An Extraordinary Time

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The holiday season is and has always been an extraordinary time for sharing and giving. It is also a time for peace, love and goodwill among human kind. It is the season for celebration and for renewal. It is a time for us to forget the things that have divided us during the course of the year and to celebrate the things that binds us together as a community and people.

May this period offer a new opportunity for thoughtful reflections of the year just ended, and strengthen our resolve for the year ahead. This year, as we gather with family, friends and loved ones to enjoy the season, we must look back on the year 2008, the promises it held and the promises yet unfulfilled.

As we reflect on our collective good fortune as a community, it is also important that we reflect on the true and eternal spirit of the season. It is only by doing this can we will strive to make the holidays a time of celebration for all, especially those less fortunate than ourselves.

This season presents a unique opportunity for us to come together in peace and harmony, to rekindle bonds of community, to build and rebuild the kind of respect for each other that can only help us to grow stronger.

Happy New Year to all!
Malcolm Dunderdale