(Read at Tallahassee.com here OR listen to an audio recording of the program HERE.) It’s time once again to queue up the annual media spectacular known as “The War on Christmas.”

Americans don’t see eye-to-eye about the role of faith in public life and it’s that time of year when that disagreement reaches a dull roar, often so loud that you can barely make out the “peace on earth, goodwill to men” we might otherwise be sharing.

The Village Square has now officially waded into the treacherous waters where faith meets the public square with our monthly forum “Faith, Food, Friday.” Thankfully, we have the good help of local clergy we’re calling the “God Squad.” On Dec. 9, they facilitated a lunchtime conversation on the “December Dilemma” before a packed house at First Baptist Church.

Turns out the “Squad” thinks that if there is a war on Christmas, it might be a little close to home for comfort.

Sure, Pastor Darrick McGhee of Bible Based Church wants to put Christ back in Christmas, but he was thinking more about consumerism than the courthouse lawn.

“Think about the day after Thanksgiving,” he said. “We’re up at midnight shopping trying to get the best deals, if it means hitting somebody with a stun gun to get that thing. But if you didn’t do any of those things, could you still maintain the joy that comes from the purpose behind why we celebrate that day?”

The Rev. Dave Killeen, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, said Christmas has been “if it is, it’s been under attack for a very long time since we’ve turned it into this huge commercial holiday. I think it’s important for us to keep in mind in the Christmas story itself how marginal the holy family was.”

“It’s very important for us to be mindful that we are a culture of people who are intertwined together and we have to co-exist,” McGhee added.

Turns out that something as simple as awareness in school scheduling around the Jewish High Holidays would go far in promoting a little neighborly understanding.

And speaking of understanding, according to Rabbi Jack Romberg of Temple Israel, “Hanukkah doesn’t even make the top ten of holidays in terms of religious significance on the Jewish calendar. If you’re serious about wanting to learn about Judaism, learn about Yom Kippur, learn about what the process of repentance really means to a Jew.”

“Repentance can be a bridge in our relationship, but we never get to that,” said the Rev. Fran Buhler of First Baptist Church, which is hosting the forums. “We’re too busy with all the things that separate us. And we’re afraid that if we come across this divide and treat someone else like a human being and like a neighbor, that somehow we’re going to lose our religion.”

If these four men are any measure, when we step away from our television sets we might find the American “family” celebrating this season with a fair amount of goodwill across religious differences. Romberg played Joseph in his kindergarten Christmas pageant and caroled enthusiastically with his Christian neighbors as a boy. Buhler lived in a heavily Jewish neighborhood in his young married years where he invited his neighbors to trim his Christmas tree. His Jewish friends reciprocated with bar mitzvah invitations.

“One of the best things we can do in this world is just to get to know each other, just to be around each other, just to talk and not worry so much about the walls and approach people as people,” reflected Buhler.

So how does one greet someone during the War on Christmas? It’s possible we’re a little overly worried about that particular question.

According to audience member Mark Palmer, executive director of the Humanists of Florida Association, the vast majority of atheists take no offense to “Merry Christmas” as a greeting, instead seeing it as an important expression of free speech.

“That’s one of the wonderful things about this country,” said Palmer. “Let’s share our differences of beliefs, let’s agree to disagree and love each other despite it.”

Romberg instructed his congregants in attendance, “If you are secure with who you are, then who cares how you’re greeted.”

Killeen thought Episcopalians might have an easy out as liturgical Christians. “A blessed Advent to you” could contribute a little unexpected lightness to the greeting mix.

“December is only a dilemma if you let it become a dilemma,” said McGhee. “What’s most important for us all to remember is that ‘the greatest of all these is love.’ As much as you may have under the Christmas tree, please remember there is a person who is trying to find a place to lay their head on a cold night in December in Tallahassee.”

Buhler believes Christians have an obligation to be sensitive to those who don’t share their beliefs, even in their Christmas season greetings. “I don’t feel that I’m rejecting Jesus or neglecting Jesus when I do that,” he said.

Besides, he added, “’tis the season to be civil.”

— Liz Joyner is executive director of The Village Square, which sponsors “Faith, Food, Friday,” a free public forum that meets one Friday a month during the school year at First Baptist Church. The Village Square is dedicated to growing civil discourse across the partisan divide. For information on coming dates and topics, go online to www.tothevillagesquare.org or call 264-8785.