iGod

The Christ in Christmas

A Christmas message of hope in a year of seismic change 

Article written for Suffolk Free Press Article, 16 December 2016

Nicholas Crean, chairman of posh confectionary Prestat Finest Chocolates was asked by a US retail chain if his company would consider changing their Advent Calendar with a ‘Christmas countdown’ calendar covering just the last ten days. They thought it would be less confusing for people. Mr Crean reminded them that babies were born, not launched, not least the most famous One.

We’re a nation that gets Christmas, but then kind of doesn’t. Most probably have at least a vague idea that it has to do with a baby called Jesus, but the rest of the detail can be a little scant. Nevertheless, most people love to celebrate Christmas.

However, this Christmas feels a little different as it comes at the end of a year of huge social and political upset across the UK, Europe and America. Understandably, there’s some nervousness about what next year might bring­–with no one really knowing what to expect. So, let me offer a bit of seasonal hope.

And it comes with the birth of a baby 2,000 years ago whose arrival remains as profoundly relevant today as it did then. The founder of Christmas was born in a time of national crisis and much soul-searching. A country’s socio-political system was thrown into chaos by Roman occupation. However, Jesus’ coming provides hope for the shattered peace of ordinary people. He grows up into a young man to connect the best of a people’s past with their present predicament and points it all to a better future - through himself - a time we now call Easter.

It’s such a strong, life-affirming message that it may just be why so much of European Christmas tradition still retains its Christian heritage in some form or other, even down to the colours: red, green and gold. Not to mention the giving of presents, trees, lights, Christmas puddings, mince pies, Boxing Day and, of course, the ever-present Poinsettia.

In fact, the first five letters of Christmas remain a constant source of hope in every age ever since those unsettling days in Palestine. Whether we are a Remainer or Brexiteer, a Democrat or Republican, Christ stays central to our reason for the season.

The inspired sacrificial love Jesus talked about all in his life, which continued through his disciples is not a bad pointer for starting to heal a divided nation, not least after a referendum or election. Admittedly, it’s not scientific or rational, but it does have a long history of working for good and bettering society. This kind of love is accepting, generous, forgiving, selfless, unifying. And I could go on.

Maybe God was onto something when ‘love came down’ at that first Christmas. Maybe he knew what wars, conflicts and political dramas lay in wait for humanity. Maybe it’s part of an over-arching plan to help with the complex challenges and moral decisions that face our nations and world leaders today and give a greater hope.

Whatever you believe, one thing is for sure, there’s more Christ in your Christmas than you probably think.

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Andrew Stewart-Darling is Senior Pastor of Stour Valley Vineyard Church and founder of Storehouse Foodbank (Sudbury, Suffolk) Glow - Carols by Glowstick - a community carol service takes place on Christmas Eve, 6.30pm at the Delphi Centre. 

If you’d like to help local families in crisis this Christmas, visit the Storehouse Foodbank Gift Shop.

Storehouse Foodbank and Christmas at VIneyard

Being responsible for Storehouse, the foodbank in South Suffolk, I was recently contacted by a national newspaper. They were running a piece on how London is economically divided from the rest of the country.

During the interview I sensed that the paper’s economics lead writer could not quite get his head around the fact that a place as idyllic as Sudbury needed a food bank. And yet here we are.

Requests for emergency food bags have more than doubled since April this year. Yet this is not a story about statistics, but people’s lives. Many of the accounts I hear simply break my heart and reduce our team to tears.

It takes a lot of courage to admit that you cannot feed your young family and to seek help outside your own means. More than a twinge of shame is often attached to that.  Personal confidence takes a severe blow and you want to withdraw from the company of others. Meanwhile, inwardly, you are at war with yourself and wondering ‘why me?’

Of course, some situations are self-inflicted but, then, haven't we all done things that we are not proud of? Who are we to judge? Then there are the others who have worked hard all their lives and now find themselves in an inconceivable position.

