1. The Lord shepherds me, I shall not want.
Psalms 23
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Three churches whose foundation is Christianity, coincide in their purpose of forming a community among their followers and striving to overcome the adversities of the times in which we live. With their own visions, they contribute their messages for the traditions or celebrations of the end of the year and each one invites different reflections.
The Catholic Church community announces the advent of Christmas with the custom of placing a wreath-shaped framework with four candles that light the four weeks leading up to the birth of Jesus. This wreath, which could later symbolize Christ’s crown of thorns, is a reminder of the triumph of life over death and the hope of resurrection.
The gathering around the table, next to the decorated pine tree, on the occasion of the Christmas Eve dinner, is a family celebration where gifts are given and also remembers those who have gone away. On the other hand, the Catholic Church fights every year to avoid excessive consumerism, remembering that Jesus was born in poverty, and seeking to exalt the values of his teachings.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses Church was founded in 1870, by Charles Taze Russel, in the United States. That pastor organized a community of biblical studies to initiate a millenarian current aimed at restoring Christianity and revising its dogmas. His teachings speak of prophecies and the need for humanity a transformation due to the collapse of social values of coexistence, growing violence, wars, epidemics, and environmental disasters.
For this parish, Christmas is not a specific date of celebration, since they affirm that the Bible in several passages does not reveal on what day Jesus was born. They point out that the time of that birth occurred when the shepherds slept outdoors with their flocks, that is, the week before Easter, and returned to shelter them until mid-November; apparently, he could not have been born in December. The celebration of the birth of Jesus in winter supplanted the ancient festivities of veneration to the cycle of the sun, as it happened for political reasons of the Roman Empire to unify the calendars.
These people of deep faith, daily dedicate themselves to studying the Bible and promoting this activity among their neighbors. It is common for them to go from house to house, with impeccable appearance and kindness, to invite to this conscious reading of the scriptures and the studies derived from them through hundreds of publications in print or accessible free to everyone through their website. They themselves affirm that these studies offer answers to current problems. If the reading is done in-depth, it raises the quality of life, removes suffering and one can aspire to a life of happiness among its practitioners.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, in the state of New York. According to its precepts, it is the original church of Jesus and his apostles restored. They affirm that the resurrected Nazarene appeared in America long before the arrival of the Europeans and offered teachings to several prophets that Smith recovered in a new religious book considered sacred. One of those prophets was Mormon, and that is why this congregation is known colloquially as the Mormons.
The teachings gathered by Joseph Smith coexist harmoniously with the scriptures of the Bible and are studied in this community on a daily basis. All these readings are available for free download through Internet sites such as the Church of Jesus Christ.
This community has been transformed over the years and, today coexists with the secular laws of each country where there is a representative church. One of their fundamental principles is to be good citizens, and it is common to see their missionaries on the streets, two by two, like the first apostles. They have affirmed that they do not reject any person because of their orientation or preferences as they have been questioned.
They are recognized for their defense of the family and their services to the community. They celebrate Christmas in a particular way: they make donations, work for the benefit of the environment, and love for the neighbor, as it appears on their YouTube channel and in their page mormon.org.
At Del Pueblo Funeral Home we want to offer a message of peace and encourage good coexistence: we believe that knowledge attracts tolerance. We defend the freedom of beliefs, and we aspire to total inclusion in order to have prosperity in the new cycles to begin. Thus, we remind you that we make the most difficult moments easy.
