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American Morning

Interview With Sister Karol Jackowski, Rev. Dr. Forrest Church, Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood

Aired December 25, 2003 - 07:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Christmas is a time of year when people talk about peace and love. They show kindness not necessarily ordinarily seen the rest of the year. And many do something else that's pretty rare -- they think about their faith.
This morning we've brought in Sister Karol Jackowski, Dr. Forrest Church and also the Reverend Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood to help us explore the question -- what are we celebrating this Christmas?

Good morning all of you.

It's nice to see you.

SISTER KAROL JACKOWSKI, CATHOLIC NUN: Good morning.

REV. DR. FORREST CHURCH, ALL SOULS UNITARIAN CHURCH: Good morning.

REV. DR. JOHNNY RAY YOUNGBLOOD, ST. PAUL COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Sister, let's begin with you.

When you look at the year that has passed and you say illness, war, not only in Iraq, but around the globe, much sadness to talk about.

What do you celebrate? What's the upside of the year? What do you celebrate this Christmas?

JACKOWSKI: I think for me, and I think for most Christians, what I celebrate is how divine all of life's experiences can be. You know, we celebrate Christmas at the time of the winter solstice, the darkest night of the year, and we celebrate the birth of Christ to signify the light in the darkness. And I think it's a time, I think all of suffering tends to bring us, if we're believers, closer together. And at least I've found this with my colleagues.

It's been a difficult time in the Catholic Church. And it's the crisis that we experience, the suffering that we experience has served to bring us closer together. And I think that's what I sort of celebrate or my hope for people who find this an extremely difficult time of the year, that they can come together and be a source of support and kind of celebrate the community or the love that they have for one another. O'BRIEN: How about you, Reverend Church? It's hard to think we're at war and yet we're going to celebrate.

CHURCH: Well, Sister Karol mentioned the crisis atmosphere and there's a Chinese ideogram for the word crisis which has two little word pictures, danger and opportunity. And every crisis has both. Sometimes the shadow of the danger obscures the opportunity. But this is the time of year when we're supposed to look with big open eyes. And I should hope that the opportunity would become clear.

And that's our challenge. That's the essence of Christmas, is to awaken to our promise, the promise for hope, the promise for peace and the promise for love.

O'BRIEN: Where do you see opportunity, Reverend Youngblood?

YOUNGBLOOD: I see opportunity during this crisis period as, well, particularly from our pulpits to remind our people that in spite of all that's going on, somewhere god is at work. So it becomes our responsibility to kind of push the shepherds to go to Bethlehem and then to hope that in three years the Magi will show up.

O'BRIEN: I think this time of year, it's so difficult, because everyone, as much as we try to focus on the faith, you really end up focusing on the sprint to getting the Christmas presents bought and shipped out and sent so they arrive in time for Christmas, etc.

How do you counsel people, all of you, to remember what Christmas is really about? Because sometimes even though we try to do that, we're not really good at doing that. And me guilty more than anybody else, probably.

Reverend Church?

CHURCH: Well, one, unwrapping the present and just take a look at the present with two meanings. You have to unwrap the present, open the present, not tomorrow, which you're rushing to prepare for, or yesterday, which you're regretting the passing of and how much you boxed it up, but this present, this moment.

And, of course, the present is just filled a people whom you have an opportunity to love. And what a great day Christmas is when families are together. But when they're not, when people are alone, it's an opportunity for us to remember and reach out to our neighbors, because that is also our Christmas responsibility.

O'BRIEN: Reverend Youngblood, what do you advise people, how to remember about the meaning behind Christmas?

YOUNGBLOOD: Well, I have found from the prescription is one of the ways that you convince our people of anything is you kind of take it to the bible, you know? And you remind them that it's not about Santa Claus, you know, and you remind them that it's not about chestnuts roasting on an open fire and mistletoes, kissing, that that was not the first Christmas. And that way we're able to look at the fact that Mary and Joseph, in their own way, were homeless, but yet god was at work, that it was a time when business as usual was still going on, but god was at work in a unique place.

And that's the best way, you know? You try to keep them away from the indebtedness that occurs in December, because January is coming for the payback. And that's when people tend to declare bankruptcy.

O'BRIEN: Sister Karol Jackowski and Reverend Church and Reverend Youngblood, nice to have you weigh in on this for us this morning.

Thank you so much.

JACKOWSKI: Thank you.

Merry Christmas.

CHURCH: Merry Christmas to you.

YOUNGBLOOD: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Same to you.

Appreciate it.

