THE Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, has paid tribute to “the community spirit that we have in the face of adversity” in his Christmas message to Islanders this year.
Speaking of the Haut du Mont and L’Ecume II tragedies, and of the disruption caused by the Grands Vaux floods and Storm Ciarán, Sir Timothy said that if we needed reminding of that spirit, those events saw it in full.
“Our emergency services, first responders, honorary police, the wider public service, and Islanders generally met these challenges with courage, commitment, effectiveness, kindness and the common decency that is a characteristic of the Jersey people.
“Perhaps I say too often how proud I am of this island and its resilience when faced with challenges, but we have every reason to be proud.
“In these ways this is a Jersey that my parents and grandparents would have recognised – one of resilience and decency.
“I have spoken of these events because they are important and because they are all, to me, examples of the qualities that mark out a real community and that are perhaps in part what this time of year is about,” the Bailiff said.
In her Christmas message Chief Minister Kristina Moore also praised Islanders for the way they came together when dealing with adversity, and she highlighted the government’s focus “on addressing the issues that matter most to the public” during the year.
“The latest Government Plan has shown that we will continue to support Islanders with the cost of living, assist with affordable home ownership, and invest in front line services, including health and education… This work on these key issues will continue to be prioritised as we drive a more productive and efficient public service that delivers improved outcomes for Islanders,” she said.
Jersey’s Dean, the Very Rev Mike Keirle, and the Methodist Minister at St Helier, St Martins and Ebenezer churches, the Rev Tony Morling, highlighted the significance of Christmas in a world which might often seem bleak.
The Dean said: “The greatest illumination is to be found where the darkness is most profound. That is what God did sending Jesus. Christmas is God lighting a candle in the dark and you don’t light a candle in a room that is already full of sunlight. You light a candle where it is gloomy, to dispel the darkness, and to show the way, which is what Jesus did. Christmas, then, is not a moment of nostalgic escapism. Christmas is Christian hope blazing in the face of human evil in every generation.”
And Mr Morling applied that message to helping some of those most in need in the Island today.
“This is where the story of Jesus’s birth gets more challenging. If we who celebrate Christmas in 2023 fail to show compassion and inclusion for those at the edge of our society, then we fail to remember a central message of Christmas. But if we linger within the Bible passages, then they begin to yield profound insight into our quest for peace and justice. These 2,000-year-old words live, because they start to change how we think and how we behave,” he said.
