|
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
[ Back to index of December articles ] See also: Creating a spiritual
Christmas for kids
Introducing children to the spirituality of the Christmas season can be a tough task in a culture that tends toward commercialism, materialism and excess. But there are many ways to make Christmas meaningful, according to four professionals who work with young people in the Diocese of Washington. To enter into the spirit of the season, the second graders at Holy Trinity Episcopal Day School in Bowie have created peace doves, said sacred studies teacher Liz Anderson. After a class discussion, each child wrote their wishes for peace onto a paper dove, which they hung from the ceiling for the rest of the school to share. While the second grade class wings its good wishes through the school, other classes are involved in activities that emphasize sharing, Anderson said. Each Christmas, the first graders bake cookies, which they deliver to the other classes. And this year, the fourth graders have created lighthouse decorations for a local veterans home.
The gift of giving is also emphasized at a special Christmas Chapel, Anderson said. Here, the real meaning of Christmas is reinforced, so the children can carry it with them as they go into the holidays. The short service is designed especially for children and allows pupils from each grade to sing carols and participate in worship with their parents and teachers. While the Christmas Chapel is a more elaborate program than the regular weekly chapels, these also contribute to the children’s sense of wellbeing, Anderson said. “Many children like the feeling of serenity and comfort that church attendance can provide,” she said. Not all of Holy Trinity’s pupils come from Christian families, Anderson said. And even those from Christian families do not always attend church. But the memory of the chapels stays with the children, she said, and sometimes, years later, it leads them back to church.
“A lot of times, people have not been here before, and they’re a little shy,” she said. “I don’t want them to feel left out.” So at the 5 p.m. Christmas Eve service, the church offers a “spontaneous pageant” as part of the worship service, so the newcomers in the congregation will feel included. “I’ve cast the two reading parts ahead of time,” she said. “Also Mary, Joseph and baby.”
But everyone else is cast on the spot. And unlike traditional pageants, this one allows the adults to participate, too - primarily to help the new children overcome their nervousness. “There’s costumes,” Bernhard said. “We have stuffed animals we can give out. We try to make it as user friendly as we can.” While it’s geared towards children, the service can also be very meaningful for the adults, who sometimes experience it as a sort of homecoming, she said. “For me, it just all kind of fits together,” she said. “And I think for a lot of people, the light bulbs are going to go on. Every year I’m just moved to tears. It’s always very new and very cool for me, even though I know what the outcome’s going to be.” Throughout November, children in the St. Barnabas’, Temple Hills, youth group worked on Christmas boxes for “Operation Christmas Child,” said the Rev. Sherrill Page. “They take a shoebox and fill it up with personal items for children - kids all over the world,” Page said. “They collect items, money, toys - anything they can fit in the box.” Stickers denote the age and gender of the recipient, and a Polaroid of the gift-giver is placed inside the box, she said. Each box is sent with $5 to cover the cost of postage. “Part of the appeal for children to do it is to know that another child will be receiving it,” Page said, adding that last year, young people at St. Barnabas’ filled more than 60 boxes. “It’s something tangible.” For many of the recipients, the boxes are the only Christmas gifts they’ll get. Page recounted the story of a little boy in Africa who was wreathed in smiles when he was given one of the Christmas boxes. “He took one thing out of the box, and then handed it back,” she said. “He couldn’t believe it was all for him.” That’s an important reality check for people in this society, she said. “Even in the midst of the abundance and the excess that most of us have, there’s an understanding that not everybody has and there’s an awareness of the need to give,” she said. “A project like this is small and it doesn’t address everybody’s needs, but it’s doable - a child can do it, a family can do it - and it makes a difference in a child’s life.”
