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Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Give Exploited Women Hope this Christmas
World Vision offers the opportunity to donate to help restore sexually exploited girls this holiday season.
An estimated 2 million children are ensnared in the global commercial sex trade — most of them girls. Those who escape or are rescued face a difficult physical and emotional recovery process. Your gift will offer them hope through assistance such as medical care, nutritious food, nonformal education, vocational training, compassionate counseling, and, where possible, reintegration into a loving family environment.


Click here to give these women hope this Christmas or to find other ways to give to our global neighbors this year.

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posted by Julie at 8:52 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 1 comments
Friday, December 21, 2007
Ballet, Beauty & Blessings
My daughter performed in a production of “The Children’s Nutcracker” with her ballet studio this weekend. She was in her element. Take one girly girl and combine her with pink chiffon, sequins, lipstick and a chance to be on stage (and backstage) with her friends and you have all the makings for an ecstatic experience (at least in my daughter’s eyes.) She was not nervous and by the second performance was running around like she owned the place. (Not that I'm proud or anything but to see a picture link to the original posting on my blog here.)

As I sat and watched all four performances I became aware of an upwelling of emotion at various points. This was not an emotional response to seeing “my baby” growing up as I might have thought but something different and it took me some time to understand what I was feeling. Sitting in the darkened theater I felt myself immersed in beauty and abundance. As I watched these beautiful young people I was aware of just how privileged and fortunate they are. They are healthy. They have parents (or someone) who is committed enough to get them to rehearsals and make sure they have the equipment they need to participate. They are Americans so they enjoy a standard of living that is only a distant dream for many around the globe. They get a chance to learn to dance and to be surrounded by beauty. As I experienced Tchaivosky’s “Waltz of the Flowers,” enchanted by the music and the young dancers who looked very much like beautiful flowers, I found myself saying a prayer of thanks to God for the gift of beauty and music and the abundance that makes it possible for me to partake in such a feast for the senses.

The sweetness of the experience was tempered only by the knowledge that so many of our fellow humans will never know abundance but will spend much of their lives struggling just to have enough. The contrast of these dual realities brings to mind the story of the nativity in which the jubilant proclamation of the Angels to the shepherds regarding the birth of Jesus is contrasted with the humble stable which housed him and the violence that followed his life. We live in the paradox of “already and not yet.” God has already provided for the redemption and reconciliation of all creation and yet that work is not yet complete. Living with such abundance it is easy to stop with what we “already” have (most everything we need and much of what we want) and forget that so many do “not yet” have even the basic necessities of life.

I pray that the sweetness of our celebrations this holiday season will be tinged with the awareness of and compassion for those who do not live with the abundance we will experience in the next couple of weeks. I pray that their need will be before us, not to spoil our celebrations, but to remind us to be thankful and to motivate us to generosity and compassion as we seek to follow the one whose birth we celebrate.

Lord hear our prayer.

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posted by Betsy Whaley at 7:52 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 3 comments
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The Birth of Christ
Oh my God.
I have just seen the most REAL and BEAUTIFUL telling of the birth of Christ.
Wow.
I've grown up hearing the Christmas story.
And that can be a drawback, because when I hear "and this shall be a sign to you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" I don't visualize an actual Middle-Eastern manger, I visualize a 4th grade girl wearing a white sheet and a silver tinsel halo.
Nothing wrong with sweet 4th grade girls, but that image misses the beautiful reality of what really happened the night of Jesus' birth. This movie brings it all back and makes it real.
Rent this movie this Christmas!
For me, The Nativity Story was a great way to gently push aside the evangelical traditional pageanty renditions of the story and see it again for the first time.-SW

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posted by Sensuous Wife at 10:27 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 2 comments
Sunday, December 16, 2007
On Not Being Home for Christmas...
Is anyone else here preparing for a Christmas which will not be spent with your family?

This will be my third Christmas (in a row) away from my parents and siblings, and I'm a little homesick. :)

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posted by Lydia at 8:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 6 comments
Friday, October 12, 2007
Ethical Gift-Giving?
So, I'm looking for a few recommendations of companies that sell books, toys, etc for toddlers and children and that are ecologically and socially responsible and ship to the U.S. or Canada.

My nephew's first birthday is still a few months away...but I am thinking about bending my "I don't celebrate the commerical aspects of Christmas" rule for him. ;)

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posted by Lydia at 8:43 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 5 comments
Monday, September 10, 2007
Merry (early) Christmas!
I know it's four months early (or at least two) to be thinking about Christmas, but those of you who are involved in service planning know how this goes... :)

At the beginning of December, our church's young adult/college ministry is planning on doing another night of Sacred Space. (for more information on what that is, please read this post) Our theme is Advent: Rediscovering the Wonder of Christ's Coming - and I'm looking for creative ideas for worship stations that will help us to engage in worship using all of our senses, and point our minds and hearts toward the wonder of Christmas. Do any of you have any ideas you'd be willing to share, or resources you can direct me to? Thanks!

Happy

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posted by Happy at 3:20 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 2 comments
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Blessed Christmas, Everyone!
(Painting is by an unknown artist, early 19th century)

Since many of us are probably quite involved with both church and family in the coming several days, I wanted to post a greeting to all the Emerging Women participants. May God bless you and make you a great blessing as we celebrate the birth of the Savior!

Peace,
Psalmist
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posted by Psalmist at 7:50 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 4 comments
Monday, December 18, 2006
Are you "Merry"?
In England, (and maybe in this country, in some parts,) "merry" refers to being slightly and good-naturedly drunk. It got me to wondering about the drinking habits of emergent women on this blog. Will we all be having a MERRY Christmas....

I’m curious, so here's the official question: Do you ladies drink? If so, how often, and how much? Think of it as an informal survey.

