read by W. Norman Cooper

This week includes Christmas and we wish you a joyous and holy holiday season. Writing in the Friends Journal, its editor, Susan Corson-Finnerty, has said:

Hope was born in that stable in Bethlehem--hope that the world can be a better place, that justice and mercy can prevail, and that we can live with each other in peace. God's gift to us was a message of love and hope. In this time of deadly bitter animosity even in the land of Jesus' birth, perhaps we might best reflect on Jesus' reminder to us that "In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40), and seek out ways to ease others' suffering and find and share our joy. Susan Corson-Finnerty, (Editor-Manager) Friends Journal December 2000 p 2