At this special and wonderful time of the year I send my best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas. It is a time for people to come together, as a family, and as a community, to show how much we appreciate the important people in our lives.
One of the things I have enjoyed most about being the local Member of Parliament has been seeing the work of so many people coming together to help others. In the last couple of months alone the strength of our communities and the contributions of so many remarkable individuals has been as clear to me as ever.
Whether it was attending the Hempstead Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the end of November, the Winter Wonderland at St Matthew’s Church in Wigmore or Christmas fairs across the constituency such as at St Mary Magdalene Church Gillingham, I am confident that we have much to celebrate. But it is also a time to remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves, and those that cannot be with us this Christmas, as we see so much conflict around the world.
I wish to commend the work of ‘Churches Together in Medway’, which, together with Housing Justice, is organising the Medway Winter Night Shelter. This is planned to run from the 4th of January for ten weeks of winter until mid-March, to cater and provide overnight accommodation for up to sixteen people.
It will operate in churches across the Medway area (such as St Barnabas in Gillingham) and will run all week for its duration. Twelve churches will be venues for people to stay, and many more are providing funds and other support.
So this Christmas we should celebrate all those who give their time and their energy to helping others. Whether this is part of their job or they volunteer their free time. People like teachers, nurses and doctors, who give so much of their time beyond their formal hours to take care of people and to educate our children.
I know you will all like to join me in saying a big thank you to our brave and courageous armed forces personal and the police who do so much to keep us safe.
I want to wish everyone in Gillingham and Rainham a merry Christmas and a successful, prosperous and peaceful 2016.