THE WEEKLY WORD. Waiting to move EPIPHANY PARISH OF SEATTLE. DECEMBER 3, 2012

Transcription

1 THE WEEKLY WORD EPIPHANY PARISH OF SEATTLE. DECEMBER 3, 2012 Waiting to move A re lection by the Rev. Kate Wesch I have done a lot of waiting in my life and I have to admit that I am not a patient person. For years, my husband and I opened birthday and Christmas presents just a little bit early because we were too excited to wait. When we were waiting for our daughter, Avery, to be born, and the due date came and went, I wasn t patient at all. That felt like the longest two weeks of my life. Patience is a virtue and a spiritual discipline, both of which I am terrible at, yet striving to improve. So, this year, I am trying to think about things a little bit differently. In mid October, we found out that the house we are renting was being sold and we would need to ind a new place to live. Besides being impatient, my husband and I are both resistant to change and this came as quite a shock. Faced with a big change and the necessity to make it happen quickly, we embarked on a fast paced, house shopping frenzy, which resulted in putting an offer on a house only ive days later. It was a crazy week and then, all of a sudden, we had nothing to do but wait. All of the pieces were lined up and falling into place, we just had ive weeks to let it happen. Sure, there were to do lists, plans to make, and paperwork to submit, but for the most part, it was simply time to daydream, imagine, and wait. I began packing boxes, one here and one there, just for something to do. We sketched loor plans on graph paper and talked about furniture placement and paint colors. We began talking with our 2 year old daughter about the new house and how exciting it will be to move. We lined up a moving truck and began making the rounds of saying goodbye to our neighbors. The days went by slowly and plans came together, but all of a sudden it seemed we were only a week away and there was so much left to do! The agony of waiting was replaced by impatient anxiety and stress around the mountains of things to be packed, logistics to con nued...

2 be con irmed, and stuff to move. This entire process has been an exercise in hurry up and wait. Now, almost everything is packed away. My daughter s fears about whether or not she is going to the new house too have been assuaged. We are living off of Thai takeout and peanut butter sandwiches. Papers have been signed and money has been transferred. And now, we wait. We wait for the keys to be handed over. We wait for a break in our work schedules so we can physically move everything we own from our little rental on 46 th Ave SW to our cute little yellow house on 36 th Ave SW. This waiting seems so appropriate. We are eager to get going, ready to make it happen, and excited for this fresh start, but for now we wait. Heading into the season of Advent, we are doing this same kind of waiting. A King is coming. The King who came to earth is what we remember and yet, the King is still coming again, and so, we wait. This is full of mystery and a mystery is sometimes hard to imagine. That is why this time of Advent and waiting is so important. Sometimes people can walk right through a mystery and not even know it is there. As I drove across town to church on Thanksgiving morning, the radio talk was all about Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday shopping season. The more I listened, the sadder I became. Right on the heels of a day spent with loved ones being thankful for all that we have, it made me sick to my stomach to hear all of this commercialism, materialism, greediness expressed in crass conversation about getting people s money. They are going to miss the Mystery! They don t know how to get ready or maybe they just forgot. The Church learned a long time ago that people need a way to get ready to enter or even come close to a mystery like Christmas. This is why we have the four weeks of Advent, a season dedicated to getting ready and waiting for the great Mystery. During this time, we are all on the way to Bethlehem. We are all making the journey. We are all getting ready to enter the Mystery of Christmas, so let s enter this season alongside the prophets, the Holy Family, the shepherds, the angels, the Magi and all the rest to make the journey that was not back then. It is also now. Our move coincides with the irst weekend of Advent and my natural tendency would be to ignore everything else until the house is completely unpacked and fully functional, but in these days of wait 2

3 ing, Joel and I have agreed to try something new. We are going to unpack just enough to live, the kitchen, our clothes, and Avery s favorite toys, but then, we are going to get ready for Christmas. We are going to put up lights, get a Christmas tree, dig out the Advent wreath and cre che, and ind the children s books about Christmas. Those things are more important. We re going to bake cookies and initiate new family traditions in our new house. The unpacking and painting can wait because getting ready for the Mystery of Christmas is the most important thing we can do. Kate ADVENT SERIES: The Gospel of Luke Wednesdays December 5, 12, 19 6:00 6:30 pm Evening Prayer 6:30 8:00 pm Potluck & Bible Study Join the congregations of Epiphany Parish and Liberation Ministries for an Advent Evening Prayer worship experience. Epiphany will host Evening Prayer with a Lay Preacher in the Chapel. A potluck supper in the Library will follow Evening Prayer with Bible study led by the Reverend Doyt Conn. Please bring your Bible and a dish to share. RSVP for the potluck to the parish of ice or just show up. 3

