Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

Thanks.  That's an excellent list.  I'll try some of those this Christmas.

    That's great Richard, thanks!
    
    Hugs,
    Kb

          
          It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches 
          of our Christmas tree, no name, no inscription.  It has 
          peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 
          years or so.  It all began because my husband Mike hated 
          Christmas.  Oh, he didn't hate the true meaning of 
          Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it, the 
          overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute 
          to get a tie for Uncle Harry or dusting powder for grandma, 
          gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of 
          anything else.  He hated that.  Knowing he felt this way I 
          decided one year to bypass the usual shirts and sweaters 
          and ties and reach for something special just for Mike.  
          The inspiration came in an unusual way.
          
          Our son, Kevin, was 12 at the time and was on the wrestling 
          team at school.  Shortly before Christmas there was a 
          non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city 
          church, mostly black.  These youngsters, dressed in 
          uniforms consisting of ill-fitting boxer shorts, 
          hole-punctured T-shirts and sneakers so ragged that shoe 
          stings seemed to hold them together, presented a sharp 
          contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms 
          and sparkling new wrestling shoes.  As the match began I 
          was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling 
          without head gear, a kind of light helmet designed to 
          protect a wrestler's ears.  It was a luxury that the 
          rag-tag team could not afford.  Well, we ended up walloping 
          them at every weight class.  Mike sighed as he sat beside 
          me, shook his head, "I just wish they could have won one of 
          them",  he said.  "They have a lot of potential but losing 
          like this could take the heart right out of those kids."  
          He loved kids, having coached little league for years.  
          That's when the idea of the present came to me.
          
          That afternoon I went to the local sporting goods store and 
          bought an assortment of wrestling head gear and shoes and 
          sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.  On 
          Christmas Eve I placed the envelope on the tree, the note 
          inside telling Mike what I had done and this was his gift 
          from me.  His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas 
          that year and in succeeding years.  For each Christmas I 
          followed the tradition, on year sending a group of retarded 
          youngsters to a hockey game, another sending a check to a 
          pair of elderly brothers whose home has burned to the 
          ground a week before Christmas.  The envelope became the 
          highlight of our Christmas.  It's always the last thing 
          opened on Christmas morning and our best moment.
          
          The story doesn't end here.  For you see, we lost Mike last 
          year to cancer and when Christmas rolled around I was still 
          so wrapped in grief I barely got the tree up.  Christmas 
          Eve found me placing the envelope on the tree nevertheless, 
          and that morning it was joined by three others.  Each of 
          our children unbeknownst to the others has placed an 
          envelope on the tree for their Dad.  The tradition has 
          grown and some day will expand even further when our 
          grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed 
          anticipation will watch as their fathers take down the 
          envelope.  Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will 
          always be with us.
          
          --Anonymous
          

    I was very touched by the gift my supervisor has given me this year.
    In his card to me he has written:
    
    	This year as a holiday gesture, I've made a donation in the
    	name of our group to new Horizons (The Manchester Soup Kitchen).
    
    	....
    
    I told him how pleased I was with this and that to me that was the real
    meaning of Christmas.
    
    Ro
    

    Re .4
    
    That is neat!  The darkness has yet to overcome the light.
    
    Peace,
    Richard

	I've decided I'm not going on my usual tirade against the commercial
exploitation of Christmas this year.

	The economics this year are such that even many who would strongly
disagree with my position cannot afford to buy any more than just a few
carefully chosen Christmas gifts.  I personally don't like or want anyone's
involuntary participation in any campaign I wage.

	Perhaps our present economic conditions will provide the opportunity
for some to explore the deeper meaning of Christmas.

Peace,
Richard

I was in Walgreen's last Saturday to pick up a couple items.  I was
astonished by the quantity of Christmas merchandising already going on.
Christmas decorations are already up in the malls.

I realize that many retailers count on Christmas sales to make up to
50% of their business for the year.  I don't really wish any honest
business concern to experience loss and failure, but this commercialization
of Christmas is getting really absurd.

When I was a kid, my parents use to be disturbed that the Christmas
push started so soon after Thanksgiving.  Now it's starting several
weeks before Thanksgiving.

