Christmas at BRC

Last Friday saw the annual Christmas party at the Bangkok Refugee Centre. This was for the children of urban refugee families. One of the photos I just attached shows the crowd and their faces, their eyes tell it all. They were enthralled and enjoyed the whole morning.

The morning began with a rousing round of Christmas carolling led by the Calvary Baptist Church. I joined in and just loved it. I felt right at home and thought to myself - this is ecumenism at a hands on level. There is s tory behind their being there with us. I was looking for sponsorship for the party so that the children could have Christmas presents. When I contacted the Baptist Church here, they just replied with a "What can we do?" I was so impressed by their spirit and it was a joy to work with them.

After the carolling, the children from the BRC school entertained us with various acts. One was the presentation of the Christmas story. It was an incredible experience as I saw their re-enactment and watched the faces on the crowd. I reflected that the people gathered were of all ages, from many different countries and mainly Muslim and Budhist. Yet they were all mesmerised and so enjoyed the presentation. It told me that here is a human story for all peoples that touches us all and taps into our humanity. It told me that through simple enjoyment we enter into the deeper meaning of life, into our own shared divinity. The divine and the human do go together.

The show finished with food and ice-cream for all. A good time was had by all.

I asked myself - do I believe in Santa Claus? Yes, I do for Christmas is about giving and receiving, about enjoying life and celebrating. So why not let Santa Claus be part of that? If nothing else, Christmas gave all those urban refugees - young and old; Christian, Buddhist and Muslim; ones so vulnerable and so alienated from our world - a welcome relief of some short time just to enjoy a bit of life with others. What a great Christmas gift!