Newsletter
Dec – Feb 2015
S A N D R I N G H A M G R O U P o f PA R I S H E S From the Rectory
Christmas If you are thinking of a charity to support this Christmas, then I always think that Crisis at Christmas is a good one to focus on. The work of the charity is much wider than you suspect. It does the obvious thing of providing a roof over their head and hot meals for up to 2,500 homeless people over 8 days. It makes what would otherwise be a particularly depressing time for homeless people into one of comfort and cheerfulness. However, the charity also aims to look beyond the Christmas period and tries to ensure a better future for those in their care, so it provides housing and employment advice, counselling, health and dental treatment, as well as such simple things as a new pair of shoes or reading glasses. The hope is that next year many of those homeless people will have made steps forward in their lives which will mean they do not have to come any more. No doubt there are many people who do come back year after year but the hope must always be that the care they receive for those 8 days will make a lasting change to their lives. I wonder if we can learn something about our attitude to Christmas by thinking about the work that Crisis does. We can just look at Christmas as a fun time in the middle of winter – a time of giving and receiving presents and having rather too much to eat and drink. That is great and I would not decry anyone having a good time. But if as Christians we are celebrating the birth of God’s son who came to live amongst us, then surely more is demanded of us. It cannot be good enough just to have a good time and then be like some of the Crisis people, turn up next year to do exactly the same. The birth of Jesus Christ demands that we look at our lives, reflect on where we are and on what can be put right and endeavour in the future to more closely align our lives with that of our Lord. We may fail or only achieve half of what we set out to do but we will be trying to do better. Crisis at Christmas tries to have a lasting impact on those who go there. Can this Christmas have a lasting impact on us? Best wishes for Christmas - Jonathan