What Christmas Should Be About

Here's what Christmas should be about (and if you can't figure out why, you need to read more about Jesus). Congregation Sha'ar Zahav was founded to serve the LGBT Jewish community in San Francisco, which has made it the target of the both anti-Semitic and homophobic attacks (yes, even in San Francisco).

After the recent shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue, it (understandably) became a bit anxious. However, a Mennonite congregation, which uses the Sha'ar Zahav building on Sundays, volunteered to stand vigil outside during Sha'ar Zahav's Friday evening services. Sha'ar Zahav's rabbi remarked, "I'll take 20 Mennonites over one armed security guard any day." (Christian Century, December 5th, p. 8).

We could learn a lot from the Mennonites (if we'd just pay attention).