The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Rev Ken Newell, has urged people who have drifted away from God "to take a flight back home. Get hold of Luke's Gospel, and just read it for 15 minutes a day".
In his Christmas message he continued: "If you've disconnected from the Church, give it another go."
He called on people to renew their friendship with God and embrace a spirit of reconciliation.
Noting that "there are elderly people in nursing homes and hospitals who have been almost abandoned by their families," he asked, "why is it that sometimes old friends show more interest in them than their own flesh and blood? What's gone wrong?
"What an emotional tonic it would be to some elderly relative if we allowed God to soften our hearts and turn us again towards those who have invested so much in us." he said.
Family relationships were not always fun, he said
"Over the years I've met many people who often talk angrily about a parent, a brother, a sister or another family member who took no interest in them growing up, or had been violent, or abusive or constantly critical. Families can put you in the freezer.
"The first thing God does when his spirit enters us is to install some central heating - the warmth of Christ's love starts circulating around the chilled rooms of our memories and our relationships."
All over Ireland he had met dozens of the thousands of people who had come here to seek new opportunities, he said.
"Yet there isn't one who hasn't suffered racial hostility."
We needed to let the generosity and kindness for which our people were noted "flourish again in our new and multi-racial community", he said.
