Before we arrive at the yuletide event let’s take the time to consider why we celebrate Christmas. It is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who if we believe came as a man to reconcile us to God. That is not readily understood or accepted but if only one gift could be received then the gift of faith would be the best gift Christmas could bring.

The message of Peace and Goodwill the gathering together of families and friends the giving of gifts the taking time out from busy schedules encompasses all that Christmas is about, so this year embrace it fully, don’t allow the effort of Christmas rob us of the joy of Christmas 

May you experience the most blessed Christmas ever.

Pastor Paul Hattingh

Grace Church Inverell

One of the most beautiful things about Christmastime in the southern hemisphere is the warm weather, which makes it a perfect time to spend with family and friends out of doors or around the barbecue.

Until just before Christmas, daylight lengthens. In the midst of our festivities, this should remind us of what we are celebrating: Jesus brings light! “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

This is our Christmas hope, and it is our source of strength for every day of the year. No matter what life throws at us, no matter how dire the state of the world – darkness can never overcome light.

Turn out the lights in your living room, strike a match, and light a candle: the room will no longer be dark! So, too, we can all be points of light brightening the lives of those we love, those we work with, and even those we’d rather avoid. It’s Christmas. Let’s welcome the Light of the World!

Wishing you a blessed Christmas.

Stephen Blough

Danthonia Bruderhof

“No more lives torn apart, And wars would never start, And time would heal all hearts, And everyone would have a friend, And right would always win, And love would never end….”

The above are words from a Christmas song

‘ My Grown-Up Christmas List” written by Linda Thompson and David Foster. 

Jesus, the centre of both the Christmas and Easter seasons, I believe, can deliver this wish list, when we Christians, take seriously the message and the life he lived. 

The message  of Jesus can be summarised by his call for us to put God first in our hearts, while  striving to love and care for others in the same way and manner that we love and care for ourselves. 

If I were to write my grown-up Christmas list it would include:

Everyone having enough food and clean water,  a place to live and  have a sense of community. 

Everyone wanting  to live, not holding  onto grudges, but to know the freedom of being and of  being able to offer forgiveness towards self  and others, just as Jesus taught his friends in the Lord’s Prayer, when they had asked him to teach them how to pray. 

That everyone would accept the gifts of the baby in the manger this Christmas Season of Hope, Peace, joy and love and let them into their hearts. 

This is my list. What is your Grown-up Christmas List? 

Rev Jean Bell

Uniting Church

The year has flown by again,  while still bustling about getting ready for Christmas, it all seems a bit of a struggle, I have friends facing major health problems and some with overwhelming family hurdles, some believe in a Saviour,  Jesus Christ,  and some don't. 

We all struggle at times, we do the best we can, but after all we are JUST human beings. Like another family many years ago.

The girl falls pregnant, isn't married, her man wants to leave her,  and she says it was an angel that told her she would bring a Saviour into the world. I'm  guessing today,  mental health workers would be sent for. 

What a major problem, unprecedented, embarassing for all concerned... and yet... Though everything possible seemed to be thrown at them,  this couple, trusted in God, they had to flee their country because a king wanted to kill their child, that had to be born in a shed and slept in a feed trough, they reared their son,  in a strange land without family for support, 

This may seem a pretty tough gig,  yet it was all in The Plan. 

Sometimes we just don't understand "why" our experiences can seem a bit tough,  but a little faith goes a long way. Sometimes it's only in retrospect that we can make sense of our experiences.

Jesus is the only way I know to cope with life,  He lifts the burdens off my shoulders  and puts a smile back on my face. If this God stuff really wasn't the truth,  it would have disappeared a long time ago.  So many have tried to end it. God has The Plan for all of us. There's  only one way we can find out what that is

Have a chat with Him today,  He's been knocking on your door,  listen and you will hear.   

Have a lovely Christmas,  whatever your circumstances,  you are never alone. 

Diane Whan

South Inverell Fellowship

It is Christmas, a time to celebrate that Jesus – God Himself – came into the world to be the Saviour of humanity.  People who place their faith in Jesus are set aside as something different.  I think we can all agree that it’s a very poor religion that doesn’t change people, so being different is a great thing.

And those who have faith in Christ have a name: Christians.  Where they worship and how they worship may lead to different labels being given to them, labels like Roman Catholic, Anglican, Salvationist, Bruderhof, Life Church, and many others. 

But their essence is defined by Who they worship: Christ.  All are Christians.  The varying worship styles and even doctrines reflect the diversity in the people who worship, not a different God.  And because one God is worshipped, Christians are all one people.

And it is this unity that God wants for all people.  Not uniformity, but unity.  God could have made us all the same, but He values and loves us as individuals.  And best of all, that value, that love, comes from His perfect knowledge of us.  Through Christmas, through Easter, God deals with the barriers that separate us from Him.  Because of Christmas, we don’t just have a present, we have a future – with Him.

May the God of peace grant you His blessing, this Christmas, and always.

Major Peter Townsend

Salvation Army, Inverell

The town of Inverell is full of lights- the beautiful Christmas tree and the many homes glowing in the evening dusk. These lights, even our tiny candle flames are symbols of Jesus, coming into our wold as a Light of darkness.

Christmas reminds us that we too are called to be instruments of light, bearers of hope, celebrating and sharing kindness, relationships, traditions and a sense of wonder as we relive the story of the coming of Christ as a tiny babe from Bethlehem.

We are not totally satisfied with more parties, more gifts, more decorations because or hearts yearn for deeper relationships, greater justice, peace in our hearts and minds and an awareness of those around us who are less fortunate than ourselves.

May Christ be reborn in us so that we many view our world with His eyes, hear the cries of the oppressed with His ears and keep our hearts open for the many unexpected ways that Jesus is revealed to us each day in those around us.

The word “joy” appears eight times in the Christmas story so may we too wish each other a joy-filled and truly blessed Christmas and peace on earth in the coming year.

Rosemary Breen 

Catholic Church

With the end of the year looming and Christmas fast approaching, it would be easy to be caught up in the busyness of it all. For most of us, Christmas is always a mixed blessing.

We look forward to the break, and to being with family. And yet it makes us so tired. We get tired of the sheer pace, the advertising which seems to start just after Easter, and the consumerism that tells us we can’t be happy without more and more stuff we don’t need.

By new year we’re always glad it’s over. Perhaps Christmas and new year is a good time to reflect on how it all began; a time to get back to basics, to what’s really important in our lives. Certainly the first Christmas was a great occasion, but it wasn’t full of busyness or consumerism, and it didn’t leave anyone with regret, only joy and a great hope.

For to us has been born in the city of David (Bethlehem), a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! [Luke 2:10-11,14].

Daniel Avenell

St Augustines Anglican Church