“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” 

Given the recent announcement from the PHO that the restrictions currently in place will carry us through the Christmas holidays, I found myself reflecting on the phrase used in a popular Christmas song, “I’ll be home for Christmas.” More than ever, that statement holds true this year. In fact my home is the only home I will see this Christmas. I will admit, as much as I anticipated that this would be the direction the PHO would take, it was still disappointing and it certainly impacted my mood the day it was announced. 

However, the next morning and for the rest of the week, I woke up deciding to focus instead on what I can be grateful for instead of focussing on what has been taken away. I get to celebrate Christmas in my home. That may seem simple enough but upon reflection that is not something to be taken for granted. How many people in this world of ours cannot say that? Be it that they are in a hospital, in a prison, in a work camp, or homeless, many people are not so fortunate to be able to say that they can celebrate Christmas in their home. Instead of dwelling on the fact that I cannot see my extended family, I thought about how lucky I am that my extended family all lives in the Fraser Valley and most within a 25 minute drive. How many families can say that? For some, their family may be stuck in another country. I can at least drive by my family’s house and we can chat from a distance outside. 

It is worth noting that your children will pick up your emotions and state of mind. They are sponges. While it is hard, in fact there is nothing easy about being a parent and certainly nothing easy about being a parent in a pandemic, I think it is imperative that we teach our children to acknowledge their feelings and that yes it will be hard having a different Christmas, but there is still much to be thankful for. Help them to see the blessings in their life by first modelling for them the gratitude you have for your blessings. 

While I have written about gratitude before, it is worth writing about often. Some even suggest keeping a gratitude journal to experience more genuine joy in your life. I know that by reflecting on gratitude in this piece, I feel better. So perhaps, if we all take steps towards gratitude for the blessings we have, then we might all feel a bit better. 

From December 14 to 18 our school will be celebrating our Christmas Cheer in Covid19 safe ways! Our Christmas Cheer Committee has created activities and themes for each day. Check it out by clicking the link:

St. Jude Christmas Extravaganza Week

Monday: Uniform bottoms, Christmas top (ugly sweater, christmas theme shirts)

Tuesday: Uniforms with funky hat/hair styles (elf hats, santa hats, think crazy hair from the Grinch)

Wednesday: Uniforms with Christmas socks

Thursday: Uniforms not required: Dress as a christmas/winter character you like (all white? Snowman! Brown shirt? Reindeer! Red suit? Santa!)

Friday: Non-uniform day, red and green colors

On Friday, Dec 18th, the Patriot’s Club will only be in operation until 3:00pm.  Thank you. 

I find this prayer to be most helpful and I think you might too:

With the current restrictions in place with respect to Covid19, the school has cancelled the Christmas Concert as well as any Orchestra Concerts. However, we know that parents want to see their children perform and as a Catholic school, Christmas is an incredibly important season for us. 

We are going to be recording our students performing Christmas poems that they are reciting. We are also working with our Orchestra to record them performing. We hope that the video recordings will be viewed by parents and relatives and may offer you a source of joy this season. 

The 2021 donation envelopes are ready to be picked up from the church. Please call the parish at (604) 434-6700 to arrange a time for pick up. While in-person liturgies are suspended, the parish values your contributions to maintaining the church. Thank you. 

Follow St. Jude Parish on Facebook at @stjudesvan

Gr. 6 learns about the Infancy Narrative in the Gospels. 

Gr. 5 students explore art mediums to create images honoring the birth of Christ.

Students learn about the symbolism of the Advent wreath candles. 

This is a reminder that parents need to take the time to do the Daily Check every day. It is important that we remain committed to taking our COVID19 procedures seriously. Click here to access the form.