At 6.30 one morning last in November I set off from Government House to play golf at Riddell's Bay. I regret to have to tell you that after struggling for more than a year my golf is still appalling and I am not fit for decent golf company, but I don't hold that against Bermuda and that is not the point of my story.

The point of my story is that at about 6.40 when it was still not light I got to the Foot of the Lane and there standing in the centre of the road just short of the roundabout was Johnny Barnes, already about his daily duties waving cheery good mornings and blowing kisses to passing drivers.

A Bermudian institution, that's what Johnny Barnes is, and an example to us all. For we who are lucky enough to live in Bermuda have no right to be glum.

We should be as cheerful as Johnny and as willing as Johnny to spread a little happiness. In a nutshell we should count our blessings.

Of course there are people on this Island, as there are in every country in the world who need help, who have suffered misfortune, who are down on their luck, people who are ill or have suffered bereavement, people for whom things have just not gone right. And it is our job as Christians, particularly our job at Christmas as Christians, to give them a helping hand. But for the great majority of people here life is good and we should thank God for that and be enormously grateful that we live in Bermuda.

Gratitude to God and thankfulness for his blessings are therefore in place this Christmas. So are thoughts and prayers for those in other lands who are hungry or homeless or suffering from the ravages of civil strife. There is then time for family rejoicing because Christmas is by tradition a time when families get together and I am relishing even now having most of my family round me including my daughter Jenny who with her husband Robby has come all the way from Australia.

It is now well over a year since my wife and I arrived in Bermuda and I want to tell you how happy and fulfilling a first year it has been. It is difficult to pick out highlights -- there have been so many -- but I shall never forget the Youth Event at Government House which was a tribute to the enthusiasm and dedication of youth leaders throughout the island and showed our young people at their joyful best. There were then our visits to schools up and down the island where we soon came to realise how lucky Bermuda is with its teachers and what a reservoir of talent we have got in the pupils, splendidly articulate as they are. My enthusiasm at the World Cup Match against El Salvador was nearly my undoing. Along with the Premier I was cautioned for jumping up and down on the touch line contrary to FIFA rules. Then there was the Concert in the Square at St. George's, Match Racing in the Sound and of course the Regiment on parade on the Queen's Birthday which must have sent many a spine tingling.

This coming March, Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting Bermuda and she is assured of the warmest possible welcome. The Queen symbolises the closeness of the links between Britain and Bermuda; and there is a shared past and indeed a shared sacrifice in two World Wars which will always bind us together, whatever constitutional changes may come in the future.

The Regiment and the Police Service will be extremely busy during the Queen's visit. I know they can be relied on to carry out their duties at that time with their usual skill and efficiency. I thank them for the service they have provided during the past year and wish them and their families a very Happy Christmas.

We have enjoyed in the run up to Christmas visiting homes where the elderly are cared for, St. Brendan's and King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, and my last words are words of thanks to all who care for the old and sick in Bermuda -- the doctors, nurses, ancillary workers and all those who give voluntary service. You do a marvellous job.

So a Happy Christmas to you all. May 1994 bring you much happiness.

Lord Waddington Governor of Bermuda PREMIER For the past 11 years, I have joined you in your homes at Christmas to bring you a message of cheer appropriate to the holiday season. But this year, more than at any previous time, I feel a special kinship with my fellow Bermudians that makes a message of cheer not quite enough.

This is the first year that issues like the economy, drugs and crime must take second place to the reality of Bermuda's isolation in the world. We are an Island of 60,000 people, in the middle of the Atlantic. We have, for centuries enjoyed both the benefits and protection of being associated, in one way or another, with Great Britain, Canada and the United States.

The priorities of the whole world are changing. Bermuda finds itself at the centre of significant global change. We see large nations placing more emphasis on the need to take care of themselves. There's nothing wrong with that. But, as the recipients of their benevolence, for so many years, it is now necessary for us to follow their lead and take care of ourselves.

So this Christmas, I come to you with the realisation that we have a major challenge ahead of us as we go into 1994. We have many choices. We can choose to view the departure of the British, American and Canadian military bases as a disaster for Bermuda. or we can view it as a unique opportunity for us to shape our own destiny in every sense of the word. The return to Bermuda of ten percent of our land space is an exciting prospect. Even at the height of our prosperity, sufficient land has always been a scarce commodity.

Let's look at it this way. The return of our land is a special gift to us this Christmas. We need the space. And we can use our collective skills to find creative ways to use it for the benefit of the Country and for the good of all.

This is our ultimate challenge. We stand on the threshold of a new dimension in our history. We are being asked to turn adversity into positive change and I believe we can do it. We have never allowed circumstances to defeat us.

There's no reason for us to do it now.

It will not be easy. We cannot expect to reap major benefits overnight. It will take considerable time, and in the process, we will have to endure disappointment, dissension and sometimes even defeat. But that is all part of positive decision making and of the democratic process itself.

I am confident that we will succeed. When we recognise that we are all players on the same team;' when we respect each other regardless of differing points of view, and work together, we can find solutions to any problem.

There is nothing that, together, we cannot overcome. Families learn this at times of adversity and we can learn it too. I trust that this Christmas you will renew your commitment to making this the best country in the world.

