We are grateful to Baptist Minister, Chris Duffet for his permission to use his painting as the backdrop to our theme this year. As you look at it, what do you see? One answer is to describe the silhouettes of lifeless trees, made more obvious and visible by the sunlight. It is easy to see it as an image of decline and despair.

Yet this is also an image of hope. A sign of hope not through what we can see but what we know to be true even though we cannot see it. We know that contained within those skeletal tree trunks are all the cells and structures needed to bring new life, new foliage and potentially new fruit. This process of rebirth and renewal is mad possible by the emerging sunlight which, with the advancing seasons, will become more frequent and intense.

As we look at the world around us, this image may well resonate with what we see. There is much that leaves us uncertain and disturbed – like those lifeless trees, things seem dark and foreboding. Yet we are called and have cause to be a people of hope – a people who do not ignore the realities of our world but equally are not defined by them.

Our hope is in God, a God who is at work in unseen ways, a God whose word and truth is unassailable, a God in whose hands all of eternity is held. For all the realities of our world, as an NWBA Community we are seeing signs of hope, and it is for this reason we have chosen as our focus for 2026 “Hope Awakens”.

As usual, the theme was inrtoduced through our Christmas card at the turn of the year. You can find the reflection that was included through this link