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Taken
from the December 2006/January 2007
parish
magazine.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
The knowledge that Christmas is coming fills us with different
emotions. For some it is great excitement; for others it is
with a sense of dread. There is no doubt that Christmas can
be a very stressful time, especially if you are responsible
for choosing all the presents, writing cards, deciding who to invite,
where to go as well as producing a meal to remember for the rest of the
year.
In
the run up to this Christmas there have been a number
of
stories where peoples’ expectations of Christmas have been
dashed, such as the people who had used a company to save for Christmas
only for it to go bust and leave them with nothing.
Fortunately there has been a generous public response and maybe there
will be something for them, if not what they expected. At the
same time it was disappointing to see how for many Christmas revolves
around what we can buy: “Christmas is cancelled”
because we won’t have the food and presents we hoped for.
With all the rush and bustle of Christmas, it is sometimes hard to keep
the focus on Jesus. He was born into poverty and shared the
experience of many around the world today of having a very simple
lifestyle. It is possible to celebrate this great event
without great expense. The giving
of presents can be a powerful way of showing love, but it is true that
it is the thought that counts.
Please take the opportunity to come to some of the events advertised in
this magazine, decide to keep Jesus at the centre and show his love to
one another.
Rev W Henderson
