ecological christmas carol

Hark the Herald angels say: 
Because too much rewriting just isn't enough.

Hark! the herald angels say
Peace has come to all today,
Here on Earth hear this one child
All creation reconciled.

Joyful all your voices, rise!

God’s not just up in the skies!
Here on Earth the Spirit dwells
Within, amongst, Immanuel!

Hark! the herald angels say
Peace has come to all today

God, in Earth and heavens gloried;
Author of the Christmas story
Jesus heard the Spirit’s call
Grace and healing for us all

Faithful man or Trinity?
Billions now believe that he...
Lived the gift of love for all
Celebrate Immanuel!

Hark! the Spirit within say
You bring peace to Earth today.

Twinkle Twinkle little star christmas carol

(not a carol tune, but still Christmassy)

Twinkle twinkle little star
We are here and you’re so far
God’s out there & God’s here too
God’s in us and God’s in you.
Twinkle twinkle little star
We are here and you’re so far.

Twinkle twinkle little star
how you make us all wund-ar
How can a God out there with you
Ever notice what we do?
Twinkle twinkle little star
Yet we feel God in our hearts.

Twinkle twinkle little star
Signalling a messi-ah
So the story goes you see
You were in him and you’re in me
Twinkle twinkle little star
I’m part of the advent-yar!

Evolution/anti consumerist Christmas Carols

Hopefully one a week until Christmas.
You can join us and sing some of them at the Carols, 7:30pm Fri 21st December at Bello Uniting Church, or at our Christmas service at 8:30 am (!)
You probably wont get to sing this one, but I like it.

From God the Universe emerged
(Good King Wenchlas)

Often the first two words have to be run together.

From God the universe emerged
wobbly and uneven
At first it was mighty hot
now its mostly freez'n!
Brightly shine uncounted lights
burning up their fu-el
Occasionally a great delight
life begins to cra-a-awl!

Yet now in cities 'round the world
what with all the selling
Brilliant stars are hardly seen
cause neon lights are yelling:
"Forget two thousand years ago!"
"forget the temple mountain!"
"forget Jesus: God is with us!”
“buy buy buy,” they're shoutin"

He spoke of bread and spoke of wine
He touched, and healed, and gathered
With the poor he did recline
The rich got in a lather
To them his wrath was often bent
So they got together
His legs were broke,
his body bent...
And hung out in the weather!

But this is Christmas not Easter
Sing of such things no longer
let all people just agree
for which gift we hunger:
The gift of love lasts
through the age
Let us give it boldly
The one thing that this world needs most...
We shall give it wholly

We shall give our love to God
and to all God's creatures
Serve the garden and protect
As that old myth teaches
Christmas isn't in a store
It's not about possessing
If we give love, then give it more:
We will all have blessing!

Bellingen Christmas Carols

Hopefully one a week until Christmas.
You can join us and sing some of them at the Carols, 7:30pm Fri 21st December at Bello Uniting Church, or at our Christmas service at 8:30 am (!)

Oh little town of Bellingen
tune: little town of Bethlehem

Oh little town of Bellingen
How still we see thee lie
No shopping carts, no big kmarts
No Woolworths is nearby
Yes in thy dark streets shineth
No garish neon light
Just starlight beams as children dream
And fruitbats onward glide

But online shops are calling
Toormina’s down the road
And Coffs you see, calls you and me
“Hey come and spend a load!”
So let us sing together
Of life and its true worth
Presents are fine, presence divine
Upon this gift of Earth.

Now let us all in Bellingen
Together sing along
Jesus came: God’s love proclaimed!
But Christmas has gone wrong.
For Coke-a-cola’s “Father”
Says, “Show your love with cash”
But we will stick with old St Nick
Santa is balderdash!

Bellingen Christmas Carols

Ok, the first Carol isn't specific to Bellingen, it's what we hear everywhere...

We wish you a capitalistmas
(tune: we wish you a merry Christmas)

“We wish you a capitalistmas,
we wish you a capitalistmas,
we wish you a capitalistmas
and a credit debt next year!
Cash registers ring, from all the buy-ing: 

we wish you a capitalistmas and a credit debt next year!”

Christmas or Capitalistmas, Santa or St Nick?

disclaimer: only the links are slighly humorous in this one!

“We will stick with old St Nick,
Santa is baulderdash!”

So ends the carol, Little town of Bellingen

St Nicholas was third century European bishop, who decided that his vast inheritance should be spent meeting the needs of the poor.  He therefore redistributed his wealth quietly amongst those less fortunate than himself.  In this he was connecting with the tradition of the early church described in Acts 4, where those with land and possessions sold everything, for the apostles to distribute amongst the poor.

This short-lived mode of Christian community was itself an echo of Jesus’ teachings about wealth, and his challenge to the rich to sell their possessions and give to the poor if they wanted to follow him (Matt 19, Mark 10, Luke 18).  Luke 14:33, addressed to the “large crowds,” is a corker, “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” 

So gift giving in December was originally a celebration of St Nicholas’ successful response to Jesus’ challenge to the rich.  On December 6^th, St Nicholas Day, other rich people gave, if not all their inheritance, at least something to the poor. 

This socialistic blip faded when the reformers edged out the saints, and their saints days, throwing their weight behind December 25^th as a celebration of Jesus’ birth.

That should have been fine, since Jesus was the original inspiration for St Nicholas’ gifts to the poor anyway.

