Dear friends,

Greetings in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

December is the last and busiest month of the year, while January is a month of

new beginnings. They are not only months in which friends, families and relatives

get together to look back and celebrate what they have accomplished, but they

are  also  months  that  people  use  to  think about  new  opportunities,  new  choices,

and decisions.

It is also important to remember those who do not have anyone to

celebrate  with.  A  time  we  remember  that  although  we  have  plenty,  there  the

people  who  have  nothing.  Some  will  be  enduring  their  first  Christmas  having

buried  a  loved  one  or  their  first  Christmas  since  fleeing  a  war-torn  country.

Christmas is a wonderful time for some and an equally traumatic time for others.

This is a time for gratitude. From families that are welcoming new-born blessings

into the world, to patients who are finally pain-free after long bouts of treatment.

All can sit and give thanks to our Creator at this time of year. Give thanks for our

abilities  and  celebrate  God’s  given  gifts  (our  health,  wealth,  friends,  families,

talents,  abilities,  intelligence,  security,  freedom,  nature, etc..)  to  humanity.

While, at times, Christmas has become a season of buying, giving, and receiving

materials gifts, Christianity encourages us to put our focus on the true Spirit and

Heart of Christmas: “The Gift-Giver, Jesus Christ” in our personal lives. As we

leave 2022 and enter 2023, may the Gift-Giver bless us all together, with Him,

in Him and through Him, we shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 16

“For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  one  and  only  Son,  that  whoever

believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

That is all from me for this year. I shall wish you and your loved ones Merry

Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Probationer Deacon Marcianne Uwimana