Clergy Reflection
Dear Friends,
This week I have been on a preaching course at Virginia Theological Seminary. The title of the course has been:
'
for a time such as this: preaching for the public square
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. On Wednesday morning, a couple of miles from where we sat in a session about art and prophetic preaching a gunman walked up to a congressional baseball practice and opened fire seriously injuring a number of people. The theme of our preaching course seemed strikingly pertinent.
We do find ourselves in a world consumed by such terribly troubled times. The time in which we now find ourselves in the church
'
s calendar is called ordinary time. We
'
ve come through the trauma of Holy Week, the joy of the resurrection, the strangeness of the ascension and the excitement of Pentecost. It is one of the most emotionally exhausting seasons of the Christian year and as we enter into
'
ordinary time
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, I find myself breathing a sigh of relief that we have some space to breathe and relax a little.
And yet, the kinds of horrible attacks like the one that occurred on Wednesday remind us that the world around us continues to be troubled and deeply damaged and the days feel far from ordinary. Or at least I find myself hoping that these are not ordinary times. I dread the thought that this might become the
'
new normal
'
.
So who are we called to be or what are we called to do as followers of Christ in a time such as this? How do we live well? How do we
'
be Church
'
in this season of ordinary time when the world around us is in trauma? As we begin this season inspired by the fire of Pentecost what is our calling as church in these troubled times?
The former Archbishop of Canterbury (and probably my favourite contemporary theologian), Rowan Williams, has written that
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The hardest thing in the world is to be where we are
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. It is Rowan Williams's way to remind us that the time we have been given, our confusing and damaged time, is all the time we need to attend patiently to what seems to be the intractable and contingent problems that beset us. The name for that time, a name that has always been at the heart of Williams's work, is
ordinary time
.
Commenting on this reflection another great Christian thinker, Stanley Hauerwas, suggests that what animates Williams's work and ministry
"
has been the conviction that through the cross and resurrection we have been given the time, in a world that believes it has no time, to participate patiently in the conversation necessary for the discovery that we swim in the sea of God's love."
To learn to live well in ordinary time requires the recognition that time is a gift. As our DC summer advances, the temperatures rise, and we prepare to slow down just a little bit, let us see this season of ordinary time as a gift to think a bit more about how we, as Williams exhorts us, can be where we are and find ways in which to attend to the problems that beset us. How can we hold fast to and preach the peace and love that animates our faith? How can we bring that into the public square where, in times like this, it is so sorely needed? May this season of ordinary time be a gift to you and those with whom you share your life.
With prayers and blessings,
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Mission & Ministry
Worship at Epiphany
Sunday Readings
All are invited to the National Museum of American History for a free exhibition preview and celebration on
Monday, June 26, from 6:30
-9:30 p.m. as we mix music, lively discussion, and food and drink to preview one of the museum's newest exhibitions,
Religion in Early America
.
The evening will start with a performance by Grammy-nominated musician and shape-note singer Tim Eriksen and a panel discussion with experts before opening up to a reception.
Dallas Street Choir at Epiphany
Sunday, June 18
Epiphany will be hosting this wonderful choir, 88 members strong, featured in the video below during the 8:00am service on Sunday, June 18 where they will be singing for us.
Parents Meeting
Sunday, June 18
All parents of young children are invited to meet during coffee hour, following the 11:00 service, to meet other Epiphany families and discuss our children's ministry.
ADAMS Interfaith/Civic/Community Service Iftar
Sunday, June 18
7:00-10:00pm
46903 Sugarland Rd.
Sterling, VA 20164
All are invited to join the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) at this interfaith service. Please click here to RSVP. ADAMS coordinates 24 prayer services at 11 locations throughout the D.C. Metro Area, one of which is right here at Epiphany.
 Richard Warren Memorial Service
Saturday, June 24 at 11:00am
All are welcomed to attend a service in thanksgiving for the life of Mr. Richard Warren. The service will begin here at Epiphany at 11am with a coffee hour afterwards.
Summer Picnic
Sunday, July 9
The Welcome Table invites you to an Independence Day Picnic held in Epiphany's community room on Sunday, July 9, 2017 beginning at 12:15 p.m.
The picnic menu will include grilled burgers and hot dogs, red hot and blue potato salad, beans, coleslaw, lemonade, and dessert. Local jazz band
AJQ Plus 1
will be the musical entertainment. Please come and enjoy a day of fabulous food, fun and live music!
It can be hard to keep track of names when meeting dozens of people at once! Let's help out our new Rector by ensuring that everyone has a name tag. Please check on Sunday to see if you already have a name tag, if you do not, email Arrien at
[email protected] and we will print one for you.
Committee Update: The team has been busy making some much needed improvements to our buildings, grounds and sacred worship space. Repairs to the chillers have resulted in more efficient
air-conditioning and a more comfortable sanctuary, but there is still more work to be done.
Lighting in the sanctuary has been noticeably improved as we have been replacing burnt out light bulbs and transitioning to more efficient LED lighting products.
