An abbreviated worship schedule for January is found to the right of the HOME page. A three-month February to April 2026 worship schedule will be available for download from the RESOURCES page later this month.

Commemorations and feast days are part of the Book of Common Prayer calendar throughout the year. On Monday, January 19th we commemorate Henry, Missionary, Bishop in Finland, 1150. There are few reliable sources of information about Henry. He was apparently born in England and appointed Bishop of Uppsala in Sweden, although likely without a specific diocese. He went to Finland on an expedition with the Swedish king and remained to do missionary work. There he was killed by an accused murderer, a peasant named Lalli, while attempting to give him a canonical punishment. During medieval times, Henry was considered the country’s patron saint and he remains the patron saint of the Catholic Church of Finland. He is buried at Turku Cathedral.

On Wednesday, January 21st, we remember

[Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Rome, c. 304]

  St. Agnes, detail of painting by Domenichino, c. 1620; public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Agnes is one of those saints about whom “the historical character is obscure.” However, there is no doubt that Agnes was a real person. Despite how little is known about her, she is one of the most famous of the Roman martyrs, perhaps because she was only a child of twelve or thirteen years when condemned to death. Ambrose of Milan (commemorated April 4th) wrote of her:

“All were astounded that she should come forward as a witness to God when she was still too young to be her own mistress. So she succeeded in convincing others of her testimony about God, though her testimony in human affairs could not yet be accepted.”

The following day,  Thursday, January 22nd we remember

Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Spain, c. 304

St. Vincent, detail of painting by Tomás Giner, 15th century; public domain
via Wikimedia Commons.

Early martyrs were often tortured by pagan rulers and officials who wanted to hear them deny their Christian beliefs. Vincent was no exception, and he has been called “the most celebrated of Spanish martyrs.” Augustine of Hippo (commemorated August 28th) said of Vincent:

“If you were to consider Vincent’s martyrdom nothing more than human endurance, his act is unbelievable. But Vincent ceases to be a source of astonishment, once you recognize the power to be from God.”

On Saturday, January 24th we commemorate St. Timothy and St. Titus, Apostolic men. They were two of the many who helped St. Paul, whose feast day we celebrate tomorrow, in his apostolic work. The “Pastoral Epistles,” so-called since the eighteenth century, were addressed to them. Timothy is a co-sender of six Pauline letters, and he is also mentioned in The Acts of the Apostles. He shared in Paul’s difficult life and work in Asia Minor, and was his emissary to the church at Corinth. Like Timothy, Titus was another co-worker, and he is described in The Letter of Paul to the Galatians. He became the permanent liaison between Paul and the Corinthian church. We give thanks not only for their service to Paul, but for their work in faithfully building up the early Church.

Sunday, January 25th, the Third Sunday after Epiphany, is

The Feast of The Conversion of St. Paul

Conversion of St. Paul, Master of 1486-1487 (fl. between 1485 and 1510); quarter from the Strzegom Polyptych, National Museum in Warsaw, Poland; public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

This famous conversion, familiar even to many who are not themselves Christians, resulted from God’s revelation to Paul of Jesus Christ. Before that time, when he was known as Saul, Paul had terrorized the followers of Jesus, sending them to prison and even death. Then known as Saul, he was present at the stoning of Stephen (December 26th on the calendar), one of the first deacons of the early Church. After the revelation given to him, Paul’s heart was changed to such love for his Lord that he spent the rest of his life bringing the Gospel to nations beyond Israel’s borders. As he himself expressed it in his Letter to the Galatians:

“When God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus…Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: ‘The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’ And they praised God because of me.”