To the People of God.
Christmas is a special time of rebirth. I was baptized on Christmas Day 1970, and so for me it is my Christian birthday. I therefore share a birthday celebration with Jesus my Lord and Saviour – and being Human is very much a part of our lives in Christ.
There is much on my heart as we close off 2019 and look to the future, and to use Jesus words,” I have more to say to you than you can now bear,” but let me say this:
I ask your forgiveness for where I have failed us, for where I have not met your needs and for where I have been unable to adequately lead us through these troubled times. For the days that I have been impatient and taken my frustration with the world out on you, I am sorry. In 2020 I pray that I will serve you better and be a better witness of God’s grace and love.
I continue to give thanks to God for you and I ask that we all fervently pray with thanksgiving for God’s mercy and grace. God has added to our number, He has opened doors to spread the love of Christ into the community and He is building bridges where we and our fellow South Africans have destroyed them.
We have carried each other’s burdens and grown closer as a community and the Two Church model is starting to bear fruit. As repeatedly said, we will continue to operate as two interdependent churches and next year we will be building stronger relationships with other parishes around us too.
We are a people of the Eucharist – we bring ourselves, our lives, our dreams, and aspirations and we lay them on the altar and there God blesses and breaks and distributes; giving to us a life in Christ and lived for each other. May we continue to see this truth manifest in our lives, that we who are many are one body!
I thank you all for the opportunity afforded to my family and I to take some family time, may you be blest this Christmas and may 2020 be filled with all the good things that God has in store for you!
Be assured of my love and Prayers.
Fr Andrew.
