Issue 27 January 2026

New Year

Happy New Year from Fr Luke

Happy New Year, St John's family!

Our theme for the year ahead is our Lord's invitation: "Abide in Me." God has created us to thrive when we live consciously in His presence: when He is part of our work, our family life, our decisions, our joys and our struggles.

If we pause and reflect on the year just past, many of us may realise that days, weeks, or even months went by without truly noticing His presence. This year, let us be intentional about welcoming Him into every part of our lives, especially as we raise our families and navigate daily responsibilities.

Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century monk known for his simple spirituality, wrote that the greatest privilege of the Christian life is to enjoy God's presence. This is something we can all grow in, together.

Here are three simple ways to begin:

1. Start the day with Christ. Before getting out of bed, pause for a moment. Become aware that Christ is present in your home and ask Him to walk with you through the day. Even a short prayer is enough: "My Lord Jesus Christ, please help and guide me today."
2. Come to the Liturgy seeking an encounter with Christ. Attend each Liturgy truly believing that Christ is present on the altar. Hand over your worries, your family and your struggles to Him, trusting that He is able to carry them. Let us not leave the Liturgy without encountering Christ.
3. Commit to a spiritual canon. Speak with your confession father about simple daily spiritual practices that help you remain aware of God's presence throughout the day.

In Christ's presence we find true joy, peace, love and healing. May this year be one in which we consciously abide in Him, and allow His presence to transform every aspect of our lives.

From the pulpit

Abide in Me: our church theme for 2026

Fr Luke

Today I thought to share a message with you all on the theme of the year for our congregation. As we prayed to arrive at the theme to carry us through the next year, the priests and I landed upon the theme of abiding in God. This is an invitation for all of us, from God, for us to live in Him, and He in us.

Sometimes we feel that God is very distant from us, from our homes, our everyday problems and, even more simply, from earth. Heaven can occasionally feel far from where we are, but the truth is that God is so close to us; we just don't realise it as a result of our own blindness.

This year, as a church, I hope we attain knowledge and assurance that God is near, and the way we will gain that certainty is by living constantly in His presence and, as a consequence, feeling that He is there with us.

A paper in his pocket

I'm going to share a story that I heard from a priest in Egypt, while I was at the monastery, which truly highlights how God is woven into the details of our everyday lives.

The story goes that this priest was serving in his parish and he received a paper on the altar, and the paper said, "Abouna, please go and visit this family at this address. They're going through a really tough time and they need to be visited." So Abouna took the paper, put it in his pocket and he went home.

The church this priest serves in is massive. There are eight priests serving in it, and the way the priests divide services like visitations is by suburb. The priest looked at the paper and saw that the suburb listed on the paper was not in his remit. So he said, I'm going to put it in my pocket and when I see the priest allocated to this region, I will give it to him. Perhaps he will know the family and know how to best serve them. So he met with the priest of this region, sat with him for an hour, discussed many issues with him, but then forgot to give him the paper with this family's address. He went home, emptied his pockets and felt frustrated by his error. He resolved to give it to him the next day. The second day, the same thing happened. The third day, the same thing happened. Abouna grew frustrated, knowing that it was unusual for him to forget this sort of request. This continued for twelve days. He saw this co-priest eight times in that period and forgot to hand him the paper each time.

On the twelfth day, Abouna had an appointment to see a married couple who were experiencing some difficulties at home, and so he blocked out two hours of his day to see this couple. He arrived at their home, knocked at the door, and there was no answer. So he waited a little longer, called the couple, and was shocked that they weren't there, as he had confirmed his visit in the morning.

He felt a push in his heart to visit the other family listed on the paper he had been handed at the Liturgy. He wondered if there was a chance that God designed these obstacles so he could attend to the people on this sheet of paper in his pocket. So he took the paper out of his pocket and he drove to the house and thought to try his luck. He didn't have a phone number; he didn't have a means to contact them, so he left it to God.

He arrived at the house, knocked on the door, and a woman in her mid-thirties answered the door. He says she looked like she'd seen a ghost. She fell back and knocked the table behind her because of the sheer shock she felt in seeing this priest at her door. Abouna was at odds with what to do next, so he waited for two minutes outside the house. The woman's husband welcomed the priest into their home. He sat there on the couch, unsure of what to ask. They looked at him, amazed at how and why he had arrived at their doorstep. He shared how he came to know of them, and told them how he had had the paper in his pocket for twelve days, and they said, "Glory be to God."

He asked for their story. They shared that they had lost their young son suddenly two weeks earlier, without a known cause. In their grief they had turned away from God, and said this was the last time they would ever deal with Him. Two days later, they went to the hospital to collect a certificate, and the hospital was next to the church where this priest served. The husband asked her to come into the church to pray, but she refused. He said to her, "How about we don't go all the way in? We'll just stand at the back, say a prayer and leave." As she stood there, she heard the priest who was now sitting in her living room saying, "We don't understand God's wisdom." In that moment she said to God, "If You really want me to return to You, get this priest to come and visit me in my home." She didn't share this with anyone. After that, she went to stay with her family for twelve days. She arrived home thirty minutes before this priest arrived at her door.

You hear this story and you realise God's closeness. How close He was to this grieving mother; how close He was to the priest, to let him forget this paper for twelve days; and how He had stirred the heart of this priest to arrive at this hour at this family's home.

He is here

We need to understand that God is truly so close to all of us. We need to be receptive to His voice and we need to notice His presence.

Start the day by acknowledging Christ and asking for His help to navigate the day.

Attend every Liturgy with faith. We should always leave a Liturgy transformed.

Thirdly, we need to commit to a spiritual canon, where we commit to a personal relationship with God and treat it with the same commitment we give to daily tasks like brushing our teeth.

If you spent the last year feeling anxious, seek His comfort; His grace is sufficient for you.

If you're burdened with problems, "cast your cares on Him" and He will answer you. Invite Him in and His presence will fill the gaps.

He is here. He is close. We just need to lean in to hear Him.

Kids corner

The spirit of giving

A reflection from one of our Sunday School children

Recently, the Gospel taught us about giving up everything for Christ. An example of this is when the disciples were being chosen and they left all their belongings behind to follow Him. We can follow their example by not letting worldly objects get in our way of following Christ, and give up the things we really want to follow Him and go to heaven.

This is important to me because giving up for God makes you friends with Him, which is the only thing you need to do to get to heaven and live with Him forever.

The way I give to others is by donating through school and church, whether it is for the church or the needy.

I believe Christmas is about Jesus coming into the world to save everyone. This Christmas I look forward to spending time with the church congregation, friends and family.

Parish life

Noticeboard

Thank you to everyone who joined our New Year's Eve celebrations, with carols and readings from our Sunday School children and a movie night for the little ones.