 |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
17 December 2009
Dear friends in Christ
Although ANiC membership has expanded considerably since I last sent Christmas Greetings, we still are sufficiently compact in our numbers to feel the intimacy of being part of one extended family. It is to this family that is so very precious to me that I now send these greetings.
One of the most remarkable things about a family is the way that its members come together to celebrate and rejoice when all is well; and, when necessary, to uphold and support one another when things are stressful or uncertain.
Every member of our ANiC family had to make a choice which often was painful and which separated us from a Church we once loved and people who were dear to us. It is only when we gaze at the Babe in the manger with His outstretched Arms that we realize it was all for Him. Just as He came to love and redeem us, so we, determined to remain true to Him and His Word at all costs, have bound ourselves together in this way, as we joyfully put our destiny in His Hands, regardless of the personal cost. That action on our part, so freely given, has become “A Gift To Last”.
For those of us who are worshipping in borrowed or rented surroundings, or who stand in danger of losing buildings we hold so dear, we simply turn our gaze to the bare stable of Bethlehem, and realize that with Jesus there in the midst, nothing else really matters.
Bishop Malcolm and Marylou, Bishop Ron and Jan, Bishop Charlie and Judy, Bishop Stephen and Nona, and Bishop Trevor, join Trudy and me in extending our love and Christmas Greetings to you all. May the true meaning of this Festival bring us a relief from our worries and concerns, and may the deep and abiding happiness we experience this Holy Season support us throughout the joys and challenges that lie before us in the coming year.
In the Infant Jesus,
+Donald
... back to "Bishops’ message" main page
|
|
|
 |
