The messages below are the children's responses to the question "If you could give anything you wanted, what would you give to the church, our city, our country or our world for Christmas?"
Calli:
I would give money to the church for Christmas. I would give the children of Baker City a lot of candy and toys for Christmas. I would give our country books to read for Christmas this year. I would give our world food and peace for Christmas.
Bryson:
For the church, I would give a fun event with another church for Christmas. I would give Baker City no more violence for Christmas. I would give our country hope for Christmas. I would give the world new safety laws for Christmas.
Cory:
I would give money to the church for Christmas. I would give extra food and clothes to the less fortunate families of Baker City for Christmas. I would give lots of care to our country for Christmas this year. I would give food and have all the soldiers go back to their families for Christmas this year.
Eleanor:
I will give the church and its community kindness and I will prove it by helping others whenever I can. And I promise I will try my very best to make it a reality.
Patrick:
I would give the church love by helping other people. I would give the church a party. And I would bring ice cream and cake.
Danny:
I would give the people of Baker City all a home and food. I would raise money so people could buy food and a home. I would get the food by a canned food drive.
Evan:
I would do a canned food drive for the church and give money to the church for the bills.
Bryan:
I would make an efficient way to create energy so global warming won't happen and we can save the North and South poles. By reducing energy use the ozone will stop disappearing, therefore saving thousands of animals in the poles that God loves and created. Plus I like polar bears.
Tanya:
I would give the church love and help people rely on each other. I want people to feel good and happy by giving my friendship.
Dru:
I would like world peace so no more lives would be lost and no more robberies and for everyone to get at least one thing for Chirstmas.
Anna:
I would like to give peace and feed the hungry, and I would like to give money to the poor for Christmas.
Alyssa:
I would give everyone food on Christmas. I would also give every kid a cookie. Little kids would be so happy to get a teddy bear on Christmas morning.
Allison:
If I could give the world anything for Christmas, it would be tolerance and undestanding. It seems the majority of the problems in the world are created because people listen only to themselves, instead of trying to understand it from another's point of view, fearing differences and discriminating against them, instead of embracing and learning from them.
Lucas:
Help the scientists finally discover a cure for hurricanes and help them have an easy time administering their cure, so there are no more Wilmas, Ritas or Katrinas.
Sarah:
I would give the world patience to deal with each other. If we had patience, we would be able to talk and work out our differences. If we could just talk about stuff, we might not start wars.
Charlie:
For Christmas this year, I would love to give the world peace. I know how "Miss America" that sounds, but I genuinely mean it. I want the peace Lei Garcia spoke of, where children can play outside and be happy without being afraid of anything. I would give the world the biblical perfection that Pastor Susan spoke of last week, so that AIDS isn't a concern, war correspondents are unnecessary, and no one is hungry. I would give the world the peace of Christ.
Jamie:
I would give every person in the world a pair of shoes. I know that sounds a little material and unreligious but hear me out. This isn't a normal pair of shoes. These shoes have a theme. Each pair would have pictures of another family from a different culture. As a world, we tend to overlook our different cultures and jump to conclusions about the positions others take on political and religious issues. Understanding that is what we need. Put yourself in that culture's shoes and walk around in them. See the issues from a different perspective. So if anyone loses sight of this vital understanding, those shoes will be looking straight up at them, reminding that person to understand God's children.
Morgan:
To the church: I would like to give a big Christmas tree with presents for everyone. For Baker City : I would like to give everyone a big Christmas dinner. For the country: I would like for every family to be complete and the whole family be home for the holidays. For the world: I would like for everyone to wake up and know that they are safe and they can live a normal life.
Let us all work to put these visions into action, not just at Christmas, but all year long. Amen.
First Presbyterian Church