| Alleluia! We Messed Up!
 "And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." (Mark 1:5)
Confession is a party. At least is was for John the Baptist. And it should be for us.
In this Sunday's Gospel, the people are coming to John looking for a big change in their lives. That's what he was preaching - repentance -- literally a turning around or a changing of mind and heart.
Well, if you're going to turn around, you need not just to know where you're turning to but where you are turning from. And that means confession -- acknowledging all the ways and things we have done that are not who we want to be.
For us, maybe confession brings to mind a small booth with a priest ... or an awkward period of silence before a mumbled group prayer.
Not for John. Not for those people in the Jordan that day.
The Greek word Mark uses for confession is exomologeo, which not only means "saying out loud together" but has connotations of "acknowledging opening AND JOYFULLY!"
Loud, communal, joyful confession.
Sound strange? It shouldn't. The joy of confession is that it liberates us from feeling like we have to hide all the ways we've messed up. It lets us own them and at the same time give them to God. It lets us clear the decks and say we really want things to be different ... and open the door for God to do extraordinary things through us.
The Millennium Development Goals are an amazing dream -- God's dream of global reconciliation -- and also a huge change. And to accomplish them, we must not only look forward but look back. We do have much to confess:
*A world where we're willing to keep Chinese children in factories as long as it means cheap TVs at Wal-Mart.
*A world where we spend enough each year on video games to achieve universal primary education.
*A world where a child dies every 30 seconds of malaria for lack of a $10 bed net.
These are not things to be happy about -- that's not the joy. The joy is that we can confess them ... and we can accept God's forgiveness ... and then we really can turn around, we really can let God change us so we can change the world.
Oscar Wilde said, "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." And for us to embrace the amazing future God has in store for us we first must say with the expectant joy of being forgiven, "Alleluia! We messed up."
And then turn around, invite the coming of Christ into our lives, and adventurously embrace what God will do through us next.
The Rev. Mike Kinman is the Executive Director of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation.
| What One Can Do: Pray
|
 Christ was born into poverty -- the child of a refugee woman on a forced march. It is only fitting that our prayers in this season of waiting for Christ's coming focus on the people to which he came first, the people into which he was born -- the poor.
An Advent Bidding Prayer to
End Global Poverty and Instability
From the Episcopal Office of Government Relations
Brothers and sisters in Christ: As we await the great festival of Christmas, let us prepare hearts so that we may be shown its true meaning. Let us pray for the world that God so loves; for peace and unity all over the earth; for the poor, the hungry, the cold, the helpless, and the oppressed; the sick and those who mourn; the aged and the little children; and all who rejoice with us but on another shore and in a greater light, that multitude which none can number, whose hope was in the Word Made Flesh, and with whom, in our Lord Jesus Christ, we forever more are one.
Silence
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son: By his coming, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, that our feet may be strengthened for your service, and our path may be brightened for the work of justice and reconciliation in our broken world.
God of love, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Find the entire prayer litany here.
The United Reformed Church offers these wonderful daily Advent prayers & reflections with intention for global justice. Bookmark them and start or end each day with one.
For more prayer resources go to the Prayer page of the EGR website.
| | What One Can Do: Study | If your family asks you what they can give you this Christmas (besides a donation to your favorite ministry fighting global poverty, that is), why not ask them for the gift of time to read a book. One hour a week when they will do the laundry or the dishes or answer the phone. Where they will make sure you're curled up in your favorite chair.
Don't have a book to read, you say? Well, of course we have some ideas!
 What Can One Person Do: Faith to Heal a Broken World -- Still the best book out there on the MDGs as a faithful response to poverty. If you haven't read it yet, now's the time.
Money and Faith: The Search for Enough -- an amazing collection of essays -- including a 60-page "study circle guide" that can help small groups bring about social change, this book explores our relationship with money: spirituality, jubliee, sustainabiity, the environment, fair trade, investments, and much more.
An American Awakening -- Courtney Cowart's amazing story of how a transforming experience at St. Paul's Church at Ground Zero led her to serve in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Practical Idealists: Changing the World and Getting Paid -- A great how-to book from people who have lived their values, changed the world and not starved in the process!
Got other great reads about global poverty and the MDGs? Email us and let us know.
| What One Can Do: Give
|  This Advent, look to Bethlehem!
