Advent Resources: Share

We’re all acutely aware of how the true Christian meaning of giving and sharing can easily get lost this time of year in the materialistic frenzy of buying and consuming. We hope you had a chance to listen to Rev. Vamos’s sermon from December 9, entitled “Doomsday Preppers,” as a way to reflect on why sharing is important to our Advent spiritual practice. Here is a special page of extra resources that go with that sermon.

We hope these ideas will spur you to consciously make this season a time of true sharing, and of Christian stewardship – that is, being respectful of the resources God has gifted us with. Please share YOUR experiences and ideas by using the comment function below.

Alternative Gift idea #1: The Heifer Project. Give your uncle a goat. Your wife a sheep. Give your granchild a gaggle of geese. And the beauty of it is: someone else will feed and care for these critters! The Heifer Project is a way to help a family in a developing country receive livestock that will help them to live sustainably. And their website has easy ways of giving gifts online.

Alternative Gift Idea #2: Buy gifts that do good. There are a number of alternative gift fairs in our area – and the most convenient of course is the PCOL Mission Boutique, which happens after worship during each Sunday in Advent. You can buy hand-made items, such as scarves, sweaters, wooden bottle stoppers – a lot of very cool hand-made stuff. All the proceeds go toward PCOL’s mission budget. Another source for feel-good gift purchases is 10,000 Villages, which has a store in the Princeton Shopping Center, or you can also buy on-line. Other ideas? Share them with us by commenting below.

Alternative Gift Idea #3: Make gifts, and give non-material gifts. Some of the most special gifts people receive are not bought at all: they are made by the person giving them: baked goods, crafts, frame a photograph, repair an old heirloom. And consider that a gift doesn’t have to be a physical thing: going to a museum or a play as a couple or family can be a special gift. Here are a few website to give you further ideas: A number of great ideas can be found at Buy-nothing Christmas; The Daily Green has some other cool (and slightly wacky) ideas – you may see a slightly off-color word on the homepage, but despite that, some good ideas here; and check out Better Homes and Gardens. Again – we’d love to know if you have other ideas, by commenting below.