Dreaming of a “Green” Christmas
A Christmas Message from the President
of Alberta and Northwest Conference
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Where I live there have been no worries about not having a White Christmas since about the first week of November. Even so, that's a couple of weeks later than usual. While it may just be part of a year to year fluctuation, in these times in which we live, whenever the weather is different, especially with regard to warm or cold, we can't help but wonder if it is part of the bigger trend. With the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen just recently concluded it is rightly on our minds to think about the earth and what we, the people who have it as our home, are doing to it.
I can't help thinking of the angel song of Peace on Earth and interpreting it for our time as “Peace for the Earth” for it seems to me that the land is in deep need of more peaceful and more gentle interaction with us its inhabitants. And so for me this Christmas I am divinely disturbed by a kind of restless peace – a peace that invites me to touch the earth more lightly and to continue to speak to those who have the authority and the influence to make the same kinds of changes on a grander scale.
At the same time I am inspired by the radical statement of hope for the world that comes with the birth of a child. The child in manger is a living expression of joy, love and grace, and a message from God that says, “Choose Life in all its abundance!”.
May your Christmas time be one that is grounded in faithful traditions, encouraged by new ways of building community, and which tells the story in action of God's love for all.
Merry Christmas and Peace for the Earth!
Blessings...
Peter Chynoweth
President,
Alberta and Northwest Conference
