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December 2009 e-News
Greetings!
 
I can't seem to stop one solitary tear after another from slowly sliding down my face, so I go to fold sweaters on the sale table: there I can keep looking down and perhaps not be noticed by our customers.  It's Christmas week, I'm working in a high-end women's clothing store for the holiday break, and I can only move robotically, folding sweaters over and over amidst the reaching and grabbing and price tag comparing.  "High end" doesn't mean much in terms of how people behave at the sweater sale table.
 
I  want to ask each seemingly crazed shopper, "Does the person you are buying this for know you love them?  Really know?"
 
That was 12 years ago, and the details of how we learned my mother had brain cancer the week before Christmas have faded. Mom went in to get tested because her speech and balance weren't quite right;  I remember more of the insanely bright florescent lights in the hospital cafeteria than the exact words Dad used to tell my sister and me that Mom had a few months to live. We bravely and lovingly gathered in the hospital to sing Carols on Christmas Eve, but none of us could quite remember the words. We hummed a lot. I didn't know what to do, and it was the retail busy season, so I kept working that week.  I really did wonder if I could slip notes in people's packages, "Does who you are buying this for know you love them?" Or whisper it through the doors in the dressing room, "Do the people you are buying gifts for really know you love them?"
 
This year I'm really looking forward to writing letters to my fabulous nieces and nephews, letting them  know how much I love them and explaining where my gift money "for them" is going. My women's small group has adopted a family of 7 who are "hard working poor,"   and I'm giving some clothes and books to the daughter, who loves to read, rather than purchasing gifts for my sister's teens who don't need much.  Likewise, I'm sending a letter to my brother's kids, who are younger, with a National Wildlife Federation "adopted Animal" certificate, explaining that I really want to protect wildlife for them to experience and enjoy. I want the people I love to know it, and that I'm spending money in ways I hope helps bring about God's kingdom. 
 
Call Question:
      Do the people you are buying for this Christmas know you love them?              

Call Resources: 
      Two fabulous resources that have helped me make gift decisions are
The Story of Stuff, a 20 minute video that teaches the full cycle of "stuff," and
Advent Conspiracy.org, which provides ideas, resources and a helpful conversation to "take back" Advent as the season to "worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all."

      Last month I wrote a bit about the hospitality of clean bathrooms or washing feet, and this month Rachel Russell writes a response - "hospitality can be especially hard for us introvert people!" Also, we have a new Bible Study on the Advent passages of John 1:1-8. "Certain biblical passages can be intimidating....sometimes I have a hard time relating to poetic ethereal-sounding language. Rather than skip over them..."

And always, you can see our weekly Journeying blog for encouragement.

God Rest Ye, Merry Gentle People!
Tiffany Montavon
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Gifts of Light
                             
On "Black Friday," my husband and I hiked to a favorite place filled with the beauty of water and mountain and fresh air instead of walking the mall corridors.  "Black Friday" is so named because retailers supposedly go from "in the red" to "in the black" - they turn a profit and gauge their health by sales on this day. We focused on a different kind of health and wealth.

Betsy & Russ hikingAs we hiked, we considered what to give to family and friends that shows a different kind of love -  more than the next best gizmo and do-dad.  This year we are giving gifts of time, labor, and money that tell of God's love for all Creation.  With two sets of parents, six siblings, four grown children, and five grandchildren, we have many opportunities to offer "that special gift."  It might be babysitting, researching something on the web for one of our parents who hunger for new knowledge, making homemade jam, or donating to a favorite cause.  

Our neighbor wants more light in her life throughout our dark and cold New Hampshire winter, so she intends to make a small indoor garden.  That got us thinking...why not give a "gift of light" by making a donation in her honor to Lumunos or gifting her a registration to the "Make a Living, Have a Life" series.  

We invite you to do the same and give an alternative "gift of light" this Christmas Season, to help people grow spiritually.  

Faithfully, Betsy Perry
Development Director

There are 3 ways you can contribute to Lumunos:

Use the Giving Envelope in the End of Year mailing,   
Call us at 1-800-245-7378
Give online at www.lumunos.org
 
Thank you for your generous support!
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Lumunos Events

Rod leading a group at Call to the RiverDecember 12, 8:30am-10am. Christmas Unplugged: An Advent Retreat for Setting Priorities.  Richmond Congregational Church, Richmond, VT.

      The holiday season is like the rest of our life on steriods. We try to do too many things all at once in the very season when the Christian year invites us to slow down, reflect and be expectant.  What's required is an ability to say "no" to the things that are not important so that we can say yes to God's invitation. This brief retreat will provide an opportunity to set priorities for the holidays.

Planning for 2010:
January 13-14 Physicians Retreat with Centura Hospital, Denver, CO

February 19-21  Good Matters Annual Southeast Retreat  Epworth by the Sea, St Simons Island, GA.    What is Good? Seems simple ... seek justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God. Led by Laurel Van Ham & Tom Pappas

February 28 Light For Your Journey Retreat, Attleboro, MA  Covenant Church
men's small group
March 12-14 Waking Jesus: Tracking, Weathering, and Rebuilding Through the Storms of Life, Men's Retreat Lake Geneva, WI
        All of us experience rough weather in our life.  Come together with other guys to explore the story of Jesus calming the storm.

April 17 Light For Your Journey Retreat, Moline, IL  Elim Covenant Church 

October 15-17, Hearing God in a Noisy World: Discovering a Source of Living Water in Our Daily Lives, Women's Retreat in Seattle WA, Lake Retreat Camp and Conference Center

Registration is ongoing for the Make a Living, Have a Life groups: a 7 week small group experience that meets via conference call to support people in listening for their meaning and purpose in life.  

In this season of alternative gift giving, give something that truly supports your friend's life.  With challenging questions, reflective readings and videos, feedback, concern, and understanding each group member gets help to listen for that "still, small voice" and for their truest sense of self.  Call the office to register someone who is needing support while in transition.  $50 may help them remember who they are amidst the change they are going through.
 
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