Our guest speaker at the Club Christmas Dinner, Salvation Army Captain and former Rotarian Rob van Abs, began by asking “what is Christmas all about?” Rob said it can be a challenging question for many to answer. The Warehouse will tell us one thing, Noel Leeming will tell us something else, and K Mart will tell something else again. So, who do we believe? Children will often tell us which one to believe because they know exactly what they want for Christmas, as for many of them, it is all about what is under the tree that counts. We see flier after flier coming through our mail boxes, Christmas trees becoming bigger and brighter, presents bigger than they used to be, and yet the demographics in our communities indicate, the poor are becoming poorer and the rich are becoming. Rob suggested that it can be useful to think in terms of the Rotary 4-way test: is it the TRUTH, is it FAIR to all concerned, will it build GOODWILL, and will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned. Today, in communities around Dunedin there will be hundreds of Christmas food parcels being delivered from various community groups to those who will struggle to put food on the table, let alone presents under the tree for children. Working with people in the community who struggle to put their lives together has prompted Rob to ask “what would the essentials of Christmas look like? If we threw away all the wrapping paper and tinsels and just kept a basic Christmas tree, “would a meal around a table on Christmas day with family and friends, not gives us a better Christmas?” Rob concluded his Christmas message by noting the strong relationship between the Salvation Army and Rotary throughout the world and thanking Rotarians for the good work done and the care and compassion shown to others in the community. Robs parting pray was that we all have a great Christmas, “not because of something big and beautiful, but something that is inside of us all that you can’t replace with anything physical”. Peter Thomson |
