Dear Friends,
I grew up attending a South Wales Valleys Church, and reflecting its tradition, it never made that much of Christmas Day. You only went to Church on Christmas Day if Christmas Day was a Sunday. Sunday was the day of the week – the first day of the week – when Christians were to gather for worship. In so doing, making a decisive break with the Synagogue which kept the Old Testament Commandment, ‘honouring the Sabbath Day and keeping it Holy.’ So, you can imagine my surprise when coming to the Free Church, here in Hampstead Garden Suburb, to discover that the Christmas morning service – whatever the day of the week – was one of the best attended services of the year. This year, for the first time in over 15 years, we will not be holding a Christmas Morning Service. Following the decision of the Govt to place London in Tier 4, and as it seeks desperately to find a way of halting the spread of what we now call ‘variant’ Covid-19 across the South East of England, we have decided to suspend services until we are lifted out of Tier 4. Govt has said that communal worship can still take place, but sometimes the letter of the law can be more of a hindrance than a help. It was not for me to impose own personal preference, and I am grateful to the Trustees of the church for the sensitive way that have handled this matter. No one wishes to see the church closed, least of all me, but neither should any of us do anything that puts one another at increased risk of infection. But there will be a service on Christmas Day. We will be broadcasting live from inside the church and I hope as many of you as can will join us at 11am, or at whatever time is appropriate for you. All I ask is this, please wear your Christmas jumper…
…But of course, all of this pales into insignificance when we think of the disruption caused to the plans we all had for family gatherings. Christmas is essentially family time, and not to be able to share Christmas with family members is bound to temper our enjoyment. The long-held tradition of ‘travelling home for Christmas’ has something of a hollow ring to it this year…
…And we should think especially of hospital staff. Usually at Christmas time hospital wards would operate with as few staff as necessary to allow as many as possible to enjoy the holiday. But with many of our hospitals filling up with patients, many more NHS staff will be required to work this year…
…But it is Christmas. My Christmas text has always been ‘The Light shines in the Darkness and the Darkness has not Overcome it.’ It is often said that the darkest hour is the one that immediately precedes the dawn. If that is so, then, slowly but surely, ‘The Light of the Morning is Breaking, the Shadows are passing away’…
…In that spirit I wish everyone a peaceful, happy and blessed Christmas.