4 EPIPHANY PARISH CHRISTMAS PAGEANT As we turn our thoughts to Advent and to preparing for the coming of the Christ Child, it is also time to start thinking about the Christmas Pageant! All children and youth are invited to be a part of this wonderful event, which happens during the 5:00 pm service on Christmas Eve. Epiphany uses a simple pageant script that engages all children and youth, from toddler to high school as animals in the manger, stars in the night sky, shepherds, angels, Mary & Joseph, Choristers, and Acolytes. This is an amazing event and all children and youth are invited to be a part of this wonderful experience. Plans are being made and rehearsals are being scheduled. A letter to all parents will be going out soon with details about costumes, rehearsals, etc. Like so many wonderful things we do at Epiphany, such a production takes a lot of hands in order to be successful, so if you would like to volunteer your time and talents with the Pageant, or would like to receive more information regarding the Pageant, please contact Ben Linder at blinder@epiphanyseattle.org. 4

5 Christmas Pageant Information When? The Pageant is a part of the 5:00pm Christmas Eve Service (Monday, December 24 th ). There will be one pageant rehearsal on Sunday, December 23rd, from 12:00 1:00pm. Who? All children and youth are invited to participate in the pageant. Toddlers Toddlers will be animals in the manger, dressed in their own costumes of choice. Any animal is welcome, it doesn t have to be a cow or a sheep. Pre K PreK children will be angels. We have costumes for each of them. Kindergarten 1 st Grade K 1 st will be stars, dressed in t shirts they are making in Sunday School on December 19 th. The kids will also make extras for any newcomers who want to participate! 2 nd 5 th Grade 2 nd 5 th graders will be shepherds, dressed in their own costumes. 6 th 12 th Grade Any middle school or high school students that would like to participate will help as group shepherds, walking in with each group (Animals, Angels, Stars, etc.) How Can Parents Help? Group Shepherds help children enter at the prescribed time during the pageant Activity Helpers Help lead games, storytime, and Arts & Crafts before and after the pageant Costumers Help with getting children into costumes before and putting them back into storage after the pageant Group Leaders Work with Ben to coordinate each group, contact parents in each group with any needs, scheduling changes, etc. If you would like to sign your child up to participate or if you would like to volunteer for any position, please contact Ben Linder at blinder@epiphanyseattle.org or by phone at

6 ADVENT LESSONS & CAROLS Sunday, December 9 5 pm Church 6 pm Wassail Party in the Great Hall Rooted in the liturgical church (Episcopal, Lutheran and Roman Catholic) the season of Advent precedes Christmas as the venerable time of preparation for the birth of Jesus. It is a four week time of waiting, of expectant anxiety preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The church s inest poets and musicians from centuries ago to the present time have given us words and music for hymns and carols, to sing year after year; and the wealth of appropriate choral music for choirs is almost endless. As Episcopalians and heirs of the Church of England, we inherit this tradition from late 19 th century England. In our country, the oldest continuous tradition, begun in 1928, is alive and well at the Groton School, Groton, Massachusetts. It is safe to say that during the annual season of Advent, hundreds of parishes throughout the US will offer their own unique form of this service. Counter culturally, during this period we do not sing Christmas hymns and carols in church; rather we bathe in the recounting of the Old Testament prophecies, rich with imagery and fascinating story. We purposely hold back the urge to echo the music heard during Advent throughout public areas. Rather, we honor and revel in the colorful majesty of word and music dating from the 4 th century to the present day. The Advent story is found poetically in our Hymnal On the Second Sunday in Advent, December 9 at 5 pm, Epiphany will offer our service of Advent Lessons & Carols. In this liturgy, the congregation becomes the chief actors in their attention to the readings and singing the hymns. Readers from the parish will recount these age old prophecies and Epiphany Choir and Choristers will offer music which illuminates the stories. A gala reception will follow the service hosted by St Nicholas Guild and friends; we hope you will join us in this annual drama of expectation of the birth of our Saviour. Tom Foster 6

7 SUPPORT YWCA FAMILIES There are TWO op ons at Epiphany for giving to the families at the YWCA this year! Adopt a YWCA FAMILY, bringing wrapped presents for one of 25 families! Fill the YWCA TOY SHOP with one of 70 specific gi s! Please adopt a family or take some gi tags for the Toy Shop and help give families in need a brighter holiday. Follow the direc ons on the gi tags. Deliver the presents to church no later than Sunday, December 9. Ques ons? Sherilyn Peterson, speterson@perkinscoie.com, (206)

