ALL SAINTS: NOTICES -- SUNDAY BEFORE HOLY THEOPHANY, 2026
GREETINGS, IN CHRIST!
Christ is Born! (Glorify Him!)
Beloved Christians, today is a glorious day! In today's Holy Gospel (Mark 1:1-8) we hear of Saint John the Forerunner preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
The Baptised person is the one who has 'put on Christ' (Galatians 3:27). To continue to live an unrepentant life is to betray our Holy Baptism; to be focused on the things of this world, on the distractions of money, career, relationships, to the point of excluding God is to embrace death. No longer do we produce good fruit and so we ought not be surprised by Saint John’s promise that the bad tree shall be cut down and thrown into the fire.
A bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit (Matthew 7:18). We who remain bad, cannot – however self-deluding and self-justifying we may be - bring forth the good fruit, the fruit being- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
We must, like Saint John, do things in their correct order.
First, we need to accept our broken-ness and desire to CHANGE.
Then, we need to repent.
And, only then, may we be readied for the Kingdom. 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!'
The Forerunner warns us that the 'axe is laid unto the root of the corrupt tree'. Christ found all of us to be corrupt trees, but in his limitless compassion he offers us an opportunity and encouragement to become good; through humility and repentance, to produce good fruit: 'A new command I give you', Christ says, 'love one another as I have loved you'.
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HOLY THEOPHANY - THIS TUESDAY, 6th JANUARY, 2026
08:30 - HOLY TEMPLE OPENS FOR PRAYER
09:30 - [abbreviated] ORTHROS
10:00 - GREAT BLESSING OF THE WATERS
10:30 - DIVINE LITURGY
Arrive early so as to make the most of the holy day.
Bring bottles/containers to take home some of the 'Agiasmos (Blessed water).
In the following days and weeks the priest will come and bless your home. Contact him to invite him/make arrangements.
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*** A WINTER GIFT ***
On 7th January we shall be giving a special gift to Orthodox Christian children around the world.
UNDER THE SHELTER OF HIS WINGS is a brand new e-book from Junior All Saints Books. This gentle and quietly-spiritual little book, illustrated throughout with charming original artwork, will be emailed to subscribers of our children's magazine, uploaded to our parish Facebook page, and shared across multiple internet platforms. We pray that children of all ages will enjoy our new publication!
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ORTHODOXY 101: THE FORERUNNER AS BLUEPRINT
Saint John the Baptiser and Forerunner is a holy eikon, a blueprint, for our repentant life. It is clear that Saint John, like the disciples, is to act as an envoy of Christ, extending His ministry, proclaiming the same good news and performing the same works of healing that He is doing. Christ’s further instructions make clear that the disciples are also to share in His poverty, taking with them no money or extra clothing, and depending solely on the hospitality of others for shelter and sustenance (Matthew 10:8b-13).
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ORTHODOXY 101: THE PRAYER BEFORE THE HOLY GOSPEL
This prayer, which is read silently by the priest (and is profitably read by laity before reading the Holy Gospel), offers us a reliable template for undertaking the ascetic life -
'Illumine our hearts, O Master Who loves mankind, with the pure light of Your divine knowledge.
Open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of Your Gospel teachings.
Implant also in us the fear of Your blessed Commandments,
that trampling down all carnal desires, we may enter upon a spiritual manner of living,
both thinking and doing such things as are well-pleasing unto You.'
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ALL GLORY TO GOD!
All those who help in our parish, who give of their income, time and energy; who share food & drink; and who pray for us sinners.
Thank you for your prayers, concern, kind messages to Father Jakob.
Ruth & Daniel - betrothed to be married in Shrewsbury, in July.
Ted - for bread, vegetables and firewood.
Those who gave to today's Appeal.
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YOUR HOLY PRAYERS
For Christians suffering in Syria, Kosovo, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine.
For a blessed, peaceful, Christ-centred 2026.
Reeader Aaron - proposed for ordination to the holy Diaconate, he is sitting before the Axios (ordination) committee on 27th January.
Father Jakob - unwell. In pain. Appointment tomorrow.
Jo (non-orthodox) - liver and lung cancer, end-of-life care.
Delia, Adrian, Andrada, Ecaterina - travelling home, today.
Susannah - starting new job, tomorrow.
Our pupils, students, teachers, support and admin. staff, as schools, colleges, universities reopen.
For Evie & Reece - about to be enrolled as katechumens.
Harry & George (non-orthodox, youngsters) - difficult journey to the Lord. May God bring strength!
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CHRIST IS BORN!
GLORIFY HIM!
the sinner and unworthy priest,
Father Jakob
please post these notices online, and share them with your friends and family
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LOOKING AHEAD -- TWELVE GREAT FEASTS
To help you plan ahead, for those of you who are able to take time off work, etc., here are the dates of GREAT FEASTS for the year ahead.
These are dates upon which we should try to be in Church (sadly, many of us do not always have this choice).
