THE WEEKLY WORD EPIPHANY PARISH OF SEATTLE. DECEMBER 30, 2013 THIS IS IT!

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1 THE WEEKLY WORD EPIPHANY PARISH OF SEATTLE. DECEMBER 30, 2013 THIS IS IT! The Next 100 Years Building and Grounds Campaign is coming to a close. Your pledge counts! Make it before midnight December 31st if you want it to count on your tax return. Otherwise make your pledge count by noon, January 5, 2014, the of icial closing of the campaign! We depend on your participation and greatly appreciate it!

2 Saturday, January 11, pm Festival Eucharist in the Church Come join us to be part of passing on our enthusiasm for another 100 years in the life of this parish. As a gift, or maybe a surprise, to future Epiphany Parish parishioners, we will be illing a time capsule with our prayers for their life on this campus where this time capsule will be placed. In addition, at this Festival Eucharist we will be commissioning all ministries of this parish. If you participate in any ministry at Epiphany we look forward to you being a part of this commissioning. 2

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4 Epiphany s Children and Youth Today Dear Epiphany, In recent months, we have been talking a lot about the next 100 years at Epiphany. I have spent a good deal of my time articulating the common future of our church, and together we are in the process of garnering the resources to ensure that this campus remains strong, viable, and useful to all who come here. Our campus is abuzz with activity, and we are pulsing with spiritual vitality. But amid the hustle and bustle, plans and drawings, bricks and mortar of a building campaign, we cannot afford to lose sight of our most precious resource: our children. I know too many people who grew up in the church, even at Epiphany, who no longer attend church. They say to me, My experience at Epiphany was good. They say to me, I enjoy returning to Epiphany. They even say to me, I am glad my parents are involved at Epiphany. And yet they do not come to church. They are not participating members of the incarnate body of Christ. The manner that we introduce our children and bring them along in the Christian lifestyle is an integral component of our 100 year plan. We are blessed to have many children here at Epiphany participating in our Sunday School program taught by a dedicated and loving team of staff and parishioners. But I believe we need to further evolve our program to fully prepare our children for a relationship with Christianity that endures and guarantees the future of our church for generations to come. Toward that end I have formed a Children and Youth Committee as the leadership model for our children and youth programs. It is made up of a collection of people responsible for Sunday School, The Meeting Place, Nursery, Youth Group, and the spiritual development of our children and youth over time. This new model seeks to do two things. First, it seeks to create a culture of broad adult involvement with young people at Epiphany. The priority for the Committee is to help parishioners ind one or two ways they can be in relationship with our children My hope is that every group on this campus asks the question: Are there any young people who might be interested in joining us in doing what we are doing? They would ask Laura Sargent, our new Youth Convener, if she has any leads. The point here is to invite young people to do lowers or photography or Teen Feed or gardening or cooking or reading or ill-in-the-blank whatever you are 4

5 doing at Epiphany. We are becoming the kind of community that busts cross-generational boundaries and acts like a family. Second, the Committee will build on this relational model of engagement between the adults and children with strong programmatic support. My hope is that the children who go through the Epiphany Sunday School program will remember the teachers that knew them, welcomed them, loved them, and then gave them the gifts of the Christian lifestyle. This programmatic support will teach the stories, parables, and songs that work on our children s hearts throughout their lifetime. The way Jesus taught was also actually subversive, in that the lessons (over time and with deeper and deeper consideration) change one from the inside out in a way that keeps us grounded in our most authentic selves and that, after all, is what we want for our children. This Committee will be the cornerstone of youth education for the next 100 years at Epiphany. These youth and the ones after them are the means and the measure by which we are hoping to keep this outpost of the kingdom of God spiritually vibrant for a long time. The Committee will need your help. We are the people of Epiphany, set here by the Holy Spirit, to help in the spiritual development of our children and youth. It is our contribution in this regard that will best guarantee that these holy grounds we love so much will remain vital for the next 100 years. I ll inish with a story. When I was growing up, our family went to church. We always went to church because, as my mom said, That is what our family does. Every Sunday Mr. Batchelder was standing in the Narthex. Every Sunday Mr. Batchelder would say, Hello, Doyt. Just to me. He was interested in me. He asked about hockey and school. He remembered stuff I told him. That is it. But every Sunday it was, Hello, Doyt. I didn t think much about Mr. Batchelder for a long time. But when I moved to Cleveland in 1991 and was feeling unhitched and maybe a bit unhinged, I thought of Mr. Batchelder. I remembered the way he treated me. He knew me, and made me feel I belonged. And the place where we both belonged was church. So I went back because that is where Mr. Batchelder was (not actually of course, but as a paragon of spiritual maturity). There were many Mr. Batchelders at St. Paul s Cleveland Heights. Just as there were many Mr. Batchelders at All Saints Beverly Hills. Just as there are many Mr. Batchelders at Epiphany, and this matters. Doyt+ 5

6 Epiphany Minyan: Transitions An interior pilgrimage in Community Is there a transition for you coming up or underway or just completed? Change is constant in modern society. Grounding change in our prayer and faith practices deepens our relationship with God and guides us in living according to our values and beliefs whatever life brings us. Our spiritual journey will have many twists and turns as we move through a variety of phases and changes in our lives. This small group experience will be about exploring or traveling an interior pilgrimage together with others also undergoing change of a variety of sorts. Job change? Retirement? Graduate school? Marriage? Major loss? Explore how God might be speaking to you as you encounter and manage change and transition. Starting mid January, Diana Bender will convene a small group to journey in community through transition. The group will meet for 90 minutes per week over the course of six weeks, using different approaches to prayer and exploring ways to engage faith in the midst of a variety of life change, large and small. There will be no need to share the details of your experience. Questions? Interested in joining the group? Contact Diana at diana.bender@outlook.com or Coming soon Information on Sunday, January 26, 2014 Epiphany s Annual Meeting, Vestry Nominations, and a Shared Brunch! 6

