The first day of Christmas

Yesterday, I attended my first Advent service at St Michael's Church, Chester Square. The service was hosted by Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach, in support of Christian Responsibility in Public Affairs. The address was given by General Sir Richard Dannatt GCB CBE MC, who has just retired as the senior officer in the British Army. He spoke of our troops in Afghanistan facing Christmas and the dilemma of whether God approved of them killing their enemies. The General - a muscular Christian and a firm believer in God -was in no doubt that our troops stood on the moral high ground, although he understood the problems of a young private soldier who'd killed someone for the first time and had sleepless nights ever since. I came away from the service thinking more deeply about our role in Afghanistan, than I have after reading thousands of column inches in the newspapers. Perhaps because when it's told to you by someone who has stood on the battlefront, it carries that much more conviction.