We try our hardest to make people feel ‘human’ as they come in to our Storehouse ‘Drop In’. It gives us some satisfaction to see people walk out just a little bit taller than when they first arrive. I am keen to say that we are not an extension of the benefits office, but a safe place run by caring individuals whose faith in God has inspired us to serve others.

Does anything ever change? You bet.

There was a young mum who came in to see us for emergency food who had been a victim of domestic violence. Her children had been taken away from her because she had become mentally ill and drug-dependent. She was rehoused, but had no furniture, so Storehouse and the church did what it could, which included contacting a qualified handyman who we were told could lay carpets. It turned out that he was helped by Storehouse in the past. He did the whole job for free.

Christmas is a time for hope. To quote Mother Teresa, ‘Small things done with great love change the world’. The one star over Bethlehem 2,000 years ago signifies the one hope in the world through Jesus to help guide us ‘home’ safely.

Why not join us for a family Christmas at Stour Valley Vineyard Church and reflect on these things together? We have a number of events going on.

Shine – free young families’ fun afternoon, 3-5pm, Saturday 14 December at the Delphi Centre, Newton Road, Sudbury.

The Great Big Mince Pie Giveaway, Market Hill, Sudbury 11am, Saturday morning, 21 December.

Christingle – the increasingly popular family church service, 10.30, Sunday 22 December, The Delphi Centre, Newton Road, Sudbury. Includes craft activities.

GLOW –Community Carol Service, 6.30pm, Christmas Eve, Delphi Centre, Newton Road, Sudbury. ‘Carols by glowstick’ with readings read by people in our local community’.  Mulled wine, soft drinks and mince pies served from 6pm.

One last thought. Maybe take a moment this Christmas to look up at the sky on a clear night and imagine what that single bright star over Bethlehem might have looked like some 2,000 years ago. The truth is, it still shines as bright today in the darkest times in our lives.

Happy Christmas and a peaceful new year to all. God bless.

ASD

How do you have a good Christmas?

Maybe, like me, you are fed up with all the rain that we have been having this year. However, there is some good news.

Christmas trees have thrived, making their foliage greener and glossier. Also, more fragrant. That means for those who like a real shrub in the corner of your room at Christmas you will not be disappointed.

However, those hoping for romance under the mistletoe may have to go for the plastic option as holly and mistletoe are in short supply. Ho hum!

Recently I have been humming Good King Wenceslas and thinking what an odd carol it is. In fact, I discovered that it is not technically a Christmas carol at all.

The famous ditty is about a king (well, duke actually) who lived some 1000 years ago in Bohemia (now modern day Prague) who, on Boxing Day, saw a poor peasant from his castle and decides to go and take food and wood to them.

Although based on a real character, this story is a myth. That is not to say Wenceslas was not a “good king”. Thanks to his grandmother Ludmilla, Wenceslas was brought up a Christian and was gifted with a strong faith, as well as a strong sense of public duty. This would later have a positive impact on his dukedom. Unfortunately, his mother who did not share her son’s convictions had her mother murdered.

He was widely called ‘good’ because he set up an education system and a successful law and order system for his beloved people. So, being generous, we might say that some parts of the carol story about him being a kind King are true.

Sometimes people will say to me: “You’re a good man”. I politely smile, but the truth is I don’t feel I deserve the accolade. Besides, who really decides if someone is good or not? My atheist friends quite rightly get uptight when a church claims to be better at being ‘good’ than others.

Goodness is the product of ethics. And if we understand ethics to be a set of principles for behaviour, good morality is surely just learning to live by them. That means we like ‘good people’ to be elected to government. ‘Good people’ to win the lottery. ‘Good people’ to win music awards.

Just like Wenceslas, those with Christian faith and a social conscience continue to shape our modern system of politics, law, education and health service, but I doubt any of them would call themselves ‘good’.

However, there is still the big, unanswered, philosophical question: who is good enough to say they are ‘good’?

