Hi everyone. I’m Matthew Porter. I recently started out as the new Bishop of Bolton.

I was on foot and didn’t know the area, so I was being guided by the Maps app on my phone. As I approached a road junction I noticed a woman, also with phone in hand, looking lost. ‘Can you help me?’ she asked, giving me an address.

I explained that I was new to the area but I’d try. I typed in the details and showed her where it was. It was close to where I was heading so walked together for a few minutes and got chatting.

Rani said she was studying here and had been in the UK for a few weeks and was now on her way to a shop for an informal interview about occasional work.

She told me about her studies and then asked what I was doing, and I explained that I was a bishop and part of my role involves supporting church leaders, and I was on the way to meet some.

I asked whether she’d made any friends yet. ‘I’ve made one’ she said. ‘That’s a good start’ I replied, ‘we need friends. People. Community. Community is important.’ ‘Yes’ she said, ‘community is very important.’ I enquired whether she’d been to a place of worship. She hadn’t. I said that in the churches I represented she would find kind people who’d make her welcome. She said she hadn’t thought about church and responded ‘Maybe I’ll go. Thank you.’ We reached the shop and as I said good-bye she thanked me for helping her reach her destination.

As I walked on, I reflected that when we’re in a new setting it’s really easy to feel lost. But of course feeling lost is not just the experience of new people; I meet people all the time who don’t know where they’re going and just feel lost in life. What we need is someone to point us in the right direction and, better still, to walk with us.

That’s why Christmas is so important, not only because it’s an opportunity to show kindness to those in need, but most importantly, it points to why Jesus came Christians believe that Jesus was born that first Christmas as God-in-human-flesh, not only to show us what God is like, but to be our guide who is present with us and walks alongside us, showing us the way. Why? Because he loves to help those who are lost