By Christian Harvey

It is obvious that Christmas has gone from celebrating the birth of the prince of peace to a celebration of the victory of consumerism.  But how do we talk about it with our teenagers?  Here are a few resources that I have found helpful in starting up conversation around consumerism and Christmas:

What Would Jesus Buy?

A documentary following Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping as they travel across the U.S. toward the “shopocalypse”!  It is at points hilarious, at times troubling at times incredibly touching.  This film works equally well with adults or with youth, so try something crazy, get parents and youth to watch the film together!

Advent Conspiracy

A movement trying to get Christmas to be less about buying and more about worshiping fully, spending less, giving more, and loving all.  A website full of resources, ideas and stories, this movement to go from buying stuff to solving water issues around the world is something your youth may get excited about.  Check it out here.

Coyote Solstice Tale by Thomas King

One of my favorite children’s books of all time, this funny, touching and beautiful story can be a great way to ease youth into the conversation.  And seriously, who doesn’t love a kid’s book.

Now I know, it is getting really close to Christmas, and though these may be great ideas, it is a bit to late.  Well friends, it turns out that consumerism is not just an issue at Christmas time, but year round.  Here are some non-Christmas related resources.

The Story of Stuff

Shorter then WWJB, this film looks at the impacts of our consumption on the environment and other people.  Done in a very accessible way, this video is a great starting point for discussing the impact of our stuff on our world.  Check it out here.

Last, music video’s can be a great way to start the conversation with your youth.  Here are two that look at consumerism from very different angles.

Wings by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

One of my youth introduced this video to me.  A song about how the artist was recruited into the movement of consumerism through his shoes.  An amazing song and a powerful video.

I Own You by Wax Tailor ft. Charlie Winston

A really cool video, and an interesting song from the perspective of your stuff.

Consumerism is probably the biggest issue facing our youth and society today.  If we want to help our youth explore the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus, we are going to have to make them aware of the current God of stuff that demands their allegiance.  If you have any resources, please let us know.

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I wonder how many Canadian priests are now furiously preparing video responses to this.

If you’ve got a rapping priest, or if you’ve got some rhythm in you, you might want to check out this article about Rev. TyTe, the beatbox vicar.

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What does it mean to wear my faith on my sleeve? How is it that I live out my faith? (How) do I share my faith in Jesus with others? Sometimes we get uncomfortable when people talk about sharing their faith. Sometimes we fall back on that quote often attributed to Francis of Assisi:

Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.

I think we can tend to fall back on this quotation as a justification for not saying much. Do we consider what our actions say about our faith, or do we use this as a defense mechanism to suggest that people not bug us with this question?

Dorothee Sölle, a German liberation theologian opens up this question in a real, and challenging way:

Tell me how you think and act politically and I will tell you in which God you believe Read more…

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By Christian Harvey

Last night my wife and I attended a mind blowing concert by the Wisconsin band Bon Iver.  Bon Iver’s self titled second album was released earlier this year, and in my opinion is by far the best album of the year.   What makes Bon Iver so incredible is the way that they take a bunch of random, and odd sounds and bring them together to make something beautiful.  At any one moment the nine person band could all be singing in harmony, one of their two drummers could be soloing, there could be a clarinet solo, a trombone creating just a layer of noise, a massive saxophone (is there such thing as a bass sax) making bizarre noises, trumpet valves being used as percussion, with Justin Vernon’s falsetto rising above it all.  If you were to hear any of these parts on their own you could not envision that when layered together they would create a breathe taking soundscape, but that is exactly what happens.

As I was watching them create I began to realize that I was having a spiritual experience, and it had nothing to do with the words of the songs, I have no idea what he is saying most of the time, but it is the beauty of the music itself through which I was experiencing the presence of God.  In his book Simply Christian, Bishop Tom Wright once wrote:

“The arts are not the pretty but irrelevant bits around the border of reality.  They are highways into the center of a reality which cannot be glimpsed, let alone grasped, any other way.  The present world is good, but broken and in any case incomplete; art of all kinds enables us to understand that paradox in its many dimensions.  But the present world is also designed for something which has not yet happened…Perhaps art can glimpse the future possibilities pregnant within the present time…Perhaps art can help us look beyond the immediate beauty with all its puzzles, and to glimpse the new creation which makes sense not only of beauty but of the world as a whole, and ourselves within it.”

The Bible is the story of God bringing about God’s peace, God’s shalom, on earth.  This peace is not just the absence of war,  but rather the harmony of God, humanity and creation all living in right relationship.  Isn’t this what beauty is?  The interplay between individual parts to create a unified whole.  It is how colours contrast, how sounds work together, how movement and words are combined, how words are placed together.  When we experience beauty, we are given a glimpse of that peace of God that the world is heading for. What if we began to share this with others?  Began to tell others that the transcendence that they experience in the beautiful is a glimpse of the peace that God is bringing into the world all around us?  We are all wanting to experience God, what if we let people know that they already have?  That those experiences with beauty were experiences with God.  How would this change how people see God?  How they see art and beauty?  How we see worship?  How we experience the world around us?

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Check out this video of 16-year old Sean Quigley’s remake of the classic “Little Drummer Boy.” Sean, who drums at his church in Winnipeg, takes Christmas to the streets (and youtube!) offering a rock’n'roll version, with just a drum.

Oh. And some camera equipment, guitar, bass, voice and a little help from his friends.

andrew Movies, Pop Culture, Stories and Articles Advent, Christmas, Music

There’s no shortage of books on youth ministry out there.

For most youth ministry practitioners, if we’ve been around for more than a year or two, we are looking for a book that doesn’t tell us things we already know. Nor do we need toread about the latest great program ideas or about trends in youth culture.

What we so badly need is a new way to think about and re-vision youth ministry.  Consuming Youth: Leading Teens Through Consumer Culture, a new release from Zondervan/Youth Specialties by John Berard, James Penner and Rick Bartlett, offers just that in a solid, inspiring and very readable way.

Well researched, and peppered with references, quotes, stories and case studies, the book includes excellent questions for reflection at the end of each chapter.  The authors take us through an enlightening challenge to our cultural view of youth asconsumers and how that affects identity and vocational formation.

Read more…

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How are you blogging your Christmas ?

This was just posted on youtube a couple of days ago, and has abour 400,000 hits already.  Viral gospel!

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Saw this on the blackboard… I liked it.

ps – it’s a line from a Rap featured in ‘Roots Among the Rocks’ – touring Canada in summer 2010.

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Green Day’s latest album is reviewed by

Andrew Stephens-Rennie, Member of the Youth Initiatives Team.

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By Su McLeod

Church of St John the Divine, Victoria, British Columbia

In this reflection, I’d like to spend some time talking about carrots!

Each of the 16 pilgrims carried a small leather bag containing symbols of pilgrimage. Su's (on right) was shaped like ... a carrot!

So what do we know about the Noble Carrot?

Depending on type they can be long and slim, long and broad, snack size, uniform in shape and dimensions, or curiously organically formed. 

The average person will consume 10,866 carrots in a lifetime

Carrots are not always orange, in fact the first Carrots were purple, with some white or black

the orange carrots we are so familiar with today were not clearly mentioned in early manuscripts.

The carrot is a root

They help us to see in the dark

If we eat lots & lots and maybe a few more they can change our appearance!

Even the most tentative of vegetable eaters love carrots

It was in May this year that my relationship with and perspective of the Carrot changed, I was attending the Ask & Imagine Pilgrimage, a leadership development program for Anglican youth and young adults at Huron University College. I was there in the capacity of Mentor. Read more…

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