“How are you feeling about the 2020s?” asks the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, in his 2022 Christmas message.

“100 years ago, our nation was entering the Roaring 20s. Today we might call it the Raw 20s, with so much raw pain in the world.”

Archbishop Raffel said that in the third COVID Christmas, many people are feeling the pressure of the rising cost of living and whole communities have been displaced by flooding. He mentions the millions who have fled the war in Ukraine and says the disruption of the past three years “has just left many of us feeling out of place”.

Christmas invites us to find our home with Jesus

“Jesus knows about the disruptions of ordinary life. He left his place beside God the father to be born among us and born into a displaced human family. Jesus said: Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; I am going there to prepare a place for you. So, wherever the Raw 20s has taken you so far, Christmas invites us to find our home with Jesus.”

The Archbishop is urging people to attend church services this year. He will preach at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney (next to Town Hall) at 10:00 am on Christmas Day. The Cathedral is also holding a range of services on Christmas Eve at 6, 8 and 11 pm.

Christmas services and Carol events are being held across the Sydney Diocese in Sydney and Wollongong.

Find a church near you at christmasnearyou.com.au.