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44 Phonebox Magazine | January 2026Churches TogetherNEWPORT PAGNELLThe GloryAs we cross the threshold into a brand new year, our hearts are still warmed by the glow of the Christmas season. Christmas reminded us that God chose to step into our world %u2013 not with noise or spectacle, but with a quiet, radiant glory wrapped in swaddling cloths. We stood before the manger once again and were invited to see what the shepherds saw, to feel what Mary pondered, and to believe what heaven proclaimed:%u201cThe glory of the Lord has risen upon you.%u201dThat same glory now ushers us into the New Year.The glory of Christmas does not fade with the fi nal carol or the packed-away decorations. It follows us. It guides us. It strengthens us. It whispers that God is still with us, God is still for us, and God is still working in and through our community. The glory we celebrated in December becomes the courage we carry into January.As we begin this year with The Glory as our theme, we do so with a renewed awareness that God%u2019s presence is our greatest gift and our greatest advantage. Glory is not just a word %u2013 it is an atmosphere, a covering, a promise. It is the brilliance of God lighting our paths, the weight of His goodness resting on our lives, and the beauty of His purpose unfolding among us.This year, we pray:%u2022 May the glory of God surround our homes with peace.%u2022 May His glory strengthen every heart that feels weary or uncertain.%u2022 May His glory lead us into new opportunities, deeper relationships, and bold faith.%u2022 May His glory distinguish our community with love, compassion, and unity.As we journey forward together, let us expect God%u2019s glory to show up in ordinary moments, in unexpected places, and in the very areas where we need Him most. Let us look for His fi ngerprints in every blessing and His footsteps in every challenge. Let us open our hearts to the possibility that this year %u2013 more than any other %u2013 will be marked by God%u2019s unmistakable presence.Thank you for being part of our community. Thank you for your faith, your resilience, your service, and your spirit. May this New Year be fi lled with grace upon grace and glory upon glory. Together, let us rise and shine %u2013 For in this New Year, the Glory of the Lord is our story.Prayer: Gracious God, as we step into this New Year, we open our hearts to Your glory. Let the same light that shone at Christmas shine over our families, our community, and every step we take. Fill us with Your presence, guide us with Your wisdom, strengthen us with Your peace, and surround us with Your goodness. May Your glory rest upon us, work within us, and shine through us in all we do. We receive Your glory for the journey ahead, in Jesus name. Amen.Kofi Rev Dr. Kofi D. Tekyi-Ansah Minister, Newport Pagnell Methodist Church. OLNEYThe big take-downThere are two occasions every year that most of us look forward to, often with a certain amount of trepidation or even terror! They are putting up the Christmas decorations and dismantling them again after a certain period. The former exercise will already be completed so I am concentrating on the latter %u2013 the big take-down.The fi rst area of concern is when exactly this should take place. Many people would say it really doesn%u2019t matter as long as it gets done. Others however are much more concerned about the exact date, so as to be in keeping with everybody else.There seems to be a general consensus that the date to aim for is the night of the 5th of January into the following day, the 6th. This time can be referred to by one of 3 titles: Twelfth Night, Epiphany or the day of the Kings.Twelfth Night, used by Shakespeare as a title for one of his comedies, was fi rst used in the Tudor period when the Roman pagan holiday of Saturnalia was replaced by a more Christian one, namely Christmas. It seemed to fall at a convenient time, near the end of the year even if it wasn%u2019t the time of year that the real birth of Christ took place. The weather was far too cold for shepherds to be looking after their fl ocks by night then %u2013 the Autumn, coinciding with the Jewish festival of Tabernacles, was much more likely. Nevertheless, Christmas Day having been set as the 25th of December, an appropriate conclusion to the new festival would be 12 days/nights later giving rise to a new song, the 12 days of Christmas, listing %u2018my true love%u2019s%u2019 presents to me.Epiphany, the 6th January, was the title that the Christian church fi rst used about 200 AD but became a fi rm part of its Christmas festival in the 4th century. The expression %u2018epiphany%u2019 can be used in normal parlance to mean an unusual insight that comes into your head all of a sudden %u2013 a moment of illumination that appears in your mind. The special appearance referred to here is that of the Wise Men, Magi or Kings who unexpectedly entered Jerusalem, asking for a meeting with King Herod. They almost certainly weren%u2019t kings but there is no doubt that they were important people who had travelled a very long way prompted by the unusual arrival of a never seen before star in the sky. These astrologers, who arrived on camels or horses with a sizeable squad of servants in tow, would have caused a stir in the city even if they hadn%u2019t come with the question: %u2018Where is the newborn king of the Jews?%u2019 No surprise then that the current king Herod was so worried and determined to fi nd out all the details of this secret coup.One of the events I always enjoyed when living in France was the %u2018F%u00eate des rois%u2019. This event also falls on 6th January and means the festival of kings. This refers again to the arrival of the wise men from the East. However, the French celebrate this day with a special cake, the %u2018galette des rois%u2019. It%u2019s a circular cake made of puff pastry fi lled with frangipane, almond cream, or in the south of France, a brioche style gateau topped with candied fruit. It%u2019s carried into the room bearing a crown made of golden card on top, with a %u2018f%u00e8ve%u2019 or bean, somewhere inside. Whoever fi nds the bean in their slice (attention, not to swallow!) can wear the crown and be king or queen for the day.All these traditions, though diff erent, all celebrate the same event %u2013 the arrival of the Magi (Greek = wise men) in Jerusalem. Also they all are correct in the fact that these men did not arrive at the same time as the shepherds. The shepherds were the fi rst people to receive the news of Jesus%u2019 birth, and directly from the angels, and to go and fi nd him in the manger. The wise men, unlike the picture usually employed in our Christmas cards, arrived much later and visited the family in a house in Bethlehem.I have to say that my favourite is the French celebration of the wise men%u2019s arrival %u2013 I%u2019m sure the cake has nothing to do with it! But only the other day I came across an article saying that in England too there used to be a similar cake made to accompany this event %u2013 the King cake, also with a bean inside, but this apparently died out at the end of the medieval period. I think personally that it%u2019s high time that this tradition should be restored!Martyn Glass, Olney Baptist Church.