Do They Know Its Christmas?

Do They Know Its Christmas?




Back in the early 1980’s, which is the dark ages of the information age, there was a horrible famine in Ethiopia. During that time, the BBC aired a documentary chronicling the famine and how thousands were literally starving to death. In the way the Holy Spirit seems to move, (Sir) Bob Geldof, the lead singer of the punk band the Boomtown Rats (famous for I Don’t Like Mondays) happened on that particular documentary and was so moved to create a charity effort. He and Ultravox lead singer Midge Ure co-wrote the anthem, Do They Know its Christmas, to raise money and awareness for the famine sufferers. Assembling together a calvcade of early 1980’s Brit pop superstars including: Bono, Boy George, Duran Duran, Bananarama, Big Country and the Police. The radio station I listened to at the time started promoting it and there was a screening of the making of it on MTV, which my friends and I eagerly watched. I couldn’t wait to get the 45 of the song, so I could do my part. The following summer, the Live Aid concert was held to raise additional funds for Ethiopia to provide food, shelter and medicine. The concert featured probably the greatest performance by Queen ever, as well as a few other seminal concert moments. I was on holiday in Australia at the time and had a chance to go to the local Live Aid concert in Sydney (my poor aunt and grandmother, being dragged by me to it) so I can say, yes, I was there. INXS was the headlining group, and it was just as they were beginning to get huge in the States, so it was kind of cool to be a part of history.



It is possible for one person to change the world. Yes, George Harrison held his concert for Bangladesh back in the early 1970’s, but one song helped spawn a movement. If it wasn’t for happenstance, We are the World (the American equivilient of Do They Know it Christmas) would have never happened. The Big Man and I are on opposite ends of the musical spectrum, and he much prefers We are the World (my personal opinion: hated it). It also spawned Hear’n Aid, which consisted of heavy metal bands. The video has a bit of Spinal Tap-ish quality to it, which by today’s terms is quite quaint and funny. The downside is that Band Aid spawned a thousand other fundraising songs and concerts (the best was when the Simpsons’ spoofed Well Aid for Baby Jessica).



Band Aid did change me, as it brought awareness of the outside world to my door. I was so excited to do my part, that by buying a record I could change the world.



My consciousness was raised.



My future as an advocate for social justice was secured.



In the late 1990’s, I did a lot of agitating for the Jubilee campaign. It was based on the Biblical principle of a Jubilee, where debts were forgiven and the slate wiped clean. It was a chance for the emerging world to escape crushing foreign debt and begin to invest in resources at home, to prevent the need for future loans and stopping the vicious cycle. This soon morphed into the Millenium Development Goals, cast by the United Nations to eradicate poverty within one generation.



There are eight goals:



ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER

ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN

REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY

IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH

COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES

ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

The Anglican Communion (which I as an Episcopalian, am a proud member of) has helped raise awareness for this campaign through various means. There are so many things that one can do on a daily basis to make these goals a reality. By purchasing fair trade products, you are helping making these goals a reality. Offering a screening of No Woman No Cry, a brilliant documentary on maternal health around the world, will help raise awareness of child mortality and maternal health. Supporting the March of Dimes will also help raise awareness of those issues in our country as well. The RED campaign, as well as www.one.org has continued to combat AIDS, and raise awareness of how the disease affects the developing world, as well as the first world. Episcopal Relief and Development and Heifer International both offer opportunities to personally contribute to making these goals a reality. By meeting these goals, it is a hope that my son’s children will know a world where extreme poverty, hunger and a lack of environmental sustainability are ideas encountered in a history book, not the newspaper. No one will ever have to ask, do they know its Christmas?

In Praise of Christmas

My son and I had the opportunity to spread some Christmas joy yesterday. Last Sunday, in Sunday School, we had decorated cookies and delivered them to various places (VA, shut ins, the Union Gospel Mission). Feeling inspired and warm and fuzzy, the Little Man and I decided to spread some joy ourselves.