The weeks long project of repairing the hymn racks on the backs of the pews is about 95% complete. Now the maintenance of the pew cushions is being given high priority.
As we anticipate the arrival of our new Rector, Reverend Glenna, the building and grounds committee is concentrating on making a number of immediate cosmetic improvements along with other more long range projects.
However, we need your help. The church has scheduled a clean-up/work day for
Saturday, July 15th. The building and grounds committee would appreciate any assistance from volunteers as we take on the challenging project of cleaning our interesting and mysterious basement.
If you are interested in exploring the subterranean recesses of our historic building, the building and grounds team would be more than happy to welcome you to join us in our efforts.
If interested, please contact me
here, or you can just talk to me at church.
Sincerely,
Irvin Peterson - Building and Grounds, Chairperson
Evening Conversation with Dr. Praveen Sethupathy
Monday, June 26 at 6:30pm
The Trinity Forum, BioLogos, and Church of the Advent invite you to attend an Evening Conversation with Dr. Praveen Sethupathy entitled "Genes, Self, and Soul" on the topic of
faith and genetics. The event will be held at the National Press Club from
6:30 - 8:30pm
on
Monday, June 26, 2017
. Responding to Sethpathy, will be Dr. Richard Middleton, a professor of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis at Northeastern Seminary. The event is the second in the Trinity Forum's four-part series on "Discovery and Doxology." During the discussion, we will discuss the ways in which new discoveries in the field of genetics help us understand both our own mind and the mind of our Maker.
YouthBuild Public Charter School (YouthBuild PCS) is an independently-operated public charter school in the District of Columbia. It is one of the few alternative schools in the District of Columbia that serves youth ages 16 -24 who have dropped or aged out of traditional high school -- and they are now accepting applications for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Jane, a beloved member of our congregation, is involved with YouthBuild and would like your help in sharing YouthBuild with any young people that you may know. For more information, please email Jane or visit their website.
This week in Epiphany History
13th Rector of Epiphany, the Arts Club of Washington, and the U.S. Marine Band! Be sure to
get your daily dose of Epiphany History by following
the
Celebrating 175 page
.
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Music & The Arts
Tuesday Concert Series
June 20, 2017 at 12:10pm
The Choir of St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland is currently on a U.S. tour and the next stop will be here at Epiphany! This British cathedral choir will be performing their program, Sing Joyfully: Five Centuries of British Choral Classics.
Admission is free but a donation of $10 is suggested
to support the Concert Series.
Epiphany Choir CD
Copies are available now for just
$15
in the church office or by contacting our Director of Music,
Jeremy Filsell
.
Learn more about musical events at Epiphany by visiting our
website.
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Service in Mission & Ministry
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How might you become more involved in the mission and ministry of our parish? There is so much going on at Epiphany and we are so grateful for the contributions you all offer towards making this happen. There are a few areas where we could really use your help! Please have a look at the list below and think where you might feel you could benefit from and contribute to the life of our community.
The Welcome Table team are looking for more volunteers to help in the kitchen and dining room. Please contact Maria Hunter if you are interested in getting involved in this important aspect of our ministry at Epiphany (
[email protected]).
Coffee Hour after the 11am service. Pat Pickering and John McDermott do a fantastic job, but they can't do it every week. Coffee Hour can be as simple or as elaborate as we want to make it. What's important is that we have a time of fellowship after worship. Please contact Catriona if you can help (
[email protected]).
Liturgical Leaders: We are always looking for people to help with the important ministries that make our Sunday worship possible. We welcome new additions to the ranks of greeters, ushers, readers, lay Eucharistic ministers, as well as the flower guild, and altar guild. If you are interested in learning more about any of these roles, please contact Catriona (
[email protected]).
Weekdays:
Office Volunteers: We are looking for volunteers to sit at the front desk between 10am-2pm on weekdays. Bertha does a great job on Tuesdays and we're looking for others to help throughout the week. If you want to find out more, talk to Bertha and please contact Catherine in the office if you can help (
[email protected]).
Music Library: Epiphany's music director would appreciate a volunteer to help with organizing the music library, including alphabetizing, rearranging shelves, labeling boxes, and updating the music library spreadsheet. Please email Jeremy at
[email protected].
If you are interested in learning about one or more of these ministries, you can also complete our Epiphany volunteer poll here.
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Prayer & Pastoral Care
Prayer List
We invite you to add those on your heart to our prayer list.
We will pray for them aloud on Wednesdays at our 12:10 Healing Service and will add them to the Sunday list. Contact the church office with the name of the person and what we need to know about them.
Pastoral Care
If you or someone you know is in need of prayer or conversation, please contact the church office. We would rather hear from many than miss the opportunity to connect with someone.
Wednesday Silent Prayer
Come and join us for 20 minutes of silent prayer and meditation followed by a short time of prayer for the parish. We will meet in the sanctuary on Wednesdays at 11:30am. All are welcome. To find out more, contact Catriona: [email protected].
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Blogs & Websites
Episcopal Cafe
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ite featuring Episcopal news, commentary, and meditations
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