‘Wishing you all a Merry Christmas’ Christmas’

BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH RT REVD. DONALD ALLISTER

The key thing about Christmas, of course, is Jesus, and what I want to think about with you, just for a minute, is the name Jesus.

What’s in a name? What’s it all about? People talk about doing Christmas without Christ or without Jesus, and the churches for years have been saying we have got to get Jesus back in, but why, what does it mean?

Well Jesus comes from an old Hebrew word.

The modern Hewbew equivalent, the Jewish equivalent, is the name Joshua as we have in England, and it means God saves, or God is a saviour.

And that is not a name that just happened, in the Bible story Joseph, who was to be, as it were, Jesus’ stepfather, who was going to marry Mary, was told, by God through an angel, to give this baby the name Jesus, and that is what he did.

And the name Jesus meaning God saves, is ever so important, because it reminds us that God wants to look after us, God wants to keep us safe, God wants to do the right thing for us, to make us safe from our own sins, the consequences of our actions, safe from eternal issues, safe for all eternity.

And my message to people at Christmas in a very mixed up, difficult world, with lots of bad stuff going on around us, lots of confusing stuff, is following Jesus, being close to Jesus, you can find safety, and God can make us safe through Jesus. Happy Christmas.

DEAN OF PETERBOROUGH THE VERY REV CHRIS DALLISTON

Things are never dull in Peterborough Cathedral and 2019 was another exciting year with the remarkable high point the Gaia exhibition – Luke Jerram’s representation of the earth slowly turning in the vast space beneath the tower.

Visitors who saw it, especially at night found this a deeply moving reminder of the beauty and fragility of the earth inviting us to reflect on the urgent need to protect the planet and in so doing secure the future of all the peoples of the earth. Floods and fires around the world over recent months have only served to reinforce the increasing sense of urgency that many feel.

The first sight of Gaia for our visitors on entering the nave was, of course, of the great figure of Christ on the cross with its Latin motto meaning, appropriately enough: the cross stands while the world is turning.

After a year of political, economic and environmental turmoil, it is that same

Christ whose birth we mark once more this Christmas. God’s love is made visible in the vulnerability of a tiny child and that love underpins the whole universe. It also gives us the courage and strength to play our part in bringing healing and hope to our families, our communities and to the world itself.

For “to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” So we look forward with confidence and excitement to all the new year will bring and meanwhile thank you for you for your support of Peterborough Cathedral and pray you may you know the peace and joy of Christ this Christmas.

ABDUL CHOUDHURI, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT MOSQUES COUNCIL, PETERBOROUGH

I am delighted to send Christmas greetings on behalf of the Muslim communities of Peterborough to all Christians people in Peterborough and elsewhere and wish all of them Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year.

It is worth noting that all Muslims believe in Prophet Jesus peace be upon him as Prophet of God- You cannot be a Muslim unless you believe in all Prophets - Jesus, Moses, Ibrahim and others.

Only a few weeks ago Muslims around the world- were commemorating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him- Muslim population around the world is 1.5 billion which is the second largest religion after Christianity.

Under the banner of Joint Mosques Council Muslims of Peterborough commemorated the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him on 30th of November at the Faizan e Madinah Mosque which was attended by several hundred people among them many local dignitaries.

The main theme of the seminar was the ‘Last Message of the Prophet’ peace be upon him and women’s rights in Islam. The message is very simple that Islam is religion

GROUP CAPTAIN JO LINCOLN, STATION COMMANDER AT RAF WITTERING AND A4 FORCE ELEMENTS COMMANDER.

Since my arrival in August I have been incredibly impressed by the continual achievements I witness across RAF Wittering and the wider A4 Force Elements. By any measure 2019 has been a fantastic year.

The collective efforts across the Whole Force (Regulars, Reservists, Civil Servants and Contractors) continues to directly enable operations, exercises and training across the RAF and wider Defence.

The Station and Force have been recognised with awards such as the Stainforth Trophy, the RAF Safety Centre Trophy, and the RAF Benevolent Fund Airplay Team of the Year Award.

Of course, there have also of peace, love kindness, harmonious relationship to all mankind, respect for your parents, elders, your neighbours and even to be kind to animals. Terrorism, radicalisation and evilness of any kind either by individuals or by Governments has no place in Islam.

Muslims of Peterborough are consistently spreading this message through their various programmesMosques open days, seminars, conferences- throughout the year to have better understanding and cohesion among all people.

It is indeed very sad to see millions of people around the world suffering due to wars, internal strife who have no homes, no shelter no food and no love ones left to care for them due to no fault of been numerous well-deserved Honours and Awards presented to both individuals and teams.

Thank you for all of your hard work and for making these successes a reality.

I am very conscious that we have friends, colleagues and loved ones deployed over the festive period – please spare a thought for them and their families during this Christmas and New Year.

It is also important that those of us who are not deployed or on duty take the opportunity for a well-deserved break, as 2020 is set to be as busy as 2019.

To the families of our personnel and those of you who live nearby or follow us on our social media channels, I would also like to say a heartfelt thank you.

The friendship and goodwill we receive from our local their own.

Even in Peterborough there are many people who are depending on food banks and have no proper shelter over their heads.

Let us remember all those people who are starving around the world while we will be enjoying variety of food at Christmas.

Let us send a very strong message at Christmas time from two of the biggest religion in the world- Christianity and Islam-representing approx 4 billion people to have love and not hate, peace and not war, food and shelter not bombs and rockets. This is the proper way of celebrating the Christmas and follow the teachings of our beloved Prophets. Let us pray and work together for a prosperous 2020. community and from those who take an interest in all that we do is truly heartening.

I cannot overstate how much the Armed Forces of this country value your loyalty and support.

I wish you all a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year, and I look forward to seeing you in 2020!