Earlier today, the sunshine made outdoors look cheerful and inviting. I was eager to be out for a walk in it, but by the time I made it to our local park, the sky was grey and the light was fading.  That connects with my theme for this December blog, of darkness and of light. Darkness because the days are shorter and colder, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere, light because in this season we remember the birth of Jesus (even though it couldn’t possibly have really been in December), who was the light that came into the world. John’s gospel calls him ‘The true light that gives life to everyone’.

This year it feels like it’s been an especially long haul to get to this point, and we need hope and light more than ever. What, I wonder, gives you hope at the moment?