Calvin Synod Herald, 1992 (92. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1992-11-01 / 6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD REFOMÁTUSOK LAPJA Avoid the Christmas Hype Keeping the Christ in Christinas is difficult enough for adults, but for children bombarded with TV ads promoting Barbie and Gameboy, the pressure is tremendous. Reminding that material girl or boy in your life just "Whose Birthday is it, Anyway?" is the task at hand and the title of a booklet offering alternative ways to celebrate the Christmas holiday. The booklet's publisher, Alternatives in Ellenwood, Ga., is a non-profit organization supported in part by the UCC. Founded in 1973, the company sells more than 100,000 copies of the booklet annually to people from as many as 20 different denominations. The 1992 edition contains tips on gifts and activities that stress giving, not getting, and decorating ideas for the entire season, fromadventto epiphany. Appropriate prayers and meditations are also included. Whether the forces of the economy or the conscience determine how much will be spent for Christinas, parents must help their children understand why they will receive less this holiday, says Heidi Roy, Alternatives' program director. "Explain the reason we celebrate the season," she says. "Talk a lot about the Christ's birth." It is important that children understand they have something to offer, Roy adds. Whose Birthday is it Anyway? recommends filling a box with such suggestions as "Read a story to your brother" or "Collect aluminum cans to recycle." Children are also encouraged to make gifts. Alternatives" art director, Kathie Klein introduced her love for art to her son. The 5- year-old drew pictures throughout the year that were later copied and given to his extended family as calendars. "It empowered his imagination to think of things to do himself," Klein says. When deciding between giving to ahomeless shelter or a reading program, make sure the kids are in on the selection, Roy says. This helps them know that "the reason I'm not getting so many gifts this Christmas is because I'm helping others." To order the booklet, contact Alternatives, P.O. Box 429, Ellenwood, GA 30049; (404) 961-0102. The cost is $3.00 per copy, but bulk-rate prices are available. Alternatives also offers other resources on Easter celebrations and weddings.-8-Ambulance on Way to Europe CONNEAUT - An ambulance once used in northeastern Ohio will soon be transporting patients in Eastern Europe, thanks in part to the efforts of Rev. Stephen Szilagyi, pastor of the United Church of Christ here. The vehicle was secured through an organization called CHOSEN, an Erie, Pa.-based group devoted to providing medical assistance to needy nations. The ambulance was donated to Szilagyi and CHOSEN by Ron Clutter, of Geneva, who constructs emergency apparatus. The vehicle was claimed from the city of Euclid. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation has agreed to repair, repaint and ship the vehicle to Europe. After the overhaul the ambulance will be shipped to the Hungarian Reformed Church in Debrecen, Hungary, for use in that countryoooo Harold H. Wilke, Claremont, Calif., will spend a week in November at the Vatican as an advisor to Pope John Paul II on religion and disability issues facing the Roman Catholic Church. He is among a group of consultants that includes Nobel Laureates in Medicine, Law and Science and three Cardinal Archbishops from the USA. Dr. Wilke is the founder of the Healing Community/THE CARING CONGREGATION, the first interfaith international group advocating accessible congregations worldwide. (Eden graduate 1953.) (-----------------------------------------------\ Whatever You Are I think sometimes, what a world we live in - There are places where there are signs that say: Kangaroo Crossing Deer Crossing Camel Crossing - a course where golfers play around the kangaroos; places where caribou have the right of way. There are certain places near or far that acknowledge undeniable, that whatever species you may be, you have the right to be whatever you are. E.B. de Vito \_______________________________ Sincere Words Worth Printing If the United Church of Christ, would go back to the BIBLE the way they believed when we merged with them, instead of lowering their standards to keep up with modernday society, they should be bringing modernday society UP TO THE BIBLE AND GOD'S WAY. If they would do this I'm almost certain that theBiblical Witness People would not want to leave the United Church of Christ and merge with the Calvin Synod. I spent a few days in Cleveland at the installation of Dr. Sherry and I never felt so out of place as to the difference in our ways that I was actually ashamed to be a part of it. We have strong Hungarian ties and Biblical Witness people would be more comfortable where they are and our Hungarian heritage could be continued and more than likely the HUNGARIANS could ALL MERGE TOGETHER AND BE UNITED. I wasn't bom in Hungary. I was bom in Columbus, Ohio of Hungarian parents. I'm proud to be an American Hungarian. Irma László Camevale " I'm gonna sue Santa Claus for malpractice." "I don't want toys! I want mutual funds!"