We want to mention that our panel members are all accomplished authors, as well. Sister Karol's latest book, "The Silence We Keep," is due out in February. Reverend Church is the author of numerous books, including "The American Creed." And Reverend Youngblood is also the subject of the 1993 Harper Collins book "Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Church, Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood>


Aired December 25, 2003 - 07:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Christmas is a time of year when people talk about peace and love. They show kindness not necessarily ordinarily seen the rest of the year. And many do something else that's pretty rare -- they think about their faith.
This morning we've brought in Sister Karol Jackowski, Dr. Forrest Church and also the Reverend Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood to help us explore the question -- what are we celebrating this Christmas?

Good morning all of you.

It's nice to see you.

SISTER KAROL JACKOWSKI, CATHOLIC NUN: Good morning.

REV. DR. FORREST CHURCH, ALL SOULS UNITARIAN CHURCH: Good morning.

REV. DR. JOHNNY RAY YOUNGBLOOD, ST. PAUL COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Sister, let's begin with you.

When you look at the year that has passed and you say illness, war, not only in Iraq, but around the globe, much sadness to talk about.

What do you celebrate? What's the upside of the year? What do you celebrate this Christmas?

JACKOWSKI: I think for me, and I think for most Christians, what I celebrate is how divine all of life's experiences can be. You know, we celebrate Christmas at the time of the winter solstice, the darkest night of the year, and we celebrate the birth of Christ to signify the light in the darkness. And I think it's a time, I think all of suffering tends to bring us, if we're believers, closer together. And at least I've found this with my colleagues.

It's been a difficult time in the Catholic Church. And it's the crisis that we experience, the suffering that we experience has served to bring us closer together. And I think that's what I sort of celebrate or my hope for people who find this an extremely difficult time of the year, that they can come together and be a source of support and kind of celebrate the community or the love that they have for one another. O'BRIEN: How about you, Reverend Church? It's hard to think we're at war and yet we're going to celebrate.

CHURCH: Well, Sister Karol mentioned the crisis atmosphere and there's a Chinese ideogram for the word crisis which has two little word pictures, danger and opportunity. And every crisis has both. Sometimes the shadow of the danger obscures the opportunity. But this is the time of year when we're supposed to look with big open eyes. And I should hope that the opportunity would become clear.

And that's our challenge. That's the essence of Christmas, is to awaken to our promise, the promise for hope, the promise for peace and the promise for love.

O'BRIEN: Where do you see opportunity, Reverend Youngblood?

YOUNGBLOOD: I see opportunity during this crisis period as, well, particularly from our pulpits to remind our people that in spite of all that's going on, somewhere god is at work. So it becomes our responsibility to kind of push the shepherds to go to Bethlehem and then to hope that in three years the Magi will show up.

O'BRIEN: I think this time of year, it's so difficult, because everyone, as much as we try to focus on the faith, you really end up focusing on the sprint to getting the Christmas presents bought and shipped out and sent so they arrive in time for Christmas, etc.

How do you counsel people, all of you, to remember what Christmas is really about? Because sometimes even though we try to do that, we're not really good at doing that. And me guilty more than anybody else, probably.

Reverend Church?

CHURCH: Well, one, unwrapping the present and just take a look at the present with two meanings. You have to unwrap the present, open the present, not tomorrow, which you're rushing to prepare for, or yesterday, which you're regretting the passing of and how much you boxed it up, but this present, this moment.

And, of course, the present is just filled a people whom you have an opportunity to love. And what a great day Christmas is when families are together. But when they're not, when people are alone, it's an opportunity for us to remember and reach out to our neighbors, because that is also our Christmas responsibility.

O'BRIEN: Reverend Youngblood, what do you advise people, how to remember about the meaning behind Christmas?

YOUNGBLOOD: Well, I have found from the prescription is one of the ways that you convince our people of anything is you kind of take it to the bible, you know? And you remind them that it's not about Santa Claus, you know, and you remind them that it's not about chestnuts roasting on an open fire and mistletoes, kissing, that that was not the first Christmas. And that way we're able to look at the fact that Mary and Joseph, in their own way, were homeless, but yet god was at work, that it was a time when business as usual was still going on, but god was at work in a unique place.

And that's the best way, you know? You try to keep them away from the indebtedness that occurs in December, because January is coming for the payback. And that's when people tend to declare bankruptcy.

O'BRIEN: Sister Karol Jackowski and Reverend Church and Reverend Youngblood, nice to have you weigh in on this for us this morning.

Thank you so much.

JACKOWSKI: Thank you.

Merry Christmas.

CHURCH: Merry Christmas to you.

YOUNGBLOOD: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Same to you.

Appreciate it.

We want to mention that our panel members are all accomplished authors, as well. Sister Karol's latest book, "The Silence We Keep," is due out in February. Reverend Church is the author of numerous books, including "The American Creed." And Reverend Youngblood is also the subject of the 1993 Harper Collins book "Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Church, Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood>