ADVENT is a reminder of how the Church supports people “in times of darkness and difficulty”, the Prime Minister said at a gathering in Downing Street last week.

Speaking at an Advent reception on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer told church leaders and representatives that he was “struck that the Christian new year doesn’t begin with the joy of Christmas Day, but with this darker season of waiting and hoping.

“It reminds me that the Church is not only there in moments of celebration, but for many in times of darkness and difficulty as well,” he said. He spoke of the support that he and his family had received when his mother, a regular churchgoer, was dying.

Sir Keir said that he knew “how powerful Christian faith can be, and its potential to be an agent of transformation”. While not a Christian himself, he told those attending that he wanted the Government to “support that work you’re already doing, partner with you, and learn from your experience on the ground, every single day”.

He spoke of the response of churches to the summer’s riots, saying that the work they did in communities was “often unrecognised and unnoticed, but absolutely essential”. Sir Keir also cited mental health support as an area in which churches were doing invaluable work.

Sir Keir is the first self-professed atheist to serve as Prime Minister, but he has been outspoken in his admiration for faith groups, stating an intention to engage constructively with them (News, 27 September).

A large proportion of his front bench are outspoken about their Christian faith (News, 12 July; Comment, 19 July.

Those attending Wednesday’s reception included the Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Red Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy, and a former Bishop of Edmonton, now head of the Church Urban Fund, the Rt Revd Rob Wickham.

The chief executive of the Christian development organisation World Vision, Andrew Morley, was also in attendance, along with the chairman of the National Churches Trust, Sir Philip Rutnam.