Dear Church Family,
I’m assuming many of you will have heard the Prime Minister’s announcement today increasing restrictions for those living in the South East, and limiting everyone’s ability to mix households to Christmas Day only. We have personally had to let our plans to see my family go, which is sad and hard to accept after such a long time waiting to see them. We sympathise with everyone who has had to alter their plans. I want you to know that Sami and I, along with the whole team, will be praying for you all.
This has not been, and continues not to be an easy season. It may seem for many of us that the hope of seeing relatives has been ripped from us. My prayer is that we know the hope of Jesus – the light in the darkness as we go through this Christmas. As I sat down to write to you I was reminded of a story which I think I’ve shared before, of a man whose whole family died and who lost all he had as a result of genocide in Burundi. He declared “I never knew Jesus was all I needed, until Jesus was all I had.” The truth is we still have Jesus. We still have hope. Many things may be being stripped away, but Jesus remains. This is what Christmas is about - Jesus comes to be with us in the darkness. To comfort those who mourn, to weep with those who weep, and to bring hope into the darkest of times.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1.5