Chi Rho Press eNewsletter
Volume 33 (12/22/00)

Happy Holidays! Shalom! Welcome once again to the Chi Rho Press eNewsletter. Thank you for passing this eNewsletter on to others.

To join our list and get your own copy of our eNewsletter, send an e-mail
message to ChiRhoPress-subscribe@egroups.com.

Direct all other e-mail to Adam@ChiRhoPress.com. See the end of
this eNewsletter for a complete list of e-mail addresses at ChiRhoPress.com.

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Contents:

1. What a Holiday Shopping Season This Was!
2. Guest Column, by Craig Wilson, USA Today
3. Would you make a gift to your Press?
4. Adam's Last Word

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1. What a Holiday Shopping Season This Was!

It is three days before Christmas, so it is not possible for you to buy any
more Christmas gifts at www.ChiRhoPress.com and expect to receive them in
time for the holiday.

The Chi Rho Press offices will be closed Saturday through Tuesday, Dec. 23
through the 26th. Kevin Stone Fries will be back in the office Wednesday,
Dec. 27.

Thanks to all of you who ordered, we had better than ever sales on our Web
site and through our shopping cart, as well as mail-in orders, and telephone
orders.

Many thanks from all of us here at Chi Rho Press to all of you, our
wonderful supporters.

We hope your holiday season is filled with blessings!

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2. Guest Column, by Craig Wilson, USA Today

Our friend, Craig Wilson, is an extremely talented writer and columnist at
USA Today. His weekly column appears every Wednesday in the Life section of USA Today.

We really liked his Christmas column last year and asked Craig for
permission to reprint it, which he gladly gave. This column first ran in USA Today, December 22, 1999, and is reprinted here with permission.

An Unexpected Gift
By Craig Wilson, USA Today

Years ago, I used to pal around with an Episcopal priest. He was a good
guy. I learned a lot from him. Did you know they use toothbrushes to clean their
clerical collars?

Anyway, over the years of our friendship, I would find myself on various
missions of mercy with him missions I would never have been on otherwise.

I handed out bags of food from his church's lunchtime meals program for the
homeless. I delivered clothes to needy parishioners. And I waited more
than once to go to a Saturday night dinner party while he counseled someone who
showed up at the church's side door at the last minute, asking to talk to a
priest.

I confess to being irritated more than once with these last-minute callers.
Cocktail hour was slipping away.

His life contrasted drastically with mine at the time. I was in my late 20s
and about as self-centered as anyone can get and not be a teenage girl. Not
that I wasn't a nice guy, of course, but I traveled through life looking out
for no one but myself.

I had a sports car. I had a mustache. I dare say I had a bit of an
attitude.

I remember one Christmas more than any other during that period of my life.
I was shopping, and I was obsessed with finding a Ralph Lauren polo shirt in a
particular color. Dark purple. Can't even remember who on my Christmas
list I was buying it for. I doesn't matter now.

I had been on this quest for days, with no luck. I remember how irritated I
was that in this great land of ours, I couldn't find exactly what I wanted.
Ridiculous, I remember saying.

I had clerks call around to other stores. I fear I might have even fallen
into the "this is so unfair" whine. I was frustrated that life was not going
according to my plan, something I was not used to.

I didn't like it.

Shortly afterward, I was visiting my priest friend and once again found
myself on a mission of mercy. Did he have a plan, perhaps?

His church had decided to sponsor a family from a Third World country. I
don't remember which one now.

They were flying into the airport, and a contingent from the congregation
was going to be there to greet them and then escort them to the apartment the
church had set up for them. I tagged along.

I remember the family looking a bit scared and confused when they came off
the plane, something I could related to completely. Episcopalians even joke
that they can be a scary group when more than three of them gather in one place.

We all greeted the family and began walking down the hallway to the baggage
claim area when the translator said something I will always remember.

"They have no luggage. We can go directly to the cars."

I have never been able to look at a dark-purple Ralph Lauren polo shirt the
same way.

Probably the best Christmas present I ever got.

E-mail Craig at cwilson@usatoday.com

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3. Would you make a gift to your Press?

Would you consider helping by making a year-end/Christmas gift to Chi Rho
Press? You might also want to pledge a monthly gift to Chi Rho Press during
the new year.

If you can make a contribution, please send your check or money order to us
at Chi Rho Press, P.O. Box 7864, Gaithersburg, MD 20898. Your gift will be an
important element in our continued success.

As always, we also ask for your prayers as we continue in this non-profit
ministry. Thank you!

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4. Adam's Last Word.

Well, all my shopping is finished and almost all of the presents are
wrapped. I have decided (by default) to send out New Years/Epiphany cards this year, since Christmas cards didn't manage to get written, addressed, and mailed. Although with the press of work, even that may not happen this year.

I have mixed feelings about electronic greeting cards. It is nice to be
remembered. But somehow snail mailed cards mean that the sender has spent a
little more time, effort, and money sending me greetings at the holidays.

Of course the biggest problem with electronic greetings, is that you can't
display them on the mantle or on top of the piano in the living room! A
computer nerd friend suggested a monitor on top of my piano, hooked up to a
PointPoint slide show of all my electronic cards!

Isn't progress grand?

This weekend will be a busy one, dinner with friends Saturday night. Then
on Christmas Eve, church Sunday morning at Holy Redeemer MCC in College Park, Maryland, (I am reading the Scripture), then dinner with Kevin Fries, his
mother, and family that evening, and probably on to Christmas Eve late night
services.

Then Monday is Christmas. I got a lot of lovely presents from co-workers
at my secular, full-time job, so I will be opening them at home. Then off to our
usual English Christmas Day dinner at the home of my dearest friends, Bill
and Bob. And then some quiet time at home that night.

I hope that Christmas is a very blessed time of faith, fellowship, and
family for all of you.

In the LGBT community, we often don't have biological family, our families
are some times torn asunder by misinformation and bigotry. So it is especially
important for us to create intentional families with whom to celebrate our
holy days. Families of choice are an essential part of what the LGBT community
has to offer: we do family well! And we have learned the hard way the
importance of non-judgmental, unconditional love.

With whatever kind of family you celebrate, I pray that your celebrations
will be joyous and filled with the Spirit of God. Remember that Christmas is NOT about buying (as much as we love you buying gifts at www.ChiRhoPress.com this holiday season), but Christmas IS about love, peace, and God's incarnation
in Jesus. Remember the reason for the season!

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas!
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We are glad you are partners with us here at Chi Rho Press. We are eager
for your comments, your suggestions, your assistance with selling our books, and
your own purchases! And of course, we covet your prayers for this ministry.

Grace and peace,

Adam DeBaugh, Director
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Chi Rho Press, Inc.
P.O. Box 7864
Gaithersburg, MD 20898

Our telephone and fax number is 301/926-1208.

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Copyright 2000, Chi Rho Press, Inc.

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R. Adam DeBaugh, Director, Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.
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