Constructing the highway to Christmas

We have all heard the expression “Let’s put Christ back into Christmas!” This is exactly what is happening in a Pretoria parish that is made up of two communities in one: the church of St John Fisher in Lynnwood and the church of the Beatitudes in Zwavelpoort, Pretoria East.

The Zwavelpoort church, which is now the biggest in the archdiocese of Pretoria, is a baby church of the Lynnwood Parish, and the brainchild of parish priest Mgr Marc de Muelenaere. At the moment the two churches are operating as one parish.

Led by the Parish Pastoral Council, this parish is inspired by the early Christians who “broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people” (Acts 2: 46-47). What were we to do to follow this example? The answer was to form home cell groups or small Christian communities that work on lines similar to the Renew programme — but with a difference.

The task team that prepares the materials (to make full disclosure, with me as chairperson) is quite clear: For the Advent season, the idea is to help the parish put Christ back into Christmas. However, putting Christ back into Christmas means more than having Bible study or faith sharing sessions. Among other things, this means capturing the secular and materialistic spirit of Christmas as we know it today, and transforming it so that it is enriched by spiritual benefits.

The programme is informed by the structure of Advent and consists of four weekly sessions. There is an overall theme: “Constructing the Highway to Christmas”. Each weekly session is structured as follows: The material is based on a sub-theme that reflects in some way one of modern people’s preoccupations in the time leading up to Christmas. The material is organised along the same lines as the materials of the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Westville, Durban, with an opening prayer, an introduction, scripture readings, discussion questions, a closing prayer and preparation for the next session.

In terms of sub-themes, Week 1 is intended to reflect the “busyness” of people as they prepare for Christmas. We think of people speeding down the highways of their lives, rushing from one activity to another, planning for holidays and so on — only slowed down by roadblocks on our busy highways. So the theme of the session is “Advent Preparation”. Among other things, this entails asking whether we should not set roadblocks for ourselves by stopping to consider whether we are allowing our “busyness” to dominate our lives to the detriment of our relationships and spiritual growth. How can we welcome the Saviour and allow him to free us from the materialism that dominates us?

In Week 2 we consider this time of year as the time when most people look forward to receiving their bonuses from their employers. We link this to the spiritual bonuses or gifts that God has given us, basing our reflections on 1 Corinthians 12. For Week 3, the theme is “Shelter Seeking”, and we stop to ponder what we can do as a parish to make Christmas more enjoyable for the poor, the lonely and the rejected by providing shelter for them and giving them love.

The theme of Week 4 is “Light and New Life” and we reflect on how the birth of Christ brings light to our dark world, and we celebrate this fact.

An important feature of each session is the “Activity”. Thus in Week 1 we make an advent wreath and light the first candle (the next candle is lit every successive week). In Week 2 we exchange gifts and discuss our spiritual gifts. In Week 3 we dramatise the plight of Joseph and Mary looking for shelter in the inn only to be told “Try somewhere else! There is no room here!” For Week 4 everybody brings something to eat and there is a big celebration of the light of Christ and the new life he brings to us at Christmas.

The finale is when all the groups will come together to discuss how, as a parish, we can put Christ back into Christmas!