We baked sugar cookies. We decorated them. We packaged them up. We went in our “sleigh” (actually, a Toyota Camry) and started to share the love. First up was the Union Gospel Mission.



The Mission provides services to folks who are hurting economically. From their website ( http://www.ugmsf.com/) they offer:

NIGHTLY CHAPEL SERVICES: Approximately 60 different churches are responsible for doing the services, providing food for the soul.



DISCIPLESHIP PROGRAM: A long-term, live-in discipleship program open to those wanting to change their life.



VIDEO MINISTRY: Christian videos shown daily.



COMMUNITY OUTREACH: Mission representatives select families, determine their needs, and assist them (i.e. food boxes, clothing, footwear, or Christmas tree and decorations).



YOUTH MINISTRY: Vacation Bible School and camp opportunities.



LAMPLIGHTERS: Men and women gather monthly to hear about the ministry, how they can assist, and relay this information to others.

WOMEN'S & CHILDREN'S FACILITY: 20 beds for women & children in transient or on discipleship program.



MEN'S FACILITY: 70 beds for men in transient or on discipleship program.



THOMAS F. MORSE CENTER: Adult learning center, education, and employment services center. Open to anyone who would like to receive assistance in getting a GED, job skills, and computer literacy.



MEDICAL CLINIC: USD student nurses on Tuesdays 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. No appointment necessary.

MEALS: Meals three times a day with special meals provided on Easter, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and other special occasions.



THRIFT STORE: Free clothing and household items to needy people.

Open to the public featuring economy prices for all.

Hours: Monday - Friday 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM



VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: Friends help with many hours of service in a variety of areas.



NEWSLETTER: Mailed monthly to those who would like to keep updated on the ministry.



Last year, during a retreat, our youth group wound up getting an impromptu tour of the Mission when our plans to feed the homeless under the 8th Street Bridge fell through…and we delivered our muffins and water to the Mission. I had no idea of the services that they offered, and since then, I have been a passionate supporter of their ministry.



A few dozen cookies, decorated by a child, may not seem like a lot, but the true smiles and joy on people’s faces when we brought them in was priceless.



We next went to the Ronald McDonald House (http://www.ronaldmcdonaldsouthdakota.org) ; I have been a passionate supporter of them for the last seven years. I have helped serve dinner there on several occasions, as well as in the past dropping off meals and baked goods. Before I became a mom, I volunteered there physically as well, teaching scrapbooking and being a greeter. My son wasn’t too sure about the whole McDonald’s thing (“Mom, I’m a vegetarian! They don’t have anything I can eat!”) until we walked into the house with the cookies. The lady that greeted us was quite happy to get them, and my son was quite happy to give them. He was excited that he could bring them the pop can tabs too…so I have a feeling that we are going to collect them compulsively now!



I had been told years ago by a developmental pediatrician all the things my son won’t do because of the autism. One on his list of many was develop empathy and caring for other people.

Wrong.

Yesterday just proved again how little the “experts” know about autism.

Vegan Sugar Cookies




makes about three dozen cookies



1 cup Earth Balance buttery spread



1 cup granulated sugar



2 whole egg replacements



1/4 tsp salt



2 tsp vanilla extract



3 3/4 cup all purpose flour



2 tsp baking powder



1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (tofutti brand)



Cream together the buttery spread and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add the “eggs” and the vanilla.



In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add in two additions to the butter mixture and then add the vegan cream cheese and mix only until combined.



Chill dough for one hour (note that the dough will feel quite crumbly).



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.



