ChristMess

I went to my son's winter concert. As usual it was done at a very high quality, it was entertaining and the children did a fantastic job. It was held in the new auditorium at the new high school which was very nice. The music teacher at this school always does a great job and I enjoy going to the concerts he leads.

But . . .

I did not walk away merry, I walked away disturbed. Before the concert the principal of the school got up and talked about memories. He talked about how the children who were performing would look back on this night and remember it for thier lives, the same way we remember the concerts we performed as children.

Rhonda looked at me and said, "Do you remember concerts you did as a kid?" I shook my head "No."

But after the concert was over, I did reflect back on when I was in elementry school and did a winter concert. Only then it was called a "Christmas" concert. We performed at a large Baptist church across the street from the school. We sang songs like "Silent Night," "Away in the Manger," and "We wish you a Merry Christmas."
The birth of Jesus was mentioned and one could say it was a central focus of the evening.

Lastnight the focus theme was December in the world. It looked at the different celebrations that take place in different cultures in the world. There was a song about the seven disciplines of Kwanzaa. There was a song about Hanukkah. There was a song about the celebration of St. Nicholas. There was mention of Ramadan. And one time time the name of Jesus was mentioned.

It was educational to learn about the seven disciplines of Kwanzaa and the festival of lights that represent Hanukkah (something I taught about last yeat at Christmas time and something that Jesus even recognized (John 10:22-39).

I am all for my kids learning about other peoples tradtions and practices . . .

But . . .

My sons belief and practice was only mentioned as if it is something that we need to hide or be embarassed to talk about.

What amazes me is this. I live in the city of churches (more churches per capita than any other city in the country). If the question comes up in trivial pursuit the answer is Tallmadge, Ohio.

Our mascot is the Blue Devils (the devil is a fallen angel, created by God. The origen of the devil comes from the Bible). I have no problem with mascot. I even supported them painting a big blue devil on the floor of the new gym. But we couldn't because it might offend the churches in the city.

Hmm. We do not want to offend do we? Well it's to late.

I am at a loss as to how to proceed with my concerns. Any Suggestions?

I will start with this:

I want to take this moment to wish all the children and parents in Tallmadge Schools-

Merry Christmas!