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9 CHRISTMASTIDE FLOWER FUND During our Christmastide services, we decorate our church with evergreens and poinsettias. You can remember a special person or event this Christmas by donating to the Epiphany Parish Flower Fund. Perhaps you would like to acknowledge the birth of a baby, a marriage or a loved one now departed, to be acknowledged in our Christmas service bulletins. Contributions to the Flower Fund are also gratefully accepted and acknowledged throughout the year. Donations of any amount are welcome. Thank you for your consideration of the Epiphany Parish Flower Fund. PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM AND RETURN TO THE CHURCH OFFICE BY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19. Name of Donor Phone # My check is enclosed for purchase of a poinsettia. (Make payable to Epiphany Parish with Xmas Flowers on the memo line in the lower left hand corner of your check.) I wish to be acknowledged in the Christmas bulletins, in memory of or in thanksgiving for: For another special Sunday during the church year: Bulletin message: 9

10 +TEC THIS SUNDAY, DEC 9 GREAT HALL WHO IS JESUS? - Part 1 of 2 Part 1: God Enters the World as One of Us Presenter: The Rev Doyt Conn Date: Sunday, December 9 Time: 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Location: Great Hall Reprising a Christmas favorite at Epiphany, the Reverend Doyt Conn tells the story of how Jesus came to be. God trumps His relationships with Noah, Abraham, and Moses by becoming one of us in Jesus. Part 1 of this story will focus on the historic context for Jesus s arrival. Learn of the prophecies of the good King Melchizedeck and who (and how many) the Magi really were. What was Herod really so afraid of? Why were Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem at all? What were the shepherds really thinking? Was there a star? And how many angelic appearances can you count in the events leading up to and through Jesus s birth? +TEC NEXT SUNDAY, DEC 16 WHO IS JESUS? - Part 2 of 2 Part 2: What He Said and What He Did and Why Presenter: The Rev Doyt Conn Date: Sunday, December 16 Time: 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Location: Great Hall Jesus did not come to start a religion, but to show us the way to God. To know Jesus is to know God. Understand what essential about Jesus. 10

11 +TEC THIS SUNDAY, DEC 9 LIBRARY 1st PETER Part 3 of 3 Early Christians: Living Stones or Menace to Society Presenter: Charissa Jones Dates: Sundays, November 25, December 2 and 9 Time: 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Location: Christie House Library The letter of 1 st Peter was written to Christians in Roman ruled Asia Minor. These Gentile converts were at the center of a signi icant culture war, viewed as a threat to the social order. In three sessions, we ll study and discuss this letter and the uncomfortable comforts it offered to a suffering people. Week Three: Freedom from the tyranny of what we want. EPIPHANY PARISH 2013 CHURCH DIRECTORY! We re working on the new church directory that will be distributed at the Annual Meeting in January. If you re happy with your picture from the 2012 Directory we ll use that one for you, if not Marj Baker will be in the Great Hall during coffee hour this Sunday ready to take your picture. Also, if you have any updated information, mailing address, cell phone numbers, addresses, etc., please let me know on or before Dec. 14. Thank you! Emily 11

12 Advent Christmastide Events at Epiphany * Childcare provided Weekdays & Saturdays Sundays, Dec 2, 9, 16, 23 Wednesdays and Fridays Wednesdays, Dec 5, Dec 12 and 19 Sunday, Dec 9 Sundays, Dec 9 & 16 Epiphany Chapel open for Prayer Epiphany Sunday Worship in Advent Guided Meditation Advent Series: The Gospel of Luke Evening Prayer, Potluck, & Bible Study with Epiphany & Liberation Advent Lessons & Carols followed by a Wassail Party Foundations of Christianity: Who is Jesus? 8 am 5 pm 8 am, Church 10:30 am, Church* 8:30 9 am, Chapel 6 6:30 pm, Chapel 6:30 8 pm, Christie House Library 5 pm, Church* 6 pm, Great Hall* 9:15 10:15 am, Great Hall* Saturday, Dec 15 Greening of the Church 8 am, The Meeting Place 11 am, Church Monday, Dec 24 Christmas Pageant and Eucharist 5 pm, Church* Monday, Dec 24 Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist Tuesday, Dec 25 Christmas Day Eucharist 9 pm, Church 9 am, Church Sunday, Dec 30 The First Sunday after Christmas 8 am, Church 10:30 am, Church* Sunday, Jan 6 The Feast of the Epiphany followed by a Festive Eponymous Coffee Hour at 11:45 am 12 8 am, Church 10:30 am, Church*

