“Keep Christ in Christmas” is a popular slogan this time of year.  It’s a slogan of which I have grown weary. Keeping Christ in Christmas should be more than a slogan or a call to boycott seemingly Godless stores.  If you care to keep Christ in Christmas, then let’s care about the things that Christ would actually care about. Feed the hungry, cure the sick, invite someone to church, pray for others, or read your Bible.

Nothing can take Christ out of Christmas if we thoughtfully act to be Christ-like this Christmas. The people here at Riverside United Methodist Church (Moline, IL), are doing something tangible to keep Christ in Christmas. We’re calling it Christmas Lunch Boxes.

The pressures of Christmas can put a serious financial strain on families. This is often compounded by the fact that many children are home from school for an extended Christmas break. Unfortunately, the school lunch that is provided for free during the school year takes a break, too. Now, what should be happy family time really just adds to pressures, from childcare costs to grocery bills. 

Through our Wardrobe ministry, our outreach that helps people find quality clothes at little or no cost, for the next four weeks we will be letting people know that they can bring their children come back for a free lunch Monday through Friday, December 26-30. On those five days, the people of Riverside UMC will serve free healthy sack lunches to all the kids that come.

In addition to the lunch, the kids can make a simple nativity craft, sing some Christmas songs, and play some games together. Each day of the week will have a different theme surrounding the different parts of the traditional nativity set. 

We’re really not sure what is going to happen next.  We’re not sure how many kids will come.  But we are surethat there are kids out there that will, otherwise, be hungry at Christmas. We pray that they will come. We pray that child will sit down at our table with us and eat a sandwich, and Christ will be there every day – right smack dab in the middle of Christmas. Now, that’s keeping Christ in Christmas!

By Rev. Robb McCoy ► follow his blog

Ignorance. Pet peeves. These all cause us some righteous indignation. How do you handle it? 

More: personal accountability; childhood hunger

• The United Methodist Church work during record hunger read story ►

• Weekly fight against weekend hunger read story ►

• Ordinary people doing extraordinary things read story ►

You may also like: get free Bible | UMC+Hunger | UMC+Malaria | UMC+Community | Like Us   |