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WHOSE Birthday? #31 Index


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Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? #31

An Advent and Christmas Resource for Families, Individuals and Churches

WHOSE Birthday? is for your personal inspiration, community education and sharing.

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Submission Guidelines

Although this resource is not available in print, you may make all the copies you choose. It is covered by Creative Commons non-commercial attribution share-alike license.

NEW--Lee Van Ham--The Liberating Birth of Jesus: A Birth Story Able to Reverse Our Planet's Peril
  • Book
  • Podcast Episode 11/19

    A society beyond consumerism

    Choose from 20 daily Advent/Christmas guides/calendars. Some are lectionary-based, some are thematic. Copy your choice on recycled paper as a bulletin insert, in your own Advent-Christmas booklet or as a series in your weekly service bulletin.

    Do-It-Yourself 'WHOSE Birthday?'

    Table of Contents

    Brief Introduction

    Reflections & Activities

    Recommended for Alternative Giving:
  • ELCA Good Gifts catalog
  • Heifer Project International

    Legacy SLW! Advent-Christmas Blogs

    Legacy WHOSE Birthday? Editions Based on Cycle A (Matthew) --#'s 20, 17, 14, 11, 8, 5

    Whose Birthday? How-To

    Resources

    Colleague Organizations

  • Question Consumption
  • GrowthBusters
  • Eco-Justice Ministries' weekly commentaries Advent/Christmas archives
  • Center for a New American Dream: How to Host an Alternative Gift Fair
  • New Celebrations: Resources that reflect a more healthy, a more sane, a more theologically correct approach to more meaningful celebration of Christmas and other holidays.
  • Advent Conspiracy: NEW video, Sunday School curriculum, family resources and more!
  • Buy Nothing Day
  • Buy Nothing Christmas
  • Becoming Minimalist: The Helpful Guide to Simple Christmas Links
  • Simple Christmas
  • GospelLiving.org (The Pastoral Center)
  • Our consumer culture has successfully commodified love year 'round, but the starkest example of unabashed consumerism is the 'most wonderful time of year'--aka the holiday (shopping) season.

    Before you start shopping, consider the following writings and podcast episodes by The Minimalists:

  • Story of Stuff Project

    However you celebrate, the holiday season provides an opportunity express gratitude for what we have and to spend time with the ones we love. But for years, retailers have been trying to write a new story for the holidays, one that puts presents before presence. Instead of expressing our love by doing stuff with our families, corporations want us to keep buying Stuff for them.

    But this consumer frenzy has serious consequences for the planet, and is turning the holidays into a time of stress and anxiety. That's why we're sharing these tips for a simpler holiday season:
    1. Participate in Buy Nothing Day on November 24. Take the pledge to avoid crowded malls on the busiest shopping day of the year, and invite your friends to do the same!
    2. Start a conversation about Stuff. Talk with your friends and family about where our Stuff comes from and where it goes--and the impacts on people and the planet along the way. Sharing The Story of Stuff movie on social media is a great icebreaker!
    3. Give a non-material gift like event tickets, membership to a local museum, or a charitable donation in someone's name.
    4. Gift something home-made or second-hand like baked goods, upcycled art, or quality used items.
    5. Volunteer with a local charity or community organization--and bring your friends along, too.
    6. Make a plan to relax. Holiday obligations and activities can leave us with little time to truly recharge. Set aside some time to get out into nature or to simply curl up with a good book.
    7. Give the gift of an empty mailbox with Catalog Choice. This free website operated by The Story of Stuff Project can help you cancel unwanted catalogs and other junk mail. Sign up and get started now!
    Check out hundreds more ideas for a simpler holiday season on our 'Un-Stuff Your Holiday' Pinterest board. Or, read 15 commercial-free holiday tips for families from our friends at New Dream.

    Finally, be sure to join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where you can tell us how you #BuyLessLiveMore this holiday season.

    From all of us at The Story of Stuff Project, Happy Holidays


    Brief Introduction

    A quick internet search for 'simplifying Christmas' yields 2,370,000 results. To the average person, that would seem insurmountable. Why bother?

    Some of the items for 'WHOSE Birthday?' #30 are drawn from colleague sites, groups that we trust. So, if you read some of the articles here and then snoop around on the site, we're confident that you will not be drawn into a scam.

    The content of this edition of 'WHOSE Birthday?' is not the same as the podcast. The podcast is taken from the audio tracks of a previous edition of 'WHOSE Birthday?' So, this year you get a two-fer.

    NOTE: The Creative Commons license only applies to the content on this site. Since most of the content of this edition is not on this site, contact the owner of the content you choose before you make copies.


    DIY WHOSE Birthday?

    The classic Advent/Christmas resource 'Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? is available in multiple formats in 2018 to meet your personal, family and community needs. 'Whose Birthday?' 2010 was the last edition distributed on paper. Since then I have published it on the internet.

    'Whose Birthday?' #30 is a new, free online collection. Use as much as you need in print or online. Also, contribute your art and articles to SLW! for it.

    'Whose Birthday?' #19 has been released as a SLW! podcast series this fall. This legacy resource can also be used as text or audio.

    DIY 'Whose Birthday?' Yes, you can produce our own customized, do-it-yourself 'Whose Birthday?' You're welcome to assemble and copy a version that meets your local needs. All of our resources and service are now free of charge.

    To make your selections, visit:


    Page updated 12/17/19

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    MISSION: Equipping people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly and celebrate responsibly // An all volunteer educational organization.