Abu Dhabi: Christmas brings a lot of hope towards the end of a tough year that will make people more optimistic to face the year ahead, parish priests in the capital told Gulf News on Wednesday.
“It has been a tough year for many people due to economic conditions across the globe and violent incidents in the region like the one in Aleppo in Syria. But Christmas marks the end of a difficult year giving a message: “We are not alone and God is with us,” said Reverend Andy Thompson, chaplain at St Andrews Church.
Christmas celebrations in the UAE are special for various reasons. “We live in a peaceful country with a wise leadership that promotes religious tolerance,” Thompson said.
Christmas prayers at St Andrews Church will culminate with a midnight mass on Saturday at 11.30pm and Christmas communion services on Sunday at 8am and 10am. “Around 15,000 worshippers are expected to attend the prayers in that 24-hour period,” the chaplain said.
Reverend Prakash Abraham, vicar of Abu Dhabi Marthoma Church, said that since many people across the globe are going through some sort of crisis due to the economic downturn, Christmas is an occasion that gives hope. He urged worshippers to use the occasion to alleviate the pain of others and reach out to people of other faiths. “Therefore we celebrated December as month of tolerance and organised many related activities. Christmas is the right occasion to celebrate the multi-religious and multicultural environment of the UAE.”
The church members reached out to around 45 shepherds working in different remote desert locations in Abu Dhabi and distributed winter clothes and food to them, the vicar said.
The Marthoma church will have a carol service at 6.30pm on Thursday and a midnight mass on Saturday, starting at 8.30pm, he said.
Jeramie Rinne, senior pastor at the Evangelical Community Church in Abu Dhabi, said an international Christmas carol service organised by the church this month was a wonderful experience for the worshippers.
“We had Christians from all over the world singing all languages! What is special in the UAE is an opportunity to experience different Christian traditions and cultures; yet they are united around Jesus,” Rinne said about the Christmas experience at the church that hosts more than 16,000 believers of around 100 nationalities from across the world.
Christmas mass will be held on Friday at 3.30am and 10.15 am at Evangelical Community Church.
Father M.C. Mathai Maracheril, vicar of St George Cathedral in Abu Dhabi, Christ’s message of “don’t be afraid” in the midst of many challenges brings peace to human beings. The angels who proclaimed the arrival of Christ spread hope about “love and peace”, which are more relevant in the present-day world, he said.
A visiting bishop from India, Dr Abraham Mar Feraphim, metropolitan of the Bengaluru diocese, will lead the Christmas and New Year Prayers at St George Cathedral, Maracheril said. The midnight mass at the church will be held on Saturday, from 6pm to 11pm, he said.
