With a host of new clergy joining us this year we thought it would be good to ask them to share their thoughts and feelings as they approach their first Christmas with us. We continue the series here with Revd Jonathan Huff from St Austell sharing his story…

I started in my role here as the Vicar of St Austell Parish back in July. Strangely, that feels as if it were both yesterday and the distant past all at once…

We’ve loved getting to know our new home, parish family and community here. It was a big step of faith moving from the familiarity of home and family in North-East London (where I was Curate at Holy Trinity South Woodford) and it’s been a whirlwind ever since – so much to learn, so much to get used to! – but above everything it’s been a total joy and a privilege.

My wife Lydie and I both feel that we’ve “found our people” here in the parish. We’ve been made so welcome, and the warmth of Cornish friendships is a true gift the likes of which neither of us have experienced before.

I for one am hugely grateful for the team I’ve inherited (see attached photos!), which is full of incredible men and women who love Jesus and serve others will a full heart. It’s a privilege to minister alongside them. It’s also a privilege to minister in the Diocese of Truro: the culture of love, care and friendship I’ve experienced since arriving has been nothing short of astonishing.

Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that as we’ve been journeying through Advent, the first Sunday – the Sunday of “Hope” – gave me real pause for reflection. What was I hoping for this time last year when I was in that liminal space between finishing curacy and finding a new role?

It strikes me that a lot of what we hope for in life is really just optimistic thinking. Often, we have no reason to expect the outcomes we desire, we simply… desire them! And call that hope.

In Jesus, though, hope is a bit different. Much more solid. It’s the expectation that God will keep his promises and do good to us.

As we journey towards it, I’m realising all over again just how fundamental this sort of hope is to the Christmas story. The birth of Jesus is the ultimate proof that God is faithful and that he does keep his promises to us. For our good. In the centuries and millennia before Jesus’ birth, God’s people were in a mess. Their lives were broken, and full of hurt and darkness. The world was in a mess too! It was ravaged by war and full of death. Into this situation God promised a saviour: someone who could come and put things right. In Jesus, God has kept this promise. Since then, literally billions of lives have been transformed by the hope that is in Jesus, and because of that we continue to hope that he will keep working until all the darkness which yet remains has been made right.

If I may, let me pray that this hope that’s in Jesus will sustain you through all that you do in the year to come, and in all the years to come. And may you experience his peace, joy and love as well!

Grace and peace to you,

Jonathan