Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

christmas to candlemas

 

Resource compiled by the Joint Liturgical Group
of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland


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.

So the Word became flesh; he made his home among us, and we saw his glory, such glory as befits the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. (St John 1.14)

So Jesus performed at Cana-in-Galilee the first of the signs which revealed his glory and led his disciples to believe in him. (St John 2.11)

God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, no longer holding people's misdeeds against them, and has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5.19)


The 6th of January is a great day, Christmas for the Orthodox Churches, and Epiphany in the west. Together Christmas and Epiphany celebrate the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Associated with the celebration are the Wise Men, the Baptism of Our Lord, and the Marriage at Cana. We glimpse the splendour to which we are called, a splendour uniting all creation, revealed in the simplicity and humane kindness of Jesus' earthly life. Revering Christ can run the risk of making him so distant that we play down our call to be collaborators with him.

 

hands together in prayer
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