If you're looking for a diocese that really gets that living the Gospel means boldly stepping out in faith, you've got to take a look at the Diocese of Bethlehem.
First, they did a capital campaign, not for themselves but for the people of their companion diocese of Kajo Keje in Sudan ... AND RAISED MORE THAN $3.7 MILLION!
Now, they are sponsoring the "Twelve Days of Christmas for Kajo Keje." They're a little more than halfway through the campaign and, using a Gifts for Life catalog approach, have raised enough for (sing along) 2 Solar lanterns, 4 Bikes , 33 Yards of Fabric, 36 Laying Hens, 7 Sewing Machines, 2 Tables, 5 Soccer Balls, 4 Jump Ropes, 4 Plastic Chairs, 2 Basketballs and 42 Water Jugs. No partiridges or pear trees yet.
Imagine What One Diocese -- Your Diocese -- Can Do!
Got great news about what your diocese is doing? Send them to us so we can spread the word!
| What One Can Do: Act
|  In Spring 2009, thirty outstanding young people will be chosen to serve as inter-religious ambassadors for the Millennium Development Goals.
The Faiths Act Fellowship will empower thirty religiously diverse young leaders from the US, UK and Canada to embark together on a 10 month journey of interfaith service. Training begins with a 2 month intensive initiative that includes training in London and Chicago and fieldwork with primary health care partners in Africa. Fellows will return to their home countries for 8 months to mobilize young people of faith to raise awareness and resources to promote the Millennium Development Goals. They will focus on fighting deaths due to malaria.
Application Deadline is January 15 -- let's flood them with amazing Episcopal applicants! Find out more on the FaithsAct Fellows website!
| | | | | What One Person Can Do:
The Advent Conspiracy
|
The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.
So, what happened?
What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.
And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose.
Is this what we really want out of Christmas?
What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?
Interested?
Watch this video
... and then check out the Advent Conspiracy.
Advent Conspiracy is a movement based on four simple principles:
Worship Fully
It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It's a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It's a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It's the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.
Spend Less
America spends an average of $450 billion a year every Christmas. How often have you spent money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many times have you received a gift out of that same obligation? Thanks, but no thanks, right? We're asking people to consider buying ONE LESS GIFT this Christmas. Just one.
Give More
God's gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it's no wonder why we're drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and it can't be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to make love visible through relational giving.
Love All
When Jesus loved, He loved in ways never imagined. Though rich, he became poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join Him in giving resources to those who need help the most. When Advent Conspiracy first began four churches challenged this simple concept to its congregations. The result raised more than a half million dollars to aid those in need. One less gift. One unbelievable present in the name of Christ.
Check out the Advent Conspiracy website to join the movement and find lots and lots of resources to make Christmas life-changing again.
And spread the word.
| GIVE THE GIFT OF EGR
| 
This Christmas, give the gift that is not about contributing to our addiction to consumption, but about building a growing movement of global compassion.
This Christmas, instead of giving a DVD or PS3 or Wii ...
Your gift will help us keep the work of EGR going in the weeks and months to come .... and also honor the recipient by telling them you know that THEY know the best way to observe our Lord's birth is by asking how we can be present where he was most present -- with the poor around the world.
1) Click here to go to our donation page (maintained by Network for Good) 2) Enter the amount of your contribution
3) In the space provided give your contact information (so we can inform you that the acknowledgment has been sent)
4) In the category "Designation" -- type "Christmas"
5) In the category "Dedication," type the recipient's name and either an email address (if you wish them to receive an e-card acknowledgement - preferred, saves trees!) or a snail mail address (if you wish them to receive a card in the mail).
That's it! No malls. No long lines. Your gift recipient will receive a card informing them of your gift along with a brief description of EGR's mission and how they are a part of growing a movement through which God is changing the church and the world.
As always, please keep EGR and God's mission of global reconciliation in your prayers as you journey through this holy season.
| | Quote of the Week | 
"We must ... seize the opportunities of the 21st century to prevent conflict, to promote peace, combat terrorism, present the spread and use of nuclear weapons, tackle climate change, end genocide, fight poverty and disease. "All of these goals are vital to America's security but none can be accomplished by America alone. To enhance our common security, we must invest in our common humanity."
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