January 2026
Spirit of the Eagle
St. John the Evangelist ACC
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
January 2026 from Father Tim
Yes. Another new year has arrived. Already. But any and all of the Wise Men, beginning with Advent back at the end of November, have already journeyed far. And I must add Christmas at Saint John’s increases in beauty each year that goes by. Circumcision of Christ begins our month on the 1st of January. The Second Sunday after Christmas on the 4th with the added blessing of the baptism of baby Andrew Blake Chancery II. The Epiphany arrives on the 6th followed by two Epiphany Sundays (11th & 18th). The Conversion of S. Paul is celebrated on the 25th. Saul was not asked to sacrifice a lot, he was asked to sacrifice everything at his conversion. He went from being Saul to becoming Paul, a new creature. Sacrifice demands the utmost effort of which we are capable. When we return to God, as He desires, it calls upon all our energies, and it is like the flight of a swift arrow to the mark. This total surrender, the act of self-giving, is the moment at which man achieves his destiny. And yet all this effort on our part is only a response to God’s creative and renewing action on our own souls. We are now on a pilgrimage. The ‘End’ to which God is leading us, and for which the whole world has been created, and the hope with which He inspires each of us, is ‘the gathering up of all things in Christ.’ Often, too often, this supreme meaning of the Holy Eucharist is ignored, or worse, forgotten. Many people feel no need for sacramental worship, they see no need in their everyday life of busy worldliness. They fail to understand that the aim of a Christians life, and of a Christians worship, is the fulfilment of God’s purpose for the whole of creation. The transfiguration of all life, the unifying of body and soul, matter and spirit, is the special calling and destiny of man. The Eucharist, Holy Communion, points back to the supreme sacrament of the Incarnation which reveals, in visible and temporal terms, the nature of God Almighty, and declares the true and eternal significance of all creation. Evelyn Underhill once wrote, “the Church shows forth . . . her great objective: the hallowing of the whole created order and the restoration of all things in Christ.” The Holy Communion is the Sacrament of hope. And we who receive Christ in the Sacrament experience in ourselves ‘the power of the age to come.’ I pray each of you will have a very hallowed 2026. ~ Father Tim
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Do you know someone who ignores, or has forgotten, the very purpose of their existence? If yes, please invite them to church this January, where they can repent, prepare for the Sacrament of hope, and discover the purpose of sacrifice. ~ Father Tim
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The attributes of God, once so full of terror, are become [the Christian’s] shield, his stronghold, and his triumph; and he can think of all the glorious perfections of the Almighty, and then say, “I will go unto God, my exceeding joy.” His resistless power, His infinite wisdom, His unchanging fidelity to His word – all these are sources of triumph to everyone who, having believed in Christ, has become a child of God. ~ John Ross Macduff, 1818-1895, Scottish Divine and Prolific Author of Religious Essays
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Do you know?
Do you know Saint John’s has begun the process of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places? Do you know that Saint John’s made a charitable donation to the Dayton KY Schools Family Resource Center in December? Do you know the restoration of the stained glass above the altar will begin in January? Do you know the Psalm-children Class will begin meeting before Mass in January? Do you know our Bible Study will resume in February?
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Saint John January Ordo Kalendar
Sun, the 4th of Jan., at 10:30 AM, Christmas II Mass &
Baptism of Andrew Blake Chancery II
Tuesday, the 6th of January, at 10:30 AM, The Epiphany Mass
Wednesday, the 7th of January, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Saturday, the 10th of January, at 9:00 AM, Morning Prayer
Sat., the 10th of January, at 9:45 AM, Book of Life Club
Sun., the 11th of Jan., at 9:45 AM, Psalm-Children Sun. School Class
Sunday, the 11th of January, at 10:30 AM, Epiphany I Mass
Wednesday, the 14th of January, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sun., the 18th of Jan., at 9:45 AM, Psalm-Children Sun. School Class
Sun., the 18th of Jan., at 10:30 AM, Epiphany II Mass, Vestry Meeting
Wednesday, the 21st of January, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Saturday, the 24th of January, at 8:00 AM, Rule of Faith Meeting
Sun., the 25th of Jan., at 9:45 AM, Psalm-Children Sun. School Class
Sun., the 25th of Jan., at 10:30 AM, Conversion of S. Paul Mass
Wednesday, the 28th of January, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
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There are only two kinds of men: the righteous, who believe themselves sinners; the rest, sinners who believe themselves righteous. ~ Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, French Mathematician, Physicist, Philosopher, and Catholic Author
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January Birthdays & Anniversaries
Tina Smith – Birthday – January 7
Chris Wren – Birthday – January 12
Eileen Hanson – Birthday – January 14
Alyssa Maycock – Birthday – January 19
Kim Marshall – Birthday – January 24
Devan Smith – Birthday – January 25
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Why should we want to worship Jesus well?
Let no one imagine that he will lose anything of human dignity by this voluntary sell-out of his all to his God. He does not by this degrade himself as a man; rather he finds his right place of high honor as one made in the image of his Creator. His deep disgrace lay in his moral derangement, his unnatural usurpation of the place of God. His honor will be proved by restoring again that stolen throne. In exalting God over all, he finds his own highest honor upheld. ~ A.W. Tozer, 1897-1963, American Christian Pastor, Author, Magazine Editor, & Spiritual Mentor
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I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God’s thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking. ~ George MacDonald, 1824-1905, Scottish Author, Poet & Christian Congregational Minister
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If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. ~ C.S. Lewis, 1898-1963, British author, Literary Scholar & Anglican Lay Theologian
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It is a remarkable fact that all the heresies which have arisen in the Christian Church have had a decided tendency to dishonor God and to flatter man. ~ C.H. Spurgeon, 1834-1892, English ‘Prince of Preachers’
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People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering. ~ S. Augustine, 354-430 AD, Theologian, Philosopher, & Bishop of Hippo Regius
The Conversion of Saint Paul, Luca Giordano, 1690
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Jenny, God has made me for a purpose – for China; but He has also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure. ~ Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire, 1902-1945, Scottish Sprinter, Rugby Player & Christian Missionary
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The seeking of Jesus Christ and the quest for chivalry combined lead directly to one place only: Anglican-Catholicism. Courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help and defend the weak and the poor. Welcome to the Anglican Catholic Church. ~ Father Timothy Butler