‘Snäll Kalendern’
I bought an advent calendar while on a recent brief visit to lead services in Stockholm. I like advent calendars, as they are a neat wait to keep a dark month exciting, but I must admit it’s not something I normally do. This one however, was different. It didn’t have chocolates, toys, miniature gin or beauty products in it. Instead, every day encourages you to do something ‘snällt’ , something kind or thoughtful. And interestingly, it is written by children, for children, as part of an anti-bullying campaign.
One of my favourites is by Gry, who suggested that as many people do not feel welcome in big groups, it’s a good idea to meet with them earlier to help ease them in. Olle suggests litter picking your local street so that it looks lovely, Lovisa reminds us to praise someone if they have done something good, and Farzad suggests sending video messages to someone you miss. The calendar is full of lovely ideas for helping others and looking after yourself, and it is a reminder of the power of small acts of kindness. They can make a big difference to others but, as we know, in helping others we can also help remind ourselves of the good in the world. I do wonder what a Chanukah kindness calendar might look like, what we would write to help us show more kindness to family, neighbours, friends or the planet?
One act of kindness that we are encouraging is to help in the amazing work to help give the recently arrived asylum seekers in Muswell Hill a chance to find their feet and begin living a normal life. One way you can help is to volunteer for a couple of hours on a Sunday so that the families can use the church kitchen and cook their own food. They are housed in accommodation without kitchens and can therefore only receive food, rather than be able to cook what they prefer. The volunteer’s job is just to be on site, and we encourage you to go as a team of two. If you are interested, please email sandra@crouchendchavurah.org who will put you in touch with the organisers.
The other way we can help is to raise money for these Sundays, which enables families to do what we all take for granted, which is to be able to choose what to eat and make it ourselves. There will be a jar for collections on Sunday at the Chanukah party.
We hope to see you on Sunday, to celebrate Chanukah together with games, crafts, donuts and fun. Please do make sure that you follow the Covid guidelines of doing a lateral flow test before you come, not to come if you have any symptoms, and wear a mask so that we can look after each other and bring more light in a time of darkness.