YOU Buy
no Christmas presents this year! Can
you imagine not buying any presents this Christmas?
Difficult to conceive, isn’t it? But that’s
just what a movement started by Canadian Mennonite
Christians proposes. They
are urging people to resist commercialism and give loved
ones something more meaningful than mere commodities.
Here are some of their suggestions (for more, check out
the website www.buynothingchristmas.org 1.
Frame your wedding vows for your spouse. 2.
Give away a valued possession. 3.
Give baby-sitting coupons to new parents. 4.
Give home-made food. 5.
Videotape interviews with elderly parents for relatives. 6.
Make tree ornaments from old compact discs 7.
Write and illustrate a book for young people. 8.
Give home-grown plants, especially herbs. 9.
Create coupons for something you will do: e.g. spring-cleaning,
a massage or a manicure. 10.
Do something challenging together (for example, a long
walk, bike ride or art course). Another
idea is to make donations to charity in someone else’s
name, although giving of behalf of someone who hasn’t
been consulted about it might be considered questionable. If
you haven’t time to make things for everyone and
must go to the shops, consider giving eco-friendly gifts
like energy-saving light bulbs or fair-trade coffee, say
the campaigners. Canada
is also the home of a magazine called Adbusters which is
dedicated to combating today’s frenzied consumerism. One
can only applaud this ethical approach, but it seems
unlikely that our shops will see their turnover much
reduced this Christmas. Wrapping
Christmas Presents With A Cat in the House 1.
Clear large space on table for wrapping present. 2.
Go to wardrobe and collect bag in which presents are
contained, and close door. 3.
Open door and remove cat from wardrobe. 4.
Go to cupboard and retrieve rolls of wrapping paper. 5.
Go back and remove cat from cupboard. 6.
Go to drawer and collect transparent sticky tape,
ribbons, scissors, labels, etc. 7.
Lay out present and wrapping materials on table, to
enable wrapping strategy to be formed. 8.
Go back to drawer to get string, remove cat that has been
in the drawer since last visit, and collect string. 9.
Remove present from bag. 10.
Remove cat from bag. 11.
Open box to check present, remove cat from box, replace
present. 12.
Lay out paper to enable cutting to size. 13.
Cut the paper to size, trying to keep the cutting line
straight. 14.
Throw away first sheet because cat tried to chase the
scissors and tore paper. 15.
Cut second sheet of paper to size by putting cat in the
bag the present came out of. 16.
Place present on cut-to-size paper. 17.
Lift up edges of paper to seal in present, wonder why
edges now don’t reach, and find cat between present
and paper. Remove cat and retry. 18.
Place object on paper, to hold in place, while cutting
transparent sticky tape. 19.
Spend next 20 minutes carefully trying to remove
transparent sticky tape from cat with pair of nail
scissors. 20.
Seal paper down with transparent sticky tape, making
corners as neat as possible. 21.
Look for roll of ribbon; chase cat down hall and retrieve
ribbon. 22.
Try to wrap present with ribbon in a two-directional turn. 23.
Re-roll up ribbon and remove paper that is now torn, due
to cat's enthusiasm in chasing ribbon end. 24.
Repeat steps 12-22 until down to last sheet of paper. 25.
Decide to skip steps 12-16 in order to save time and
reduce risk of losing last sheet of paper. Retrieve old
cardboard box that you know is right size for sheet of
paper. 26.
Put present in box, and tie down with string. 27.
Remove string, open box and remove cat. 28.
Lay out last sheet of paper. (Admittedly this is
difficult in the small area of the toilet, but try your
best!) 29.
Seal box, wrap with paper and start repairs by very
carefully sealing down tears with transparent sticky tape.
Now tie up with ribbon and decorate with bows to hide
worst affected areas. 30.
At time of handing over present, smile sweetly at
receiver's face, as they try and hide their contempt at
being handed such a badly wrapped present. “If
you knew about flu, you’d get the jab!” - says
Chief Medical Officer It’s
that time of year again. The colder weather’s here
… and so is flu. Flu
is an unpleasant experience for anybody, but to even the
healthiest person aged 65 or over, flu can be a major
concern. People aged 65 or over, those of all ages with asthma,
diabetes, a chronic heart, chest or kidney
condition or any other serious illness and anybody
living in long term residential care, are ‘at risk’
of flu. Anyone who falls within this group is not only
more susceptible to catch the flu, but the virus is more
likely to lead on to an even more serious illness such as
bronchitis or pneumonia. The
flu virus moves quickly, spreading speedily from person
to person and the flu jab is the only protection from the
virus. The
good news is that people aged 65 and over, those ‘at
risk’ of flu are entitled to a free flu vaccination.
