Christmas is about God wanting to be close to us, said the parish priest of Bourg Mulatresse, San Juan.

“God doesn’t want to be an impersonal or distant God”, explained Fr Arnold Francis as he preached the homily at the December 21 opening service of the Christian Council of Trinidad & Tobago’s public crèche on the Brian Lara Promenade.

Fr Francis continued that God therefore “made himself available to us as a child born in a stable”, and as we contemplate the crèche scene, we must not forget the human face of God in the child Jesus. “The invisible God has become visible now so that we can know God in a special way.”

He said His presence in the world, born in a humble stable, was a reminder that we must not forget the disenfranchised, the persecuted, the challenged, the shut-ins, the elderly and children.

Fr Francis said “our duty” as Christians was to restore and affirm the true value of such people “who are all children of God.”

Fr Francis also pointed to the example set by the Holy Family, saying the family is not just a simple institution but one we must see as “a community of grace and prayer”. “We are all called to embrace family life and what it is supposed to be.”

Anglican Bishop Calvin Bess did the official blessing of the crèche while Anglican priest Fr Steve West and Fr Michael Cockburn did readings.

Choirs that performed Christmas carols and medleys were Holy Saviour (Anglican) the Archdiocesan, St Dominic’s, Morvant; St Theresa’s, Barataria; St Charles, Tunapuna; Petit Valley, and St Jude’s Girls, Belmont.

The crèche closed last Monday with the Anglican and Presbyterian communities leading the prayers and singing. – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Lorna Louis conducts the Archdiocesan Choir.	St Theresa’s Barataria Choir sings in front the crèche. Raymond Syms photos