It is an understatement to say that 2020 has been a difficult, more accurately — a horrible, year. As we start 2021 our situation is still difficult, but we start the year with hope. Immunisations against Covid-19 have begun, though as yet no one has had a second dose of the vaccine. I hope that by the summer we will be in a much better situation, as far as the pandemic is concerned. Another source of hope is that the roof of our church has been replaced, a new disabled entrance constructed and the outside of our church building has been smartened up.

As well as a year of hope, 2021 will be a year of challenges. We will leave the European Union as 2021 starts, and whatever our politics, I’m sure that we can agree that there will be challenges. Some difficulties are not new to 2021. One continuing challenge is our church finances — these have been precarious for many years. Another challenge is that our congregation is mainly elderly and some of us travel long distances to come to church. The clean air zone is another threat to us because some of us have vehicles that will be charged to enter the zone.

In the church’s calendar, January is the season of Epiphany, beginning on the sixth of January and carrying on until Candlemas of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on the second of February. The season of Epiphany is all about Jesus becoming known as the Son of God. Epiphany starts with the Wise Men, who travelled from the East to

find and worship Our Lord. The season continues with the baptism of Jesus and the wedding at Cana. Both of these proclaimed Jesus to his own nation. Then we end with Candlemas when Simeon proclaims that Jesus is to be a light to all peoples.

In my own mind, I associate Epiphany with “light bulb moments”. I’m thinking of cartoons when a new idea is pictured as a lightbulb appearing by someone’s head. Epiphany is a series of these lightbulb moments, the lightbulb when the Wise saw something in the heavens and realized that a great king had been born. The lightbulb when John saw Jesus and realized he was the Messiah. The lightbulb when the steward at the wedding feast at Cana realised that water had been turned into wine, and that Jesus had done something miraculous. The lightbulb when Anna and Simeon realized that the baby they were waiting for was here in the temple, in their arms.

Many people around us don’t know these things, they do not know Jesus and they do not realize who and what he is. It is our task to bring them to that lightbulb moment. We also need to see and understand many things about ourselves and about God: there are lightbulb moments waiting for each of us.

As we enter 2021 let us be aware of the threats to our church and our weaknesses, but let us also be aware of our strengths and opportunities.