Tag: epiphany

Week beginning Sunday 18th January 2026

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Lee Young on Unsplash

The Church’s winter season is now over, although the weather outside may still be very wintry. The season begins with Advent, is centred on Christmas and concludes with Epiphany. Yes, some say that it should be thought to extend to Candlemas (February 2nd), but with Easter eggs already on sale in the supermarkets, I think Epiphany provides an appropriate seasonal ‘full stop’. But which of these three days is most significant? Of course, each one is important.

Advent Sunday kicks it all off and is best symbolized by a candle in the darkness. I always listen to Handel’s Messiah on this and the following days. This famously begins with the aria: “Comfort my people”, the opening words from Isaiah 40. We need comfort, and we are also called to offer comfort. Christmas day is the centre, around which so much happens: from Carol services, to mince pies and presents, to visits with family and neighbours. Just as a wide variety of people were drawn to Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus, so we also recognize the need to be with others, “bearing one another’s burdens, sharing one another’s joys”.

Yet, I could not do without Epiphany. There is so much in that story: the Magi have to travel far, and arrive late (just like many of us, I imagine, who only become aware of some deeper truths in our later years). The birth of Jesus is not merely a personal family affair – the Epiphany sets this birth in the context of world affairs, untrustworthy rulers and horrific killings (the massacre of the innocents, Matthew 2.16 – 18). The Epiphany reminds us that, though Jesus was born a Jew, he is given to all humankind – our faith can never be solely a matter of personal preferences, it requires us to look beyond.

But the saying I love most occurs in the second half of Matthew 2.12: “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road”. The Magi had to go back home – but they were different and their route had to be different. Faith takes us onwards, even when our surroundings may be familiar. 2026 cannot merely be a replay of 2025. I may already have failed with my New Year Resolutions – but this verse encourages me to try afresh, to experiment, to seek out new paths and companions. All the Gospel readings for the Sundays of the Epiphany season (from now until the start of Lent) nudge us to look at what is familiar in fresh ways: how may God be revealing something now that we have not seen and tried before.

Revd Bob Cotton

This Sunday 18th January Services are

10am – Sung Holy Communion – St Mary’s

10:30am – Holy Communion with Hymns – All Saints

6:30pm – Epiphany Carols – St Mary’s

The Week Ahead

Mon 19th Jan

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 20th Jan

10:30am – M4T, St Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 21st Jan

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

2:00pm – Bible Book Club, St Mary’s

Thu 22nd Jan

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s

Sat 24th Jan

12:00pm-1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St Mary’s

Sun 25th Jan

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s

10:30am – Café Church, All Saints

Week beginning Sunday 4th January 2026

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, or as the 1662 Prayer Book puts it, the Manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles. This name is used to emphasise that, right from the start, the the gospel tells us that Jesus is for all people. Many artists took up  this theme by depicting Jesus’ visitors coming from the three extremes of the known world. One was from Europe, one from Asia or Arabia and one was from Sub-Saharan Africa. Although this is a contradiction to the actual Biblical text, which says that they came from “the east”, it reminded people that Jesus came for everyone, including those that did not look like them, think like them or behave like them.

Historically, the Church of England in Bristol does not have a good record, when it comes to welcoming people who are different. Today, we need to make sure that we extend the love of God to all, whatever their circumstances or background. Differences of race, social class, disability and sexuality should not come between us. As Paul put it in his letter to the church in Galatia, “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NRSVue).

This Sunday we will have an opportunity to think a little more about Epiphany and its meaning at the 10:30 am Holy Communion at All Saints and the 6:30 pm Evensong at St Mary’s. In the morning at St Mary’s, there is creative church. This gives the following services for this Sunday, 4th January:

10:00 amSt Mary’sCreative Church
10:30 amAll SaintsHoly Communion
  6:30 pmSt Mary’sEvensong for Epiphany

This week we have our normal pattern of services with Celtic Morning Prayer on Wednesday at All Saints and Holy Communion at St Mary’s on Thursday. Next Sunday has our normal services for the second Sunday of the month with Messy/Muddy church at All Saints and Holy Communion at St Mary’s.