Yet somehow his “birthday” has become a day for increasing poverty amongst those who cannot withstand the constant barrage of “show your love with cash” advertising, even though they don’t actually have much cash, and have to use borrowed credit.

Whilst the relatively rich amongst us do still tend to give to charity, proportionately more money is spent on close relatives, who tend to either reciprocate, or stand to inherit our wealth one day anyway.

Christmas has been replaced by Santa Claus day, or Capitalistmas.  Rev. Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir remind us that Santa Day is a reversal of St Nicholas Day.  Now the poor give up their health and right to a decent wage so that the rich can give each other cheaper presents.  They tell the story of Sarah Liu Xianzhi, who was detained for her Christian faith and sent to a “re-education” labour camp for six years, where she manufactured earphones and Christmas lights.

All of which is enough to sap my energy as I sit here trying to finish this article, as waves of mild shame and guilt wash over me.  I haven’t bought Christmas lights for years, since I decided that all those stars up there are better, but we still use our old ones.  And we are amongst those adding to the increased spending on electronics this December (though not technically for Christmas day). 

Our family isn't rich enough to easily pay more for the most ethical option of everything we buy.  We aren’t poor enough to feel justified in ignoring those ethical and sustainable shopping options.  We’re not the richest 1% nor the poorest 70%.  I suppose that puts us in the “one step forwards two step backwards 29%.”

The 29% of the population with enough resources to feel like we should try to build a better world, but not enough to make it easy.  The 29% which is required to pull the pendulum further back from Capitalistmas to Christmas...


So how about this Christmas, we all stay in the black?
Like the sun weathered skin of that Nazareth chap
Who went on about money and the dangers of wealth
For those trying to nurture their spiritual health

Give gifts of love, they won’t send you broke
Lots of big hugs (come on, even you blokes!)
To those who want one, offer a kiss
Celebrate Christ-, not capitalist-mis

(from: Cash or Pash)

How did you go this year: what percentage of your day was Christmas, which percent Capitalistmas?  Make your confession (or crow about your success) below...

Thanking God makes me squirm

Thanking God often makes me squirm. 
Yet I’m regularly called upon to do it in my line of work.

Looking out across a sea of salad and meat, “the Rev” is often expected to thank God for the food before us, and perhaps for the earth from which it came.

But why?

Why would God have given us lunch when we could easily live without it for a day, and when others around the world need it so much more? Is it right to thank God for the death of the pigs and chickens arrayed before me, when I know how much they probably suffered getting there, and doubt that God was pleased about any of it? Should I be thanking God for lettuce trucked 4000km to our table, or juice which comes from South American oranges?

I feel more like I should be apologising. Maybe I could try this prayer at the next gathering I’m invited to:

“Let’s say Grace. God, I’m sorry there is so little grace on this table – so little good will and merciful kindness. Sorry about the cheap battery eggs. Ditto the juicy little veal calves. Sorry about the farmers going broke because these imported oranges are cheaper. Sorry for all the pollution from trucking the bananas down to Sydney and then all the way up here again. 

Sorry for all the pesticides and fertiliser killing the reefs. Sorry about the bits we didn’t manage to wash off that are about to hammer our livers. Sorry we’re apologising to you instead of those we’ve wronged. Sorry chickens. Sorry cows. Sorry farmers. Sorry Earth. Sorry that we’re not likely to do it any different next time, because it’s hard and we’re on a budget. Sorry for being so sorrowful on this happy occasion. So we offer a heartfelt thanks to the people who took the time to lovingly prepare the food, and we are thankful for the time to come together in your presence to enjoy each other’s company.”

Wimp that I am, I usually stick start at the last sentence.

Can we really be thankful, when we continue to trash the gift of Earth God gave us because it’s cheaper and easier than sustaining it?

Is calling the Earth “God’s gift” actually the problem?

The creation story in Genesis 1 - which wraps up with Noah in Genesis 9 - presents humans as the only creature in God’s image, granted dominion over Earth. First the plants are given us for food, and then, through Noah, every living thing is delivered into our hand. Even if we don’t believe the story anymore, many of us have adopted its apparent worldview: our right to dominate the earth.

But this was a story written in captivity, under the thumb of the king of Babylon, who claimed to be in the divine image, and to have dominion over all things and all people. Genesis 1 is a defiant story of human dignity by a defeated and oppressed people. It was written to demote the king of Babylon, not to elevate humans over earth.

The much older tale of humans and earth is Genesis 2. Here God creates an earthling, the Adam, for the sake of the garden which is about to appear. To serve it and protect it. Then this lonely guardian is given the gift of animals, not for food, but for companionship.  

According to Genesis 2, instead of giving thanks at our meals, we should ask whether the earth would be thanking us for the way we gathered our food. We should ask whether the God who created us for the delightful garden instead of the other way around, would thank us for a job well done. Would God say, for example,

“Thanks everyone, this is great, it’s a pleasure to be here amongst you. I loved watching the chooks foraging yesterday, and seeing little Georgie totter down for the eggs this morning. That ham came from a delightful little troublemaker: thankyou for ending his time so quickly. You only just got the lettuce from the community garden in time didn’t you? Summer is such a pest for lettuce. I know you miss the oranges, but you’ll love them all the more when they’re back in season: and don’t the bananas and blueberries smell great! Two four, six, eight- bog in, don’t wait!”

I didn't get back to the, "what does it mean to thank God for this food when so many don't have any?" dilemma.  Does that make anyone else feel uneasy?
Are you a Genesis 1, Genesis 2, or evolutionist kind of earthling?