2018 Archbishop of Canterbury's New Year Message

All right, tell me exactly what's happened.

The ambulance will be there as soon as possible.

All right, take care.

This is the specialist operations centre,

part of the London Ambulance Service.

I've had the privilege of meeting some of the amazing staff here.

It's used for training and becomes operational

when there's a major incident in London.

-Hi. Justin.

-I'm Will.

-Will.

-I'm Ben. Nice to meet you.

-Ben.

-Simon.

-Simon.

-Tyler.

-Tyler.

It's very nice to meet you!

On the 3rd of June, as the terrifying events unfolded

on London Bridge and in Borough Market,

staff took over 100 calls from those caught up in the atrocities.

I'm the old-person representative here.

THEY LAUGH

So, I'm the operations officer for the Hazardous Area Response Team.

So, how quickly did the first ambulance get to Borough Market

and London Bridge?

It's three or four minutes we were there

in terms of the first response.

SIRENS WAIL

It wasn't just London and Manchester that suffered last year.

All over the world, we witnessed the horror

and devastation caused by terrorism.

You don't actually think about, you know,

what you've actually just dealt with until probably a day or so later.

And then, when you see it on the telly or in the paper or...

Yeah, that's right,

-because, you know, we're blind, we don't see...

-Oh, absolutely.

..anything, we're just going by what we hear on the screens.

And there have been other terrible tragedies.

I visited Grenfell Tower while it was still burning.

I remember the desperation and sorrow.

SIRENS BLARE

Then there are those whose suffering will never make

the news, people who are struggling to find work or

relying on food banks, those who are bereaved

or coping with poor mental health or physical illness.

When things feel unrelentingly difficult,

there are often questions which hang in the air.

"Is there any light at all?" "Does anyone care?"

Every Christmas, we hear from the Bible in the Gospel of John

the extraordinary words,

"The light shone in the darkness,

"and the darkness has not overcome it."

We see this light in the resilience of Borough Market.

Today, it is as crowded as ever,

and the people who work there are vibrant and welcoming.

Anything to drink, young man?

Er, a cup of coffee.

-"Young man"!

-There's always someone older! Remember that!

We see it in the faces of the hundreds of volunteers

who turned out after Grenfell simply to help strangers in need.

We see it in the heroism of the ambulance crews, police,

Fire Service and security forces.

I will never forget the image of a group of unarmed police officers

sprinting flat out towards Borough Market

as so many were running in the opposite direction.

So often in 2017, the depth of suffering

was matched by a depth of compassion as communities came together.

We love Manchester!

-ALL:

-We love Manchester!

-We love UK!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Which stories will define us, the horror or the response,

the darkness or the light?

It is a choice, but not one we have to make alone.

Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, weeps for our struggles,

works for our healing and invites us to walk in his light.

He is right there with us in the midst of everything.

May I wish you all a very happy new year.