CLB-0-012 Bulletin: Behtlehem Cancels Christmas, plus 3 more items

From: "Clergy Mail List"

Fri, 15 Dec 2000

Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list Bulletin No. 0-012 -- Fri 15 Dec 2000 Items: 1 2000 years on, Bethlehem cancels Christmas 2 In the Air, There's a Feeling of Christmas 3 Prayer Heals Relationships 4 Hope Amidst the Terror of Jihad in Maluku -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2000 YEARS ON, BETHLEHEM CANCELS CHRISTMAS Christmas has been canceled in Bethlehem after it became clear that the recent unrest in the Middle East is unlikely to dissipate in the near future. A terse statement from the organizers said simply: "There will be no Christmas festival. The children will not have their gifts. Worshippers will be mourning and the pilgrims will be absent." Carol concerts, guest choirs and the Christmas market have also been canceled, while New Year will be marked with a moment of silence. Nevertheless, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem will still make his 'solemn entry' into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and a midnight Mass will be celebrate in the Nativity Church. The statement strong blamed "Israel's continued attacks on Palestinians." [News from ReligionToday is Copyrighted by Crosswalk.com. Content may be reproduced provided proper credit is given to religiontoday.crosswalk.com.] ------------------------------ IN THE AIR, THERE'S A FEELING OF CHRISTMAS by Norman Bales "City sidewalks, busy side walks Dressed in holiday green. In the air, there's a feeling of Christmas" There's no doubt that the feeling of Christmas is in the air. You can't escape the presence of Christmas - crowded malls, harried store clerks, mail boxes full of Christmas sale ads and cards from people who only write once a year, traffic slowed to a crawl by admirers of the lights, carols played on the speaker system. But is it a fair wind or in ill wind? Perhaps it's both. For many people Christmas is a time of extraordinary sadness. Lonely and depressed people often find little relief from their gloom during the season. The apparent happiness of others serves to intensify their dispirited feelings. Sometimes the holidays provoke painful memories of past Christmas seasons when we were disappointed by dismal events. Death often invades some families during the Christmas season and seems doubly cruel at this time of year. Workers lose jobs in December; health crises surface and family troubles seem to loom larger at this season of the year. The holidays have a way of exposing fault lines in our family relationships. Several years I heard the head of the psychology department at a Christian College say that he always dreads coming back to school after the Christmas holiday. Students inevitably come to his office to receive emotional counseling. So often a student received an unexpected "Christmas present". Parents often decided to use that time to break the news of upcoming divorce plans. The joy of the holidays is diminished forever after. Thankfully Christmas can also be a time of extraordinary joy. It's a time for celebration, a time for family gatherings, a time for sharing gifts, a time for unselfish acts. It's a time when many people in the world are willing to acknowledge the influence of our Savior. Although we don't know exactly when Jesus was born, we don't agree with those who choose to "kick the cradle" at this time of year. The curtain of secularism is lifted just a tiny bit and people are singing about Jesus just when we thought they had forgotten him altogether. We hope you fully enjoy the season, but at the same time we all need to be sensitive to those who might think that it's an ill wind that blows during the Christmas season. It's also a good time to "let every heart prepare Him room". [This appeared in All about Families ] ------------------------------ PRAYER HEALS RELATIONSHIPS It makes a great difference in our feelings towards others if their needs and their joys are on our lips in prayer; as also it makes a vast difference in their feelings towards us if they know that we are in the habit of praying for them. There is no chasm in society that cannot be firmly and permanently bridged by intercession; there is no feud or dislike that cannot be healed by the same exercise of love. ... Charles H. Brent (1862-1929) [Christian Quotation of the Day CQOD Compilation Copyright 2000, Robert McAnally Adams, Curator] ------------------------------ HOPE AMIDST THE TERROR OF JIHAD IN MALUKU It is estimated that some 8,000 people have died in the past two years of ethnic and religious violence in Maluku, East Indonesia. The conflict against the Christians there escalated dramatically with the arrival of thousands of Laskar Jihad militia bent on Islamic holy war, with support from Java. All those suffering terror and grief at the hands of the jihad need our prayers. Amidst the terror however, there is hope emerging and some promising steps also need our faithful prayer. Security has improved under Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa's leadership. Also on 8 December, 92 Malukun Muslim and Christian groups met in Yogyakarta in a reconciliation initiative ('Baku Bae') and declared that the Maluku people want peace. These Christian and Muslim leaders will continue working together to promote peace and reconciliation in the region. [The above item is a summary of the current WEF Religious Liberty Prayer weekly bulletin. To receive the full 2-page bulletin each week, send a blank e-mail to .] ------------------------------ End of Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list Bulletin No. 0-012 ********************************************************* ____________________________ Clergy/Leaders' Mailing List (Moderated) This mailing list is open to all Christians via Internet e-mail. Submissions welcome: (in DOS ASCII Text format please if 'attached' or 'imported') To subscribe, e-mail to: clergy-request@pastornet.net.au with SUBJECT reading SUBSCRIBE To unsubscribe, e-mail to: clergy-request@pastornet.net.au with SUBJECT reading UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright: Postings may be re-sent ONLY with all copyright notifications intact.

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