[Vision2020] for the season . . .

[Bev Bafus]

Expanding on what Keely has so expertly stated - if you need to purchase a
gift for someone who has "everything" - try one of these, and send something
to someone who has nothing, in the name of the person who has everything....

http://donate.wvus.org/OA_HTML/xxwvibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10024

https://giving.samaritanspurse.org/c-7-gift-catalog.aspx

We gave a couple of goats last year.  My kids had a lot of fun sending the
cards.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year's to all!

Bev


-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]On
Behalf Of keely emerinemix
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 1:54 PM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] for the season . . .


  Visionaires,

  Well, it's that time of the year again -- the holidays have begun and with
it both the joys of faith, family and friends as well as the sorrow of
despair, neglect, and materialism.   It's easy to get caught up in the
"stuff" that surrounds the holiday season, and it's bewildering to
contemplate how Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior -- born in a
stable far from home to a poor, wandering, socially disenfranchised
family -- by racking up thousands of dollars of debt, indulging in the
richest food and drink, and plunging headlong into the grotesque excesses of
consumer culture.  It's beyond bewildering -- it's unnerving and even
revolting -- when Christian pastors teach that the celebration of Jesus'
birth is best expressed by endless feasting, fancy decoration and sparkling
adornments, abundant food and drink, and an emphasis on the material.  I
think there's probably something better out there, and this describes it
well.  It's my Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year wish for all of you:


  A Franciscan Benediction

  May God bless you with discomfort
  at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
  So that you may live deep within your heart

  May God bless you with anger
  at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people
  So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace

  May God bless you with tears
  to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war
  so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
  to turn their pain into joy

  And may God bless you with enough foolishness
  to believe that you can make a difference in the world
  so that you can do what others claim cannot be done
  to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor

  I wish you all the very best of what cannot be wrapped, hung by a chimney,
or placed under a tree.

  Keely




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