These are days upon which the Divine Liturgy should be served at All Saints. Servers, singers, helpers- please do what you're able.
14th SEPTEMBER -- EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
21st NOVEMBER -- ENTRY OF THE THEOTOKOS INTO THE TEMPLE
25th DECEMBER -- NATIVITY OF CHRIST
6th JANUARY -- HOLY THEOPHANY
2nd FEBRUARY -- PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE
25th MARCH -- HOLY ANNUNCIATION
5th APRIL -- ENTRY OF OUR LORD INTO IERUSALEM*
12th APRIL -- HOLY PASCHA*
21st MAY -- HOLY ASCENSION*
31st MAY -- HOLY PENTEKOST*
6th AUGUST -- HOLY TRANSFIGURATION
15th AUGUST -- FALLING-ASLEEP OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
[ * The dates of these feasts vary from year to year. ]
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ORTHODOXY 101 : ATTENDING THE DIVINE LITURGY
Christianity is experiential; it is not just 'read about', it must be lived. The Holy Eucharist is at the centre of our worship, at the centre of our Life in Christ.
We come to the Church, we remain in the Church in order that our souls be saved. That is all. It is our soul's salvation - there is nothing else.
The Holy Services are a store-house of spiritual treasures. To be saved, we need to gain knowledge of ourselves. We do this by discovering our sins and weaknesses, and by fighting against their pull. Our faith is war on personal pride. When our pride is wounded in the course of Church life, we should thank God!
We fight best when we are supported. For support we have the Holy Gospels; the Holy Fathers, their Lives and Teachings; we have God and we have each other.
The Church Community (both living and departed) is our Family in Christ. Our God is LOVE. And we are giving of our best, when we give love to God and to each other.
The Holy Eucharist is the body and Blood of Christ. It is life itself, it is Salvation. It is our treasure: "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also"(Matthew 6:21). We spend time with - we are attentive to - the people, the things we love the most.
Canon LXXX (Sixth Oecumenical Council) reads, "A cleric or layman shall not go three consecutive Sundays without attending church, unless some necessary business requires him to leave his town. The usual penalties apply: deposition for a cleric; excommunication for a layman".
It is not always possible to come to every holy service, but our good practice, and simple good manners, is to notify the priest of our absence, or if we have moved away. Notification demonstrates love and humility, and allows the priest and community to pray for us, for example - when we are sick.
We pray for those who are absent from the divine services for legitimate reasons. The others, who come infrequently or have not attended for long periods, have become prodigal sons, wanderers. They have distanced themselves from Christ and from their Christian family. Their love has become luke-warm. A full and proper return to Church requires a full and proper repentance, taking responsibility for our failings.
Church life is about responsibility. It is about stepping up and being adult. This is done by singing, standing throughout the holy services, fasting, making regular confession, reading in Church, serving, cleaning and tidying, cooking, reading the morning and evening prayers every day, preparing properly for confession and communion. Above all it is about praying.
To be blunt, Church (parish) life is about giving time and money to the glory of God. Church life is about commitment. Without commitment, we will never become deeply Orthodox or even remain Orthodox.
Love of God and love of neighbour are entwined. We cannot love God if we do not love our neighbours, especially our fellow Christians; and we cannot love our neighbours if we do not love God (1 John 4:20).
We spend time with God, we spend time with each other. We do so not because we feel 'obliged' or even because we 'want to' but simply because our heart draws us, and we follow Christ's new commandment (Luke 10:27): "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself".
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AΓAΠH = CARITAS = CHARITY = LOVE
John 4:16: Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη (koine Greek) = Deus caritas est (Latin) = God is Love (English)
GIVING TO OTHERS
All glory to God! Our small parish has been able in little ways to help the poor, offer love to the stranger, to help heal the wounded.
GIFTAID
This past year we received more than £4,000 from the UK government. Our parish trustees have authorised this, and future monies, raised through giftaid to be passed on to our poorer neighbours. If more of us donated by giftaid we could do even more to help the poor, the wounded, and the marginalised who are our neighbours.
'HOW CAN I HELP?'
Every penny helps! Donate to our parish via giftaid. If you pay tax in the UK you can use giftaid. It's free, it's easy, and as you can see above, it helps us to help others. The UK government pays us back for what you give to us via gftaid. This is the only official help that UK charities receive.
Our hope and ambition is that every penny given to us by you comes through giftaid.
LAZAROS, OUR NEIGHBOUR
The dying Lazaros is lying outside our door (Luke 16:20). We Christians have a duty of care (John 21:17), this is a constant in our life (Matthew 26:11), we must not ignore him (1 John 3:17). Let us do all that we are able to help to help our neighbour (John 15:12). May I ask you - please make a start, and donate to the parish by giftaid.
CHRIST IS RISEN!
In the Risen Lord,
Father Jakob
Presbyter, All Saints North Benfleet
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