The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada preached the following homily at the New Year’s Day Festal Eucharist at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa: "Sometimes, we stand on the cusp of the new year with anticipation and excitement as we look ahead to opportunities and adventures. At other times, we come to the new year weighed down by grief, anxiety or fears of what lies ahead—as we leave a year of struggles. 2023 into 2024 feels more like the latter.
We began 2023 in hopes that COVID was waning and life began to turn into a renewed routine of in-person meetings and gatherings. Planning for events could resume as we continued mass vaccination programs. Yet at the end of the year COVID lingers still and—though seemingly less severe for many people—still disrupts plans and leaves long-term effects for some"...[more].