Behind every number is a person... many of them unseen, unheard and on the margins.

As we reflect on PSO’s impact this year, we’re reminded that our mission is about more than services – it’s about connection. Malcolm’s Christmas message begins with Mary and Joseph, and invites us to consider what it means to be welcomed, to belong, and to see one another fully.

Malcolm’s Christmas message

Behind all the tinsel and the second helping of pavlova, there is something about Christmas that ought to give us pause. Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem, which is where Joseph’s family is from. But the place is crammed and ‘there is no room at the inn.’

Wait a minute! This is where Joseph’s family comes from. Why can’t he stay with them?

Somewhere along the way, the connection between Joseph and his extended family gets broken. Who knows who started it? Who knows who stopped sending Christmas cards, with the obligatory family update, first? What matters is that a connection broke.

So, when Joseph turns up with his pregnant wife, not only is the motel full, but no one remembers that this guy belongs there, that he is actually one of them. And, of course, Mary carries a child, a child that would be a gift, a gift that would bring ‘peace on earth’ as the angels sang to the shepherds. But Bethlehem didn’t receive that gift with open arms.

There are people in our communities, like Joseph, who belong to us,
but that connection has been forgotten. There are people in our communities, like Mary, who have profound gifts that we all need, but we don’t always make room to receive them. This Christmas, let’s try and remake those connections and hold space for those unexpected gifts.

Rev Dr Malcolm Rex Gordon
Ministry team, First Church of Otago, Dunedin

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