Christmas Preparation
The Revd Julie Baker, Chaplaincy Manager
As we enter the advent season of waiting and preparation, our practical lives mirror our spiritual yearnings. While we long to use advent as a time of spiritual discipline and anticipation, the calendar counts down the days to Christmas and we are constantly reminded that there is much to do.
Preparation is needed, but this preparation is not entirely conducive to spiritual preparedness. The run up to Christmas is hectic, expensive, stressful and often difficult to navigate.
Perhaps the most joyful type of ‘difficult Christmas preparation’ involves trying to get all the shopping and food ready to gather with a large group of family and friends to celebrate together. It’s stressful, but the end result is, hopefully, a few days of sheer bliss with those we love around us. It doesn’t always work out like that, of course, and sometimes the stress comes from dreading the family get together because it is far from blissful, and there are those in our midst around whom we walk on eggshells to keep the peace.
Still others will face Christmas alone, and the image of a person alone at Christmas can illicit a sorrowful response from many of us. Humanity needs community, we learned that during pandemic lockdowns if we hadn’t truly understood it before, and although our communities might all be different shapes and sizes, connection and community are important for us all.
At St Bart’s we try to build community in all our services because we understand that putting a roof over someone’s head is just the first step in healing and thriving after the reality or threat of homelessness. Many of our consumers have complex relationships with their families, if they have any relationship at all.
The messages and images in the media about what a successful Christmas looks like, are not achievable for many of the people we serve. That’s where we step in and do what we can to make Christmas meaningful and even joyful.
Thanks to the generosity of so many parishes and other organisations, we will have a hamper to gift to each client in our services, a tangible reminder that they are valued, loved and worth our care and attention. We also celebrate together at each of our sites with a Christmas party where clients and the staff who support them enjoy good food, lots of fun and that much needed connection.
Thank you for all your support in 2024, for your prayers, your time, your donations of goods and money. St Bart’s does what it does because we are part of this Anglican family which supports one another, and this Christmas your support will be felt throughout our St Bart’s community.
May you enjoy an advent of joyful anticipation for the birth of the Christ Child and a Christmas filled with love and peace.