Alternative Gift Catalog: Gifts of Food & Beverage

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

     if you want to find Emmanuel,

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

               remember the clues from our Christian Holy writings:

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

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

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

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

           you care for them, and

                 that they are special to you.

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

and justice-celebrating.

Look over these suggestions,

          explore these opportunities,

                   and let your own thoughts springboard from them.

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

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

Find out more about ECHO here.

Make meaningful Christmas gifts here.

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

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

Alternative Gift Catalog: Gifts of Food & Beverage

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

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

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

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

Gifts of Food & Beverage:

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

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

(Check out the history of Koinonia Farm!)

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

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

Check out their Pecan Products

Items from their Bakery

Fair Trade Chocolate

THE CHRISTMAS PLEDGE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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





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

Ten Tips for a Simpler, More Meaningful Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

'Twas the Night Before Advent

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

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

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

How Your Christmas Can Different This Year

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

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

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

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

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