February 2026 

Forty days after Christmas, on the 2nd February, the Church celebrates the festival of Candlemas, commemorating the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.

In traditional churches they gather all the candles, bless them, and once again remember that Jesus is the light of the world. Two people who are central to this occasion are Anna and Simeon, who Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus met when they went to the Temple. This encounter can be read in Luke 2: 22-39.

In January’s Stay Connected Bishop Michael called us all to a year of special prayer in 2026. Anna and Simeon are examples of people who are persistent in prayer. They continued to Ask, Seek, Knock throughout their lives, beseeching God to send the Messiah to save the people of Israel, when others would have lost hope and stopped. They prayed for the long haul. After decades of faithful prayer they received an answer in their old age, which they both immediately acted upon.

Simeon went to share his spiritual insights with Mary. Anna went and told anyone who would listen to her that the Messiah had come.

Every church needs people whose vocation is prayer. We need people like Anna and Simeon to be spiritually attuned to God’s work, looking beyond the ordinary things and practicalities. People experiencing challenges and with heavy responsibilities need the support of people praying quietly at home, in groups and collectively in our intercessions in services. They need to feel that God upholds them.

As a widow, Anna was overlooked for any other role in society other than prayer. She had experienced adversity and exclusion but did not wallow in her grief. Instead, she focused on God’s plans for the whole world. Simeon was full of hope. He believed he would see God’s plan taking effect before he died. He was led and guided by the Holy Spirit. He knew God was going to change the world and he was alert enough to notice when he did. Simeon also seems to understand where the future will lead.

I don’t believe Anna and Simeon stopped praying, when their prayers had been partially answered. They would have continued to give thanks for the baby they’d met and would have prayed for him until their dying breath. They would have prayed for Jesus to be faithful and undistracted in his ministry.

Today we need people who will faithfully pray for the world amid all the uncertainty, poverty and injustice. We also need to pray that people would hear the good news of Jesus and be transformed by it. I think there are people in Hutton and Locking who are called to prayer and noticing what God is doing around us and in the wider world.

Thank you for all your prayers. If you feel especially called to a ministry of prayer thank you and please feel confident to share this with others as Anna and Simeon did before.

Blessings Larissa