Finding Christmas hope in the cow shed

When Julia Grace talks about her life at the moment, she can’t help but laugh: “We’re building a house, so I’m currently living in a cow shed – it’s like a Nativity scene!”

While the beloved singer, broadcaster and mental health advocate isn’t sure if she’ll even bother putting a tree up this year, she says once Christmas Day rolls around, it’ll be “the full shebang”.

“For me, Christmas has always been about extended family, about everybody all together. I’m one of five, and my mum was also from a big family, so it’s always been a time to see cousins and open our home to people who didn’t have somewhere to go.”

“Barbara, my mum, made the world’s best Christmas mince tarts, and the recipe has been passed down. Christmas carols are a non-negotiable – and with my big, extended family, that means harmonies!”

Another big part of Julia’s Christmas Day over recent years has been hosting CBA’s Christmas broadcast on Newstalk ZB for several hours.

She’ll be back in the studio again this year, alongside a stellar line-up of Christian broadcasters, to share the story of how Jesus’ birth changed the world – with an estimated 300,000 New Zealanders listening in.

For Julia, this is more than just another gig. While she loves the chance to play a part in people’s celebrations, she most relishes being a voice of comfort and hope for those whose Christmas Day is laced with sadness – because she knows from first-hand experience what that’s like.

“A number of years ago, I found myself really unexpectedly as a single mum. Christmas went from a peaceful, happy time to being mixed with a really tough time,” Julia recalls.

“So I’m super aware that there are people for whom Christmas is hard, and that for them, everyone else’s joy and celebration can actually amplify the pain and the discomfort of family in hospital, of loneliness, of mental health challenges, of feeling hurt or broken or vulnerable.”

That awareness now shapes how she tells stories, especially on radio.

“I want to find a way to include and encourage people, to remind them that even though it’s not perfect, there’s still something to celebrate here today.”

Each year, CBA’s Christmas programme brings together well-known Christian voices for hours of live conversation, audio features and reflection on the story that changed the world.

For many listeners – tradies on the road, nurses between shifts, families driving across the country, people spending the day alone – it may well be the only time they hear the Gospel.

Julia sees that as an enormous opportunity.

“We brainstorm how we are going to bring this to our listeners in a way that feels nostalgic, solid and strong, while asking how does this apply to our everyday life?” she said.

“We take this ancient story and bring it into a modern context - looking underneath it at the themes of joy and hope, and what that looks like to  those dealing with family, work, the current economic climate or other big, everyday issues.”

Her approach to storytelling on radio mirrors the approach she’s taken throughout her career: clear, gentle, invitational.

“Rather than it being like ‘we have this knowledge and we are going to preach at you’, what I’m going to do is invite you into the story, and then use that story to encourage you in your everyday life.”

Julia’s personal theme for 2025 is resilience – a word she jokes she shouldn’t have chosen because it’s been tested so thoroughly.

And yet she’s grateful for living amid sawdust and concrete slabs, as it’s teaching her to celebrate even when the process is ongoing and the end isn’t yet in sight.

“The story of the Nativity is that they had a wonderful celebration in the most unusual of circumstances,” she said.

 ”And perhaps I can join them just a little bit this year and remind people that no matter where they are, they can stop, give thanks, celebrate, and contemplate what Christmas really means.”

This is the impact your generosity makes possible: the Gospel shared with people who may never walk into a church, through the voice of someone who understands what it means to find joy in the midst of real life.

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