Scenes of Christmas

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Christmas Day, 2022 - and the ground surrounding my small farmhouse in the Ozarks is actually white - the first "white" Christmas that I ever remember.   It hasn't actually snowed since Thursday - a day on which the temperature took a sudden and dramatic dip into the single digits and blowing snow set in across much of the area.  The ground where I reside had an accumulation of only one or two inches of snow, but it has ben so bitterly cold ever since Thursday that the snow has remained.

This morning as I went stumbling outside at dawn in order to take care of the farm's three resident pets, the temperature had reached double digits - 10 degrees - and before the sun sets early this evening the forecast is for temperatures as high at 29 degrees - with temps in the sixties by the end of the week!  Clearly we are into some heavy climate change if temperatures and conditions can vary that much in just a week.

At least we are being exposed to some new weather terminology.  Blizzards have, it seems, been upended and replaced by "bomb cyclones!"

But, hey - it's Christmas!

As someone who spent many Christmases collecting and wrapping gifts for children in foster care, an often underserved population, particularly at holiday time, I would like to give a special shoutout to Jonathan Werner, a 12-year-old Minnesota boy scout who spent the past several months selling popcorn and chocolate-covered pretzels across eight Minnesota counties in order to raise money to buy Christmas gifts for children in foster care and those residing in abuse shelters.  Jonathan's father had been in foster care as a youngster, and through his stories, Jonathan decided that helping to make Christmas a happier and more joyous experience for children in foster care would be a worthy endeavor.

Jonathan sold $53,000 worth of confectionary merchandise to his fellow Minnesotans and cleared a profit of $11,300, a wad of cash that he could have easily banked and put toward the purchase of a hot car in a couple of years.  But that's not who Jonathan was.  He had raised the money to buy gifts for children in foster care, and that's how he spent it - six hundred gifts which were distributed among kids whom Jonathan did not even know.

Jonathan told a local television station that he just wants to make kids happy for Christmas and let them know they are loved and appreciated.  His ultimate goal is to grow his project to the point where he can purchase a Christmas gift for every child in foster care in the entire state of Minnesota.  (I'm betting that he meets that goal!)

Jonathan Werner, you rock!  Merry Christmas, sir!

And then there is Reverend Randy Fikki and his "radically inclusive" congregation at their "Unity Southeast" church at 3421 E. Meyer Blvd., in Kansas City, Missouri.  They rock, too!

At a time when many "Christian" churches close and bar their doors when their buildings aren't in use for religious services, Unity Southeast took the opposite approach and opened their worship building as a warming center for the homeless and even brought in cots in the evenings so those without shelter could have a warm place to sleep.

The non-traditional Christian church offers a wide variety of community support activities ranging from hosting a "metaphysical" Bible study, a prayer circle and a "sound healing drum circle," a weekly "Narcotics Anonymous" session, a "zoom" course in miracles, and a monthly grocery give-away.

On the church website, the non-traditional Christian church describes itself thusly:

"Unity Southeast in Kansas City is a progressive New Thought spiritual community that emphasizes personal growth, living consciously, and making a positive difference in the world.   Ours is a vibrant, open, and affirming, diverse community that includes people of different ages, races, religious backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities."

The church also describes itself as being a sanctuary for "Christians with Questions."

In these troubled times when many of the world's sanctimonious elite seem to cloak themselves in a theology of accumulation and consumption, it is refreshing to think that there might still be some brave souls out there who are focused on the actual works and teachings of Jesus Christ.

It's Christmas - and baby it's cold outside.   If you have blessings which can be shared, right now would be a wonderful time to do it!