UMTV Brief

Claus Country Intro:

 Welcome to UMTV’s Web Brief; I’m Reed Galin.

Christmas has become so commercialized in this country that it almost drowns out the true meaning of the holiday. That’s not the case in a small Indiana town where a United Methodist church can’t escape the spirit of the season. In fact, the church reflects on Christmas year-round. Reed Galin reports.

Claus Country Story :

If you've ever doubted Santa Claus exists, then you've never been here, to Santa Claus, Ind. In this tiny town of 2,000, old St. Nick reigns supreme. He has his own cleaners’, video store and ZIP Code.  And get this; he even has his own congregation.

Pastor David Blystone, Santa Claus (Ind.) United Methodist Church:  "It's unique.  Not everybody lives in a place called Santa Claus."

With all the festivities this time of year, it's easy to understand why the town of Santa Claus –and the United Methodist church that bears the same name – are both in the limelight.

Pastor Blystone: "I don't think that affects us as far as what we do and who we are, other than it's a name."

But don't tell that to this guy. Surprisingly, the community has yet to lose perspective.

Pastor Blystone: "Could we easily fall into focusing on Santa? Yes, we could, but we're pretty intentional that's not what we're about."

In fact, dozens of church volunteers, who call themselves Santa's Elves, take on the monumental task of handling the big guy's mail every year – some 10,000 letters. They deliver a very special message.

Pat Koch, Santa's Elves Organizer: "Keep on being good, mind your parents, eat well, say your prayers."

As Christmas draws near, the spirit of the holiday radiates with the true reason for the season. 

Pastor Blystone: "This is about the birth of Jesus Christ and that's what we want to focus on."

Tag/ Grandmother’s Gift (Commentary) Intro: 

The spirit of the season is about rejoicing, giving and showing love for one another.  This next story, a childhood memory, encompasses all aspects of the holiday. United Methodist Ray Buckley, a member of the Lakota/Tlingit tribes, reflects on the strength of love and the power of forgiveness.

Grandmother’s Gift (Commentary)

My grandmother … As a child, I remember a very awkward situation in which we were going – she was going – to give food to people that needed food. And on the way back, this was October, and we were walking through the snow and my grandmother always wore moccasins. And, when she and I were coming back, we were at a grove of trees and there were three young white men, probably in their 20s, and they stopped us and they pushed her down in the snow. And when she tried to get up, they hit her in the face.

Laughingly, they took our coats and they took my grandmother's moccasins. The thing I remember most about it was that she went to the sink and she filled water and after she had washed our faces to wipe away the blood, she took the water and she splashed it over her face and her hair and took her hands and patted her shoulders and her hips, and then had me come and do the same with my hands. It was her way of saying, “What just happened to me, I'm washing away. I can't undo what was done, but this is a sacred act of beginning anew.”

Over the next few months, she beaded three beautiful pairs of moccasins, and at the tops and the sides and the flaps and even the bottoms, which is really unheard of. We went to the top of the hill that looked down on where they lived, and we went and knocked on the door and the man opened the door and he didn't say a word. And my grandmother said, "I have some presents for your sons." And we walked into the house and my grandmother handed each boy a pair of moccasins and she said, "Merry Christmas; God bless you."

I remember how light my heart was inside. My grandmother stood up very, very tall and it was like the heaviness off of her shoulders was gone. There was a spiritual beginning to the process that determined her action, and so she determined that she would live in a manner that was sacred, regardless of what happened to her. For as long as those young men lived, they would never be able to get away from the memory. Not of striking an old woman, but an old woman who gave them a gift. And as such, she created a growth in them and liberated herself.

Christmas Carving Intro:

Early Christian missionaries regarded totem poles as pagan idols and suggested that Pacific Northwest Indians stop making them, even destroy those that existed. Retired United Methodist pastor David Fison thought that was a mistake, and he’s spent the better part of his retirement trying to fix it.  As Kim Reimland reports, he’s telling the Christmas story through a traditional Native perspective.

Christmas Carving Story:

For centuries, totem poles have stood as recorded histories. In the absence of written language, they passed important stories between generations. That’s why, after spending years pastoring Alaskan congregations, retired United Methodist pastor David Fison felt called to carve what he considers one of the greatest stories ever told.

David Fison: “I felt the Christmas story should be told in a totem pole.“

With a slab of cedar from Ketchikan, and hours of research into Native Alaskan history, the Rev. Fison began to tell the story as he thinks the Natives would have.

David Fison: “This is trying to recapture how it might have been if someone had been sensitive enough to their culture and said to a carver, ‘Let’s translate the Christmas story.’”

Because angels weren’t familiar to the culture, the Rev. Fison chose Raven, the messenger of the Great Chief of the heavens, to tell the Indian maid, Mary, she’d be mother of the Messiah.

Joseph holds a paddle to signify the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

David Fison: “When they traveled between villages, they always traveled by dugout canoe, so that’s symbolic of that journey.”

Many of the characters take different forms than most of us know, but the story itself is the same.

David Fison: “To me it was a great spiritual experience.”

It’s one that a retired minister felt honored to tell, to take its place among the other significant stories of a proud and rich culture. In Anchorage, Alaska, I’m Kim Riemland reporting.

Tag:

Small reproductions of the Christmas totem pole are now found all over the world, including in the Vatican. The Rev. Fison also carved the Easter story into a totem pole, which now stands in the sanctuary of the church he attends.

Tease next week:

On the next UMTV Web Brief, ways to simplify your life.

“Everything I own is in this space. This is it.”

Thanks for watching; make it a good week.