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St. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH NEWSLETTER
Winter 2008 No 72
CRISIS AT CHRISTMAS
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Not a flyer for that charity that does such good work
amongst the homeless in our capital, but a phrase coined to describe the dire
situation many find themselves in as the festive season reaches its climax.
After months of inflation busting hikes in fuel, petrol and food prices, on the
back of the credit crunch along comes a global recession. We all have to suffer
the consequences of the greed of others and the temptation to make a fast buck!
It’s Christmas and despite the bleakest of warnings, spending is predicted to be
about 1% less than last year, not much different! Its what comes after, the
2%-3% decline in our economy, which translates into each of us spending £400
less on goods and services. We can forget that new washing machine or sofa
then; for a lot of people it will mean forgetting that little weekly treat,
whether it be a favourite magazine or a bottle of wine.
We are all going to have to be a bit more thrifty both
before and after Christmas if we are to survive the present financial crisis.
May be we will think a bit more about all those 3 for 2 offers and buy one get
one free, and what about all those half price boxes of chocolates, so tempting!
– What’s wrong with need one, buy one, and at a price that is fair to the
consumer and producer?
Although most of us adults can make do this Christmas, we
don’t want our children to miss out, but is a £299.99 ‘toy’ triceratops really
worth it, it may eat fabric leaves but does it walk? Being a bit of a worrier,
‘What happens if it breaks?’ One member of my family suggested that we make
each other a present this year – ‘it will be fun!’ Pity the one who gets such a
gift from me; my creative skills being what they are – visions of that balsa
wood tea pot stand or hand made Chinese lantern from Christmas past. Yet they
were the good old days weren’t they? We didn’t worry about the value of the
present, we all got something and loved it what ever it was, especially the hand
made jumpers!
For a good few of us the festive bird may have been like Bob Cratchit’s, but we all fed; the laughter wasn’t computer generated and we didn’t
need a ‘Wii’ to have a sing song! No, we can’t buy a happy Christmas however
hard we try. Rather as Christmas approached, let us turn our thoughts towards
that ‘little town of Bethlehem’ and to the stable, and the manger in which lies
a new born baby watched over by his proud parents, Mary and Joseph, ‘with the
oxen standing by’ – what scene could remind more that Christmas is a time for
home and family? We may be separated by the miles, like our soldiers in
Afghanistan and Iraq, or we might be on our own for some other reason – yet to
all of us ‘God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his Heaven.’ The birth
of the saviour Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, ‘God with us’, is good news for
everyone. Yes God is with us, whoever we are and what ever the situation we
find ourselves in, he shares it with us, not just the good times but the bad
times as well, indeed even in those worst moments that some time or other come
to all of us.
May God bless
you all and all you love and care for this Christmas
Father Keith
LOOKING BACK
LOOKING FORWARD
COMMUNITY NEWS
PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF REACHING OUT
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