13 Con irmation and Reception in the Episcopal Church While baptism is the initiation rite for becoming a Christian, con irmation is the rite of af iliation with the Episcopal Church. In the course of their Christian spiritual journey, those baptized at an early age are expected, when they are ready and have been duly prepared, to make a mature public af irmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their Baptism and to receive the laying on of hands by the bishop. All baptized adults are encouraged to participate in this rite. For those who have been con irmed in other churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, or the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), they may choose to be received into the Episcopal Church by the bishop. Bishop Greg Rickel will be coming to Epiphany for a Visitation on June 16, On that day, we will have baptisms, con irmations, and receptions. The Rev. Doyt Conn will be teaching a 4 part course on the Catechism this winter. This will be a small class designed for adults wishing to be baptized or con irmed. If you are interested in baptism or con irmation please contact Doyt at: dconn@epiphanyseattle.org. Also beginning in the New Year is a Con irmation course for teenagers. For more information, plan to attend an informational meeting on December 2, 4:00PM at St. Mark s Cathedral. Please contact Ben Linder, Director for Children, Youth, and Families (blinder@epiphanyseattle.org) for the details. 13

14 MEDITATION IN THE CHAPEL WEDNESDAYS AND FRIDAYS 8:30 9:00 AM What will happen if you begin to observe more closely the ocean of your life an island, isolated by the constant repetitive self limitation of personal will? over and over a barely perceptible irritation a gnawing resentment? then it happens that exhausting weight tied to your agenda falls away In a momentary lash or a more gradual movement, an ocean of communion imprints itself upon you and begins to Illumine every encounter until there is no doubt that the unseen order of things lives and moves through the simplicity of your being, enormously more profound and mysterious than all the self concern you have ever learned to think or imagine. Pieter Drummond SUNDAY LECTIONARY CORNER December 9 Advent 2 Baruch 5:1 9 or Malachi 3:1 4 Canticle 4 or 16 Philippians 1:3 11 Luke 3:

15 PARISH PRAYER LIST WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHOSE BIRTHDAYS FALL BETWEEN December 2 December 8: Dave Walker, Bradford Baker, Maria Philip, Peter Snow, Roy King, Cole Skotdal, Sarah Clarke, Diane Radloff, Margaret Petersen, Beth Cohn, and Toby Miller. WE PRAY FOR THOSE ON OUR CYCLE OF PRAYER: Christina Orr Cahall; Lance & Jeness, Parkes, and Evans Ousley; Margaret Padelford; Paul & Helen Parham; and Mark & Debra, Benjamin, and Elise Parrott. We pray for St. Aidan (Camano Island); Trans iguration (Darrington); and St. Martin St. Francis (Rockport). YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR CONTINUED HEALING AND STRENGTH FOR THOSE IN OUR PARISH WHO ARE ILL OR GRIEVING: Paul, Bette Sprague, Beth Briggs, Coralie Swanson, Connie Gaines, Barbara Ward, Barbara Himmelman, Kay Schack, Veronica, Ashle, Bob Bergman, Piper Simmons, Sid Malbon, Gregg Waddell, P.J., Tom Pelphrey, Jamie, Kathy, Yamy Xolocotzi, Dougald MacMillan, Anne, Bruce, Adrian, Cyril Urwyler, Tim Murray, Alice, Laura, Anthony, Cassie, Cindy, LaVerne Green, Erik Grafe, Hannah Moderow, Ryan Michael Eaton, John Baker, Lisa Close, David & Diane Libbey, Jack Roberts, Mary Cecile, Eitan Benjamin Sayir, Carl Putnam, Nikki, Ellen Gimbel, Edwina, Eileen Riley, Peg Sherwood, Bonnie, Bill Bultmann, Bill Williamson, Baby La John Gonzalez, Colleen Terry, Liza, Roy Enriquez, Charlotte Hutton, Andrea & family, Mark Jensen & family, James Bryant, Helen Arnold, Peter, Jean, Shannon Ries, Jerre, Jessica, Will Gluck, the Torrance Family, Ruth, Rebecca, Marjorie, Bruce, Johnny Gene and Beverly Saulsbury, Joey Johnson, Mark, Jeanne Edwards, the Robinson family, Jolene, David, the Hawkes family, Jean, Ginger, the Drummond family, all those still affected by Hurricane Sandy, George Fisher, Joseph Cospito, Edna Heatherington, Marie Claiborne, Al Sargent, Chuck Osterlind, Jane Ewing, and Gibbs Lincoln. WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED: Lou Lorton. Dear Epiphany, Occasionally we review and cull the prayer list. If we have removed someone in error or you would like to have someone removed or added please contact Emily in the Parish Of ice. The same invitation applies for birthdays or epiphanyparish@epiphanyseattle.org 15