The Bishop of Bangor and Archbishop of Wales Andrew John has released a Christmas message reflecting on the challenges we face in Wales with the cost of loving crisis and the ongoing tragedy unfolding in Gaza after the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

"What I’ve come to realise," says the Archbishop, who is from Aberystwyth, "is that life is not only precious but also fragile.

"What makes the difference is having solid ground beneath me, something that doesn't fall apart when everything else might. And that's what faith in Jesus Christ offers."

He adds: "The place where I'm standing was once a busy quarry producing granite in huge quantities from the 1870's onwards although Nant Gwrtheyrn has seen industrial activity for over 2 millennia.

"Life in the C19th was brutal: there was no NHS, no welfare and no insurance scheme to protect workers from injury. Health and safety was non-existent.

"Just looking at the hills, the waste material, the last vestiges of that quarrying, it's easy to imagine what life was like.

"However brutal then, of course, as nothing compared to what is happening in Gaza City at the moment.

"To this land of bitter fighting and pain, God came.

"The destruction of life and property is truly horrifying.

"Since the Hamas atrocities on October 7th and the taking of hostages, the world has been gripped by the explosion of fighting taking place in that sliver of land in the Middle East.

"And it's the people who suffer, brutalized as ancient rivalries and competing claims to history and land are played out in deadly conflict. Here, violence is not new.

"To this land of bitter fighting and pain, God came. We celebrate this at Christmas. The tree, decorations and festivity easily mask the extraordinary message that this was the world into which God stepped. Born as a child, yes, but most importantly, as a human. God become what we are.

"Faith in Christ makes life with God very good.

"I'm very conscious this Christmas that, here in Wales, we will have our own challenges to face as well. The cost of living crisis continues and Christmas itself can be stressful for many.

"What I’ve come to realise across the years is that life is not only precious but also fragile. What makes the difference is having solid ground beneath me, something that doesn't fall apart when everything else might.

"And that's what faith in Jesus Christ offers. Faith in Him makes life with God very good. The ‘babe of Bethlehem’, once a child in manger, is also the real Black Friday, the one thing worth possessing.

"That's my hope for this year, for Israel/Palestine, for Wales and for you and me. God bless you richly and a very happy Christmas."