'We're coming up to your busiest time of year!' is a phrase I hear often, and I never really know how to answer it.

Do I simply nod and agree? After all, that's the expectation people have of vicars at Christmastime. Yes it is busy, just a different kind of busy-ness from usual.

I've been in Macclesfield just over nine years now - this will be my 10th Christmas - and for a variety of reasons it is currently the most enjoyable.

Over those years, a number of people at church have grown and developed, and several of them are helping with the different services and community events my various churches host.

So, if truth be told (and I'd say it should be!), this Christmas I'm still busy but less frenetic and chaotic than usual; it feels like a wonderful gift given to me this year.

Reverend Martin Stephens is Rector of St Michael & All Angels Church (Credit: Nub News)

Christmas is an enjoyable time of year because of the increased number of people I see in the course of my week. School nativities, carol services and Christmas performances attract people who want to be there, so there's a lot of positivity around.

However, I also know how difficult life is for an increasing number of people at the moment, and whether it's the look of stress or loneliness on people's faces, or the approaches of individuals asking for help and support, such encounters can hit me like an emotional rollercoaster. That's when it gets tough.

But fundamentally I really enjoy Christmas - more than the outward show of it, if I'm honest – since so much of the biblical account of the birth of Jesus speaks of God caring for the lonely, the least and the lost. I know that describes me at times, and probably most of our guests at church over the season. When Christians celebrate Christmas, we delight that God has invited all to the party!

Revd Martin Stephens - Rector of St Michael & All Angels

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