Let me stick my neck out and say, in my view, there is only one– Jesus Christ. The Bible says that he is without sin and moral failure. That’s quite a claim. First century historian Josephus wrote without bias: "At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous”.

I like to think people come to our church not to be good, but because they want the Christmas message of hope that talks about God’s son coming into the world to transform their lives.

Meanwhile, if you would to know how to have a good Christmas yourself, why not plan to come along to one of our special services or another one local to you?  Some of us may even have a “Ludmilla” that we can go along with.

ASD

Foodbanks - a welcome addition to the festive season

Dr Eve Poole, associate faculty at Ashridge Business School, writes for EA's Friday Night Theology on the value of foodbanks and makes a strong case to go shop for families and individuals in crisis at Christmas.

Often we have to explain that our Storehouse, a Vineyard church initiative inspired by Ann Watson (wife of the late David Watson), is not a homeless programme, but a hard-pressed programme. For whatever reason people fall on tough times. We feel strongly that ours is not to judge, but to show mercy.

Eve Poole cites that "fewer than 5 per cent of those who use foodbanks are homeless. Most of them are ordinary families with cashflow problems from rising bills, spiralling debt, or delayed benefit payments. Many are suffering from unexpected sickness, bereavement, or unemployment."

As our own church prepares for its second weekend at Waitrose, I would recommend having a quick read of Eve's article and letting the stats soak in.

Meanwhile, if you are not near Sudbury Suffolk, there are plenty of other foodbanks around, not least those that are franchised through the Trussell Trust, so why not get involved?

Let's go serve somebody!

ASD

 

Christmas Olympics

A dear friend of ours Helene from All Souls, Twickenham, always manages to raise a smile with her creative Christmas cards. Thought it worth posting to share the Christmas love wider.

Hope you are all well into the Christmas by now. I know we are are at SVV.

ASD

Keep Calm and Enjoy Christmas

(My article reproduced from Community News.)

I remember sitting in a church a few years and hearing a vicar talk about how Christmas is a time of peace and goodwill, and how we needed to find space to just be.

As a young parent I thought, “Yeh, right!”

In all honesty, I strained to hear how the talk finished as one daughter almost caused an international incident by stealing another child’s Buzz Lightyear, while the other threw a habdab because I asked to her give back an elderly lady’s walking stick. Peace in heaven maybe, but peace on earth was stretching it.

In the midst of a busy conference recently I came across a flavour of tea called Moment of Calm. Although not quite tempted to have a cup, it did remind me of those unavoidable ubiquitous Keep Calm and Carry On posters and mugs, which seem to be everywhere like a cheap suit. Originally a wartime poster produced by the British government in 1939, it now has its own parodies such as: Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake and Now Panic and Freak Out. Calmness is something we are seeking everywhere.

I wonder, though, if it possible to have a true moment of calm this Christmas?

When I think of having a calm Christmas myself the familiar Austrian carol Silent Night, Holy Night by Franz Xaver Gruber comes to mind.

What makes the hymn special for me is that it is said to have been sung simultaneously in French, English and German by troops in the trenches during the famous Christmas truce of 1914. It was one of the few carols that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew.

It was estimated that on that Christmas Eve around 100,000 troops ceased fighting and instead, quite bizarrely, shouted Happy Christmas to each other before eventually going over the top to exchange, not gunfire, but presents. There was even a friendly game of football.

I suspect Silent Night has never had a less holy setting, but it was sung where hope in a saviour of the world was needed most. I am sure it was also sung with gusto. It was a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the bloodiest and needless wars in modern history.

It tells me that if there can be calm in the midst of the Great War then, perhaps, aiming for some of our own peace and calm this Christmas is not beyond our reach.

We will, of course, be remembering our troops this year who will be far away from home, but for ourselves let me ask: where will we look for our calm? Will it be in a tea bag or somewhere a little more soulful like Church?

There are a number of local churches who have planned Christmas services where I know a time of peace on earth will be on offer (see Church Services on page 4).

