Have you read Shel Silverstein’s book The Giving Tree?
It’s a beautiful story about the relationship between a young boy and a tree, one that lasts until the boy is an old man. It’s a story full of deep truths about need and sacrifice, love and friendship, life and death.
When we began planning for our Give It Away Advent Series last month, it was Shel’s beloved story that inspired an entirely different sort of Giving Tree. Comprised of four inter : mission worship hours and a special Christmas concert, the series was in aid of the Methodist Relief and Development Fund: a charity that works in African, Asian, and Latin American communities to empower its members and bring about long-term change. So, on every branch of our Giving Tree hung a small fabric bag corresponding with a specific MRDF project.
(photos by the talented Will Carroll)
As the Giving Tree sat in the sanctuary of the church over those weeks, someone took notice. Our friend Lyn Smalridge is a part of a prayer group that meets on Thursday evenings; during a time of quiet, of talking and listening, thanking and interceding, God reached into Lyn’s heart and drew out words. And boy, are we glad he had the courage to write them down!
We want to share Lyn’s poem with you, because it’s not just for Advent or Christmas or any one season. It’s a story full of deep truths about need and sacrifice, love and friendship, life and death.
On Its Branches
Look! A tree - A giving tree.
On its branches hang -
Colourful sacks,
For gifts of money
To change lives elsewhere.
In our love,
May we give as generously as our hearts direct
And pockets allow.
Look! A tree - A dying tree.
On its branches hangs -
A young man.
The gift of His life
To change our lives for ever.
Giving His all,
In His love
That we might receive
Forgiveness, reconciliation and love.
Look! A tree - A living tree
On its branches hangs -
Our lives.
The gift of this life,
Day by day.
With all its joys and sorrows.
In our love,
May we be rooted firmly in God
And grow in rich relationship with Him.
Look! A tree - A Christmas tree
On its branches hangs -
Lights and baubles.
The gift of Christmas
Joy and celebration.
A baby born.
In His love,
God with us forever.
May we welcome Him into our hearts.
It’s almost Christmas, and we have a gift for you: FREE MUSIC!
We, along with our friend Andy the Cellist, have recorded an arrangement of the classic carol “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” and we’re here to deliver it through your virtual chimney just in time for Christmas.
Click on the cover art to listen, and enter your information for a free download. Then (and this is the most important step): share it! Send it on to friends, family, colleagues, and the like. Tweet it. Facebook it. Share the love.
And as the song pipes through cars and computers and earbuds, we’ll find joy in knowing that we’re all humming along together that resounding refrain:
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Advent + Events. Get it? (cue rim shot.)
Anywho, here’s what we’ve got going on over the next month. Consider this your personal invitation to all of them.
Every Wednesday 12:30 pm
inter : mission
City of Edinburgh Methodist Church (Nicolson Square)
Pause. Sit. Pray. Breathe. A haven of peace in the middle of your busy week. And during Advent, we’ll be focusing on how Jesus calls us to care for the least of these, specifically through the work of the Methodist Relief and Development Fund.
Thursday, December 8 7-9 pm
edinburghDreams Launch Party
Cafe Camino (1 Little King St.)
edinburghDreams is a VentureFX project from the Methodist church. It’s a project to discover how community can be forged across social divides and to dream a new dream about what the Church could look like in the city.
Sunday, December 11 6:30 pm
Carols at Costa
Costa Coffee (Stockbridge)
Along with the folks of St. Stephen’s Comely Bank Church, we’ll be playing original music, a few cover songs, and most importantly, sing-a-long Christmas carols! Grab a coffee and join in.
Wednesday, December 21 7pm
Give It Away : A Christmas Concert
City of Edinburgh Methodist Church (Nicolson Square)
A hybrid service/concert featuring a full band and intertwining traditional carols, original music, scriptures, and stories. In aid of Methodist Relief and Development Fund’s work around the world.