Work the dough with your hands so it’s less crumbly. Roll out to 1/4th inch and cut with cookie cutters to desired shapes and sizes. Bake for twelve minutes, until light brown around the edges

Do They Know Its Christmas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5cX_ncZLls&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Back in the early 1980’s, which is the dark ages of the information age, there was a horrible famine in Ethiopia. During that time, the BBC aired a documentary chronicling the famine and how thousands were literally starving to death. In the way the Holy Spirit seems to move, (Sir) Bob Geldof, the lead singer of the punk band the Boomtown Rats (famous for I Don’t Like Mondays) happened on that particular documentary and was so moved to create a charity effort. He and Ultravox lead singer Midge Ure co-wrote the anthem, Do They Know its Christmas, to raise money and awareness for the famine sufferers. Assembling together a calvcade of early 1980’s Brit pop superstars including: Bono, Boy George, Duran Duran, Bananarama, Big Country and the Police. The radio station I listened to at the time started promoting it and there was a screening of the making of it on MTV, which my friends and I eagerly watched. I couldn’t wait to get the 45 of the song, so I could do my part. The following summer, the Live Aid concert was held to raise additional funds for Ethiopia to provide food, shelter and medicine. The concert featured probably the greatest performance by Queen ever, as well as a few other seminal concert moments. I was on holiday in Australia at the time and had a chance to go to the local Live Aid concert in Sydney (my poor aunt and grandmother, being dragged by me to it) so I can say, yes, I was there. INXS was the headlining group, and it was just as they were beginning to get huge in the States, so it was kind of cool to be a part of history.



It is possible for one person to change the world. Yes, George Harrison held his concert for Bangladesh back in the early 1970’s, but one song helped spawn a movement. If it wasn’t for happenstance, We are the World (the American equivilient of Do They Know it Christmas) would have never happened. The Big Man and I are on opposite ends of the musical spectrum, and he much prefers We are the World (my personal opinion: hated it). It also spawned Hear’n Aid, which consisted of heavy metal bands. The video has a bit of Spinal Tap-ish quality to it, which by today’s terms is quite quaint and funny. The downside is that Band Aid spawned a thousand other fundraising songs and concerts (the best was when the Simpsons’ spoofed Well Aid for Baby Jessica).



Band Aid did change me, as it brought awareness of the outside world to my door. I was so excited to do my part, that by buying a record I could change the world.



My consciousness was raised.



My future as an advocate for social justice was secured.



In the late 1990’s, I did a lot of agitating for the Jubilee campaign. It was based on the Biblical principle of a Jubilee, where debts were forgiven and the slate wiped clean. It was a chance for the emerging world to escape crushing foreign debt and begin to invest in resources at home, to prevent the need for future loans and stopping the vicious cycle. This soon morphed into the Millenium Development Goals, cast by the United Nations to eradicate poverty within one generation.



There are eight goals:



ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER

ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN

REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY

IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH

COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES

ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

The Anglican Communion (which I as an Episcopalian, am a proud member of) has helped raise awareness for this campaign through various means. There are so many things that one can do on a daily basis to make these goals a reality. By purchasing fair trade products, you are helping making these goals a reality. Offering a screening of No Woman No Cry, a brilliant documentary on maternal health around the world, will help raise awareness of child mortality and maternal health. Supporting the March of Dimes will also help raise awareness of those issues in our country as well. The RED campaign, as well as www.one.org has continued to combat AIDS, and raise awareness of how the disease affects the developing world, as well as the first world. Episcopal Relief and Development and Heifer International both offer opportunities to personally contribute to making these goals a reality. By meeting these goals, it is a hope that my son’s children will know a world where extreme poverty, hunger and a lack of environmental sustainability are ideas encountered in a history book, not the newspaper. No one will ever have to ask, do they know its Christmas?

Bang on

Keeping your head on straight this time of year can be a challenge, to say the least. There are presents to be bought & wrapped; houses to decorate, cookies to bake, carols to sing and so on. And, as women we need to do it all with a smile.


I made a conscious decision this season to say no. I am not stressing about things like I have in the past. I am not caught up in the whole buy-buy-buy compulsion. My body is healing still. My heart is still heavy. My soul aches for all the turmoil I have been through. I am grieving, not just an actual loss, but the loss of a dream. It is hitting me now, as the proximity of the holidays draws near. I hurt, not just physical pain but an empty void that is there that I refuse to stuff with distractions.