The flu virus changes and evolves, so you will need to
get your flu jab every year and it is still not too late
for this year – but hurry! The
flu vaccine is safe, painless and effective, and
available for free from your local GP’s surgery. So,
get your jab in now. Don’t let flu get the better of
you this winter. To
find out more call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47, or visit www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
or www.dh.gov.uk. Reasons
to get the flu jab The
flu jab is free to those 65 and over, as well as at risk
groups The
flu jab is your best protection against flu Flu
is serious and can lead to hospitalisation or even death The
flu jab cannot give you flu, but can keep you well this
winter The
virus changes every year – just because you haven’t
had it before doesn’t mean you’ll be OK this
time Having
the jab means you can't give flu to friends and family A
bout of flu can leave you bed-ridden and could ruin your
Christmas Flu
is highly infectious: 100,000 flu particles can be
projected into the air with one sneeze Flu
is an unpleasant experience, resulting in fevers, chills,
headaches, aching muscles, sore throats, runny noses and
extreme fatigue Having
the vaccination will help prevent an epidemic. In years
when flu reaches epidemic proportions, 20,000
people can die, compared to 3,000 – 4,000 in average
years The
differences between a cold and the flu Flu
is not the same as a cold. The flu gives you fevers,
chills, extreme fatigue and aching muscles, as well as
the more cold- like symptoms of sore throats and runny
noses, and tends to last for up to two weeks. Flu is an
unpleasant experience for anybody, but if you are at
risk, it is more likely to lead on to more serious
illnesses, including bronchitis or pneumonia, and could
result in hospitalisation or even death. You
know you’ve got the flu if… ??There’s
a £20 note landed on your windowsill, but it would be
just too exhausting to get out of bed and fetch it ??Your
head is telling you that you spent the night out on the
town, when you know the furthest you travelled was to the
bathroom and back ??Your
body aches as if you spent the previous day as Amir Khan’s
practice punch bag ??You
have to put on your jumper, coat, hat and scarf just to
get into bed, never mind getting out of it again ??You’re
all wrapped up with the central heating up high, but you
can’t stop shivering Flu
Facts and Figures In
most years it is estimated at least 3,000-4,000 deaths
are attributable to the complications of flu and around
10-15% of the population develop flu each year The
worst global epidemic (pandemic) ever was the 'Spanish
Flu', which affected large parts of the world population
and is thought to have killed at least 40 million people
in 1918-1919 Flu
is highly infectious: 100,000 flu particles can be
projected into the air with just one sneeze In
just 12 hours, the flu virus can invade 1 million of your
nose and throat cells. It
only takes a minute to get the flu jab, but this will
protect you for 12 months A
sneeze, which can carry the virus, travels at 80 miles
per hour and can reach distances of up to 30 feet away The
flu jab contains no live virus, so it cannot give you the
flu The
World Health Organisation maps flu viruses and the
vaccine is altered each year to ensure that it gives the
best protection against the latest strains. Give
allergies a dusting down Have
you got people coming to stay over Christmas? Are they
allergic to anything? Statistically, the chances are that
they will be… Around
30 percent of children and young adults are affected by
an allergy – and half of that number have a severe
allergy that affects their daily lives. In
the past 20 years, the number of people with confirmed
allergies has jumped fourfold. Cases of eczema and asthma
have doubled over the same period. Four out of ten school
children have at least one allergy, and experts now
predict that one in three adults will develop an allergy
at some time during their lives. Simple
household cleanliness could help banish one of the most
common asthma triggers. Vacuuming, changing bedding
weekly, using special mattresses and pillows and steam-cleaning
carpets and upholstery are all measures that work. Dust
mites live in bedding, carpets, upholstery and curtains.
