Recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Mali, Egypt and Beirut, along with other indiscriminate killings by the infamous Islamic extremists, have left the world feeling angry and helpless.

However, we can express our solidarity with the many victims of these atrocities by making an effort over the Christmas period to attend a service in any one of our local churches.

Let us be strong. Let us be united. Let us all who have any attachment to the Christian faith fill our churches and make it clear to one and all that we have a faith worth proclaiming and show defiance in the face of evil.

Let us reflect on the warm, loving and humble way of Jesus Christ, whose birth we will be celebrating on Friday.