New Bishop Describes Christmas as ‘Joyful and Deeply Poignant’

The recently installed Bishop of Sodor and Man has stated that the Christmas period holds the potential to be “both joyful but also deeply poignant” for numerous individuals within the community. Right Reverend Tricia Hillas officially assumed her role as the 88th bishop of the Isle of Man during a ceremony conducted in Peel the previous month. The bishop, previously a youth worker, noted that the holiday season brings “full of laughter and lightness” for certain individuals. However, she observed that “different levels of joy” exist, and for others, this time of year would be marked by “the sense of the people that would have been with us at one time”. Since commencing her duties, Bishop Hillas has dedicated time to familiarizing herself with various communities across the island, with a particular focus on the northern regions. Her activities have encompassed visits to the Isle of Man Prison in Jurby, where she engaged with both the senior staff and a number of inmates, in addition to participating in several carol services. The position grants a seat in the island’s parliament as a member of the Legislative Council, and Bishop Hillas participated in her inaugural session of Tynwald merely three days following her enthronement. She expressed being favorably impressed by “how seriously” the members approached their responsibilities. “We’ve had some very serious conversations and that’s been really an opportunity to understand more about the significance of the impact on people’s lives,” she stated. The Assisted Dying Bill 2023 was one of the subjects on the agenda for the upper legislative chamber. Bishop Hillas commented that there was “not a clear, simple, straightforward answer” to the matter. She identified “the sense of wanting people to have dignity, of wanting people to not suffer, of wanting people to be able to live well, and to live safely and that actually they don’t need to be afraid” as central concerns. “So all of those different aspects of this one issue are really profound and I think what I found really important was all that and more came out in the discussion,” she remarked. She further noted that the chamber’s debate was conducted with “a great deal of attentiveness to the seriousness of what was before us” and proved “hugely challenging” for all participants. “I think for a lot of us in that conversation it was a costly conversation, it takes a lot out of everyone,” she commented. Addressing the recent upheaval within the Church of England, following a report that underscored deficiencies in preventing and reporting abuse, she stated that the institution was “having to face some very important and challenging questions, and not least it needs to be asking those questions of itself”. “I do feel that deep sense that if anywhere should be a place of safety and dignity for all of us, not least the most vulnerable of us, then it should be the church,” she affirmed. She added, “And when it isn’t that makes me deeply angry, but also deeply determined to be part of finding ways to put that right.” Shifting to the topic of Christmas and its significance, she described a “depth” to the season, centered on “that real story of people who faced this inordinate challenge and yet in the midst of that came joy and hope and inspiration”. “That means that at times we’ll be full of that joy, that laughter, and the brightness and the lightness,” she explained. She continued, “With that comes also for many of us that sense of the people that would have been with us at one time, and so there’s something about Christmas which is both joyful but also deeply poignant.” “And that sense of God coming into the poignancy of life means that there is space in the quiet as well as the joy,” she elaborated. She concluded, “I think the depth of it for me still comes back to that sense of wherever we are, and whatever Christmas this year feels like to us, that God is there in it with us.” Readers can follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X, or submit story ideas to IsleofMan@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.