All I Want For Christmas...

In our faith community (known affectionately as "the whatever") we've been spending a lot of time talking about what it means to be apprentices of Jesus. (Hang in there with me if you've heard this before.) Many of us have been believers for a long time, but we're no longer convinced that's what God had in mind. (If that doesn't make sense, you can always drop me an email and we can talk.)

For a while now we've been holding on to Matthew 25, specifically the whole sheep and goats thing. We've been talking about becoming more involved, becoming "gospel activists", making a difference, and reintegrating our faith into the real world and our real lives. We want to become the kinds of people who live out their faith, particularly towards to poor and disenfranchised, not just because we respond to external needs, but because we internally choose to live our lives that way.

That takes practice. And Christmas is coming. You know, Christmas - The Shopping Frenzy Formally Known as Christ's Birthday.

This week we talked about the upcoming season. We talked about being prisoners of a system designed to make us think we want, no... need, more stuff. You know what I'm talking about. Buy this and you'll be smarter, sexier, healthier, thinner, stronger, more desirable, more hire-able, more whatever-able. (As an aside, this is why I think the eBay "it" campaign is insidiously brilliant. Now we don't even need to be told what we need. They create the desire, and we fill in the blank. Incredible.) I shared with the group how I was coming to a place where I could no longer ignore the ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. In fact, every time I buy something that I don't really need I can almost see the gap grow by another inch.

As a community here's what we've decided to try and do this Christmas. (And while this may sound rather cut and dry, it came as the result of a long and very fruitful discussion. This ain't easy.)

First, as we buy for others, we are going to spend "less" than we normally would, did last year, etc. "Half" is a word we threw around, but hey, we're not going to be legalistic about it. With the "excess" funds we're going to contribute to our choice(s) of some worthy causes. (For example, if I was going to spend $50 on a gift, I'm going to shoot for around $25 instead and make a $25 donation. The beauty of this is you can take part whether your Christmas budget is $10 or $1000.) At Christmas we're going to share with our friends exactly what we've done on their behalf, and why.

Second, as we're asked what we "want for Christmas", we're going to share this concept and gently suggest the idea be applied to our gift. (Sue has already had a "we want ducks* for Christmas" conversation with her mother!) * see below

Yes, yes, I know. Katrina. Rita. Pakistan. The world is still reeling, and still asking for our money. And we should respond accordingly. But again, we're not talking about reacting to external needs, but actually changing the way we live. We want to give all the time. We want to keep what we truly need and give away the rest. Like I said, it takes practice.

Here are the possibilities we talked about. (Long time readers of the blog will remember the Great Goat Giveaway of '03. You'll be glad to know the goats are back!)

1. The Stephen Lewis Foundation - I'm a great admirer of the work of Stephen Lewis, and was pleased to learn of his foundation. He is intimately familiar with the effects of HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa, and has given his support to many worthy initiatives that operate under the radar of most of us. Specifically we talked about

• Consol Homes Orphan Care
• African Women's Development Fund
• Gogo Grannies

2. Dignitas International - I posted something about Dignitas last week. The Tisungane Clinic in Malawi is something I've been looking for - an opportunity to directly support ARV work.  This seems to be an organization supported and run predominantly by St. Mike's staffers, so I'm comfortable suggesting them to you.

3. It wouldn't be Christmas without the World Vision Gift Catalogue. We've highlighted a couple of options for both Canadians and Americans.

CANADA

• 2 Ducks $30
• 2 Hens & Rooster $50
• Goat $150

USA

• 1 Year Schooling $75
• Share of Deep Well $100
• Goat $75

4. Linwood House Ministries - Our tribe is very familiar with LHM, as several of us are associated with the ministry. For $150 we can take a women out of the caustic environment of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside for a few days and surround her with God's love.

So that's where we're at, and we'd love it if you came along for the ride. Maybe this is a conversation you want to have with your community/family. If you choose to participate, please let us know what you're up to. We're going to do our best to keep a running "tally" from those who take part, not because we want to brag, but because we want to encourage others, and show how good things can happen with a lot of people and a little money.

Please help spread the word. (And if any of you creative types feeling like making up a "Christmas 2005 - whatever" button, we'd be happy to put it out there for others to use.)

Peace, and Merry Christmas.

Comments

[dave]

Very cool...

Another great idea I came across yesterday was World Vision Gifts, where you can give the gift of clean water, or eduction, or other things that the poorest of the poor cannot get otherwise.

[David]

Can I buy my goat in the US instead - looks like with the exchange I can save about sixty bucks - what's up with that? We got some kind of tarrifs on goats?

[robert]

David,
I like how you think. One problem - if you buy from the US, you will save on the exchange but the tax receipt will be no good to you (CRA only accepts receipts from charities registered in Canada) so you will lose the tax credit. You're still better off buying the goat in Canadian dollars.
I'm not sure this is in keeping with Mike's theme of selfless giving but if the government encourages us to make donations by offering tax advantages, we are foolish to disregard these (just means you can give more!).

[David]

Robert - What if I buy the goat in the US and write it off as an advertising scheme? No, it won't be a GOOD advertsing scheme, but surely then i would (a) save the money and could therefore buy MORE goats (b) be able to write it off 100% and (c) be one of a select few to ever use goats to advertise (still working on the details). I'm grasping at straws here - I just can't seem to wrap my brain around why the goats are so cheap down there. Were their goats made by mexicans while ours are free-range organic goats that we had to painstakeingly assemble by hand (IKEA goats, perhaps?)?

[Mike]

World Vision US and World Vision Canada are separate entities, different projects/countries, different budgets, etc.

Also, you need to keep in mind how WV works. They don't wait to buy "a goat" after your cheque comes in. These are projects that they have already comitted to, and goats they are already going to buy. When you buy a goat (or sponsor a child for that matter), you are offsetting costs WV has already incurred. It took me a while to get my head around this stuff when I worked there, but I get it now.

[David]

Looks like we're busted, Robert. I can hear Mike yelling "kids, put away your sarcasm and come to the dinner table! Don't make me come up there!"

Mike, we're in for two CANADIAN goats, or their equivalent.

[robert]

we've decided to go whole hog this year and buy a cow.

[Mike]

All right... 2 goats and a cow. We are officially up and running!

Please help spread the word.

[Lori Bryan]

hi mike, you can add another canadian cow to the tally. :)

[Tim]

Mike, St. Margaret's Anglican Church in Edmonton is taking up the challenge. We're taking a leaf out of your book; we're calling it 'The Great St. Margaret's Goat Giveaway', and the plan is simply to see how many goats our congregation can purchase before Christmas (if the total givings aren't evenly divisible by $150, we'll spend the extra on ducks and hens and all that! As one of our member said, "I'll see your goat and raise you a rooster and a hen!").

Thanks for the great idea; this is sparking some real good fun but of course in the process we're encouraging people to do some real good this Christmas.

Cheers, mate!

Tim