There are many transitions that happen at this time of year. We have turned the page in our calendars and welcomed a new year—2026. These long nights and short days are full of meaning. As far as the church year goes, we made our way through Advent, the season of hopeful waiting for Jesus the Christ to once again be born into our midst. We celebrated that miraculous birth of the Christ Child on Christmas and the joyful days that followed. Now we find ourselves in the season of Epiphany where we consider glory and light, revelation and enlightenment.

If we want to get technical, Epiphany is a season of 4-9 weeks depending on when Easter falls. This year it will last for 5 weeks. It begins on January 6th (the Feast of Epiphany) and lasts through the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (February 17th). (This is all on the quiz btw, so you better be paying attention)!

As An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church helpfully explains, “The gospel stories of this season describe various events that manifest the divinity of Jesus. The coming of the Magi is celebrated on the Epiphany. The Baptism of our Lord is observed on the Sunday after Epiphany. The gospels for the other Sundays of the Epiphany season describe the wedding at Cana, the calling of the disciples, and various miracles and teachings of Jesus. The Last Sunday after the Epiphany is always devoted to the Transfiguration. Jesus’ identity as the Son of God is dramatically revealed in the Transfiguration gospel, as well as the gospel of the baptism of Christ. We are called to respond to Christ in faith through the showings of his divinity recorded in the gospels of the Epiphany season.”*

The season of Epiphany is not as well-known as other seasons of the church year. Though it’s a hopeful time—a time of stars and wonder, a time of light coming into the world, a time of illumination, a time when the chill of winter will gradually loosen as we welcome new life all around us in spring.

See you in church!

Love,
Pastor Lauren

“Epiphany Season” in An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/epiphany-season/

Photo by Pascal Debrunner on Unsplash

Thursday Thoughts 1/8/26