To have written to the school about the Christmas shoebox scheme?

[gastrognome]

Just had a look through the leaflet sent home from DD1's school about the Christmas shoebox scheme that they are involved in.

Turns out the organisation adds religious literature to the boxes before they are distributed.

I love the idea of filling and sending a Christmas shoebox for somebody less privileged than us, but I really don't like the fact that these schemes are used as a means to evangelise. Of course Christmas is by its very nature a Christian festival but I don't think that it's right to "spread the word" by stealth.

So I just wrote to DD's school and suggested that next year they look for a similar scheme that isn't so evangelical in nature. I said I'd be happy to help research any organisations they could work with.

Do any others feel the same way, or have I turned into Scrooge?

I've just checked the random big of paper languishing behind my bread bin and found that this year dd1's school is using a company called blythswood whom I don't think have been mentioned.
Just wondered if anyone has any knowledge of them? ( phone playing up can't use Internet browser.)

It's only a bit of paper, isn't it? They can always throw it away :)

"to have religion foisted upon them"

From shoe boxes to religion - it's all about peer pressure.

"EVERY SHOE BOX ... A GOSPEL OPPORTUNITY"

in their own words

Every box you pack represents one more child who will have the opportunity to hear the Good News of God?s love.

Just a piece of paper?

whole box is wrapped (so not the box and lid separately) so they can't add literature or take out or put in things.

Do you really think they wouldn't open it?

Just to reiterate, I was responding to the accusation that if you celebrate and give gifts on the 25th December, you're hypocritical. 'Christmas' under that name might be Christian but giving gifts, feasting, having a tree, kissing under the mistletoe, 12th night etc, NOTHING to do with Christianity and millions of people celebrate using exactly the same things as you, doing the same traditional things and it's nothing to do with Christianity.

Towndon, you've got it the wrong way round. The celebrations, trees, feasting, 12 days of celebration, yule logs etc all came first. Christianity didn't borrow from other religions and traditions, it appropriated them. The festival was already there.

Nowt wrong with however you choose to celebrate. I celebrate Yuletide personally and it predates Christianity by a long way.

Lady I'm assuming that you mean Link Romania who are a Christian organisation but who don't put any additional materials in the boxes and are very specific that they should be given out to the poorest with no conditions attached. I did mention them earlier in the thread and can whole heartedly recommend them.

I think that you're right to question the whole idea of carting goods round the world, but I have to say that for us (we distribute for Link Romania but to be clear I'm not speaking on behalf of them in any official capacity) it's something that we do alongside our other longer term projects which are aimed either at meeting people's immediate needs or helping them to lift themselves out of poverty. Some people prefer to give 'stuff' and this is an opportunity for them to do that, and people really do appreciate receiving it. Most people here feel abandoned and forgotten about and it really touches them that someone went to effort of thinking about them enough to send something.

thanksamillion yes that is what i meant - thankyou Hadn't read your post mentioning them but read somewhere else that they don't put literature in so we thought we would give through them this year as their ethos appealed to us (i am a Christian but DH is not and he didn't want the indoctrination with leaflets that OCC do) DD really enjoys helping me do one and choosing things that she likes to go in for the children, it's great to make them aware how fortuante they are.

That's what I said Obviously some belief systems predate others. Christians did copy the pagan calendar for some things. We can't go back in history, and present-day Christians aren't responsible for that, just as those of us alive now were not responsible for the British Empire and can't really apologise for it as we weren't there.

Christians years ago did copy some aspects of paganism (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery). But this doesn't in any way make the Christian celebration of Christmas invalid (Jesus was a real historical person even if you don't believe he was God, and the historical events/people such as the star, the census, the Magi, the shepherds etc. were not pagan).

"Towndon, you've got it the wrong way round. The celebrations, trees, feasting, 12 days of celebration, yule logs etc all came first."

thanksamillion
Projects that at least limit their distribution to Europe and have no ulterior motive are a good alternative to OCC.

It is a shame that there are so many schools and organisations working with OCC and this gives the whole idea a bad name.

The carting stuff around the world is of course still a problem, but at least Romania is still in Europe.

I don't see anything wrong with "a gospel opportunity".

The "gospel" is not sinister - at its heart is "love your neighbour as yourself". And the leaflet is just an opportunity, which people can easily refuse.