Happy Holidays!
or Cheers! as the case may be.
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posted by LisaColónDeLay at 11:48 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 20 comments
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Season
Given the sudden drop off in posting here, I'm assuming that most of you are at least as busy as I am. The expectations of the season always seem to take over no matter how hard we try to simplify. When it reaches midnight and one is still dipping peanut butter balls in chocolate the whole sanity thing comes into question. So I wish everyone blessings in the busyness and pose some fun and easy topics for discussion.

What are you making for Christmas? Share those recipes for those dozens and dozens of cookies you are creating. Share the memories of the food. Share your mishaps and funny stories (click here for my chocolate crap adventure from last year...). I wish I could sit down with all of you over spiced wine and appetizers and chat, but we'll have to settle for a virtual EW holiday party. So let's be foodal and get to know each other better over food.

And as a reminder - the book discussion for God's Politics by Jim Wallis starts on Friday. Even if you haven't finished it yet, you are welcome to join the conversation.

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posted by Julie at 8:57 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 17 comments
Friday, December 08, 2006
Tennyson Christmas Poem (witness the timelessness!)
This message is timeless- enjoy!

(From http://www.carols.org.uk/ring-out-loud-bells-tennyson.htm)


Ring out, wild bells - Christmas Poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.



Miniature Biography_Alfred, Lord Tennyson _Nationality - English _Lifespan - 1809 - 1892_Father - Reverand George Clayton Tennyson, Clergyman_Educated - Trinity College , Cambridge_Career - Poet and dramatist



copied from this website:http://www.carols.org.uk/ring-out-loud-bells-tennyson.htm
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posted by LisaColónDeLay at 2:09 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Reason for the Season...
As a companion(ish) post to Jemila's below - I wanted to bring up the issue of the so-called Christmas wars.

I know there are Christians out there who insist that Christmas can only be about the birth of Christ. They wear "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" buttons, get upset when they hear "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," lament the commercialism, and often deny the existence of the historical pagan roots of the holiday.

In response to that sort of person, there are those who make it their calling to inform everyone of those said pagan roots for Christmas. As in - Jesus is not the reason for the season, some other god of light is. The season is about the solstice and the mass of christ was placed in that season. Many of the solstice celebrations were then apprpriated as Christmas celebrations.

Other Christians refuse to even celebrate Christmas because of those pagan roots. In rejection of all things non-christian they choose not to be conformed to the world of christmas.

And of course all of those are very broad stereotypes I just painted. What are your thoughts? Where do you stand on these issues/ideas? Have your opinions changed over time?

Here is a paragraph I wrote in a recent blog post on decorating our tree -
So for a cultural tradition, we go all the way. The tree, the ornaments, the music, the TV shows (the Sesame Street Gift of the Magi with Bert, Ernie, and Mr. Hooper was on today - I had the record of that - fun memories) ... Are we a product of our culture, sure. Do I think it cheapen or takes the meaning out of Christmas? Not at all. I embrace Christmas with all its cultural, pagan, and religious roots. It just adds to the richness of the celebration. To celebrate the return of the light, to give gifts, to tell cultural folk tales, to get to decorate with my favorite colors, to listen to happy music, to see family, to remember the birth of Jesus - it is all meaningful in its own way. So Merry Christmas all.

I have come to apply Augustine's Egyptian gold principle to most of culture - I like to take what is good, and fun, and meaningful and appropiate and redeem it. There are of course issues with that, but to me it is the most joy affirming. So that's why I'd like to hear what others think on this whole issue.
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posted by Julie at 8:37 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 7 comments
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Simplify & Breathe Advent
It's the season of waiting...and rushing. It's the season of opening ourselves...but alot of times we just want to shut down, shut the door, throw our Christmas to-do lists on the winds of December. What does it mean to slow down and savor? What does it mean to serve without becoming enslaved to duties and perceived obligations? How do we get in touch with the poor in our communities, the world -- or even our families -- in healthy, healing ways? What has worked for you? How have you succeeded (even a little bit) in making this season about the Coming of God into the world, in the form of a flesh and blood baby?"
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posted by Jemila Kwon at 8:24 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 12 comments
Monday, November 27, 2006
Posada, anyone?
My friend Anne has alerted me to a virtual Posada that will be taking place this Advent. Here is the explanation of the tradition and how it will be translated to the blogging world that she sent to me:



A Posada is the tradition of taking the figures of Mary and Joseph into homes for a night or two during Advent. As the figures are in a home there may be prayers and reflections as they enter and leave and the figures may be an occasion for devotions shared with friends, family and neighbours while they are in that home. They then move on to the next home that has volunteered to put them up for the night or
two, and so on through Advent.

A Posada blog is an idea to do something analogous with blogging. So instead of the actual clay or wood or whatever figures of Mary and Joseph we have a picture. Instead of homes we have blogs. Instead of family prayers we have a blog posting.

So the idea is that on Advent Sunday, I would post a picture of Mary and Joseph and offer some reflections and/or prayers for the occasion as my posting.

The next day someone else would post that same picture [either by posting it anew or by linking back to the 'original' image I posted] and offer their reflections and/or prayers, similarly.

They would also mention who is to post the following time and leave a comment on my blog at my Advent Posada posting to give the address of their posting [this would have to be the permalink, not just the blog address].

Then, hopefully, the next day someone else would

1) post the picture and make some prayerful reflection on their blog, and

2) make a mention of who is due to host the holy couple the following day

3) leave a comment at the previous day's posting with a link to their
new posting, and so on.

What should result is a chain of links as Mary and Joseph virtually
move from blog to blog day by day.



I will be participating in this. If you're interested as well, leave a comment at Nouslife: Posada blog chain for Advent.

(edited for clarity)

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posted by Lydia at 10:21 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 4 comments