Spirit of Christmas: Giving is About the Giver

I had to visit my own blog to see how long it has been since I last wrote and posted anything. Oops, it’s been four months. I see a need to improve my discipline for setting aside time for reflecting, creating and writing. That’s for another day. To the subject at hand.

I, together with a caring group of volunteers, am making preparations for an annual Christmas concert. It has become an annual tradition here in northwest Montana. What started as a simple Sunday afternoon in 2004 with just me at the piano, a few charts (music scores), and a couple hundred people filling a church sanctuary, has become an annual full-blown production in larger, rented venues.

The Spirit of Christmas Concert is now an evening of diverse musical styles, with performers of all ages and talents. In recent years I have shared the stage with another gifted pianist, a popular swing big band made up of 20 musicians (mostly horns), a top-notch Latin jazz band, young up-and-coming vocalists, seasoned vocalists, enormously talented high school choirs, a well respected church choir, and a few other hand-picked, highly talented music professionals with connections to the area. What I so deeply appreciate about all of them, beyond their talent, has been their willingness to perform with me, without any compensation. They do it for the same reason I do: giving of oneself for the sake of others.

The entire purpose of the annual concert, since 2007, is summarized in three points:

• Nurturing the Spirit of Christmas in everyone present;
• Building awareness of the plight of abused children in our area; and,
• Raising funds for deserving non-profit organizations in northwest Montana.

 

Since 2007 Flathead CASA for Kids has been the financial beneficiary, and we’ll take the stage for them again this year. CASA serves children who have been removed from their homes due to allegations of abuse and/or neglect. Nothing strikes my heart more painfully than the awareness of innocent, vulnerable children suffering at the hands of others. Through no fault of their own, they are forced to bear the brunt of very troubled adults. CASA volunteers become advocates for these children; a strong voice for the child in sometimes cold legal and court proceedings, helping make sure each child receives proper care, striving to ensure their needs are provided for, from the foster homes to school to medical needs to counseling.

The Spirit of Christmas Concert is not about me or the other performers on stage; the concert is about an entire community coming together for the sake of the children served by CASA. I believe the success of the concerts has less to do with the musical talent and abilities of myself and the other musicians, and more to do with the true Spirit of Christmas that fills the evening: giving of self for the sake of the other.

On May 20, 2001, author Stephen King gave the commencement address at Vassar College. King’s message was all about giving. Here’s an excerpt:

Giving isn’t about the receiver or the gift but the giver. It’s for the giver. One doesn’t open one’s wallet to improve the world, although it’s nice when that happens; one does it to improve one’s self…I give because it’s the only concrete way I have of saying that I’m glad to be alive and that I can earn my daily bread doing what I love. I hope that you will be similarly grateful to be alive and that you will also be glad to do whatever it is you wind up doing. Giving is a way of taking the focus off the money we make and putting [the focus] back where it belongs – on the lives we lead, the families we raise, the communities which nurture us.

Excerpted from a speech delivered by Stephen King at the Vassar College  commencement, May 20, 2001. Source: beliefnet.com

If you’re unfamiliar with what CASA for Kids does, this video offers a brief but good insight:

 

The difficult-to-face fact is, 197 children were served this past year by Flathead CASA for Kids; that’s just in this one District Court area, with Kalispell at the hub. According to Flathead CASA, the average annual cost to serve one child is $1,080.

The funds we raise through the concerts come from ticket sales, and corporate and private sponsors and donors. The sponsors and donors are hugely important, because it’s important to me to keep ticket prices low ($12 each). It allows more people from all income levels to experience the evening, and maybe more importantly, it helps everyone in attendance – no matter what social classes they find themselves in – put the focus of life back where it belongs: “on the lives we lead, the families we raise, the communities which nurture us.” Together we – each musician, volunteer, sponsor, donor, and audience member – are participating in something that not only celebrates life; we are participating in something that will outlive us.

As of this writing, we are working on securing sponsors and donors. If you feel so moved, please visit the concert’s web page for details on how you might participate with us as a sponsor or donor. You’ll notice the link takes you to a church website; the congregation has graciously designated the Spirit of Christmas Concert as an official ministry project.

For those living in the area or for those planning to be in the Flathead Valley of Montana on December 15, I hope you’ll join us for a wonderful evening in Kalispell. I think you’ll discover that the Spirit of Christmas Concert is not just a musical performance, it’s an experience; an experience that is difficult to define.

German poet Heinrich Heine wrote, “Where words leave off, music begins.” Much of the message of the evening, the message of the Spirit of Christmas, cannot be expressed in words alone, so we turn to the language of music.

Each of us is weathering economic uncertainties as best we can, but I am grateful for four walls surrounding me, a roof over my head, food on the table, and the love of family and friends. Many of the kids served by CASA can’t say the same, which is why I feel strongly about this project. It could be surmised that current economic uncertainties contribute to the high and increasing numbers of children served by CASA. Could I ask you to prayerfully consider what I’ve shared here, and give if you feel so moved?

Audience feedback the past couple years led us to decide to move this year’s concert closer to what I originally did. I’ll be on stage for the largest majority of the show. Joining me will be Penni Chisholm (a gifted pianist), a talented and musically diverse combo (drums, bass and guitar), church choir, and a couple young musicians. It will be relaxed, engaging, spirit-filled, and hope-filled evening full of music.

Tickets for the concert will go on sale the week after Thanksgiving. This is your invitation to join the experience.

Grace and peace,
Dave

Here’s a couple links where you’ll find more information:
Spirit of Christmas Concert web page
Spirit of Christmas Concert Facebook® Page

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