But if you do have noisy excitable kids, like ours, you’re very welcome to bring them to our hour-long Christmas Eve Family Carols service at 7pm in the Delphi Centre. Why not come early for free mince pies and mulled wine? It’s usually a lot fun and just the thing after you’ve done all your shopping and preparations. We’d love to see you. We’ll even promise to sing Silent Night, Holy Night too.

Meanwhile, may I wish you a happy Christmas on behalf of all of us at Stour Valley Vineyard Church.

ASD

A thought for Christmas: when the light of faith flickers

Well, Christmas is fast approaching as our Christmas Eve Family Carols preparations start to take shape thankfully. It is going to be a joyous occasion and with so many families coming it will hardly be a quiet contemplative service, but, hey, there has been time for that within the Advent season.

Alongside the church preparing for God to come into the world we have of course had journos reporting the usual fare in the season of illwill toward Christians. For instance, we hear that Prof AC Grayling has been working on his humanist version of the BIble called the Good Book. He tells the Times that he hopes to have it out at Easter. (Good PR planning guys - original!) He says he is not looking to anger Christians. Hm. Either he is being incredibly naive or is treating the religious community as dingbats. What do you think?

More helpfully, I have read former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion's thoughtful piece in the Saturday Times about his own journey of faith. He admits that his own thoughts had taken him down the Hitchen view that Christendom was some kind of "celestial North Korea", as mentioned in the debate with former Prime Minister Tony Blair the other week.

But as so often is the case, when prejudice is removed and we stop pedalling someone else's doctrine, whether of the faith or atheistic kind, something can happen. An honest exploration of what it is to be human may be discovered.

For Motion, he sees his own encounter with faith not so much as a Damascene light, but more of a flicker. Sometimes he says he sees God clearly, sometimes not at all. In short, he is being honest with his struggle of faith versus doubt. Much like we all do.

I like this language a lot, but because, really, how can anyone experience God with a full uninterrupted light of certitude?

However, when we are disciplined enough to press into the presence of God through prayer and devotion the flickers become subtly less. For me at least. Theologically we may understand this as the Kingdom of God breaking into the present, touching the edge of darkness of men's hearts, as Paul the apostle might have said to the young Timothy.

Now, I know Christmas can be a sentimental time. It can be a lonely time. It is also a time when we remember friends near and far, family and lost loved ones, but somehow the flicker of light in the Advent candles is an encouraging image for us all to huddle around. There is really nothing wrong with that.

For me, Christmas is a constant reminder that Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, continues to expose any darkness of doubt and disbelief I may hold to draw me into a deeper experience of himself.

ASD

 

 

Couple of great church flash mobs to watch

 As we begin the season known as Advent, I thought I would post the video mentioned by Bishop Nick Baines this week. It has the Hallelujah Chorus breaking out in a food court in a busy shopping mall.

I found it not only fun, but also very moving. It reminds me that God broke into our ordinary everyday lives to do an extraordinary thing among us - changing history, the present and the future forever.

 I thought also I would post the flash mob from our friends in the Cincinnati Vineyard (Dave Workman's church) who took to the streets to do this more contemporary Christmas tune. Both to me are a powerful expressions of what it means to being an outward focused church.

Meanwhile, would love to know if any other flashmobs are planned by any enterprising groups this Christmas.

Enjoy.

ASD

White Christmas or Christmas blues?

My family and I visited a Christmas craft fair recently, we do it every year. We go there to buy our tree. Out comes Bing singing "White Christmas" and we are in the zone!

While at the craft fair I came across a poster which read, "If Christmas did not exist it would have to be invented."

For some, Christ is the reason, but for many others He is the excuse. I cannot blame people for wanting to piggyback on one of the two greatest Christian festivals of the year. It has been a difficult year for many families. Jobs have been lost, homes repossessed, unsecured debt hugely increased. Christmas is a timely gift when we can have some respite from the harshest recession in living memory. God bless all those who are struggling.