They are tiny creatures that live off flakes of human
skin. A single ounce of ordinary household dust can
easily contain 12,000 of these microscopic creatures. Major
facts that help the household mite: -
10 per cent of people vacuum their house less than once a
month -
32 per cent of homes no longer get a ‘spring clean’ -
61 per cent of homeowners don’t shampoo or steam-clean
carpets. Who
will your children spend more time with this Christmas
– you or the TV soaps? Many
children now watch so much TV that characters in soap
operas are becoming their surrogate families, according
to recent research. These children increasingly lack
social skills when they start schools because they spend
so much time glued to East Enders and How
to photograph your new puppy this Christmas: 1.
Remove film from box and load camera. 2.
Remove puppy from under Christmas tree and re- hang any
unbroken ornaments. 3.
Choose a suitable spot near tree for photo. 4.
Search for puppy. Resolve in future not to leave handbag
open on couch. Resolve to ask for a new wallet for
Christmas. 5.
Place puppy in pre-focused spot in front of tree and
return to camera. 6.
Get down on hands and knees to remove wrapped present
from puppy’s mouth. 7.
Focus with one hand and fend off puppy with other hand. 8.
Get tissue and clean nose print from lens. 9.
Put cat outside and put peroxide on the scratch on
puppy's nose. 10.
Decide to get puppy's attention by squeaking toy over
your head. 11.
Replace your glasses and check camera for damages. 12.
Jump up to grab puppy by scruff of neck and say, "No,
outside! No, outside!" 13.
Call spouse to clean up mess. 14.
Take picture of puppy’s rear end as it scampers out
of reach, and out of the room. 15.
Put camera away. Fix a drink and sit back on couch. Watch
puppy return, curl up and go to sleep in front of tree,
looking adorable. Do
you look like your car? Next
time you are caught in traffic, here’s something for
you to ponder: do owners resemble the cars they drive? One
man who asked himself this question, reported: “To
my astonishment, a number of them did. Large, overweight,
smartly dressed businessman were driving cars that were
large and smart. Slim young women drove by in cars that
reflected their image: streamlined and sporty. I saw
scruffy decorators driving scruffy vans. An aging hippy
complete with wispy beard pottered by in a car from the
same era – complete with painted flowers.” Whether
you look like your car or not – and whether that
would be a good thing or not! - the great thing is that
whatever your appearance, God loves you. He doesn’t
love smart people any more than He loves scruffs. God
sees the real person within, and so whether you look like
a wreck, or the slickest thing in town, God
sees into your heart and loves you – no matter what
you drive, or when it was last washed! How
to Grow Our Church: “Principles
of Growing Churches for All” No.
10: A Heart for the Lost What
does the word 'evangelism' bring to mind? Probably
more guilt than excitement!! While most Christians would
agree that it's something we should be doing, they would
also admit that we don't do it very well. In
describing the early church, alongside worship,
discipleship, community and service, Luke says, 'And
the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved' (Acts The
success of the Alpha Course over recent years bears this
out! Today people become Christians primarily by first belonging
to a Christian group or community and then believing
in God, rather than the other way round. Therefore,
the whole Christian community has a part to play in
sharing the good news, as well as those gifted in
evangelism. If
we want to be intentional as a church about sharing a
heart for the lost, think about the following
questions: Does
our church have a place for searchers to explore and ask
questions, using Alpha or something similar? In
what ways do we help people to share their faith with
others? Having
made contact with seekers, how do attract them to join a
nurture course? Does
our current course start far enough back, in terms of the
questions that people are asking? To
what extent are people comfortable in inviting friends to
Sunday worship? What
is our strategy to enable new Christians to become part
of the church and grow spiritually? Winning
and losing in sport Competition
is at the heart of sport. Imagine being marooned on a
desert island which had a beautiful golf course. Sure,
you could enjoy testing your skills against the course,
but without an opponent, something fundamental would be
missing. In
sport we need each other to maximise our potential - we
need competition in order to perform to the best of our
ability. For the Christian, competition is striving with
all our might but within the rules and etiquette of the
game. It is striving to maximise the gifts God has given
us in a competitive environment. Will not the God who
promised us ‘life…to the full’ John 10:10
rejoice when we compete and reach our full potential? The
legendary American coach, Vince Lombardi, famously said,
‘Winning isn’t everything – it’s the
only thing.’ But as you unpack that it is absurd.
