December Pastoral Letter

Have you started your Christmas preparations? What do they include? Fighting for parking spots at Park Place Mall? Finding deals at Wal-Mart? Trying to figure out what the kids will actually play with?

The Advent Conspiracy has a different take on Christmas preparation. These are Christians from all over the world committed to living out the Christmas story in ways that are faithful to what God intends.

Their website explains:

The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.

So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.
And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy.

This Christmas they ask all Christians to

Worship Fully
Spend Less
Give More
Love All

For example, a small Christian community in Calgary called “Awaken” says “At Awaken, we are seeking ways to simply our lives and challenge the consumerism which is pervasive in Calgary. We are reducing or eliminating our spending at Christmas, and using the money we save to give to water projects in countries that need it.”

Christian communities from all over the world are challenging the consumerist takeover of Christmas and living more faithfully of Jesus’ followers, being light to the nations, and alternative way of being in the world.

This year I encourage you to think about how you can more faithfully celebrate the birth of poor child born in a manger, the child who asks us to share from our vast resources to those struggling merely to survive.

In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Kevin