I know this is a relatively little thing, but it bothers me.

Peace,
Richard

>I know this is a relatively little thing, but it bothers me.

	It bothers me as well. My answer is to build a block between the
	shopping/marketing hype and Christmas. I see the commerical stuff
	as something else again that just happens to take place around this
	time of year. Advent is something - shopping hype is something else
	unrelated. This is getting easier as the connections to the shopping 
	and things religious seem to become less and less each year. Merry
	Christmas becoming Happy Holidays more othen. 

		Alfred

    
    I suggest that it is a sign of the times and will only continue.  A
    Christian celebration of the birth and gift of Jesus Christ, Savior of
    the World, Son of God turned to idolatry and greed by the world. 
    Clearly our country's number one god is materialism (and this is
    idolatry).
    
    jeff

We have a topic where we can probably _all_ agree that the World Perspective
is _not_ the Christian Perspective!

Even my barber was moaning about people forgetting that Christmas is supposed
to commemorate the Jesus's birthday.

/john

There used to be a place out of Georia called "Alternatives," which was
operated for the most part by Milo Shannon-Thornberry, an ordained minister
in the United Methodist Church.  It still may be in existence.  I don't
know.  It's been several years since I last had any contact with the
organization.

The premise of Alternatives was to promote ways to celebrate holidays which
were more in keeping with one's internal values and less with those which
commercialism would seek to impose.  Chances are that your local public
library would have a copy of the book _Alternative Celebrations Catalogue_.

The hardest part is getting everyone else to buy in on it.  I mean, some
people find a lot of comfort in knowing they're doing the same thing as
what they believe everyone else in doing on a given holiday, even knowing
depression and disappointment may ensue due to unmet expectations.

I'll see if I can find anything more on this at home.

Peace,
Richard

    I believe that most people fail to celebrate alternatively because they
    fear the hassle they'll get from their friends, neighbors and most of
    all their relatives.
    
    jeff

re Note 125.12 by USAT05::BENSON:

>     I believe that most people fail to celebrate alternatively because they
>     fear the hassle they'll get from their friends, neighbors and most of
>     all their relatives.
  
        For most of us a celebration is a group activity -- you can
        celebrate "alternatively" only if you have others interested
        in celebrating "alternatively".  Even many of the more
        unconventional among us are quite conventional in group
        settings.

        Bob

CHRISTMAS, now a high pressure sales trap, was once a time to honor the
Child of God, who became a man and dwelt among us in humility.

ADVENT, now the forty shopping days before Christmas, was once a time of
fasting and repentance.

It is time for us to question the recent American custom of buying
extravagant gifts.  We need to search for alternatives to the consumer
aspects of Christmas - to say NO to spending, to the commercialism that
says our children need Mattel toys to be happy and healthy; to say YES
to the spirit of giving and sharing.

THIS YEAR, let's rediscover with our families the true peace and joy of
Christmas.  Let's search for a simpler, more meaningful celebration.

Richard

A Call to Radical Celebration
-----------------------------

	A nip in the air and a diminishing dominance of sunlight over the
day seem to herald the cyclical return of the largely cultural phenomenon
known as the holiday season.  A brief study of a calendar brings us to
the realization that, indeed, Christmas is not far away.  We know it won't
be long until our neighborhoods and places of commerce will be trimmed
with glittering lights and adorned with a myriad of seasonal symbols, all
so familiar and benign.

	Once again, Santa will be recruited to market all sorts of products.
It's no casual accident that our modern standard of what Santa is supposed to
look like comes less from Clement Moore's whimsical poem, "A Visit from Saint
Nicholas," composed for his children in 1822, than from a successful
advertising campaign launched by the Coca-Cola Company only a few decades
ago.

	Once again, Dickens' miserly, unrepentant archetype of Ebenezer
Scrooge will be co-opted by advertisers to subliminally remind us of
how hardhearted and selfish we've become since last Christmas.  Scrooge
serves to warn us of who we might become should we fail to loosen our
purse strings.  Rarely are we exposed to the post-conversion Scrooge who
kept Christmas in his heart all the rest of his days.

	We may be grateful that George Bailey, the nice guy protagonist
portrayed by Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra's classic film, "It's A Wonderful
Life," has, for the most part, managed to escape such conscription.

	As though compelled to do so, many will find themselves flocking
to those cathedrals of consumerism -- the shopping malls.  The pressure to
purchase is pandemic and palpable.  We know that others are doing so and
that we are expected to do so, also.

	No small accomplishment, one seasonal television commercial suggests
that the shopping experience is likely to be so fatiguing that one would be
wise to simply pick up the phone and order a pizza delivered for dinner.

	The economic importance of Christmas cannot be overstated.  It's
not unusual for merchants to rely on Christmas sales to make the difference
between profit and loss for the entire year.  Some retailers depend on it
to generate up to as much as 50% of their annual revenue.  A few have
attempted to manipulate the duration of the shopping season.  A local
greeting cards store began displaying its collection of specialty Christmas
tree ornaments in early July this year, gradually adding more items as the
season grows closer.

	The exploitation of Christmas for commercial purposes is nothing
extraordinary, and certainly nothing new.  A free market economy is not
likely to ever discourage it.

	There's nothing wrong with Christmas, of course.  And most assuredly,
there's nothing wrong with the giving of gifts.  Perhaps it's the ways in
which we've allowed ourselves to become accustomed to celebrating Christmas
which is askew.  Perhaps we've been lulled into the believing that what we
have is what has always been and always will be.  Perhaps we've been too
easily enticed by all that is shiny and new, and by how relatively
effortless it is to just go ahead and buy things.  Perhaps we've become
a little too complacent.

	Before we become irretrievably immersed in it once more, we should
perhaps pause to assess our level of discontent with the commercial nature
of Christmas.  We should perhaps take time to determine as individuals, in
families, and among friends, to what degree we're willing to resist culturally
supported expectations, and to what degree we're willing to explore
alternatives.

	A radical celebration is one which is rooted in deeper soil, one
which is independant of superficialities or convention, one which is resilient
against the winds of unfulfilled desires and disillusionment.  A radical
celebration is one which is an outward expression of an inward reality.

	Christmas was originally intended to honor the birth of a child,
a child who would become an itinerant preacher who lived a strange and
glorious life, and who instructed his followers to give without regard
for reward, recognition or reciprocation.

	The following are simply a few suggestions for creating and
experiencing a more meaningful Christmas:

o Commit 2 hours per week for the next year to serving others -- visiting
  someone who is lonely or hurting; providing respite care; volunteering
  in a hospice program.

o Dedicate a percentage of last year's Christmas expenses (25% suggested)
  to an organization working to alleviate human suffering.  Consider
  incrementally increasing the percentage each year (10% suggested).

o Instead of (or in addition to) participating in contrived gift exchanges,
  give anonymously to someone you know and remain anonymous.

o Share of yourself -- give lessons in something you possess a measure of
  knowledge and enthusiasm; write a letter to each member of your family
  describing with love how much each one means to you.

o Give a gift of relationship -- re-establish a friendship that has grown
  distant; risk reconciliation with someone with whom you've had a falling
  out; seek out people who've influenced your life in a positive way and
  thank them for it.

o Pledge to pursue peace in all ways and in every situation -- take part in
  a project, workshop or educational event; share all that you learn with
  others; study the spiritual basis for struggling for peace and social
  justice.

In Christ's afflicting peace,
Richard

:-) He's Baaaaaaaack!   :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) 

    	Hi Richard!
    
    	"It's so nice to have you back where you belong."
    
    	(You may consider this as the first letter written to a member of
    	"my family" telling them/you how much I appreciate them/you.[I have
    	come to see CP as - at least - a good friend]).
    	
    	I think that was a great suggestion. I spend much too little time
    	with my family and the opportunity to show them how much I love
    	them.
    
    	Greetings, Derek.

CHRI$TMA$ AND CON$UMERI$M: OPEN FORUM UPCOMING
----------------------------------------------

	Many people have come to believe that the holiday season imposes
coercive and unrealistic expectations, many of which are contrary to the
central meaning of the celebration.  Many people have come to resent all
the commercial exploitation of the Winter holidays, especially Christmas.
At the same time, many people wrestle with a feeling of powerlessness to
do anything about the situation.

	Taking a stand against the tide of established culture is often
isolating and unrewarding.  And there's a very real possibility that even
one's household will deny support for taking any significant stand.  Without
support, it seems reasonable to "just go along."

	Then there's always the question, "What about the children?"  What
kinds of toys are in keeping with the season?  What kinds of gifts send an
erroneous message about the meaning of Christmas to children?

	Let's come together and seek collaborative answers.

	At CON$IDERING THE CHRI$TMA$ $EA$ON, participants will be encouraged
to examine such issues as the commercialization of Christmas, consumerism,
war toys, secular cultural expectations and possible alternatives.  Since
CON$IDERING THE CHRI$TMA$ $EA$ON is an open forum, there will be no expert on
hand to provide simplistic solutions.  A facilitator will maintain focus and
a sense of order.  CON$IDERING THE CHRI$TMA$ $EA$ON is scheduled for Monday
evening, November 8, 1993, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, at the East Library &
Information Center, 5500 N. Union Blvd., Colorado Springs.

	Sponsored by the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission, CON$IDERING
THE CHRI$TMA$ $EA$ON is free and open to the public.

What was your most meaningful Christmas like?  What made it different
from all other Christmases?

What, if anything, is there about the Christmas season that bothers you?

Do you ever dread the Christmas season?  What do you think that's all
about?

Have you ever felt a let down starting the afternoon of Christmas day?
What do you think that's all about?

If you could change the way in which we as a society celebrate Christmas,
what would you envision it to be like?

What is the greatest hindrance to adopting any new traditions in your
Christmas celebration?

In what ways could others help you make Christmas a more meaningful
experience this year and in years to come?

What do extravagant gifts say to you about Christmas?

What kinds of gifts have usually meant the most to you in the past?

What kinds of gifts are children typically prompted to desire for Christmas?

What do you think about toys that reinforce lingering cultural stereotypes
(A radio-controlled car for a boy, a Barbie for a girl)?

What do you think about war toys? toy guns? heroic action figures? combat
simulation video games?

What would it take for you to commit to making this Christmas one which
more closely fits your understanding of what Christmas is all about?

Peace,
Richard

  Good questions, Richard.




>What was your most meaningful Christmas like?  What made it different
>from all other Christmases?


 Christmas 1992.  I recommitted my life to Christ on 12-19-93, which 
 immeditately fired up my Christmas spirit for the first time in about
 5 years.  Unfortunately, I also realized for the first time in 5 years
 how much I missed the family that I once had.



>What, if anything, is there about the Christmas season that bothers you?

 I dunno, but I felt it today when I walked into the Filene's store in
 Manchester today..the commercialism obviously, but the sense of lonliness
 that hit me when I walked into the store was a killer.  Yes, I have the
 Lord, and that is wonderful.  But, I miss the family closeness.

 Also, the ever increasing greed I see in my kids..greed may be a bit harsh
 but each year their request list gets bigger and bigger and more expensive.
 This year I refuse to even look at it.  Also the feeling that I'm sure is
 a result of teh commercialism, that somehow I didn't spend enough money
 on my kids.

>Do you ever dread the Christmas season?  What do you think that's all
>about?

See above.

>Have you ever felt a let down starting the afternoon of Christmas day?
>What do you think that's all about?

 I think for me its a sense of how ridiculous it is, particularly when I
 sit back and read a newspaper and see that all the stufff my kids just
 opened and scattered all over their mother's house, I can now buy 
 for half price the day after.


>If you could change the way in which we as a society celebrate Christmas,
>what would you envision it to be like?


 First, I'd celebrate it in July..the stores are just to crowded in Novemember
 and December :-)

>What is the greatest hindrance to adopting any new traditions in your
>Christmas celebration?

 I'm still wrestling with this one.



>What kinds of gifts have usually meant the most to you in the past?

 Practical ones..a new brief case last year from my kids, books..my ex mother-in
 law always gets me a subscription to Flying magazine..I love it.

>What kinds of gifts are children typically prompted to desire for Christmas?

 Mine seem to want the big ticket things..my 17 year old wants a PC and a VCR.
 My 11 year old wants a portable CD player and who knows what else..I'm not 
 going to buy them (though I'm thinking of a PC for my 17 year old as he
 is develping into a pretty good writer and the word processing applications
 could help) though my former mother in law probably will.


