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December 13, 2004
"Finding Christmas"
Recently I received an e-mail from a woman who had heard that
Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis was not allowing any celebration of
Christmas for fear of offending non-Christian employees or patients. The
e-mail went on to complain about how our United Methodist Church is
"taking Christ out of Christmas."
I was pretty sure she was wrong about Methodist Hospital, but I
forwarded her e-mail on to Dan Evans, the President/CEO of Clarian
Health Partners which includes Methodist Hospital. Dan is an active
United Methodist layman and a member of Meridian Street UMC in
Indianapolis, and he is someone I have gotten
to know and appreciate this year. I said to Dan, "I am sure she is
wrong, but how can I answer her?"
Dan wrote a wonderful answer, which he allowed me to share with the
woman. She was reassured by his response, and his response made me proud
to be a United Methodist. I share excerpts with you, because Dan
describes the ways in which we all can find Christmas this year.
"Dear Bishop:
After reading your message last night, I decided to tour the
hospital this morning looking for signs of the meaning of
[Christmas] as a Christian holiday. Those signs abound everywhere I
went.
The cross shines brightly on the Methodist Hospital lighthouse
overlooking the City. It is decorated in traditional Christmas
lights. NOBODY can enter the downtown areas without seeing this
bright symbol of our faith and season we celebrate. The entire
campus is surrounded on the exterior with traditional Christmas
lightning. These decorations extend for blocks and blocks and are
seen by tens of thousands of people a day. As you enter the main
lobby of the hospital, you are greeted by a large...very
large...cr?he. The Baby Jesus greets all of our visitors. In fact,
His is the first face you see as you enter the building. A few yards
away is a Christmas tree and a few yards beyond that is a Christmas
Toyland for children. Santa's chair is all set up and we think he
will be here soon. Every hallway I walked had trees or poinsettias
or both. I greeted an employee wearing a Santa hat as she entered
her work area and she, in fact, said "Merry Christmas" to me.
More than that, on Christmas day I will be here personally
greeting patients and thanking the employees, Christian and non
Christian, for doing the Lord's work on a day when the vast majority
of our brothers and sisters are at home. We will have nearly a
thousand patients in the downtown hospitals on that day, the
emergency room will be fully staffed and busy, the surgical suites
will be handling trauma cases, and literally thousands of employees
will be caring for patients in the spirit of the Day, just as they
do every day.
Yes, we have Christian and non Christian employees and patients.
We must be respectful of these differences 365 days a year. Respect
is a profound part of the healing process and it is what we are all
about. No doubt whatever this laywoman heard or thinks derives out
of some misinterpretation of our diversity. However, even the most
casual visitor cannot miss the signs of our roots and meaning this
Christmas season.
Dan Evans"
I appreciate Dan's reminder that Christmas is found not just in the
decorations and festivities of the season, but in the ways we minister
to persons in the name and spirit of Christ. That is where we will find
Christmas.
from Bishop Michael J. Coyner
Indiana Area of the United Methodist
Church
"Making a Difference ... in Indiana
and around the world"
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