What does it mean to be a practising Christian in this age of commercialism and declining church attendance?
The lights, the minimally decorated tree and a string of cards on the opposite wall are three-fifths of the Christmas decorations in the Lohreys’ East Ringwood home. As well, on a sideboard, there’s a little group of terracotta statuettes in a nativity scene and a large, similarly themed card over the piano. These are reminders to the children of what this season is really about. The Lohreys are committed Christians, active members of their local Uniting Church, and next year Kellie, 37, will return to work as a religious education teacher at Luther College in Croydon Hills. Like many parents they struggle with the modern concept of an increasingly commercialised Christmas and its muddied meaning, but their abiding faith adds another degree of difficulty to the annual balancing act. ”It seems as soon as the grand final’s over they start putting all the Christmas stuff in the shops,” says Andrew, 38. ”It’s turned into a secular holiday. It’s why the Americans don’t say ‘Merry Christm