>What do you think about toys that reinforce lingering cultural stereotypes
>(A radio-controlled car for a boy, a Barbie for a girl)?


 No problem..I've noticed that as a species we do have boys and girls and I have
 no problem with them being same, or being encouraged to.


>What do you think about war toys? toy guns? heroic action figures? combat
>simulation video games?

 I have a growing hatred for them, particularly the video gamems.

>What would it take for you to commit to making this Christmas one which
>more closely fits your understanding of what Christmas is all about?



 Right this minute I'm stewing from my 17 year old son telling me that praying
 before we eat and reading the Bible and going to church are offensive to him..
 So for now if he were to somehow reverse his stand on that, I'd be quite 
 happy with that..othe rthan that, if somehow my family were back together,
 that would be fine, but I don'tthink that is going to happen.

 I'd also be happy if all my kids were in church for our program this year
 to hear their Dad narrate.




 Jim

.15

>	We may be grateful that George Bailey, the nice guy protagonist
>portrayed by Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra's classic film, "It's A Wonderful
>Life," has, for the most part, managed to escape such conscription.

I was at Target today and I'm forced to retract this remark.  George Bailey
has finally been compromised and in no small way.  I could just wretch. :-P

Richard

Only 100 shopping days left until Christmas!

Hallmark stores have Christmas cards out and have had Christmas tree
ornaments out since July.

Shalom,
Richard

    	In reality the true Christmas season doesn't start until 12/25,
    	and then it runs for 12 days.

For those living in the Pikes Peak region, there is to be an article
concerning the de-commercialization of Christmas in the Religion
section of the upcoming Saturday, December 9, issue of the Colorado
Springs Gazette Telegraph.

Yours truly was interviewed as part of its preparation.

Shalom,
Richard

Holidays from the Heart
-----------------------
excerpts from an article that appeared in the December 9 issue of the
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph (Section G, Lifestyles).

By Debbie Warhola, acting Religion Editor

	Ah, the joys of the holiday season.  People circle shopping center
parking lots like predators, check shopping lists for the umpteenth time,
haul out credit cards, lug home the packages -- and pray for a fast-forward
to January.

	But not so Richard Jones-Christie.  The Colorado Springs peace
activist has concluded that the holiday season doesn't need to be a
stressful, hectic orgy of spending to be enjoyable.

	So this self-proclaimed "Grinch who spared Christmas" has become
part of a small but dedicated group of holiday revelers who have made the
commitment to decommercialize Christmas and Hanukkah.

	Their focus is more on giving gifts from the heart, not from the
wallet.

	"Christmas was not divinely ordained as a retail-centered celebration,
which it seems to have turned into," says Jones-Christie.  "I'm not against
Christmas or gifts or celebrating, but I am in favor of seeking more meaningful
was to honor the birth of Jesus."

	Instead of rushing out and buying the latest CD or electronic gadget,
Jones-Christie might give a donation to a charity in someone's name or
volunteer his time as a gift.

	"To me, Christmas is a celebration and a joy, but it's not one that
can be imposed from the outside; it has to be nurtured from the inside and
no amount of gifts will capture it.  The fellowship of friends, loved ones
and even a few strangers is what will," says Jones-Christie.

[The much longer feature story was accompanied by a couple sidebars, one
on alternative gift suggestions and the other on how to implement simpler
celebrations in one's family.  I can vouch for the accuracy of the quotes.
;-}]

 For me the most joy I had in gift giving this  Christmas, was giving 
 a gift certificate to a local grocery store to a woman whom I know
 is having trouble keeping food in the house.  The church provides food
 for her, but at times the pantry gets pretty low.  I put the certificate
 in a card, unsigned, and asked one of our junior high kids to deliver it
 to her.


 Jim

	Jim, that's sooooo cool! Thanks for sharing that. Definitely made my
day!

    .26
    
    That genuinely warmed my heart, Jim.  It was very much in the true
    spirit of Christmas.
    
    Shalom,
    Richard
    

  This same woman, and several other families in similar situations,
  were recipients of many similar gifts.




 Jim