Season's Greetings, Merry Christmas, Chag Hanukkah Sameach
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Dear Friends,
Firstly may I apologise for our lack of communication and newsletters over the last few months, as your Acting National Chaplain and continuing as Chair of the Board I've found my hands have been quite full!
I wanted to take the opportunity as the year draws to a close to write to you all.
As I sit in my office in sunny Hampshire I have to admit that I am munching on a mince pie as I type. Did you know that some 400 million mince pies are consumed in the UK every year? We certainly love a good mince pie and by Christmas morning, Santa will have eaten nearly 40,000 metric tonnes of the things, which makes my own consumption at Christmas look positively respectable.
As I was biting into that deep filled melt-in-the-mouth pastry, waiting for the sweet, fruity, spicy delicious taste of Christmas to hit me imagine my total surprise, and shock if my mince pie was actually empty!
Well……my mince pie wasn’t empty (thankfully!), it spoke of all that is the sweetness and light we anticipate from a good old nostalgic, traditional Christmas: the lights in our towns and on our own Christmas trees, the carols, the children in nativity plays, their excited faces on Christmas morning, and the soft cuddly Father Christmas. Yet there are certainly some very awkward moments in the Christian Christmas story, some vulnerable folk, and some risk-taking people. And we’re not really wanting awkward moments alongside the nice lights and the sweet mince pies. They can be hidden in the wrapping paper and the party dresses and the lights and the “stuff” of this season. Yet each of our faith stories speak of light and darkness, each faith tries to help us meet the challenges, the risks, the injustices we so often encounter in life.
Indeed, while many of us will enjoy family time on Christmas day, for many others across our own country and further afield it will be cold, lonely, and unbearable and it will be our faith communities who are caring for them and feeding them and also of course our police and other emergency services when needed.
How grateful and humbled I am that our police officers and staff are there to answer the emergency call when needed and to care for the vulnerable and be the risk takers. And how grateful am I that you are there to care for them when needed; when they become cold, lonely and vulnerable.
Thank you to each and everyone of you for all you do day in and day out for our police officers and staff it is so appreciated.
Happy Christmas!
Dom
Chair & Acting National Police Chaplain, Police Chaplaincy UK
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Summer Training Conference
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Matt Hopley begins as National Police Chaplain in January 2024. Any invites, queries or events should go to Matt from next year.
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