Author: Revd. Karen Mitchell

Sunday

18th January 2026 The Second Sunday of Epiphany

Collect
Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; 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.
First Reading
Isaiah 49.1 –7
A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah.
Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mothers
womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he id me; he
made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, You are my servant, Israel,
in whom I will be glorified. But I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.
And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for
I am honoured in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength, he says, It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate
themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.
Psalm: Psalm 40.1-12
I waited patiently for the Lord; he
inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me out of the roaring pit,
out of the mire and clay; he set my
feet upon a rock and made my
footing sure.
He has put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God; many
shall see and fear and put their trust
in the Lord. Blessed is the one who
trusts in the Lord, who does not turn
to the proud that follow a lie.
Great are the wonders you have
done, O Lord my God. How great
your designs for us! There is none
that can be compared with you.
If I were to proclaim them and tell of
them they would be more than I am
able to express.
Sacrifice and offering you do not
desire but my ears you have opened:
Burnt offering and sacrifice for sin
you have not required; then said I:
Lo, I come. In the scroll of the book it
is written of me that I should do your
will, O my God; I delight to do it: your
law is within my heart.
I have declared your righteousness
in the great congregation; • behold, I
did not restrain my lips, and that, O
Lord, you know. Your righteousness I
have not hidden in my heart; I have
spoken of your faithfulness and your
salvation; I have not concealed your
loving-kindness and truth from the
great congregation.
Do not withhold your compassion
from me, O Lord; let your love and
your faithfulness always preserve
me,
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 1.1-9
A Reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel John 1.29–42
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me. I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel. And John testified, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God. The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, Look, here is the Lamb of God! The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, What are you looking for? They said to him, Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peters brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas (which is translated Peter).
Post Communion
God of glory, you nourish us with your Word who is the bread of life:
fill us with your Holy Spirit that through us the light of your glory
may shine in all the world. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Services this week:
Sunday 18th January The Second Sunday of Epiphany
10am Sung Mass
Refreshments are available after this service, please do stay and join us.
5pm Informal opening service for Week of Christian Unity Longmeadow Evangelical Church
Monday 19th 8pm Bible Study at St Hugh and St John
Tuesday 20th January
10am Said Mass
10.30am - 12pm Tea & Toast
12pm Lunchtime prayers at High Street Methodist
Wednesday 21st 7.30pm Prayer time at Great Ashby Community Centre
Thursday 22nd January
12-2pm Soup and a Roll
2pm Prayer event at St Nicholas Church—Prayer for the World.
Saturday 24th 12.30pm Prayer event at St Nicholas Church—Prayer for the Persecuted (Led by Shalom)
Sunday 25th January The Third Sunday of Epiphany
10am Sung Mass
Refreshments are available after this service, please do stay and join us.
6pm Evening prayer closing service for Week of Christian Unity at St Hugh and St John
Your prayers are asked at this time for:
All those who are sick or in any kind of need
Those who have recently Departed:
Those whose anniversary of death occurs at about this time:
Notices
Fundraising: We currently have the 50/50 Raffle on a monthly basis, £1 per ticket (you can have as many tickets as you want), the prize money being split between the roof fund and the winning ticket number, the next draw will take place on Sunday 25th January.
Porch Pantry: We are currently in desperate need of Pasta n Sauce, Cup a Soup, Custard, Pot Noodles , Biscuits, Microwave Rice, Tuna, Rice Pudding
Christmas Flowers: If you would like to make a contribution towards flowers for Christmas, please put your donation in the tin on the table at the back. Remember Christmas lasts until 2nd February (Candlemass).
Tea & Toast: We will be serving Tea (or coffee) and Toast (with jam or marmalade) from 10.30am on a Tuesday Morning, please do come and join us, and why not bring a friend as well.
Children’s Society Boxes: Thank you to those who have the boxes, this year we have sent off a total of £215.00 If you do not already have a box and would like one, please speak to Lesley Titterington, Those of you who kindly returned your boxes, they are on the back table awaiting your collection.
The Easter Journey: We will once again be hosting the Easter Journey for schools this year from Monday 9th March 2026 to Friday 13th March 2026 (We already have two schools signed up), please do consider being a volunteer for this in order that we might help children to learn and understand the importance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. There will be a training session for those who are volunteering to help, on Thursday 26th February. Next week there will be a sign up sheet at the back of church for you to sign if you can help, we will need 7 volunteers per session.
Dates For Your Diary 2026:
Sunday 18th January The Second Sunday of Epiphany
10.00 am Sung Mass followed by refreshments
Tuesday 20th January 10am Said Mass
10.30am Tea & Toast
Thursday 22nd January 12-2pm Soup and a Roll
Sunday 25th January The Third Sunday of Epiphany
10.00 am Sung Mass followed by refreshments
Tuesday 27th January 10am Said Mass
10.30am Tea & Toast
Wednesday 28th January 7pm Lectio Divina
Thursday 29th January 12-2pm Soup and a Roll
Sunday 1st February The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas) 10.00 am Sung Mass followed by refreshments
Tuesday 3rd February 10am Said Mass
10.30am Tea & Toast
Thursday 5th February 12-2pm Soup and a Roll
Contact Us
Rector: Reverend Karen Mitchell Email: revd.karenmitchell@btinternet.com Tel: 07596 374372
Churchwardens: Mr Mike Wilson Email: mikw505050@gmail.com Mr Eric Walton Email: enricowalton@gmail.com
Treasurer: Ms Jennifer Higgins Email: jah039@gmail.com