Two teams play in the Premiership. Only one wins. The
rest are failures. In the 1996 Olympics Jonathan Edwards
finished second – failure. In Sydney he won the Gold
medal. However he jumped further than in Sydney –
the problem in Atlanta was that Kenny Harrison jumped
further. To brand an athlete who achieves a personal best
– but does not win – a failure is patently
nonsense. Even in secular sport “Winning and losing”
need to be defined. More so for the Christian. Christian
competition demands that we have a right attitude to our
opponent. We are made in the image of God and our purpose
is to demonstrate and proclaim God’s image and
presence in all we do. Another way of expressing this is
the ‘Golden Rule’ of Matthew 22:37-39, where
Jesus told his followers the two great commandments. He
said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is
the first and greatest commandment. And the second is
like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.” Another
relevant scripture is Matthew 7:12, “So in
everything, do to others what you would have them do to
you.” In other words, treat everyone else the way
you would want them to treat you. We are to treat our
opponents as we would like to be treated ourselves. Applying
the Golden Rule in competitive sport is a radical concept.
If we see our opponent not as our enemy but as our
neighbour and, moreover, a neighbour whom Jesus tells us
to love as ourselves, it certainly affects our attitude
to the opponent. We treat them with respect. We play hard
but do not seek an unfair advantage. By
Stuart Weir of Christians in Sport. www.christiansinsport.org.uk Signs
& Symbols: the Advent Wreath During
Advent, churches will often have an Advent Wreath, a
tradition which goes back to the ninth century. The
Advent Wreath is made up of four candles, joined together
in a single candelabra, candleholder or in a ring. On the
fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, one of the candles is
lit with a prayer; additional ones are lit on each Sunday.
Often there is a single candle in the middle that is then
lit on Christmas Day itself. The progressive lighting of
t he candles symbolises the expectation and hope
surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world
and the anticipation of his second coming to judge the
living and the dead. The
candles are in different colours to give a visual clue to
their meaning for each particular Sunday. Each of the
four Sundays reminds us of those who prepared for the
coming of Christ. The first three are purple or blue to
symbolise penitence; Advent being a time of getting
ready, getting prepared, of cleaning up. Advent
1 is for ‘The Patriarchs’ such as Abraham and
David and that day the prayers focus on Hope. Advent 2 is
for ‘The Prophets’ such as Isaiah and all who
foretold of the Messiah’s coming. Prayers that day
are focussed on Peace. Advent 3 is for John the Baptist
and the prayers are for Joy. On
the last Sunday, Advent 4, we concentrate on Mary, the
Mother of Jesus, and so the candle’s colour is rose
and the prayers are of Love. Some
churches also have a central candle lit on Christmas Day
which is either white or gold to symbolise purity,
perfection and kingship. The
whole Wreath is usually decorated with evergreens all of
which have traditional meanings signifying victory over
persecution and suffering, immortality, strength and
healing. The
circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end,
symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the
soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ. Any pine
cones, nuts, or seedpods used to decorate the wreath also
symbolize life and resurrection. All together, the wreath
of evergreens depicts the immortality of our soul and the
new, everlasting life promised to us through Christ. This
month Before
a Baptism some clergy visit the family’s house and
talk through with them the meaning of the service. The
last section of the service is the giving of a lighted
candle to the candidate. What might a lighted candle
mean? Have a go yourself – there’s at least
seven answers so you’ll probably be right. (Answers
next month.) Operation
Christmas Child celebrates its 15th trip delivering
“Love in a Box” From
being the idea of one man in Wrexham in 1990, Operation
Christmas Child has become something of a national
institution. Now reckoned to be the biggest Christmas
gift programme in the world, the Operation Christmas
Child shoe box campaign has become an annual expression
of love to thousands of suffering children throughout the
world. That
first Christmas of 1990 several thousand shoeboxes went
to Romania. This year Operation Christmas Child will send
their 2 MILLIONTH shoebox to Simon
Barrington, General Manager of Samaritan’s Purse “The
2004 campaign is exciting, and our volunteers have been
gearing up for another massive challenge. The churches
are a bedrock of our success and we are confident that
congregations across the And
it’s still not too late! If you would like to send a
shoe box to a needy child, ring 01978 367722 or visit www.samaritanspurse.uk.com/occ/. Helping
young offenders A
faith-based programme for people in young offender
institutions is to be taken nationwide. Youth for Christ
(YFC) says its youth work and education programme cut re-offending
rates during a two-year pilot scheme in the North East. The
project uses workshops, music, dance and drama in
informal settings to increase self-awareness, address low
self- esteem and provide social skills. YFC plans to run
the programme in conjunction with another youth
organisation, The Message, in 25 institutions, starting
in the Wanted:
a positive approach to old age What
do elderly people really want and need? The best way to
find out is to ask them, thought the Joseph Rowntree
Foundation, so it sponsored a four -year research
programme overseen by a steering group of older people.
