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Minister and President’s Message
We should help non-Christians avoid the ‘December dilemma’
December, 2001
By Nancy S. Taylor
You may have seen pictures and reports of the three Massachusetts Episcopal Bishops protesting outside Boston’s Israeli Consulate on October 30th. They were advocating on behalf of Palestinians and protesting Israeli government policies towards the Palestinian people.
Many Christians saw their provocative protest as a welcome initiative to jump-start a dialogue around which Christians and Jews have tip-toed for too long. Jews, on the other hand, experienced the protest as a stinging, unexpected blow. By expressing solidarity with Muslims, the Bishops unfortunately appeared to distance themselves from Jews.
Whatever else you may say or feel about what they did, the three bishops have got us talking: Christians, Jews, and Muslims are talking these days. It is a delicate business, this talk. The terrain is tender, even to the slightest touch. Interestingly, it was the conflicting investments of Christians, Israelis and Palestinians in one particular place that led to this recent confrontation. That place was Bethlehem.
As one who has engaged in this talk with religious leaders and other representative groups, I have been reminded of something non-Christians call the “December dilemma.” Non-Christians – whether Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Hindus, Sikhs, or Buddhists – struggle each year as their children are exposed to Christmas parties, Christmas plays, Christmas music, and Christmas decorations in our public schools, as well as Nativity crèches on public squares and town greens: the “December dilemma.”
I thank God, and our forebears (who fought, and sometimes died, for religious freedom) that in the United States we are free to celebrate and express our faith, to our hearts’ content, in our churches. Our public schools, on the other hand, are reserved for education. There is a difference. Alas, too many Christians are untroubled by, or indifferent to, that difference.
Following the terrible events of September 11th, many of us committed ourselves to learning about other religions. This learning includes hearing, and being sensitive to, those things that cause pain to people of other faiths. In the context of public schools, Christmas parties, Christmas plays, and Christmas concerts are the cause of great pain to our sisters and brothers of other religious traditions.
As we enter the holy seasons of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Id Al-Fitr, and Christmas, I invite United Church of Christ pastors and parents to help bear the burden of informing – and challenging – public school teachers and administrators on these matters. Our children have always been free to learn about, celebrate, and express their faith in our churches. Let our schools do what they do best: provide forums where information is exchanged, inquiry is encouraged, differences are respected, and the intellectual adventure is nurtured.
Wishing you a profound Advent and a Merry Christmas.