Let's put troubles of 2014 in past, say Midland church leaders

This has been a scary year. The news was dominated by wars and humanitarian crises. ISIS, like a medieval witch-hunt, has murdered thousands of women and children, and kidnapped and beheaded aid workers.

Christian communities, resident in the Middle East for centuries, have been driven out of their homes and suffered great persecution.

In Syria, CAR, South Sudan, in too many countries, death and terror are the norm, and millions have been forced to flee. Cold War politics have reawakened, leading to tensions and dangerous preparations in NATO. Ebola has raised its head to terrify the whole world. Revelations about child abuse in this country have become more and more distressing, as our hearts break to learn that Rotherham was not alone.

Christmas matters. It is into our broken world that we hear the angel declaring Jesus' birth as 'good news of great joy for all people' and the prophet hailing him as the Prince of Peace. We are called to hear and respond to this good news urgently and wholeheartedly – we need it as much today as we ever have.

None of our terrible problems can be resolved by good ideas alone, by governments, acts of force or clever schemes. Only when love transforms our hearts is there hope for our world.

Christmas remembers the most extraordinary act of love. The Jesus you see in the nativity is no ordinary child. He is the son of God. Without him, we are hopelessly separated from the way of love.

The Christmas message is love. We can live together in harmony with our neighbours. With other faith communities, churches marched in Wolverhampton last month for the cause of peace.

Our work to produce food banks, credit unions, youth clubs and so on is not blowing in the wind but re-building community.

What seem to be a series of senseless horrors should drive us to our knees in fervent prayer for our world.

The Right Reverend Graham Usher, Bishop of Dudley

At this time of the year we pause to look back. This year there have been disturbing images in the news. The barbaric rise of IS, the creeping plague of Ebola, and the continued hunger of many people using food banks in this country have all been there.

When all of this threatens to overwhelm us with gloom, we do well to recall that God has already chosen to sneak in and intervene in the messiness of the world. Not by way of an army to sort out a harsh regime. Not by way of good words and no action to make a difference. No. God comes among us in the form of a child born in the Middle East – quietly and vulnerably, and, to the hard of heart, easily disposable.

Yet, within hours of his birth shepherds, social outcasts of their day, had come and peered at this child. Before he was weaned magi, foreigners from other nations, had visited with generous gifts. Those who encountered this child recognised someone special in their midst as the smell of hope and joy and peace hung in the stable air.

Yet, pause, stop, look, listen. Begin to see that hope, joy and peace shining as beacons of light in our own community. See that light in the work of carers going to help the elderly get up each morning. Or in the patience of teachers believing that that child can get there. Or reflected in the smiling faces of those who support women living in situations of domestic violence.

In Dudley I meet so many people being beacons of light in different contexts and situations. I want to say a resounding 'thank you' to all who help others to flourish.

You see, Christmas reminds us that the light of Christ guides our way. That light is not just for us, but is a gift for the whole world.

Happy Christmas!

The Right Reverend Dr John Inge, Bishop of Worcester

We've had Black Friday and now, I suppose, the question on some people's minds will be whether we are going to have a white Christmas. Some people dream about it, they say. I'm tempted to break into song.

We've imported many things from America and Black Friday is the latest. What we don't do here is celebrate the day before as Thanksgiving. That's a shame because it's good to give thanks for what we have before we rush off to buy new things.

In this country we have so much to give thanks for, even in this age of austerity. A glance around the globe – at West Africa, where so many people have died from Ebola, for example – reminds us forcibly of that. Many Christian communities which have celebrated Christmas in Syria and Iraq since the time of Jesus himself will not get the chance to do so this year.

I expect some of the things brought on Black Friday at knock-down prices (and it wasn't only the prices that were knocked down in some places) will be wrapped up and given as Christmas presents. I hope so. Christmas presents are a wonderful thing. They let the people to whom we give them know that we care for them, that we love them. At Christmas we celebrate God's great love for us in Jesus and this should be the greatest thanksgiving celebration ever. The gift God gives us in Jesus tells us more powerfully than any other gift could how much God loves us.

Being loved is the greatest gift that any of us can be given and to be loved by the God who created everything is a gift beyond words.

If your mood is black, whether through missing out on the Black Friday bargains or for any other reason, I hope it will be lifted in thanksgiving this Christmas not just by some lovely Christmas gifts – though I hope you receive some of those – but also by remembering that, in Jesus, you have been given the greatest gift of all. May you feel embraced by his love this Christmas and throughout the coming year.

God bless you.

The Right Reverend David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham

For many of us, Christmas is a time of extravagance. We give gifts that symbolise the affection we have for each other and we decorate our homes to bring cheer.

Underpinning all this is a celebration of the extravagant love of God, revealed to us in the birth of Jesus Christ.

Jesus enjoyed meeting friends and performed his first miracle at a party but he also talked a lot about loving those who are trapped in poverty, struggling with ill-health or lonely.

For many of us, Christmas is a time when we are reminded that we cannot afford extra food, we are not sure if we will be alone on Christmas day and we don't have the cash to pay for the heating and lighting we need.

A recent report into foodbanks has revealed that more and more of us are finding that we cannot put everyday food on the table and households are being plunged into crisis by unemployment, benefit delays and sanctions and low wages.

In a time of cuts it seems unlikely that we will see an extravagant response to those of us who are living below the poverty line, people like Mary and Joseph who found nowhere to rest after their journey to Bethlehem.

But there are extravagant responses being made already. After Christmas, seven churches in this region will open their doors overnight offering a hot supper, breakfast and somewhere to sleep. In the last year or so, more than 25 faith communities and neighbourhood groups have become Places of Welcome that offer friendship and refreshment to those of us who are lonely or isolated.

God being born to us as a vulnerable baby in a stable reminds us that we all have times of fragility and need . God was extravagant in his creation of me and you and we all have something to give this Christmas. So let's all try and give the gift of friendship to one another and remember that the baby born in a stable, the Son of God, challenges us to love our neighbour and reveals the love of a God who cares for us more than we can ever know.