Reverends deliver messages of Christmas hope across Harrogate district

Rev Guy Donegan-Cross, St Mark's Harrogate

"On a personal level I love having some holiday, especially when it's a holiday that is all about celebration and treats. On the more spiritual side, I love that in the darkest time of the year, at the end of a year which has been particularly turbulent, there is a real hope to talk about.

"It's simply saying you are not alone and that is a real gift to share with people. We are not alone because God is with us. It's a great thing to be able to share that and a great thing to share this holiday time with family and friends.

Rev Garry Hinchcliffe, St John Knaresborough

"I fear it’s a sign of getting older. I like nothing more than cuddling up with my family watching a good movie after the successful church services have finished. Last Sunday after a busy weekend we watched that wonderful film, 'Love Actually'.

"Keeping in our thoughts and prayers the recent terror attack in Berlin and the increased unease around Europe it's easy to get despondent that hate has conquered love... however, Hugh Grant sums the truth of Christmas up in the film when he says: "lf you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion you'll find that love actually is all around.""

Rev Chris Bishop, Wetherby Baptist Church

"This year we are going to help at a Christmas dinner for those who would otherwise be on their own, so I’m looking forward to sharing it with others."

Rev Alan Garrow, St Peter’s, Harrogate

"I don't know precisely when this will happen. It might be during the Christingle Services, or at Rolling Carols, or at Midnight Mass. It might be sometime on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day, or in the days that follow. Wherever it is, I'm looking forward to those brilliant moments when preparations give way to reality - and we encounter 'God with us'."

Rev John Dobson, Dean of Ripon Cathedral

“The Christmas morning service at Ripon Cathedral, it attracts a massive congregation and is full of people from the Ripon community and the wider region.”