Giving Light for Christmas

This is year 2 of an initiative of the Hillhurst United Church Outreach Committee. It began from our desire to offer alternatives to the commercialism of Christmas, and the name came from a desire to have a positive focus.

Many of us genuinely want to treat our family and friends over the Christmas season but, at the same time, we feel uncomfortable with the overwhelming consumerism that our culture has come to associate with the holidays. Is there a way of giving gifts that allows us to demonstrate our appreciation for loved ones yet is relatively light on the environment and beneficial to our community?

In our city today, we are the target of many marketing efforts, many of them simply material, some of them spiritual. Where previous generations found their identity in what they produced, today we often find our identity in what we consume. But there is a point at which abundance becomes clutter. Can Christian practice re-direct that consumption-based identity to a way of celebrating based on generosity and gratitude?

We believe it's possible. As children know, tradition is a living thing.

It’s not a matter of moral or theological purity, so don’t let this be another pressure (like the Martha Stewart magazine is for some of us!); this is an invitation see where God has been born into our midst, an invitation to connect with a "transformative compassion for the world", however you may find that.

Our list of ideas will initially be published on this blog - we welcome your additions to this list, which you can contribute by adding a comment below. The posts will be updated regularly through November and the beginning of December to reflect your contributions. There is a post for each of the following categories: Movies/Books/Music, Crafts and Gifts to Make, Gifts to Buy, Giving to the Wider Community, Family and Community Events.

Also, a version of this material will be made available in printed form at the back of the sanctuary mid-way through November and through Advent. This list will hopefully grow with your contributions.

“Knowing the giver in each gift, we can set ourselves free from small desires and awake to Gods desire in everything.”

Here is a link to a recent article in the Globe and Mail about giving gifts to childen and teenagers. It's not specifically religious, but I take the liberty of posting it because it gets to the heart of why we give gifts, and provides some reassurance about where to draw the line and why:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071127.wxlpeers27/BNStory/lifeFamily/home