A Christmas Message

Dear Friends of St George’s,

Do you remember December 2019?

St George’s had a Christmas Fayre, a Nine Lessons and Carols service, a Christmas Eve service and a Christmas Day service.

2020 and 2021 were completely different: the services were still very special but they were online.

Now, in 2022, we return to a Christmas Fayre, a Nine Lessons and Carols service, a Christmas Eve service and a Christmas Day service.

Things, though, are not entirely as they were before, and Christmas is a good time to remember.

We remember those who have died during the time of pandemic, those who have experienced great loneliness and those for whom the pandemic was a time of real challenge.

But it is also good to remember that there was a sense of people caring and watching out for each other, people helping each other buy food, etc. There was a sense in which we were living in the reality that we, as human beings, cannot control everything.

This is a Christmas message. Christ came into the world because the world’s tendency, both as individuals and corporately, is to mess things up. He came into the world as Saviour, as Lord and King – but in a completely different way than people expected.

Christmas is a celebration of a God who enters into our humanity. As we remember this, my prayer is that Christmas might be for you, for me, for all and for all of us at St George’s, a time of deep appreciation and thankfulness – indeed, worship to the God who loves us enough for his Son to come into the world. This one born in a stable is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

May we enjoy Christmas, may we celebrate friendship and each other and, above all else, may we worship the God who loves you and who loves me.

But we also remember those suffering from natural disasters, wars and economic instability. Christmas does not take away from the realities of the world, but brings hope right into the middle of these realities.

Have a great Christmas and God be with you and bless you in 2023!

Revds John & Deborah Chapman