A very different Christmas Carol

One of the things that attending seminary has done for me is that I have gained a new appreciation for the seemingly forgotten Christian brothers and sisters in the Orthodox Church. That is another post in and of itself, but take a few minutes to listen to the Byzantine Hymn of the Nativity in the clip below. It's very different, and very cool.

And Pray for our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. It's not easy being a Christian there.

Thanks to Fr. Deacon Raphael for the tip on the video. He is one of my favorite OOZERS.

It's that time of year again

Yep. It must be Christmas if the ACLU is running around telling municipal governments to get Creche's off of city property. Every year this happens. The ACLU does its thing, the Christians get outraged that they cannot display a manger scene on city property, and news cameras show up.

Why do we do this? I saw a letter to the editor in our local paper the other day with a brilliant idea. Instead of Christians fighting to put a manger on public property, why don't ALL of the Christians put one on their own property? Imagine streets lined with reminders of Jesus' birth. House after house testifying to their faith. What a witness that would be to the world.

I'm pretty sure we will have one up next year. We've been shopping for an illuminated one that doesn't look cheesy. Unfortunately the best ones are out of stock. But that is my plan for next year. I won't ask the city to do what I won't do myself.