Usually the week after Christmas is down time for most clergy. After all the prep to make sure that people are able to spiritually celebrate Christmas, plus the stress of making sure that Christmas with our family is special, we are dead dog tired.
I'm already kind of there now but I'm still excited about Christmas and waking up on Christmas morning to see the joy on my kids faces as they see what we've given them.
I love this time of year because I get to give back to my kids without feeling like I'm spoiling them.
Of course, in reality, I probably am spoiling them. We are blessed with so much while other have so little.
So instead of taking next week as a week off, I'm assisting one of my churches (Sacred Tapestry) in a mission week. I don't suggest this for most pastors (especially lead pastors that really do need the break), but if someone in your church can lead this - its a great idea!
Starting on Sunday, Dec 26 we have a different mission activity each day. We're going to make soup kits for the food bank, gather canned goods, sort at the Atlanta Community food bank, landscape at the United Methodist Children's Home, cook and serve at Nicholas House, and gather pet food for the Humane Society.
I'm happy to have something to look forward to next week and it warms my heart that I'll be able to keep the warm fuzzy feelings of Christmas going for at least one week more as I can continue to be the giver that God wants us to be.
If you can join us, we'd love to have you!
Merry Christmas,
Rev. Shannon Karafanda
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