OUR CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO THE WORLD
Posted Dec 10, 10:36 AM
A Turkey that lasts all year
When we celebrate Christmas we are celebrating the generosity of God to the world, and as ‘presents’ were given to the Christ-child we give presents, but we often limit ourselves to giving to those close to us. Yet if God’s gift of Jesus was for the whole world, this is a time for also thinking beyond our family and friends, to think of the whole world that God loves.
Two years ago at this time, some of us agreed that as our ‘act of gratitude’ for God’s gift of life and of love, we would set aside a few pennies every time we had a shower or bath, and this would go towards Christian Aid projects working to bring clean water supplies to villages. So, together our Christmas Present to the world was that we raised enough funds for Christian Aid to provide three water pumps for communities in Bolivia. .
Last year we did something similar – we raised funds to provide a community or family in the developing world with a herd of Goats – again we were able to give a good ‘Christmas Present to the World’ through Christian Aid, to subsistence farmers. We know that so often things can go wrong for people living on the edge – harvests can fail, droughts or extremes of weather can destroy all their hard work, and then families don’t have enough to eat, and there’s no money to buy other essentials like medicine and schoolbooks. We discovered that when a poor family is provided with a goat, it can be a life changing experience. Once the goat has given birth, she will be able to produce nutritious milk to feed hungry children, and surplus milk can be sold to buy seeds and tools, and manure can fertilise the soil. As the flock increases the family can afford all the other essentials of life.
This year we will do something similar – we will aim to buy a ‘herd’ of live turkeys – Christian Aid tells us that ‘a hungry and malnourished child is unable to grow and develop properly and is more prone to illnesses. Turkeys provide a large amount of meat – a major source of nutrients and protein. They are cheap to raise and can be bred and sold to help poor families earn a living’. On Tajikistan, for example, Christian Aid have worked with local communities to train farmers in poultry rearing, and these farmers pass on their skills to others in their community so that everyone can earn extra money selling eggs and birds at the market.
This is another gift that just keeps growing and giving!
So, this year, why not put aside five or ten pence for every main meal you have during Advent – in gratitude for the many gifts we have in life, but particularly our easy access to such nutrition.
As we did last year, there will be a bowl in the chancel area of the Church to collect your offering of gratitude. This is an Advent project, but we will keep the bowl in the church right up until Communion Sunday at the end of January, in case some people are not able to bring their contributions till later.
AND, please do tell other people about it. Last year a number of people from outwith the congregation took part, to share in this ‘Christmas present to the world’.
source-St Thomas’-Junction Road’s December issue of the Church News