The family Thanksgiving feast is not yet a memory and already Christmas is on retailers' minds. Before running to the stores on an early shopping spree, consider saving some shopping for the Methodist Advent Fair Trade Agreement (MAFTA) Market, CSAM's annual fair trade market at Wesley UMC, Urbana. Items from 10,000 Villages, Heifer, Equal Exchange, and Susan Garner will be available on December 6 in the morning during coffee hour, after the second service, and in the evening during hanging of the greens.
You may also consider a couple other alternative shopping practices. First, shop at a craft market or on web sites like Etsy.com through which you can support creative individuals in an online craft market. If you were inspired by Jeff Hanson's story, then you may want to also check out his web site. Second, bless strangers as well as those closest to you. For example, for every $1 spent on Christmas presents, also spend $1 toward a charitable cause (an idea Pastor Howard shared with me).
Please join me in taking a justice-filled, spiritually disciplined approach to Christmas giving this holiday season. If you have ideas you would like to share, please leave them in the comments section below.
May this Advent be a time of creative preparation so that Christ will be felt present by all this Christmastide and the year to come.
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