I am writing this as we approach the HEBA Family Day on the 7th June and reflecting on what has been a turbulent few years for the Association and for me particularly as its Moderator. Come the 7th June I will be standing down from the post which I have held for the last three and a half years with, if I am honest, a certain sense of relief. But there is also a real sense of sadness that - for the time being at any rate - I will not be so connected to and so engaged with the day to day events of the Association.

There are times when you have to stand up and be counted. Times when you know that something is right and you have to say it. You can choose the moment of course, because the right time may not be right now. The right time is the time when the greatest impact will be achieved as the long term effect is what to aim for.

I welcomed the New Year in Centenary Square, Birmingham. On the stroke of midnight a splendid array of fireworks lit the sky, courtesy of the City Council. Hundreds of people gathered, unknown to me, as far as I could tell in the darkness. Together we were filled with anticipation, waiting for the dawn of another year. As we watched the glittering sky above with childlike amazement, people hugged, kissed, danced and laughed.

Mary’s example of faithful obedience is rightly celebrated but I’ve been looking again at the Christmas story through the eyes of Joseph.