Words from Bede Circuit

Dear Friends,

I thought I’d share this letter to Santa:

Dear Santa,

I remember the excitement of waking up on Christmas morning, knowing that you had come the previous night and given out some presents, blissfully unaware that those people in Germany got their presents the previous night! Nevertheless, as I have grown older the things that you represent to me have changed, and this Christmas, rather than presents, I have a few suggestions to make for the future of your enterprise.

First, I would like to suggest your environmental footprint is no longer sustainable. Clearly your travel arrangements and fuel economy are second to none, but all of these new plastic toys that are made by your happy little elves are having a major impact on our waste and our oceans. May I recommend a new state of the art recycling centre, that your elves start to reuse some of the old toys that would otherwise go to waste.

Secondly, it seems that you get an awful lot of attention this time of year from a plethora of companies trying to make money. It’s very nice to see your jolly face, yet it does feel that your image is less to encourage a spirit of generosity, but more about making lots of money. Sometimes these two things get thrown together as if they are one and the same, yet you know that is not true. The story you were first known for is about giving to those in need, not manipulating them into spending money they may not have, all for a corporation’s financial gain. It would be good to see you take some distance from these motives in the future.

Last, but by no means least, I feel that the fame and prominence you have gained is so effective that many associate Christmas with you rather than the festival's namesake. While again, it is clear that you bring happiness to a lot of people one day a year, I feel that the joy and hope Jesus brings to this world and people’s lives goes beyond any one day. It strikes me that the message of Immanuel - God with us - is too important to be missed because of the festivities around it. I hope that you may be able to point people in the direction of the manger, where a vulnerable child was born to be God’s presence among us, the Light in the midst of darkness. I feel we all need a bit of light at the moment.

Mr Claus, I hope you have a good Christmas and we can together re-evaluate our priorities

Kind regards

My hope and prayer for all of us this Christmas is that we won’t lose sight of the truth of Christmas, God coming to us in an amazing gift of love, amongst all the razzmatazz and, materialism.

Merry Christmas!

Rev Paul Worsnop

on behalf of the Bede Circuit Staff