A Christmas message from West Ham United Academy Chaplain Rev Philip Wright...
To all the players, staff and fans of West Ham United.
December days that include Christmas are called Advent, a time for family, joy, laughter, good food and drink, celebrations, and a time to rest.
However, for many this festive period won’t be like this. It may be full of fear, worry and anxiety. Some people will be worrying about paying bills, keeping warm, trying to stay debt free or perhaps feeling lonely and isolated.
I would like to remind you all that over 2,000 years ago, at the very first Christmas, the worries were perhaps not so different!
Staying warm would have been an issue, especially in a stable, and no doubt Mary and Joseph may have argued over how they were going to cope!
They did not have luxury or lavishness. It was modest yet magnificent!
Over the years, we have built Christmas up to be a theatrical event, a massive commercial enterprise that we feel pressured to work hard to live up to.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying Christmas, taking time out to celebrate and unwind.
If Christmas is big in your household and family, that’s great and I hope you have a fabulous time, but it’s also OK to remember Christmas can be humble and simple.
To just enjoy a nice meal, to just remember friends and loved ones, maybe talk to family and friends over the telephone if you are on your own, or simply rest and watch television, all this is fine as well.
Remember, Mary and Joseph weren’t worrying about if their online order would arrive in time!
The one thing that was the same then and I hope is the same now is a very simple word that we all know, and that word is LOVE!
God’s Love is faithful and dependable and doesn’t change with fortune or circumstance.
So, on behalf of myself, other Club chaplains Alan and Jane, we wish you a very loving and peaceful Christmas and may 2023 be blessed for all of you.
COYI.
Rev Phil Wright
Academy Chaplain
