Nov. 28, 2007 - During this time of tinsel, Christmas lights and celebrations, the Christian Reformed Church is once again offering some unique gift-giving choices.
Ranging from the personal to the practical, these can be gifts for a neighbor or a family member, a co-worker or a close friend. Here is a quick look at some of the CRC-related items and projects that you can put on your list this Christmas.
For example, you could purchase a copy of "The Reformed Handbook" from Faith Alive, the denomination's publishing ministry, at info@faithaliveresources.org.
Offering an occasionally light-hearted look at Reformed theology and practices, the book features a winking John Calvin on the cover. The wink reminds readers that, even though theology is serious, learning about our faith can be done with a sense of humor.
Among other things, the handbook deals with such practical topics as what to bring to a church pot luck or how to survive a Sunday service in a chilly church. On the serious side, there are articles on what it means to be saved by grace and how to forgive someone who has hurt you.
Another place to look for ideas is the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee's 2007-08 gift catalog, "Spread the Celebration." It contains 28 gifts that can help to change the world.
For example, for about $3 you can buy a lantern that will be used by teachers in Bangladesh to provide light for people learning how to read. For $5 or so, you can buy a blackboard and chalk for a literacy class in Tanzania. And a gift of about $8 can pay the cost of a doctor's visit for an AIDS orphan in Ethiopia.
For less than $55, you can buy roofing materials to help CRWRC's disaster response volunteers do their work in the wake of hurricanes, earthquakes and other storms. For about $1,200, you can buy a motorcycle for community development workers to reach remote, mountain villages in the Philippines.
To shop from the CRWRC catalog, visit crwrc@crcna.org.
In Canada, the Christian Reformed Church has put out a gift guide that features gifts from a range of denominational ministries and agencies. You can find it online at http://www.crcna.org/pages/crcna_giftguide.cfm. Suggested gifts include:
* Helping to pay the cost of training deacons to do ministry and outreach work in communities across Canada;
* Helping to translate portions of the Bible into Chinese; providing Coffee Break materials, and Bible curriculum to people in Haiti, Hungary and Japan;
* Purchasing equipment, visitor's booklets and worship materials for Christian Reformed Home Missions church planters.
* Helping to publish and distribute copies of the Portugese-language Christmas edition of the devotional booklet Today (Cada Dia) in hospitals in Sao Paolo, Brazil, or helping to purchase radios for families in Indonesia.
The CRC's Office of Social Justice also has some suggestions on non-traditional ways of giving this Christmas. These include writing lawmakers about certain pieces of legislation or supporting the efforts of college students, from this country and abroad, who will work to make sure that U.S. candidates keep in mind national and international social justice concerns during the 2008 elections.
The denomination's Race Relations and Disability Concerns ministries and various educational institutions also provide various options and opportunities for a more Christ-centered type of giving for this holiday season.
In addition, the December edition of The Banner, the CRC's monthly magazine, contains a Year-End Giving Guide that lists denominational agencies and synodically approved organizations to which you can donate.
-Chris Meehan, CRC Communications
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Henry Hess
Director of Communication
Christian Reformed Church
To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church visit us at www.crcna.org <http://www.crcna.org
"It is a serious waste to let a day go by without allowing God to change us."-Richard Rolle, The Fire of Love