A letter from Bewcastle – December 2024

Dear Friends,

‘Joy to the world, the Lord is come!’ sings the carol. And don’t we need some?

It has been a difficult year for so many reasons. For several families in the benefice the unexpected, and sometimes tragic, loss of a loved one has been really difficult to bear. Christmas is the time when families come together with joy and anticipation, but for these families it will be a time of pain and remembrance. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Yet for other families, there is the joy of celebrating a first Christmas with the gift of a new person in the family. Our hearts are glad for them.

But as we look back over the year, we know the wet summer has come with a heavy price for so many farmers, both around the country and in our own patch. Persistent rain meant crops were lost and the ground was saturated for much of the year. Silage was difficult to harvest and cattle had to come in early, having been let out late. The extended feeding costs over the rest of the winter will be a heavy burden for some farms.

Revelations of historic serial sexual abuse continue to be unearthed. The sexual exploitation of young women by a man of wealth and power in Al Fayad is heart-breaking to hear. And then we have seen the Archbishop of Canterbury resign because, in the words of the Makin Report into the horrific abuse on young boys by a man associated with the Church, it (he), among other things, was not ‘curious’ enough when told the police had been informed. But the terrifying abuse goes unanswered for the victims of both men. Why is it only after their deaths that perpetrators are uncovered? Who knows where it is still going on?

Nationally we have had a general election with Labour sweeping to power after years of unstable Conservative government. But any initial euphoria has since dissipated with the news of the loss of winter allowances for many pensioners who struggle to get by, tax changes that leave many in the rural community feeling betrayed, and the continuation of policies by previous governments that leave record numbers of children in poverty.

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to grind on, with women and children paying the price for men’s pride, greed, anger and violence. Other conflicts around the world are rarely reported, such as Sudan and DRC, but are even more violent. There is so much suffering. Why, oh why, do we do it to each other?

Now we are told that 2024 is the hottest year the world has experienced on record as global warming hits the critical 1.5 degree increase due to climate change. And still we continue to allow increased fossil fuel production despite seeing the consequences of devastation and extinction before our very eyes.

And then there’s the US elections. What wreckage are we to anticipate as a consequence of that?

It all feels like a litany of woes at the personal, community, national, and international level. I know I sometimes struggle with all the bad news that we keep hearing. I’m sure I’m not alone.

So where is joy to be found’?

But perhaps that’s the wrong question. Perhaps the question should be ‘where is Joy to be found’? And that brings us round full circle to opening line of this letter. Contrary to what we’re often told, joy isn’t a feeling or an emotion. If it was, it would be as ephemeral as the hoar on a gossamer thread in the early morning sun, and your life would be held on the whim of the next news story.

No, Joy is a found in the most unexpected of places. In the heart of the darkest night, at the coldest time of the year, in the meanest of shelters, amongst the poorest of creatures, in the rudest of cradles. A young mother and her betrothed are breathlessly silenced by the sight of Joy that can never be lost. Even though an arrow will one day pierce her own heart.

Come and seek, and may you find that Joy this Christmas.

Your friend and priest,

Robert