Christmas Message from Bishop of Shrewsbury

Rt Rev Mark Davies, Bishop of Shrewsbury writes in his Christmas Message, titled The Summer of Flags and the Lights of Christmas:

The national flags which suddenly appeared in communities across the country, were among the most unexpected events of 2025. In some of our most deprived communities the vast number of these flags was something I had never witnessed before. Many commentators offered interpretations as to what motivated this 'summer of flags', whether simple love of country, a renewed valuing of our national inheritance or an indication of the rise of a sinister nationalism. I can claim no special insight into the motivations, which may have been many and varied, except to ask whether this perceived need to fly the flag in such an unprecedented way indicates a deeper search for identity. The shared and inclusive identity which has long been rooted in our celebration of Christmas and the inheritance of faith and charity which has flowed from it.

The flags which lined so many streets and roadways, were emblazoned - whether recognised or not - with the Cross of Christ and his saints reflecting the faith on which our society was built. For the deepest identity of our nation has never been rooted in crude nationalism, rather in all we have celebrated together at Christmas. It is this faith and charity that has formed our life as a society and been expressed in the goodwill we owe to each other. Christmas celebrates the love which changes the way we see ourselves, the love which went as far as God becoming man to save humanity.

If we are in danger of forgetting what we nationally celebrate at both Christmas and Easter, then we are also in danger of losing the light which has guided our national story, without which we could not begin to understand ourselves. For the very years of our lives, as that of our whole history, are numbered from the birth of this one child in Bethlehem, "a saviour born for us." The days of our week begin each Sunday, on the day of His Resurrection, giving to time its purpose and meaning.

We cannot fail to recall that the totalitarian ideologies of the past century, sought to remove Christ's Nativity and Resurrection from the calendar and from the shared memory of society. The Christian festivals were replaced with celebrations of pagan nationalism or the worship of state, race or party. I fear the recent efforts we have seen to remove Christ from our celebration of Christmas likewise serves to detach our society from its very foundation. The loss of shared Christian memory, whether by design or default, provides a dangerous vacuum for something more sinister than inane winter festivals.

The Christmas lights, which at this moment of the year illuminate all our streets and roads, gently recall that sure light which has guided the best in our history. In these increasingly unstable and uncertain times, we will always find in the light of Christmas, our truest guide.