Christmas message from Reverend Anne Gilbert

Photo: Peter Fitchett

Reverend Anne Gilbert, Vicar of Rochdale Parish Churches, sends a Christmas message

Christmas message from Reverend Anne Gilbert, Vicar of Rochdale Parish Churches:
St Chad’s, St Mary in the Baum, St Edmund’s, St Luke’s Deeplish and St Peter’s Newbold

It has been an interesting six months since I began in my role as Vicar of Rochdale. As well as my first post as an incumbent in parish ministry, I have also had lots of experiences that I didn’t expect, that are a privilege of being the vicar of the parish church.

In particular there are two events that have stuck in my mind, the visit of little Amal and the installation of the Gaia globe. 

Little Amal was the three-metre-tall puppet that had walked from the Syrian border in Turkey to Manchester as a representative of a refugee’s journey. The welcome she received in Rochdale was incredible. There is a children’s book of the nativity written from the donkey’s perspective, called Refuge, by Anne Booth and Sam Usher. It reminds us that the infant Jesus also became a refugee as Mary and Joseph fled with him into Egypt to escape the threat of Herod, and that there they found refuge. Sometimes amongst all the tinsel and the glitter we forget the harsh conditions of Jesus’ birth and the early experiences of His life, and yet there are hundreds of children with the same experiences in our world today.

Since the end of November, we have also had the Gaia globe on display in Number One Riverside.  Standing underneath and looking up at the beauty of planet Earth it made me realise how small our country is in comparison with the vast continents of Africa and South America. In fact, the UK can only be seen if you are on one of the higher levels of the building. The first time I saw the globe was after I had just had my booster vaccine at the back of the building; a stark reminder of how lucky we are to have access to the vaccine and health services, to live in freedom and without the fear of living amongst conflict, unlike many in the world today.

So, this Christmas as I am fully vaccinated and able to worship without fear and have time with my family and friends, I will spend time counting my blessings, but also take time to think of the many in the world not as lucky as me - those in countries where safety, food and shelter cannot be taken for granted and those in our country as refugees.

I pray that like Jesus, Mary and Joseph they are able to find refuge and a place of safety.

I wish you a blessed Christmas, may you stay safe and healthy.

Reverend Anne Gilbert