'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
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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.
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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

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 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.)
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 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%.
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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) 

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Check out our webpage: NewCelebrations . . .