Christmas MEssages

(cross posted from Riverview Rolls On)

We in the United Church of Canada are blessed with a wonderfully wise moderator, the Right Reverend David Giuliano. Here are some seasonal messages from him:

David has written a prayer for peace in Bethlehem. Read some background about this here

Or you could read the Observer piece Our Place in the Pageant

ANd then there is David's video message from the United Church YouTube channel Watch it below:

The Promises of Christmas--Newspaper Column

Christmas promises Hope.
Every day the news is full of rather depressing stories. There is so much that suggests everything is falling apart. But Christmas shares a vision of a world that gets better. The birth of any child is a sign of hope. The birth of the Christmas Child is hope for the world, a promise that change is coming.

Christmas promises Peace.
“Peace upon earth is the prayer we offer. Peace was the promise when Jesus was born.” This is the beginning of a song on my favourite Christmas tape. Back during the First World War there is a story of German and Canadian troops leaving their trenches to celebrate the holiday together. Christmas promises a peace that breaks down all “official” opposition. Christmas promises a peace based not in “might makes right” or “winner take all” but in justice and abundance for all.

Christmas promises Joy.
“Joy to the World, the Lord is come” Christmas joy is not happiness. It is something deeper. Christmas promises a joy that comes from deep within. Christmas joy is a sense of contentment, of knowing that we are not alone, of knowing that God is active in the world. We are promised a joy that shines through the troubles of our lives.

Christmas promises Love.
At Christmas gifts are given. Most of them are tokens of love. Christmas reminds us of God's love made real and concrete in God's activity among us. Christmas promises us that love can still win. Christmas pushes us to open our hearts to all our neighbours. Christmas love pushes us to love all our neighbours as we love ourselves.

Christmas promises Light.
The world is a dark place. Shadows lengthen with each passing day. But in the midst of the darkness of a Northern winter Christmas shines out brightly. The light of Christmas reveals the wonder that is around us all the time. “Our God becomes Incarnate in every human birth” In the light of Christmas we can see God's face in everyone we meet. And when we can do that clearly then we will know that daylight has come. And then hope, peace, joy and love will be truly real in our lives.

May the promises of Christmas fill your lives this year!

Hallelujah!

YEs I know the chorus is from the Easter section of the oratorio. But most people associate it with the Christmas season for some reason.

They Will be Missed

Tonigth was the final episode of the Royal Canadian Air Farce (sort of, they do have a New Year's Eve Special planned). Air Farce has long (35 years) been a -or even the- gem of political comedy in Canada.

I first became a fan in my teens and often made sure to listen to them on Saturday mornings while still on radio. Once they made the move to TV the show became a constant of my Friday evenings (such an exciting life I lead/led).

Now that they are wrapping it up they will be missed. Truth be known, they haven't been quite as good the last few years (I really miss John Morgan). ANd probably it is about time to go down gracefully. Still, political comedy is something this country has done really well. ANd in my memory the Farce is always going to hold the crown.

Adults Wanted

Or at least people who are willing to act in an adult manner. IS that too much to ask from our elected representatives???

Canadian politics are in a state of uproar, some are calling it a Constitutional crisis. See the story (and a list of links that further explore it) here.

Everything that is being suggested (no-confidence motion, a new election or the Governor-General asking the opposition to form a government, proroguing the house to avoid a vote) is legal and allowable under a PArliamentary system. ANd the PRime Minister should really remember that when you have a minority government you HAVE to work with the rest of the parties, not openly antagonize them.

But still, is the middle of a worldwide recession the time to play games? OR is it maybe a chance for everyone involved to grow up and try to find a way through?

I admit, I did not want the election 6 weeks ago to end as it did. But we got what we got. Now stop playing politics and start governing already!

PS> would someon please explain to me why so many Canadian adults, including some elected Members of Parliament, seem to have such an incredibly poor grasp of how the Parliamentary system of government works??

OK, Let's get some perspective here...

It is only stuff. They have lots of it to sell.

That is the most polite and reasonable response I can give to any story that starts with this paragraph:

A Wal-Mart worker has died after being trampled by a throng of shoppers shortly after a store opened Friday on Long Island in New York State, police said.

This is insane! No sale is that good! Nothing is that important to buy! REally people, get a life!

ANd why on earth do stores need to open at 5am (or earlier, one ad we saw was for 4am) anyway! Don't get me started on 24 hour shopping...

ETA (Dec 2): A story I saw today suggests that part of the problem was that the worker was placed at the door because he looked imposing but had no training in security/crowd control (I wonder how many retail workers have crowd control training?). But this misses the point. HE shouldn't have needed such training. Even with 2000 people lined up is it unrealistic to expect that they could act in a civilized manner?

Funniest TV Thanksgiving EVER

Happy THanksgiving week to all our USan friends!

A Good Laugh

This came in my e-mail this morning. And I laughed so much I had to share it. The original source (and some other pieces in a similar vein) is here

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy;
Stunning Break with Last Eight Years!

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect
Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established
over the past eight years through his controversial use
of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance
on CBS' "Sixty Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the
President-elect's unorthodox verbal tic, which had Mr. Obama
employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every
time he opened his mouth. But Mr. Obama's decision to use
complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries
with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many
Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of
the University of Minnesota, some Americans might
find it "alienating to have a President who speaks English
as if it were his first language. "Every time Obama opens
his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says
Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk
of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using
complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find
itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate; subject, predicate;
we get it, stop showing off."

The President-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete
sentences attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics,
Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. "Talking with compete sentences
there and also too talking in a way ordinary Americans like
Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I
think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans
are needing also," she said.

How do We Celebrate?

Hat tip to Sue

Food Prep 5

Songbird provides us with this week's Friday Five. She writes:

In a minor domestic crisis, my food processor, or more precisely the part you use for almost everything for which I use a food processor, picked the eve of the festive season of the year to give up the ghost. A crack in the lid expanded such that a batch of squash soup had to be liberated via that column shaped thing that sticks up on top.

Can you tell this is not my area of strength?

Next week, I'm hosting Thanksgiving. I need your help. Please answer the following kitchen-related questions:

1) Do you have a food processor? Can you recommend it? Which is to say, do you actually use it? We included a processor on our wedding registry. And we use it relatively regularly (especially compared to some of the other wedding gifts we got...)

2) And if so, do you use the fancy things on it? (Mine came with a mini-blender (used a lot and long ago broken) and these scary disks you used to julienne things (used once).) Ours doesn't really have any fanciness to it. The one thing it does have that we have never used is a dough blade.

3) Do you use a standing mixer? Or one of the hand-held varieties?
(And isn't that color delightfully retro?) We have a hand-held mixer. Last time I used a counter top model was my mother's, how do I say this, "well-aged (and well used)" mixer.

4) How about a blender? Do you have one? Use it much? We have a hand blender that we used to mix formula when the girls were that age. Beloved would like a blender.

5) Finally, what old-fashioned, non-electric kitchen tool do you enjoy using the most? Ummmm, I guess I would have to say my hands. I love kneading bread dough, rolling out cookie dough, etc.

Bonus: Is there a kitchen appliance or utensil you ONLY use at Thanksgiving or some other holiday? If so, what is it? We didn't pull them out last year but we have a set of Christmas dishes.