CHRISTMAS can be a difficult time of year for people and families.
Memories of loved ones lost throughout the past year who might otherwise be sitting around a festive table or who would have been a friendly voice over a long distance telephone line often clash with the demand for merriment and good cheer. Yet the essential element of the Christmas season continues to exist as families and people draw together even for short periods of time.
There are also many examples in the community where individuals and people band together to help others. Some are very public and others are very private. But all share in the one essential philosophical undertaking that ties us together – from those according to their ability to those according to their need.
This season, consider the words of Tommy Douglas, a Baptist minister who went on to become the first-ever Co-operative Commonwealth Federation premier of Saskatchewan. Mr. Douglas brought the country’s first Medicare program to that province. He later became the first leader of the federal New Democratic Party:
“If Christmas means anything, it should mean that, like the shepherds of old, we catch a vision of the world as it ought to be and not as it is. This is the season where we should renew our determination to do what we can, each in our own way, to build a world founded on human brotherhood and concern for the needs of others.”
Edtorial, The Terrace Standard, Dec. 24, 2014