From the Chaplains

What do you want for Christmas?

Have you started thinking about what you want for Christmas yet?

As a small child, you might have been encouraged to write a letter to Santa. This year I want to encourage you to do the same, but with a bit of a twist.

I want you to write a Christmas letter to yourself.

Dear Me…

In the letter I want you to think about the gifts that you NEED from an EMOTIONAL perspective this Christmas, rather than the gifts you want that you can buy from a shop.

This Christmas I need…

What is making you feel sad at the moment? What is something that might help you to you feel better?

What would be helpful to learn that you are struggling with, or that might help you achieve something you want to be able to do?

What are you scared of right now? Perhaps you are scared to do something that you admire others for doing? Perhaps there is an event or activity coming up in your calendar that is causing you some anxiety. Who or what could give you some courage?

Add these things to your letter. To your Christmas list to yourself.

How might you give these gifts to yourself?

And so I am going to…

Add these things to your letter too. These are your gifts for you.

Now that you know what you need this Christmas and how you are going to try to give these things to yourself, think about the things that the people you love need in the same way and add these things to your letter.

This Christmas the people I love need…

Where do you see your family and friends struggling?

Can you make dinner for your family?

Do you need to spend some time with a friend that you haven’t seen for a while?

What is something you can give as a gift to someone else that could help fill their metaphorical cup of hope, peace, joy and love this Christmas?

And so I am going to…

Add how you can add help to your letter. These are your gifts for the people that you love.

The gifts received by the Holy Family at the first Christmas, were these types of gifts.

Friendship, Love, Comfort, Care, Kindness.

Respect for difference.

Courage to enter spaces that were unfamiliar and unknown to be there for someone in need.

A community to of support and help when things were hard.

The last thing that I am going to invite you to do is to think about how where there are people beyond you and your family and friends who need support and think about how you might help them too.

This Christmas the gift I can give to those in need is…

Perhaps you can bring in an extra gift for Pymble’s Jacaranda Day Collection for the Rev. Bill Crews Foundation? Suggestions for gifts are below. You can drop them off at Hedgehog house, and the Middle, Upper and Senior School Offices.

Perhaps you can volunteer with a Charity or Community Service that needs support?

There are so many things you can do and it is really important that you do give these gifts, because once upon a time the people that you serve, that you don’t know, was the Holy Family. If it wasn’t for those that supported them during and after the birth of Jesus there may not have ever been a first Christmas for us to remember and celebrate in quite the same way.

When you are done with your letter sign it, and put it somewhere to read again and again over the next few weeks. May your letter be your prayer for you, for your family and for the world this Christmas.