The Diocese of Rupert’s Land

The Right Reverend Geoffrey Woodcroft

Bishop of Rupert’s Land

Christmastide 2020

‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’ Isaiah 40.3-5

On this Feast of Christmas, I am raising thanks to God for the work of every person of our Diocesan ministering community. For those who have risked their safety to provide for those who are vulnerable, for they who are fatigued, for the academics who found the perfect time to study, for those who lament and experience loss, and folk who have basked in blissful quiet, I thank God for you.

I am thankful for our leaders and workers who have applied themselves unwaveringly to the new tasks at hand, whilst accomplishing the fulfillment of usual commitments. In so very many ways I see and hear the words of Isaiah 40.3-5 happening in God’s activity through the Church. The mountains and hills of privilege are being leveled, the hungry may be fed, release may be given to those in socio-economic prisons, the infirmed may be healed, and the lonely befriended. This is God’s doing, and we now rejoice!

I hope that this year’s Nativity experience be for all a prophetic nudging, a comforting call, and a rekindling of relationships. May God bless you, and all whom you love.

Yours in the peace of Christ,

The Rt. Rev. Geoffrey JJ Woodcroft