Songs for Christmas

If you think about it, blogging is an act of giving. So, in my last post of 2008, I give you a special gift, Sufjan Stevens Christmas songs. These songs come from Sufjan's excellent Christmas box set, Songs for Christmas. Watch the video for "Put the Lights on the Tree" or download two fantastic original Christmas songs, "Sister Winter" and "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever," by right clicking on the links and saving them.

Merry Christmas! See you on Wednesdays in 2009.

Princeton Young Adult Conference

Princeton Seminary is holding a conference on ministering to young adults (especially those aged 18-29) on May 14-16, 2009. Jeffrey Arnett and Rodger Nishioka will be the lecturers. Contact either this site or (609) 497-7914 for more information.

East Regional APCE

The East Regional APCE will be held April 27-29 in Chambersburg. The keynote speaker wil be the Rev. Dr. Joyce Ann Meyer. The theme will be "We Can't Talk About That!" For more information, contact Deb at dmadden@fpcal.pa.net. Mark your calendars!

New Advent Resource

Better late than never. Tired of the commercialization of Christmas? Economy forcing you to tighten your belt this year? A new Advent resource called Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?: Ideas for a Christ-Centered Holiday arrived today from Alternatives for Simple Living.org. This simple pamphlet contains ideas on how to transform your celebration of Christmas from rushing to the mall to a simpler, more meaningful holiday. Order it here or check it out from us today!

NOOMA Tomato

The latest offering in the NOOMA DVD series explores one of the hard sayings of Jesus, “Whoever finds their life will lose it and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Mt. 10:39) Rob observes that there is a part of us that has to be right, needs to look good, wants to be admired, and wants to win. We spend a lot of mental energy trying to maintain this image of ourselves. He argues that it is precisely this false self that Jesus calls on to die. Most of us refuse to die to these false selves, but Jesus calls us to die to them so we can truly live.

Watch a preview below.

12 Tips for a Low Carbon Christmas

The NCC has just released a list of 12 recommendations to make this Christmas a low carbon Christmas. How many can you implement this year?