"HAPPY New Year" – we all say it, don’t we? On January 1, we traditionally look back on the previous year hoping that the new one will be better. So what happened in 2014?

Well, in February the Ebola outbreak in West Africa spread and become the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976. April saw 276 girls abducted and held hostage from a school in Nigeria. Tensions between Israel and Hamas in July led to seven weeks of fighting with many killed. Finally, with the escalating conflict in Iraq and Syria almost 200,000 Syrians have lost their lives to date.

No doubt there was good news in 2014 but human tragedies always seem to demand our attention - often provoking the age-old question: "How can you believe in God when there’s so much suffering in the world?"

People of faith have offered various responses to this question, but we are left with no easy answers. However, from a Christian perspective I have often found the words of Saint Paul in Romans 8 fill me with hope.

Paul compares our present day sufferings to the pains of childbirth - a painful process of liberation that gradually gives birth to a new creation. He suggests that, amidst suffering, hope can be found in the life-changing power of God, who continually strives to 'work for the good' and bring his new creation to perfection. With this there is always the possibility of true freedom and universal hope for all.

So will 2015 be a better year? Well, there’s always hope. Let us resolve to work with God for the good by building bridges of friendship and love. Make this be your New Year resolution, giving new generations hope for a peaceful future. Happy New Year!

The Rev Bryan Yardy

Minister in the Settle Methodist Circuit