.OK ... I know it's not even ADVENT yet but I want to brag on the amazingly, extraordinarily fabulous Alternative Christmas Market being offered here at All Saints Church on Sunday. It's our annual invitation for giving hope rather than "stuff" for Christmas and this year's catalogue is the BEST EVER.
Whether it's across the border through our Agua Verde ministry, across town with the Foster Care Project or around the globe through ERD, opportunities abound to reach out in the name of the One who calls us to love one another as He has loved us.
Check it out here ...and give thanks for those whose creativity and generosity inspires both amazing grace and abundant giving!
(PS - If you have trouble with this link -- which worked fine for me -- try going through the All Saints Church Website.)
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5 comments:
Oh Rev. Russell! How awful! Imagine -- a church actually helping the poor and needy, children and elderly, here and across the world -- instead of spending its time arguing about who is "right", more pure, and demonizing those nasty gay people! What a travesty! Surely the heavens will be rent asunder at the horrors of the teachings of such "liberal" parishes!
(here endeth the snark)
On a serious note, the catalog is lovely. It took a while to upload (and the link didn't work, but I went to your church's link on the sidebar and found the info.), but was well worth the wait. What a wonderful way to "market" Christmas. Much better than the constant greed and desire our culture seems to have for the latest gadget or play toy to stultify our minds.
My church is not large enough for such an extensive catalog, but we do have a women and children's shelter, a feeding program and rehabilitation program we support, and we'll be doing our best this year to help out those folks in need.
All Saints' Alternative Christmas Market will give us something to aspire toward.
Thanks! Not sure what's up with the link ... it downloaded fine for me. Maybe I'll put up the church web address as a back up in case anybody else has trouble. Anyway, thanks for stopping by!
Dear Rev. Russell:
What a great idea. Anything that takes us away from the "gift giving-frantic shopping" aspect of Christmas is welcome.
My grandfather asked for only one gift from each of his grandchildren each Christmas.
We were to memorize and learn the context of one Bible verse, which he would send us in November.
Then on Christmas Eve when we would gather for dinner, each of us would recite our "gift" at the dinner table before dinner.
I can honestly say I don't remember 99 percent of the "gifts" I received, but I have never forgotten those 4-5 Christmases when I would be called on to give my grandfather his "gift."
We continued the tradition, but allowed our children to pick the verse themselves.
We should all learn that giving is the real gift of Christmas, not the getting.
So thanks for the "alternative" gift idea and the reminder of the real reason of the season.
Our young granchildren and children still get a secular gift from us, but we also make a substantial donation to an orphanage-school in Malawi in the name of our family as our main Christmas "gift."
A sinner saved by God's Grace
Jim of Michigan
I'm sorry there aren't more comments on this (yet -- unless they're awaiting moderation). I think the catalogue deserves a huge round of applause. I hope others do, too, but just haven't said so.
Susan, in my view, your marvelous catalog is proof that the Christmas season is redeemable. It's a cop-out to just throw up one's hands and say "oh well, there's nothing I can do about the commercialism, so might as well shop, shop, shop." Last year my husband and I gave water, a goat and a year of education to a person in Asia, Africa and Latin America through ERD. We also collected small change for the children of our church, who used it to buy animals through the Heifer Project.
And for the die-hard capitalists out there, don't forget about kiva.org, where your money is not a "donation" but rather a loan, which is paid back (with interest).
Happy Christmas to ALL!
-J
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