7 Wow! Giving Tree Wave 2! In early December, we heard that the YWCA had more than 200 additional families on their waiting list, after all 25 of our Adopt-A-Family tags were taken from the Giving Tree at the back of church. Through word of mouth and s, within a week Epiphany parishioners ended up sponsoring another 17 families, thanks in part to our partnership with the Epiphany Early Learning Preschool. We took many large families that the YWCA sometimes cannot place. In addition, another car load of unwrapped gifts went over, along with two carloads of diapers and formula. Between all our Advent social action initiatives, more than 100 people at Epiphany were involved helping hundreds people in need in our community. There s the Kingdom of God being built right there! This would not have happened without you! There is such great need out there and it s so powerful that our community was able to respond so quickly. Thank you so much for your generosity!! Social Action Committee Sunday Lectionary Corner January 5, 2014 Jeremiah 31:7-14, Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a, Matthew 2:13-15,19-23, and Psalm 84 or 84:1-8 Epiphany has an approved revised Lectionary for A Year with The Saint John s Bible 7

8 UPCOMING BAPTISMS at EPIPHANY The Baptism of Our Lord Sunday, January 12, :30 am Baptism Preparation Class and Rehearsal for Families and Godparents Saturday, January 11, :00-10:30 am Please contact Diana Bender for more information at or 8

9 The Twelve Days of Christmas Submitted by Epiphany Parishioner, Alice Foreman The song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. To it the number scheme, when you reach number 9, representing the Fruits of the Holy Ghost, the originator combined 6 to make 3, taking the 6 fruits that were similar: the fruit in each parenthesis is the that was not named separately. There are actually Twelve Fruits of the Holy Ghost. The "True Love" one hears in the song is not a smitten boy or girlfriend but Jesus Christ, because truly Love was born on Christmas Day. The partridge in the pear tree also represents Him because that bird is willing to sacri ice its life if necessary to protect its young by feigning injury to draw away predators. According to Ann Ball in her book, Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals: The two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments The three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The ive golden rings rerepresented the irst ive books of the Old Testament, which describe man's fall into sin and the great love of God in sending a Savior. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation. Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit -----Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-----Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience [Forbearance], Goodness [Kindness], Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Continency [Chastity]. The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful Apostles. The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles' Creed 9

10 The Next 100 Years Building and Grounds Friday Morning with the Building Committee 8 am 9:30 am Christie House Library The 100 Years Building Campaign s Building Committee (Bob Barnes, Laura Blackmore, Ed Emerson & John Nesholm) are commencing regular weekly meetings. These are open meetings for any parishioner to attend. Between now and the end of January, the meetings will be devoted to re ining scope of work using the drawings that were presented at the September 9 th Sunday Forum. The goal is to have a re ined set of drawings for the Annual meeting on January 26, The next three (3) meetings will focus on the following areas: 01/10/14 Liturgical spaces in the Church and Chapel 01/17/14 Music Wing (under the Chapel) 01/24/14 Campus Grounds 10

11 PARISH PRAYER LIST WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHOSE BIRTHDAYS FALL BETWEEN December 29th and January 4th: Terry Carlisle, Judith Jordan, Sally Morbeck, Laura Sargent, John Miller, Sophia Carnevali, Nancy Emerson, Robert Farrell, Emily Forster, Margaret Frink, Tommy Frink, Meredith Lipman, Genevieve Potts, Tieran Sweeny-Bender, Joe Tappan, Kate Jones, Margie Kates, Riley Neiders, Gretchen Hawkes, and David Williams. WE PRAY FOR THOSE ON OUR CYCLE OF PRAYER: Jennifer & John, Reid, and Bayrd Higgins; Tim & Margot Hill; Liz & Michael, Emily, and Megan Hilton; Barbara Himmelman; and Whitney Hines. We pray for the retied clergy, clergy widows/widowers, and clergy households of the diocese. YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR CONTINUED HEALING AND STRENGTH FOR THOSE IN OUR PARISH WHO ARE ILL OR GRIEVING: Paul, Bette Sprague, Coralie Swanson, Connie Gaines, Barbara Ward, Barbara Himmelman, Naraine Baker, Ginger, Kay Schack, Piper Simmons, Yamy Xolocotzi, Ellen Gimbel, Eileen Riley, Bonnie, Roy Enriquez, Will Gluck, Ruth, the Hawkes family, Richard & Dolores Maxson, the Zehm family: Shelly, Atticus, Coco, & Bijou, Silas, TJ Johnson & family, Bill, Grace, Susan, Debbie, Megan, Carl Putnam, Holden Shaw, George Fisher, Rosalie, Dan Miller, Scott Gehring, Gracia Conn, Malina, Matt, Nancy, Isla Jude and family, Alice, Mimi Pierce, Susan, Hank Schilling, Tristram Hyde and family, Emily Coyle, Noreen, Evie Gassaway, Jeanne Edwards, Millie Gould, Sandra, John Wesch, Joel Wesch, Neil Hammond, Bill & Millie Grayson, and Larry Mayer. WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED: Ed Hald. 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 the Parish Of ice. The same invitation applies for birthdays or 11