The central message of the report on the project,
published in October, is that older people must be
involved in planning the policies and services that
affect them if their quality of life is to be improved in
ways which will have a lasting effect. Stereotypes
of older people as sick and vulnerable, heroically young
and active or just comically grumpy like TV’s Victor
Meldrew are major barriers preventing real needs from
being heard and acted upon. Professional attitudes that
treat old age as ‘an illness for which there is no
cure’ are no less damaging, according to the report. The
report, which draws on the findings from 18 different
research projects, warns that many policy and practice
assumptions are still based on seeing older people as a
burden, a problem to be solved or as ‘patients’
whose rights are restricted by their need to accept
health or social care services. Nor is it appropriate to
portray ‘successful ageing’ as a continued
ability to compete with younger people in physically
demanding activities. Neither
of these versions of old age really works, says Alex O’Neil,
who managed the Rowntree programme. “They
cast older people either in passive, submissive roles or
they present aspirational messages a bit like those in
teen magazines, which just don’t correspond with
ordinary people’s lives. “Older
people are fully aware of the limitations that come with
age, but they also acknowledge gains. They have a
lifetime of experience and often have internal resources
that need to be recognised. The reality of old age is a
constant negotiation between losses and gains, which few
service providers seem to have taken fully on board.” The
report commends social service departments that have
moved towards involving older people in service planning.
Older people, it says, should have a stronger voice in
deciding what makes a good-quality service (and whether
it is being delivered). These
research findings coincide with the current demand for a
comprehensive review of arrangements for ensuring an
adequate retirement income, including a basis state
pension that would prevent older people falling into
poverty and enable them to purchase services they need. Little
donkey – are you in trouble? We
all know the Christmas carol with the words that run:
‘little donkey, carry Mary safely on her way…’ If
all the donkey had to carry was a pregnant teenage girl,
that was a very lucky donkey indeed! Sadly, thousands of
donkeys today are suffering under vast burdens as they
are used by the world’s poor people in earning a
living. In
fact, right across That’s
where the charity, Brooke, comes in. Since 1934 it
has been relieving the suffering of horses, donkeys and
mules working for poor people in the developing world.
Its dedicated local vets and their teams provide free
care, education and training in the heart of the
communities that the charity serves. Often
donkeys in the The
Brooke builds shade shelters, water troughs, and provides
comfortable saddles. Brooke vets work year round, giving
free treatment to sick animals and helping their owners
to care for them better. For
three pounds a month, you can help the Brooke help
donkeys. For more details, please phone 020 7930 0210 or
visit www.thebrooke.org. Morning
-after pill The
Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has
expressed dismay at the increased use of the morning-after
pill in the “Women
are being mis-sold the morning–after pill as a
contraceptive when it is an abortion- inducing drug that
can cause the destruction of the newly conceived embryo
by preventing implantation,” he said. The long term
effects of this pill on girls under 16 are still unknown. Does
traffic keep you awake? Almost
one in five of us find that road traffic noise interferes
with our sleep, according to a recent study by the RAC.
Though car engines are 50 per cent quieter than ten years
ago, the main noise from the road is produced by the
friction between the tyre and the road surface. The
Highways Agency has a target to install quieter road
surfaces over 60 per cent of the trunk road network by
March 2011. Are
you frightened to fly? Are
you planning to travel this Christmas – but
frightened of the flight? These contacts might help you:
From Heathrow Airport Aviatours, Fly Without Fear courses.
As the UK’s first fear of flying course, it has over
eighteen years of experience and its courses have been
attended by over 30,000 people. Ring 01252 793250 or
visit: www.aviatours.co.uk. From
Heathrow, Gatwick,
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