A UNIQUE CHRISTMAS GIFT
In a world filled with loneliness, you can expand friendship,
In a fractured world, you can build community.
In a world that is anxious about violence, you can offer encouragement,
In an overly busy world, you can offer some fun relaxation.
How would you like to offer an inexpensive Christmas gift that responds to friends living in this world?
Here is the gift:
You will gift copy through Amazon a special book (see below) to three to five selected people
They may be current friends that you already enjoy but don’t see often.
They may be a set of colleagues that you wish you knew better
They may be members of your religious community that you think would be interesting.
They may be neighbors who you don’t know well.
They may even be geographically dispersed, but you are going to connect them through the internet. (More on that later.)
A GIFT AND AN INVITATION
In the accompanying note, you might say:
“As my Christmas gift (or holiday gift) to you,
I want to provide you
a psychological thriller that explores our response to violence in our society
AND
an invitation to gather with me for at least four opportunities to both discuss the book and explore our own responses to the increasing eruption of violence in our society.
“My desire is that this will be a Christmas gift that
nurtures our friendship and support of each other,
permits us to deepen our understanding of some anxious events in our society,
and shows others how diverse people can become peacemakers in this uncertain time.”
“The book I have chosen is Blessed Are the Peacemakers. www.amzn.to/2i5JMat “
If your chosen group is geographically dispersed, you would suggest that upon their acceptance of the invitation, you will set up a Zoom, Skype, or Go to Meeting conference call so that they can share a video discussion in the comfort of their own space.
“Please accept the book and let me know if you are open to the discussion group.” Give them your contact information.
While you can also use a different book, if you do use Blessed are the Peacmakers you may want to include the following information.
Blessed Are the Peacemakers is a psychological thriller involving well-dressed Caucasian youth who interrupt worship in prosperous congregations, accusing them of lying about the resurrection, and then shooting people around them. The violence begins in one church in Lincoln, North Carolina, and appears to be personal. Then it begins to spread, first to another church in the city, then to another state, and soon to churches in multiple states. The target churches seem to be random. The violence paralyzes churches and the nation. Who is the mysterious Leader who uses the Internet to organize these disturbed teenagers, trains them how to shoot, and sends them on suicide missions in a domestic form of terrorism? How does faith respond to a random form of violence that terrorizes the nation and threatens to close down the churches?
Blessed Book Cover
Remind your recipients that the book is theirs to keep, and you hope they will accept the invitation to meet. Once you have the list, you will arrange an acceptable date and place for our first meeting. http://www.amzn.to/2i5JMat