Cherish it as though it were your own family. Only in that way will we truly make Bermuda a brighter, happier place for us all.

At this season of hope and goodwill, my colleagues in Government and my family join me in wishing all of you a very Happy Christmas and a Bright, Harmonious New Year.

The Hon. Sir John Swan Premier THE PLP Christmas is a special time for us all. It is a time for family, for giving gifts, for celebrating the birth of Christ in the Bermudian way.

This year has been an important year for Bermuda. The results of the General Election have ushered in a period of change, a period where Government must be more accountable for its actions.

We are grateful to all Bermudians who exercised their democratic right to vote. We give special thanks to those who support us and gave us increased numbers in the House of Assembly. We wish to assure the entire community of our intention to do our duty in working for changes and a better Bermuda.

We urge you that as you enjoy your Christmas that you remember those around the world who are hungry and suffering from the evils of war.

Since the General Election we have initiated a New Beginning, we trust that you will rededicate yourselves to serve your Country, to assist and make sure that we do the right thing regarding the closure of the United States Bases, the War on Drugs, the removal of the glass ceiling and the meaningful development of our young people.

I trust that you will enjoy all that the Season will bring and that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

On behalf of my family, the Parliamentarians, Officers and Members of the Progressive Labour Party I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mr. Frederick Wade Opposition Leader ANGLICANS My Christmas message this year is in the form of a prayer, which I invite you all to use.

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You sent Your Son Jesus Christ into the world, that He took our human nature upon Himself, and that He became one of us.

We thank You that He showed us God living among us, and also that He showed us how to live. We thank You for His teaching, preaching, and healing. We thank You that He confronted evil with good, and that He demonstrated His victory over sin and death by His resurrection from the dead. We thank You that He lives today -- in His world, in all His people, and in us His followers. We thank You that He will come again in power and glory to judge us all.

As we celebrate His birth in the stable of an inn at Bethlehem with cards, gifts, decorations, special food, family parties, carols and church services, so we pray that we may put Him at the centre of our celebrations and our lives. We ask You to bless our worship in Church, our family reunions, our relationships with our friends and neighbours, and our loved ones around the world. Give us grateful hearts, too, for all Your servants now at rest with You in Heaven.

We pray for all Your people everywhere. We pray for peace in Bosnia, Eastern Europe, Ireland, the Middle East, Somalia and South Africa. We pray for all who are sick, and for the discovery of a cure for AIDS and other deadly illnesses. We pray for an end to trading in illegal and harmful drugs. We pray for the lonely, the depressed, the unemployed, and those who find the pressures of life hard to bear.

We ask all these things in the name of the child born to be King, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

I wish you all a joyful Christmas. William Bishop of Bermuda CATHOLICS My Dear friends: The mystery we celebrate at Christmastime is so overwhelming that it is almost unbelievable: that God would become man, that he would come as an infant to live in our midst. We cannot help but ask, "Why?'' He came first, as we know, to redeem us, to restore us once more to God's friendship. Since man had offended his God, it was fitting that Jesus, who was both God and man, should be our mediator.

Yes, many argue that even if man had not offended his God, even if no redeemer were necessary, the Son of God may have become man anyway. Again we ask, "Why?'' The answer is expressed beautifully in our Christmas liturgy in one of those phrases that once heard seem to live forever in one's memory: "In him (Jesus) we see our God made visible and so are caught up in the love of the God we cannot see.'' Our God, since we cannot see him or sense him, remains aloof and unreachable.

Yet this is the God with whom we hope to spend eternity! Would it not help if we knew him better while we are still here upon earth? Jesus gives us that opportunity. As the liturgy once more says: "In the wonder of his birth, Your Son has brought to the eyes of faith a new and radiant vision of your glory.'' Since we poor finite creatures could never comprehend the infinite God, he set aside that dividing barrier and became, in the child whose birth we celebrate, finite like us. In other words, we can know and love our god, since (as Jesus told his followers) to know Jesus is to know God our Father.

Such an amazing answer could have been conceived only by the mind of god, flowing from his love for us, his weak and fallen creatures. And this love lies at base of our whole celebration! It is the source and foundation of our love for each other! May this love of God for us fill your heart at this very special time and flow from you to all you meet and cherish! Most Rev. Brian Hennessy Bishop of Hamilton MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION As the Christmas season is upon us, the world will pause on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Many of us who share in this Christian celebration will attend church either on the eve of Christmas or Christmas Day. We may do so out of thanksgiving for God's abundant grace and mercy toward us or as a part of a family tradition which has been handed down to us.

Many of us will take advantage of this season to renew friendships and relationships. Others may use the day to examine the reason for ones existence.

Preparation for the holidays can be hectic and is a stressful time for families. As we scour the stores for the perfect gift for our loved ones we must remember the gifts that have been given to us already. The reason for the season is to thank God for sending his son to us to save us from our sins and ourselves.

During this blessed season I challenge each of you to pause and think of others. Those who are not here, those who are less fortunate and the fact that God has given us the gift of life and the opportunity to improve ourselves and improve our world.

Christmas to me is a story of life. Christ came into the world to bring to men newness of life. As we celebrate his birth we must remember; God so loved the world that gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Rev. Leonard Santucci President Bermuda Christian Ministerial Association.