Like the day that John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, or the death of Winston Churchill in 1965, or the tragic car crash that killed Princess Diana in 1997, Tuesday 11th September 2001 will become one of those days that people will always remember and recall what they were doing. The images of the terrorist attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center will be etched on our memories for life. President Bush and other Western leaders called it an attack on the civilised world. In reality it was an attack on the values and freedom of our western society that we have come to take for granted. Since that day, an insidious fear has gripped the world and left us wondering what might happen next and what the future may hold.

One day two thousand years ago also went down in history as a day the world changed. It was a day when angels announced to terrified shepherds,'Don't be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy, that will be for you and for all people. Today a Saviour has been born, he is Christ, the Lord.'

On that first Christmas Day, world history was changed as God himself invaded our world - not to bring terror and fear, but peace and future hope in the birth of Jesus Christ. Even the calendar is set to that date, causing us to count the years AD (the year of our Lord)!

Again this Christmas, the churches together in Ashtead welcome you to join us in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, at any of our services listed in the Festival Diary.

Together in Jesus' name,