Church in Wales: Archbishop thanks NHS staff in Christmas message

The Archbishop of Wales used his Christmas message to reflect on a year that has once again seen the world grapple with Covid

The Archbishop of Wales has thanked NHS and other front-line workers for showing "selfless love" in working through the pandemic.

Andrew John used his Christmas message to reflect on another year that has seen the world grapple with Covid.

Paraphrasing Charles Dickens, he said 2021 had managed to be "the best of times as well as the worst of times".

The year had seen "dogged resolve" that showed off the "transforming love of God", he said.

The archbishop said: "I want to thank again those who have shown that selfless love which has touched our everyday lives - those working in the NHS and other front-line services.

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"I want to thank the countless individuals who ensure that friends and neighbours do not feel isolated or forgotten.

"Above all I want to thank those myriads of unassuming folk who have shown what love in action can achieve."

The archbishop thanked NHS workers for showing "selfless love" by working through the pandemic

He said he believed they had "drawn closest to the light of the Christ child and understood that love has a human face".

"Throughout this period we have seen extraordinary acts of kindness displayed in our communities and the kind of dogged resolve which is unglamorous but presents something of the transforming love of God seen in action," the archbishop said.

"I have witnessed personally the joy of faces greeting each other on Zoom services, the warm glow of voices glad to encounter friends and neighbours even if down the digital lines."

What he dubbed "the message of Christmas" was reflected in his experiences this year.

Light, the archbishop said, had "shone brightly in dark times and hope has sprung up when least expected".

He added: "Christians believe and celebrate the coming of God into our midst, the moment when God stepped into the affairs of humanity and showed what transforming love looks like.

"When we recall that this happened through the birth of a child to a family in a Roman outpost, it is as remarkable as the message of hope itself."