I too have emailed the head at ds's school voicing my concerns. It is a CofE school so I am not hopeful......it's not the Christian message I am against, its the fact that they use this gift as a conversion tool.

It's not very christian is it to only give gifts to the needy if they believe what you believe......

towndon I've said it a couple of times already on this thread - do you think it is fair to give these leaflets to young children (as opposed to adults with more independence of mind)?

Wellies I have no problem with children hearing about Christianity, at school, church, home or anywhere else. Personally I am very much against the fundamentalist wings of any belief, but I believe in freedom of speech. So it's hard to say whether I'd agree with children receiving the leaflet, or not

Does anyone have a sample leaflet they can scan/show us?

But they don't have to accept the beliefs to receive the gifts.

"It's not very christian is it to only give gifts to the needy if they believe what you believe......"

As others have said, this doesn't even have to be about being anti-Christian, or denying the Christmas/Christian connection. It's about not choosing to line the pockets of a certified bigot like Franklin Graham. All charities are not alike! The dreadful statements that that man has made are completely incompatible with a Christian message of charity and love.

Towndon
So of your child came home with a leaflet and presents given to him by Muslim/jewish/Hindu/Mormon activists, you wouldn't object.

This is not about giving children who live in a Christian society the leaflets but about the dangers of doing this in predominately Muslim countries. Which could of course lead to heightened cultural tension.

Do you think that Muslims in Afghanistan would take this well?

Dr Northerner: my school is a C of E school too and they responded to parents' concerns and abandoned the project (redirecting the shoeboxes to a local charity).

It would depend on the content. I'd veto anything fundamentalist in nature, but wouldn't object to something about another religion - after all they learn about all religions in school. But I haven't seen the nature of the leaflet yet, which is why I asked if anyone could show us one?

"So of your child came home with a leaflet and presents given to him by Muslim/jewish/Hindu/Mormon activists, you wouldn't object."

By the way I'm a supporter of Christian Aid, who help the world's poorest people regardless of race or religion :)

This is the material used in their follow-up evangelism sessions with children who have received the boxes:

content.yudu.com/Library/A1u3hl/TheGreatestJourneycu/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.samaritans-purse.org.uk%2Fthe-greatest-journey

Attendance is often linked to giving out further gifts, food etc.

Remember that the leaflet should be read with the perspective that the reader is not usually a 'non-believer in a Christian country' but often an observant member of another faith, particularly Islam as the founder of the movement has a particular view about Muslims.

Wow, not read all ten pages, just a few as there's so many. I just wanted to say this thread makes me feel incredibly sad that some people would rather see children going without much presents at Christmas just because they take umbrage with the fact it is a Christian charity doing it.
Christianity at Christmas?! Shock, horror! Christmas is celebrated as a Christian 'festival', so like it or not, it will have Christian involvement!
What's so wrong with spreading the story behind Christmas anyway? Better that than those who celebrate Christmas just because they don't believe but pick and choose which bits they do want - ie they'll believe if it means getting presents and stuffing their faces with chocolates and mince pies, but stick their fingers in their ears when it comes to the meaning behind it.
Children are just that, children - they will not give a flying monkeys about a little leaflet in their shoebox, they won't even bloody notice it! They'll just be happy and excited that they have some presents in the first place!
It's the adults getting their knickers in a twist that have the problem, not the little children who have probably never even clocked the fact there's a leaflet in there in the first place!

Forgot to add I now feel like doing a hundred boxes instead of the two I am doing to overcompensate for the amount of Scrooges out there.

Towndon, I think if you have a look at a few pages of the Operation Christmas Child's website, you will see the difference between their methods and objectives, and those of a genuine humanitarian charity with a Christian ethos, like Christian Aid.

For example, this page on Filipino children living on a garbage dump - OCC Impact. Yes, the children who receive boxes may go home with a smile on their faces. But the random stuff they get in the boxes is unlikely to include shoes or clothing that fits (one of the things mentioned as being what they might wish for) or anything that will actually make a difference to their grim lives. Instead the big prize is seen as the introduction to Jesus .

I would imagine that if a more humanitarian-focused charity were actually trying to do something for these children, they might provide healthcare, educational opportunities, and possibly locally bulk-bought clothing/footwear/school materials, rather than a box of miscellaneous stuff shipped half way across the world, and a glossy leaflet about God's love.