New Celebrations:Alternative Resources for Discovering and Celebrating Emmanuel
Throughout the Year 2019-1
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Welcome to New Celebrations Newsletter!
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.
Although in the waning weeks of "ordinary" time, it is not too ealry 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 circulate some of these resources among your church friends and other acquaintances.
Clyde Griffith
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Unplug The Christmas Machine Workshop
In the Preface to Unplug the Christmas Machine:
A Complete Guide to Putting Love & Joy Back Into the Season,
Jo Robinson and Jean Staeheli write:
"[Today] we [do] see more people making conscious choices during the holiday season.
The month of December can be like an overfull Christmas stocking, bursting with
beautifully wrapped concerts, parties, family reunions, shopping expeditions, craft
and baking projects, and special events. More families are sitting down together in
early November and setting priorities. As a result, they are creating rich celebrations
that suit their circumstances and reflect their values, but don't feel hectic and out of
control. . . .
Some aspects of Christmas have been slow to change, however. As a nation, we are
still spending a lot of money to wish each other a Merry Christmas. . . . Despite the
many changes people are making each December, they still feel as if they are
inexorably swept up into the engine of the Christmas Machine.
The Christmas Machine has this power over us because it knows how to woo us;
it speaks to the deepest, profoundest, and most sacred desires of the human heart.
If it appeared as a monster, we would rise up and stop it. But the commercial
messages of Christmas appear as promises that bring tears to our eyes. Look at
the bounty we are promised by the December magazines and the glowing Christmas
commercials:
Our families will be together and happy.
Our children will be well-behaved and grateful.
Our wives will be beautiful and nurturing.
Our husbands will be kind, generous, and appreciative.
We will have enough money.
We will have enough time.
We will have fun.
We will be warm.
We will be safe.
We will be truly loved.
No wonder we stop, we listen, and we want to believe.
The problem comes when we buy into the notion that what we long for can be procured
by the buying and selling of goods. Okay. We know it's nonsensical to expect that
buying a new phone as a gift for a parent or a video camera to capture the excitement
of Christmas morning or a new pair of designer jeans for a son or daughter will
transform our lives. But it's easy to be persuaded by the artistry of the commercials,
with their exquisite photography and their beautiful music. Sometimes, somehow,
an association does get made with the product, and we believe that if we buy and
receive more Christmas presents our inner lives will be fuller,and we will finally be
safe in the world."
This year, you can not only enrich your own celebration, you can help the
members of your church, school, parent's group, business, or other organization
create a more enjoyable, less stressful holiday season by holding an Unplug
the Christmas Machine Workshop.
A fifty-page Leaders Guide to the Unplug the Christmas Machine Workshop is currently available for your use for free at SimpleLiving.org.
This four hour workshop has been held countless times all across the US helping thousands and thousands of folks to come to grips with how their celebration of the season can me more in keeping with their understanding of the true meaning of the season.
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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.
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Feedback:
Please, let me know what you think about New Celebrations -- the newsletter
and the website. Share a resource, share a thought, share a moment.
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Footnote:
New Celebrations is a part of CyberMin Resources and edited by The Reverend Clyde Griffith.
Please share your stories, your recommendations, your reviews, your comments and/ or suggestions.
E-mail to editor@NewCelebrations.com .
Thanks for reading.
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www.NewCelebrations.com