“One more toy, one more thing - ultimately, how long is that going to last?” she said. So she and her partner, Barbara White, have decided to focus on birthdays as a time for gift giving and save Jesus’ birthday for him. “Birthdays are about you, and that’s when you get gifts,” she said, explaining her decision to spend her money on an orphanage in Uganda this Christmas instead of her grandchildren. “What better way than to put that money into a place where children have nothing?” While her pronouncement might not be popular with her grandchildren, Horn believes she has done the right thing. “To some people, that sounds hard,” she said. “How can you not give your grandchildren a gift? But maybe we are. It’s not about getting one more toy or game. It’s about a spirit of sharing and abundance.” Contact Lucy Chumbley at lchumbley@edow.org [ Back to index of December articles ] Five great Web sites for Advent and Christmas: (top) http://www.whychristmas.com http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/adx/index.html http://www.acplace.com/holiday/prayers.htm http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/christmas.htm http://www.algonet.se/~bernadot/christmas/calendar.html [ Back to index of December articles ] Dreaming of a GREEN Christmas? (top) Try these tips from the diocese’s Environment Committee for an environmentally friendly holiday season: Christmas Trees
Paper and cardboard Batteries Peanuts and plastic fill
Wrapping presents Tree lights Christmas cards
[ Back to index of December articles ] Offering more meaning, less materialism (top) By Amy Elliott This holiday season, the average American will spend a projected $518.44 on gifts, according to a National Retail Federation survey. In addition, 54 percent of consumers are still paying off debt from the 2002 holiday season, according to a survey by Consolidated Credit Counseling Services Inc. Christmas can be expensive, but according to one local organization, it is the gift that costs nothing that could be the most valuable. The Center for a New American Dream, (www.newdream.org) a non-profit group based in Takoma Park, Md., commissioned its own survey this year: What kids really want that money can’t buy. It resulted in a new kind of wish list - one that can make the holiday season more meaningful and less material. It also uncovered some surprising statistics. According to the survey results, 90 percent of the young people between the ages of 9 and 14 say friends and family are “way more important” than things that money can buy. In addition, nearly six out of 10 say they’d rather spend time having fun with their parents than go shopping. Here is a list of the nine
things children say they want that money can’t buy: Pattie Ames, director of children’s ministries at St. Columba’s in Washington, D.C., also offered some advice to help parents counter today’s commercial culture. “If you give them that Toys ‘R’ Us catalogue, they’re going to want those things,” she said, adding that while “Christmas is about giving, it’s not about getting what you asked for.” Ames, who held a recent talk on “De-emphasizing the Materialism of the Holidays” at St. Columba’s, said the key to putting the holiness back in holy days is shifting the focus to those who are really in need. She suggested that parents take their children shopping for something that their children really want, but instead have their child give it to another child who is in need. That way, she said, children can get excited about giving gifts that they know other children will be excited to receive. Teaching children about giving from the heart is an important part of the Christmas message, Ames said. She hears this message in the Christmas hymn, “In the Bleak Midwinter:” “What can I give him, poor as I am?/ If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.../If I were a wise man, I would do my part/ Yet what can I give him ... give my heart.” While encouraging generosity, Monique Tilford, development director for The Center for a New American Dream, said it’s also important to be intentional in your choices. For the people on your list who really don’t need another set of coasters, there are a host of places where you can find alternative gifts that make a difference. - Give a gift of bees
to a family in the Dominican Republic who can earn income from the production
of honey, beeswax and pollen ($30 from Heifer International, www.heifer.org) If you haven’t mastered the art of online browsing, you can visit an alternative gift fair where you’ll find many items you can feel good about giving. Area alternative gift fairs: - Takoma Park, Md.: noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 6 at Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, corner of Maple and Tulip streets. Contact Stephanie at stephanieLS1@hotmail.com or 301/891-7809. - Washington, D.C.: 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 9 at “Front Page” in Dupont Circle. The Third Annual Capital Action Alternative Gift Fair Happy Hour. Contact Sat Jiwan at satjiwan@planet-save.com Advent is a good time to reflect on how to “unplug
the Christmas machine,” Ames said. But what really matters after
the packages have been unwrapped and the trees untrimmed is love. Contact Amy Elliott at aelliott@edow.org [ Back to index of December articles ]
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
The
boxes are covered in bright Christmas paper and when they are filled,
they are stacked around the altar to be blessed during the offertory before
being shipped out.