote and promulgate a pledge for your church members to use.
(Use this to spur the development of your own pledge.)

Believing in the true spirit of Christmas, I commit myself to
 Remember those people who truly need my gifts
 Express my love in more direct ways than gifts
 Examine my holiday activities in the light of my deepest values
 Be a peacemaker within my circle of family and friends
 Redidicate myself to my spiritual growth

(From Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love & Joy
Back Into the Season) 

 _______________________________________________________________

Check out our webpage: NewCelebrations . . .