Advent

Faith Sharing
Bishop David Alan Bard. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Conference.

Try a little kindness this holiday season

Two chance encounters led Bishop David Alan Bard to reflect on the need for kindness during the Christmas season. “ ... might our Advent be a journey into kinder hearts and a recommitment to living with greater kindness, gentleness, tenderness and love?” Bard writes.
Mission and Ministry
Evergreens are a perennial symbol of Christmas. Image by Mariya, courtesy of Pixabay.

Dreaming of a 'green' Christmas

It’s estimated that Americans increase our waste stream 25% between Thanksgiving and Christmas and Christmas is the most wasteful of all our holidays. In her “Go Green, Save Money, Save the Earth” blog, Kim Hornung-Marcy offers tips on ways to be more faithful to creation care and still celebrate the wonder and joy of the season.
Church History
The famed British carol “Good King Wenceslas” is inspired by a Christian martyr who remains an important figure in his Czech homeland. The real Wenceslas — known as Václav the Good — lived from about A.D. 907 to 929. For nearly 100 years, a large statue of him as an armed knight on horseback has stood proudly in Prague’s Wenceslas Square. It was sculpted by Josef Václav Myslbek. Photo by Ales Tosovsky, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The real story behind ‘Good King Wenceslas’

The famed British carol about a generous king on a cold winter’s night takes inspiration from a very real Christian martyr who remains an important figure in his Czech homeland. Some United Methodists see lessons in his story for today.
Church History
Image by Larisa Koshkina, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News

The intriguing history of ‘O Holy Night’

The 300-year-old story of a beloved Christmas song is filled with scandal, politics and dubiousness. Yet the 19th-century French carol remains a favorite. Chrystal Caviness reports for UMC.org.

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