"Random Acts of Christmas!"

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, How Still We See Thy Light!

Right after the terrorist explosion in Oklahoma City our church started a program called Random Acts of Kindness and it was published on the internet. A school principle called and asked if they could use the idea in their Junior High School, someone from an international company asked if they could post the concept in their company and join in. It seemed that in the face of brutal terrorism, people were ready to join forces to do something positive – something significant to affect the tone of the world.

Christmas has been the world’s anti-terrorism pill for over 2,000 years. Terrorists believe that if they do something mean spirited and insane, people will investigate their philosophy to try and understand what would cause them to do something so dastardly. Christmas is just the opposite. It is a random act of kindness! God gave his only begotten son to become a savior to the world. And so we celebrate the darkest days of winter with giving. We give to our family, we give to our friends, we give to our favorite charities and family times are sweet because we try to think of others and not just about ourselves.

In 2007 our world needs many more “Random Acts of Christmas.” In fact, we want to teach our families about how important this approach to life can be. So we are going to decorate our sanctuary and campus with glittering stars which display “Random Acts of Christmas.” Here are some that we are going to be involved in as a church.

• Providing Christmas for every family, living in the Tegulsegalpa dump.
• Providing Christmas for dozens of struggling families in our community.
• Sending out hundreds of Santas to provide Christmas at many convalescent homes in our area and give away thousands of teddy bears.
• Going out to feed homeless teenagers in Seattle; a city with more homeless teenagers than anywhere else in America.
• Providing a Christmas Concert for the state ferries ministry for disabled people and providing Christmas for each one of these people.
• Sending out our Martial Arts School to feed, clothe and befriend the homeless in our area.
• Providing “Christmas Bursts into Beauty” which will reach out to thousands of people with the good news of Christmas. It is amazing what a beautiful impact the singing, dancing, children, fellowship and positive message have on so many people.
• Giving away truck loads of food to Hope Link for struggling families.
• The Pacesetters will provide gift boxes through Samaritans Purse Organization for the poor in Africa.
• The Build the Family foundation will be raising money for “Turning Point Investments,” which provides zero interest micro loans to struggling families in our community and gives them an opportunity to turn things around.
• Every “Tiny Little Church” will have a Good Samaritan project, bringing a Christmas blessing to some part of our community.
• This year, many families will be giving special gifts to help build the Re-Creation Center for our community.

Just think of the hundreds of different ideas that each of us can do to surprise someone with a “Random Act of Christmas.” It doesn’t have to cost money; it can be a good deed, a volunteer project, a note written, a meal for a neighbor or maybe it is just going out of our way to encourage a very discouraged person. Can you imagine if every family, every one of us, tries to see how many “Random Acts of Christmas” we can do during Christmas 2007.

We will have thousands of glittering stars with the anonymous “Random Acts of Christmas” written on themhanging everywhere, decorating the Cathedral with the glory of Christmas. The kids will never forget Christmasseason 2007!

Tim White