BRN January 2013 colour - Boxford Community Council

THE CHRISTMAS LETTER FROM REV JUDITH
Dear friends,
A sudden need to fit in a Christmas shopping day meant that Rufus and I
found ourselves in Cambridge recently. Having parked in the multi-storey
closest to the John Lewis store, we came out into the huge shopping mall,
the “Grand Arcade”. Our ears were immediately assaulted (my apologies
to the recorded artist, but it was an assault !) by piped music and looking
down from the bridge leading
into the store, we could see
the constant streams of people
in both directions.
I have nothing against
shopping, in fact I have been
known to do a bit of retail
therapy every now and then,
but this felt somehow like
madness. Each shop we
passed added its own loud
music to the background noise
and our eyes were bombarded
by window after window of
Christmas lights and glitter.
The whole experience was
overwhelming and somehow
made you question, more than
ever, where our society is
going.
Of course, we all like to give
our families and friends
presents, and shopping in big
malls is part of that, for some people. But I do wonder if we are losing
sight of the simplicity that lies, or should lie, at the heart of Christmas.
Perhaps I am being sentimental, but I have a recollection of reading
“Little Women” and being moved by the account of their Christmas. A
family with very little money, each person still managed to give
something special to each of the others, just a single present and usually
something they had made themselves, but something that they knew
would make the other person really happy.
Surely this is what we need to get back to. It isn’t the cost of the present
that matters, it is the care with which it is chosen and the love which it is
given.
After our shopping expedition, we decided to restore our spirits by
walking in the Cambridge Botanical Gardens. All the noise and frantic
bustle of the shopping mall fell away, as we drank in the peace of the
winter gardens. The highlight was the glasshouses, and above all the
Alpine House. Here we found the breathtaking simplicity and beauty that
lies at the heart of all things, in the perfect tiny flowers of miniature
cyclamens, narcissi and crocuses.
The Christmas Tree Festival at Boxford Church somehow seemed to
capture the best of both worlds. It was wonderful to witness its happy
mingling of people of all ages and all backgrounds from the community,
and yet with focus on the simplicity of a natural Christmas tree, decorated
not with expensive trimmings, but with items chosen with care and
placed with love.
It is my prayer
that the
simplicity and
beauty of a Baby,
given at
Christmas by
God to the earth
and its people,
with care and
love, will give
meaning and joy
to all your
celebrations and
to the year to
come. Blessings,
Revd. Judith.