Wednesday 7th9.00 am All SaintsCeltic Morning Prayer
Thursday 8th10:00 am St Mary’sHoly Communion
Sunday 11th8:00 am All SaintsHolly Communion (said)

 		10:00 am St Mary’sHoly Communion

 		10:30 am All SaintsMessy/Muddy Church


Wishing you a happy New Year. May God bless you and all you do in 2026.

Yours in Christ

Mark

Week beginning Sunday 19th January 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

This Sunday, we reach the centre point of the Epiphany season. It is a season when we remember the way Jesus was revealed to the world. This week we reach what John refers to as the first of Jesus’ signs. Yet all our readings through Epiphany are signs that point to Jesus. The gifts of the magi, the Holy Spirit at Jesus’ baptism, the power of Jesus’ miracles, his fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies and his presentation at Temple all show facets of who Jesus is and why we can put our trust in him.

Our opening hymn at St Mary’s this Sunday gives a summary of this revelation or “manifestation”. Starting at Jesus’ birth, we sing of the events that we hear about in the Epiphany readings. Yet the hymn asks for more than just “Songs of thankfulness and praise”. It prays that we may learn more of Christ from the bible and that we grow to be more like him in all we say, do and are. 

This Sunday morning, we have chances to reflect on these themes with Holy Communion at St Mary’s at 10.00 and at All Saints at 10.30. In the evening, there is the Epiphany carol service at St Mary’s at 6.30. This gives the following services for this Sunday 19th January:

10.00 amSt Mary’sHoly Communion
10.30 amAll SaintsHoly Communion
6.30 pmSt Mary’sEpiphany carols

During the week, we have our normal midweek services with Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints on Wednesday at 9.00 am and Holy Communion at St Mary’s on Thursday at 10.00 am.

Next week follows our normal fourth Sunday pattern, with Holy Communion at All Saints at 8.00 am and at St Mary’s at 10.00 am. At 10.30 am at All Saints we have our café church, where we will be continuing our look at Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. This week’s theme is salvation, which Paul writes about in chapters 3 and 4.

This gives the following Services for the coming week:

Wednesday 22nd9.00 amAll SaintsCeltic morning prayer
Thursday 23rd10.00 amSt Mary’sHoly Communion
Sunday 26th8.00 amAll SaintsHoly Communion (said)
 10.00 amSt Mary’sHoly Communion
 10.30 amAll SaintsCafé Church

So, as we start a new week, let us pray that we can see that revelation of Christ and follow in his way, using the words of Christopher Wordsworth’s hymn:

Grant us grace to see thee, Lord,
Mirrored in thy holy word.
May we imitate thee now,
And be pure, as pure art thou.
That we like to thee may be
At thy great Epiphany,
And may praise thee, ever blest,
God in Man made manifest.

Yours in Christ

Mark

Week beginning Sunday 5th January 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

Epiphany

I am very fond of the season of Epiphany which comes straight after Christmas. I have pondered why this is and have come up with three reasons “I love Epiphany”

1) It feels like you get all the joy of Christmas with a little less of the stress! 

2) Its just a lovely word to say, with all the lovely “ph” sounds it rolls off the tongue!

3) It connects us deeply to our Eastern Christian Heritage that has so many riches.

So this week, we begin our Epiphany journey, as the church begins to grapple with and wonder at the God who is made manifest, real, visible in the baby of the manger. As the Magi make their appearance, having travelled far and for so long. As we learn of the tyranny of rulers and the burden of being a refugee. I invite us all to enjoy deeply this Epiphany season, so that it might bring us healing, perspective and joy.

This Sunday 5th January our worship is as follows

10am – Creative Church – Theme “East” – St Marys

10.30am – Holy Communion with Band and Junior Church – All Saints

6.30pm – Sung Holy Communion for Epiphany – St Marys

THE WEEK AHEAD

Weds 8th Jan  

9:00am –  Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

Thursday 9th Jan

10:00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s 

Friday 10th Jan

1:00pm – 2:00pm – Lunchtime Concert – Kookie Yukes – St Marys

Saturday 11th Jan

12:00pm – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches  – St. Mary’s 

Sunday 12th Jan        

8:00am – Holy Communion – All Saints 

10:00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s 

10:30am – Muddy Church – All Saints 

7:15pm – Generations – All Saints Link

Epiphany Collect to ponder – till we see each other

O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith, may at last behold your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Blessings for 2025

Revd Lizzie