I made the choice this year that I am not going to go all Martha Stewart crazy with the holidays. I still tire easily, and my endurance is not there. My disorganization level has doubled if not more, coupled with the fact that I was immobile following surgery for a few weeks.

I refused to over indulge this season and have instead made the choice to limit meat and dairy in my life. I feel better and not as sluggish. I am slowly adding yoga back in. I am walking more, and working on building up my endurance. I am taking care of myself, body and soul. I can ill afford retribution from my body for taking it for granted, as I have for far too long.

Healing both inside and out, especially during the holidays is a daunting task. I have realized that I have allowed other things to distract me from some of the pain and grief I have felt for a long time. I overindulged my son because I felt guilty he was an only child. I did things because I was supposed to: baked when I didn’t feel like baking, decorated over the top because that’s what you did, went all out on a Christmas letter. One year, I wound up going to about thirty different stores looking for the “perfect” gift for someone, only to receive something that had no thought put into it at all. That was when I knew it was around the bend. I was using the trappings of the season without looking at the beauty surrounding me. None of that matters if you forget what the real purpose of the season is.

For the last several years, I have been consciously working on following my bliss; to make myself and my needs a priority. I have slowly excised things and people from my life who do not support that vision. Life is too short, and my cancer scare last year proved it to me.

Yes, I will bake this year, but some gingerbread cookies so my son can decorate them. Maybe pizzelles, because my husband likes those. My chocolate peanut butter blisses because those are my favorite. Other than that, sorry I am not doing any others. Maybe I will mail cards, maybe I won’t. I’m on the fence right now, and not sure if I really want to invest all that time in it. We are having a simple Christmas dinner. I am not stressing out about anything.

Instead, I value my time, sitting by the Christmas tree, watching the lights twinkling, drinking my hot cocoa. I am enjoying creating memories with my son. I am liking the fact that I am healing, both inside and out. Most of all, I like the fact that I am reconnecting with what truly matters this season.

Waiting for the Man With the Bag

We are currently in the liturgical season of Advent. It is the 4 weeks prior to Christmas, where we are in the midst of (to paraphrase John the Baptist) preparing ye the way of the Lord. In the Western church, it is the start of the Liturgical New Year.
Some churches use purple themed vestments and cloths. My particular parish uses blue. There's no one color that is better than others. Purple is generally the color of repentance where blue is the color of hopefulness; the color choice can color what kind of Advent you may have.
There are a variety of ways to prepare for Christmas and recognize the need for Advent. I use the comparison of birth: you do all sorts of preparations before your baby comes. You buy stuff for when the little one comes home. There are parties celebrating their imminent arrival. Then there is a quiet space where you are just resting, in the expectation that your life will change forever because of one little baby.
And you know what? It did.
This year there has been a movement to reclaim Advent as it were, called Occupy Advent. It's a simple concept: prepare ye the way of the Lord.
One of my spiritual practices that I enjoy is praying Compline each night before bed. I am an Episcopalian, which comes from a long line of monastic traditions. Compline is the final prayers said before sleeping in the Liturgy of the Hours. For me, it's the consistency and repetition of praying it every night for years and years and years that just is comforting. I have an app on my phone for the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (the Episcopal Church is the American brach of the Anglican Communion). This Advent I have sought out different versions of Compline from different traditions-Australia, New Zealand, free form-for me to prepare ye the way of the Lord.
One of my favorite Advent traditions is the Advent Wreath. It's a simple concept there are 4 candles, three of one color (either purple or blue) and a rose or mauve colored candle. For the first three Sundays you light the 3 same colored candles, with the rose colored one being lit the final Sunday of Advent. Prayers can be said, hymns can be sung. Or it can be silence.
I am particularly partial to this one
http://www.liturgy.co.nz/blog/advent-wreath-blessing/174

To make an Advent wreath, you need
4 candles (3 of either blue or purple and 1 pink)
Candle stands
Wreath
Ribbon
Decorations

Wrap ribbon around wreath
Add doo dads
Place candles on stands in the middle

Count down to Christmas and prepare ye the way of the Lord