Epiphany – 2nd January 2022

This week’s Worship

Epiphany – 2nd January 2022 (1^st Sun.)
            8:00 am      BCP Holy Communion, Mawdesley

     *** 9:00 am    Family Worship, Bretherton Cancelled ***

9:15 am                Holy Communion, Croston
11:00 am               Holy Communion, Mawdesley

Wednesday 10 am    Holy Communion Croston
Friday        9 am     Morning prayer, Mawdesley

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Once again after all the build up our Christmas and New Year celebrations seem to pass by so quickly, I do hope that you and your families and friends remained safe and well.  I now know more people with Covid than I have known throughout this pandemic, and we are reminded daily that the infection rates continue to increase so it is still so important for us all to remain vigilant.  So please do follow the guidance to protect yourself and others.
We are celebrating the feast of Epiphany early this year on the Sunday before the actual feast day which is the 6^th January.
So it seems that we have only just had our Christmas celebrations and then early next week we will return to the reality of routine life, back to work, school etc.  I haven’t yet noticed them but it won’t be long before Easter Eggs start to appear in the shops.  Some people took their Christmas decorations down very early and most will have them down and back in the boxes by the 12^th night.
But the feast of the Epiphany brings us back to the reality of what we have been and are still celebrating, the revelation of who Jesus is. Epiphany means ‘manifestation’ and this time in the church year celebrates the manifestation by God of himself to the world in the person of Jesus.  Jesus is the epiphany, the manifestation of God’s love!  The reading from Isaiah prophesies that God will show forth his glory arising among his people and the peoples of the earth coming to praise him.  This is confirmed in the reading from Matthew where the Magi come from afar to offer to Jesus royal gifts and worship – because they see the divinity present in him.  But we also see in the Gospel the reality that not everyone welcomes Jesus.  Some like Herod see Jesus as a threat to their own earthly power and authority.
So Epiphany is about God revealing himself to the world in Jesus, but we must remember that we, the body of Christ in the world, are challenged to be a part of God’s manifestation in the world today.
As Christians we are all called, in our own personal way, to reveal the love of God to the world, and we do that by striving each day to follow the example Jesus has set us in how we live our own lives.
We have been through such difficult and challenging times over the last two years and with covid still so prevalent we will continue to face still more challenges ahead.   The opening verses of the Gospel of John contains a verse of great hope, which we read at our Christmas services: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”.
So as Christians we must be optimistic and hopeful, we are now past the shortest day of the year, so as each day passes by there will be just a little more light for us all.  This season of Epiphany should encourage us to follow the light of Christ each and every day, wherever that light may lead us.

Wishing you all a very safe, peaceful and prosperous New Year.

With love & prayers.

Michael   (Rector)

Tel: 01772 600548, email: revmwoods@gmail.com

Next Sunday – Baptism of Christ 9^th Januaryr (2^nd Sun.)

9:15 am       Family worship, Croston

11:00 am      Holy Communion, Bretherton
11:00 am      Holy Communion, Mawdesley

Christmas Services
Thank you to everyone who prepared our Churches for our Christmas celebrations, and thanks to Revd David Reynolds and Janet Maggs for their continued ministry across all 3 churches.

Covid Guidance in church – please do remember:

We are following the Government & Church of England Advise

• Do not come to church if you are feeling unwell or have experienced any COVID-19 symptoms in the past seven days
• Take regular Lateral Flow tests to protect yourself and others
• Be mindful of those who may be less confident.
• Don’t forget the Hands, Face Space guidance
• Unless exempt you must wear a face mask when attending worship in Church (Please leave your mask on whilst singing)

Facebook & YouTube Online Worship
An Act of Worship from Blackburn Cathedral will be available every Sunday from 9am.  You can view this on the Cathedral YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4GsctW6SLc or on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BlackburnCathedral
Start the New Year with a service from St Albans Cathedral celebrating the Feast of Epiphany.  Watch the service from 9am on Sunday at https://www.facebook.com/thechurchofengland and find out what’s planned for the rest of Christmas and Epiphany cofe.io/ChristmasServices

At the heart of Christmas: 12 Days of stories and meditations for Christmas from the Church of England.  They will run from Christmas Eve until the Epiphany (6 January).  You can download the app
‘At the Heart of Christmas’ or follow them on our facebook pages.

Please do continue your support of the Food Bank
Thank you for your support throughout 2021 but as we begin the New Year financial pressures are increasing, and the pandemic shows no sign of easing more families are struggle with the basic necessities, your donations are so important and will make a real difference to people’s lives.

Faith reference cards for School Applications
The new faith reference cards for the spring term should be available in church, don’t forget to return your card for the Autumn term.

Baptism Enquiries
We have been made aware of a problem with forms for baptisms being submitted via our Website, we are looking into this and trying to resolve the difficulties.  If you have submitted a form via the website and have not heard from us please accept our apologies and if you received an acknowledgement email at the time you completed the form could you please forward that email to revmwoods@gmail.com.

Could you make a donation to support Church?
All our churches rely upon the generous donations of our parishioners to provide the financial support that both maintain our buildings and provide care and support to all those in the local community.  Although some use standing orders or other methods of online giving, many donors use cash, either on the plate or in weekly planned giving envelopes.

Any donations you could make will be greatly received and one off donations or regular giving can be made by using ‘Online banking’ facilities, the bank details you will require to do this for each church are:

Bretherton – St. John the Baptist
St. Johns Bretherton PCC Account,
No: 10031333, Sort code: 16 17 41

Croston – St. Michael & All Angels
St. Michaels PCC Account,
No. 11215462, Sort Code 16-17-41

Also if you have no facility to transfer funds electronically, envelopes can be dropped off with our Treasurer Derek Alty,
12 Lostock Road, Croston.

Mawdesley w Bispham St. Peter
Mawdesley PCC Account,
No 87032805, Sort code 60 24 02.

If you decide to make a donation electronically you may be given the opportunity to set up a standing order, which would greatly help support our regular income.