This Christmas season, President Rev Charissa Suli offers two messages for our community—because the incarnation meets us wherever we are.

A Christmas Message of Light and Action

In her main Christmas message, President Rev Charissa reminds us of the profound mystery at the heart of our faith: God chose to draw near, entering our world not in power but as a vulnerable child. Through the Gospel of John's timeless promise—"the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it"—we find hope for our weary world.

This Christmas calls us beyond celebration into action. We become bearers of Christ's light through the smallest gestures: speaking kindness into someone's day, sharing a meal with those who hunger for connection, or summoning courage when it matters most. May the Christ child steady your heart and illuminate your path into a new year rich with possibility for peace, courage, and enduring hope.

A Blue Christmas Message

For those carrying grief this season, Rev Charissa Suli offers a different kind of hope. If loss sits beside you at the table, if this season feels more heavy than holy—you are not alone. Emmanuel—God with us—enters precisely into our darkness, not to erase our pain but to abide with us in it.

Rev Suli invites you to honor what is true: light a candle for those whose absence aches, speak aloud the names that live in your heart, sit quietly with what hurts. In these tender acts, you may find Christ's gentle presence walking with you through the shadows toward a year where healing, however slow, becomes possible.

The message was filmed on Wiradjuri Country in Griffith NSW.

Watch both messages in full and find the one that speaks to your heart this Christmas season. Scroll down to see our messages from the Uniting Church moderators across the country.

President Suli is available for media appearances in the lead up to and on Christmas Day. Contact the Uniting Church Assembly Communications Unit: comms@nat.uca.org.au or ronaldj@nat.unitingcare.org.au