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More and more congregations aim to reclaim Christmas
Black Christian News (BCNN1.com)
William Doherty wasn't among the throngs in the shopping malls on Black Friday. He was in church.
Doherty, a professor in the Family Social Science Department at the University of Minnesota, is part of a growing backlash against the commercialization of Christmas.
Last year, he helped his church, Unity Church Unitarian in St. Paul, Minnesota, hold a worship service on what has become known as Black Friday, the official kickoff of the holiday gift-buying bonanza and biggest retail-shopping day of the year.
This year, he is helping launch a similar “Black Friday at Church” event at New Hope Baptist Church in St. Paul.
The protest against Christmas consumption, organized by the Advent Conspiracy, has become an international phenomenon.
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The program, created by three pastors in 2006, was being presented this year in as many as 1,500 churches.
”We don’t know exactly how many churches are using it, because we’re not in this to make money,” said one of the founders, the Rev. Greg Holder from the Crossing Community Church in suburban St. Louis. “The program is out there for anyone who wants to download it (off the Internet).” |
Four hundred year old apology: Protestant church owns up to wrongs done to Native Americans
© Geoffrey Clements/CORBIS
Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. The majestic colors and the cooler temperatures make for an enjoyable time outdoors. The weather, being perfect for walking, came just in time to settle a dispute between my mother and me.
My dog, who you all know is unsaved, started to really misbehave a few months back. After one of his garbage emptying episodes, we discovered that he learned how to open the lid. My mother deduced that it was my fault that he was bad because he wasn’t walking enough.
In order to prove that my mother was wrong I began walking him daily in the early morning and she began walking him in the afternoon. Turns out, as always, she was right. After the first week he was a new dog. By the second week I think we walked the devil out of him, literally!
A few days ago when the weather was in the mid 50’s and the perfect walking weather, I took Smidget out. On this particular day the dog was exceptionally nosy and wanted to smell every scent in a 2-mile radius!
So off we went, walking far longer and further than I had intended. There were squirrels everywhere and of course as the “Official Squirrel Division Block Watch Captain,” the dog was trying to chase them, to their delight.
The squirrels waited until he got close, then ran behind single-file in a spiral formation up the nearest tree, leaving my dog to wonder how he too could climb the tree after them. Failing miserably in his attempt to catch a squirrel, we began the long walk home.
Suddenly I looked up and saw a huge group of geese. They were larger than usual and working together, as always, in a V-formation heading to warmer climates. They had spent the last few weeks seemingly doubling in size in preparation for the journey.
They were leaving before the weather made the trip unbearable. Watching them reminded me of our journeys as Christians. No doubt the geese I was seeing were a very long way from their destination, but they were determined to keep flying!
As geese grow weary, they switch positions and continue the journey. They allow the stronger geese to bear the burdens of the weaker flyers by taking on the headwind and allowing them to coast and conserve their energy.
Yet at the same time they do not allow the weaker geese to simply stop flying. They all recognize that their survival is dependent on them continuing to fly in the direction of a warmer climate and working together to make sure that no one gets lost along the way.
As Christians we must remember the importance of using our “now” to prepare for where we are headed. If the squirrels were too scared to face challenges like my dog, they would fail to prepare for the upcoming season and would starve.
If the geese got too caught up in the feedings they now enjoy and decided to stay and enjoy the scraps we throw them and abort their winter mission, they would die.
While we should enjoy the present, we also must be cognizant to prepare for the future. We must keep flying. We must keep believing that all of the preparation, challenges and struggles we face are not in vain.
Perhaps your wings are tired and you want to stop flying. I challenge you to change position from defeat to victory and allow one of your brothers or sisters to help you through prayer to overcome your spiritual fatigue.
Also, recognize that seeing a Christian therapist or even using medicine, as a tool, does not make you less spiritual. Just remember that even with the help these tools provide, you cannot stop flying! You can not decide to quit living and stop functioning. Many readers find the holidays difficult for various reasons, but KEEP FLYING.
Wisconsin is a long way from the final destination of the geese but they have a certainty that they will eventually get there. I believe that we are, at the very least, as smart if not smarter than the geese we see flying majestically above us.
We too have to be certain that we will arrive at our God-appointed destination as long as we keep flying.
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The Riverside University High School Gospel Choir
The Riverside Gospel Choir, under the direction and dynamic leadership of Diante Harris, would like to the community to our 2nd Annual Evening of True Worship Concert on Saturday, December 5 at 7 p.m.
This wonderful worship experience will take place at Unity Missionary Baptist Church, 3835 West Fond du Lac Avenue, where the Rev. Nathaniel Johnson Jr., is the Pastor.
Brother Ky’Eric Powell & Untied N’ Worship, Anointed, John Daniels & Straight is the way, Cornelius Armstrong and Exquisite Praise will be the special guests for the evening.
Central City Lutheran Schools
If you are a graduate of a Central City Lutheran School such as Bethany, Christ Memorial, Emmaus Lutheran, Holy Ghost, or Walter Memorial between 1970 and 1985, then this is for you. Attend a “Pre-Reunion Party” at WAAW, 3020 W. Vliet St., on Saturday, December 19 at 7 pm. Give back by bringing a non-perishable food item. For tickets and more information, please call 793-3434.
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Wright crowned queen…
Khamaria Wright was crowned queen at the 29th Annual Christian Business and Professional Alliance Debutante Cotillion Friday, November 27. The event took place at the Milwaukee Hilton Hotel, downtown. (Photo by Harry Kemp)
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Hammond’s ‘They That Wait’ is No. 1 at Gospel radio
“They That Wait” featuring John P. Kee is officially #1 at Gospel radio. The first single off of Fred Hammond’s acclaimed CD LOVE UNSTOPPABLE, “They That Wait” generated excitement and early predictions of being “a hit” when it was first serviced to radio and it is proving to be “unstoppable!”
“Love Unstoppable,” Hammond’s first CD in three years, debuted No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart and is currently No. 3. The CD is lyrically rich and sonically brilliant with musical textures that incorporate driving bass lines, R&B rhythms and jazz stylings.
The New York Times called “Love Unstoppable” “exciting” and Fred Hammond an artist who “sings from deep within music’s details.”
Fred Hammond has been at the forefront of Gospel music for over 30 years. Having gained critical acclaim in the early ‘80s as a founding member of Gospel’s famed ensemble Commissioned, he created a new sound in the genre that distinguished him as the “Architect of Urban Praise and Worship.” Thirty years later, he continues to be the leader of the pack.
Hammond will perform “They That Wait” on BET¹s 10th Anniversary of Celebration of Gospel.
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Today's
December 2, 2009
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It’s that time of year again. December has come and with it all the joys of Christmas. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the gifts under the tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, turkey dinners with family and friends, snow in the yard, stockings hanging in the living room, and shouts of “Merry Christmas” to those who pass us in the streets? Is this really Christmas?
For many people, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don’t have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family, and friends. Many are saddened at Christmastime when they think of their loved ones who will not be able to come home for various reasons.
Yet Christmas can be a season of great joy. Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew He was no ordinary baby. The prophets had told of His coming hundreds of years before. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special child.
Luke 2: 4-19 says:
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
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