But I pray the excuse will turn to a reason, because we all need hope beyond ourselves. Hope beyond our own personal predicaments. These are places where the state system can't touch or voluntary organisations get near.

However remarkable we are as human beings, and we are, I believe it is because we were made to be remarkable by a remarkable God. Lest we believe our own press that we are so good that we don't need divine help. That would appear to me to be arrogant and, let's be honest, a bit short-sighted.

 I like Dave Hayward's cartoon, because finding space for the son of God is not always convenient, especially when so much of the lives are filled up with worries of work, our children and the future. And that's just us in the church!

More wider, of course, the world struggles to find room to accommodate the coming of salvation. Our spiritual condition just does not get priority. Talk about putting the cart before the donkey.

Yet, somehow Jesus' birth still manages to be celebrated each year. For some, it will be in a grand cathedral in a prominent well-heeled part of a city. For others, it will be in a non-descript business unit on an industrial estate in South-east London. All expressions are loved by God.

For ourselves, it will be in Sudbury Town Hall on Christmas Eve at 7.00 pm.

A Christmas carol written by Christina Rosetti:

Angels and archangel

May have gathered there

Cherubim and seraphim

Throng'd the air

But only his mother

In her maiden bliss

Worshipped the Beloved

With a kiss.

Have a peaceful and joyful Christmas. God bless.

ASD

Christmas starts with Christ (article reproduced)

Each month I try and write an article for our town magazine, Community News. It gets distributed for free far and wide to all the households. The magazine editors, themselves, do an absolutely brilliant job and really serve our community well.

Here are my latest collection of rambling thoughts reproduced here:

I love Christmas. I love it all. It brings out different sides in all of us, though some can be dubious. 

For instance, there is the Christmas Party Animal who has the knack of sniffing out a soiree the other side of the county and always stays till the bitter end when the host is begging for their bed.

I remember as a theological student asking a cheery Catholic priest how he would like to be remembered when he left this mortal life.  He paused, smiled and then replied, “He liked a party”.  Not a bad way to be remembered. Better than a dour, miserable Christian.

Quite the opposite to the Christmas Party Animal is the Christmas Stress Head who gets more ill with the run up to the big day. They desperately try to juggle their children’s nativity play rehearsals and productions, and wonder when the shopping will get done and the food cooked.  Their Christmas can be far from fun. To boot, come January their body collapses with a major cold or flu.

As a Christian I value the anticipation of the Christmas Day. Like my Catholic friend I am not one for religious solemnity, though the thought of Jesus entering our world as a baby should make us reflect and find us in momentary places of stillness.

I saw a poster recently that said ‘Christmas starts with Christ’. For many of us who have a faith in Jesus that is most certainly true. It is not just an opportunity for some additional church services, it is first and foremost a birthday celebration. And with celebrations come parties. That means party decorations, food and drink, singing and dancing. Surely the arrival of the saviour of the world and hope for all humankind deserves some noise.

In the Bible the people of Israel used to celebrate all the major occasions with big feasts and parties. Although they were not without their ritual and solemnity they were certainly not dour occasions, and often lasted for days.

Yet what makes this birthday celebration different is how we give the presents. 

In our church we see giving gifts to each other as a symbolic gesture of remembering the gifts that were given to Jesus by the three wise men, as well as in thanks to God for the gift of Jesus.  Our presents to one another can be seen as reflection of the ultimate gift given by God to man, which is at the heart of our Christmas.

It is a pity then that when this wonderful truth gets overlooked the giving of gifts becomes just a meaningless ritual that everyone does, but simply hasn’t got a clue why.

Well, here’s a suggestion to put meaning back into your own Christmas. Why not join Stour Valley Vineyard Church at its Christmas Eve Service in the Town Hall on Thursday 24 December?  It starts at 7 pm.  Mulled wine and mince pies are served from 6.30 pm onwards.  And if you can’t make our service there are plenty of other churches where I know you will also receive a warm welcome.

Merry Christmas!  May you know the peace and love of God at this time. God bless.

ASD