Bishops of Dudley and Lichfield talk of keeping hope, building a better world and the power of change in their New Years messages

Both the Bishop of Dudley and Acting Bishop of Worcester, Rt. Rev. Martin Gorick, and the Bishop of Lichfield, Rt. Rev. Michael Ipgrave, have reflected on changing and difficult times in their messages.

Bishop Gorick looked at how people can remain loved and blessed and how people can make a difference in their communities across 2026, while Bishop Ipgrave reflected on how the winning dancer of Strictly Come Dancing had come to change his perspective on life due to becoming humbler and kinder.

Both Bishops also wished their respective congregations across Dudley, Sandwell, Wyre Forest, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Shropshire and Lichfield a happy and prosperous new year and spoke of opportunities to come for people within their faith.

The Bishop of Dudley and Acting Bishop of Worcester, Rt. Rev. Martin Gorick

"Happy New Year! We say it with sincerity, yet we know 2026 will not be easy for many. 

"Some will face unemployment and the crushing sense of being left behind. Others will battle addiction or endure the pain of a violent home. 

"Families will struggle under the weight of debt, and countless people will suffer prejudice simply because of the colour of their skin. Many will live with illness, mental or physical, or walk the difficult road toward life’s end. 

"Against such realities, “Happy New Year” can sound like a fragile hope.

"But in the Bible, “happy” and “blessed” share the same meaning. 

"In Luke 6:20, Jesus declares: 'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and exclude you, for surely your reward will be great in heaven.'

"These words remind us that those who suffer are not forgotten as they are seen by God with love and counted as blessed.

"I see this lived out every day as Bishop of Dudley.

"I chair a charity called CHADD which offers safety and dignity to victims of domestic abuse. The Goodsoil Project in Worcester helps people overcoming addiction by growing crops and rebuilding lives. The Black Country Foodbank served half a million meals last year, with grace and kindness. 

"These organisations, born from faith and compassion, bring light into the darkest places. Volunteers often tell me that in serving others, they themselves feel blessed.

"So as we step into 2026, let’s turn hope into action. 

"How can you make a difference in your community? How can you help build a kinder, stronger world? When you do, you’ll discover something profound: blessing flows both ways. 

"And then, perhaps, “Happy New Year” will be more than a wish, it will be a reality."

The Bishop of Lichfield, Rt. Rev. Michael Ipgrave

"New Year is a time when we often look forward to change. 

"We hope for a fresh start, new energy and even make resolutions, kept through willpower and determination. 

"These attempts are all admirable and many succeed at giving up, for example, smoking, drinking or even social media this way. All too often though, we crash in the fracture of our resolve. 

"We’ve all been there; it’s a common human experience. When we succeed it is often because of support, a friend who walks alongside, a medical aid or our own sense of virtue. Or faith.

"Maybe this Christmas was the first time you went to church. It seems that this was true for a number of people from reports of how busy services in some of our churches were. 

"Whether you came to church at Christmas or not, you may also have seen the final of the TV’s Strictly Come Dancing. 

"Contestants’ ability to dance changes over a period of time because they continue on a journey supported by a dancing partner and encouragement from close family and distant viewers alike until they are eliminated. 

"The eye-catching change this year was unexpected and different. 

"It was the brave and humble testimony of Carlos Gu, one of the winning pair, talking about the personal change in his life inspired by his partner, Lioness Karen Carney. 

"He talked about how he had been self-centred and never a team player, but how Karen’s team-playing and team-building approach had transformed him over the weeks into a kinder, humbler person, to the point where he felt confident to tell the world about it. 

"That was not a change: it was a transformation! His advice: “Never give up”.

"Christianity is about transformations. That one visit to church can be the start of a journey of transformation if we let it. 

"When that involves large numbers of people, it can transform a whole society. The friend who we walk with is Jesus Christ himself.

"Change like that starts with sowing a habit. From that habit comes a character, then a lifetime, then a destiny. If ever there was a time to reap a destiny as a nation, it is now.

"In the uncertainties of the present times, when the darkness of war and aggression seem closer than for many decades, and when our own communities have been prey to forces driving them into factions, we can take strength and reassurance in our capacity to find the change needed to meet these challenges. 

"This means not to become more entrenched in our views, more capable of displays of strength, more convinced that we must find some sort of victory in others’ defeat rather than our own success. 

"This is a time to seek to become more human; to reach for the resilience of communities built on mutual care and respect; to show the compassion of individuals who know we are loved by God; to practise the self-sacrifice that comes from knowing God has come among us and given himself for us. 

"If you sowed the seed of coming to church and want to explore faith, let it transform you by making it a habit this year. Make it a resolution. 

"There is plenty of help available to sustain you. Societies can change for the better through individuals’ transformations, but we must continue journeying. A very happy New Year to you all."