Clergy Reflection
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I was talking to a dear friend this week that is an atheist. I was talking about my core conviction that I belong to God. She said something thoughtful in response. "I do not belong to anything I didn't join." She did not say this in a positive or negative tone: it was just a fact. She is only a willing member of things like clubs, classes, political parties and chosen relationships. So here are the physics of her life: she can choose to belong, she can choose to quit; others might choose her or might choose to exclude her. Choices establish her relationships.
For the Christian, the reading from the first chapter of Genesis in the lectionary this Sunday offers a different view. There is a God who is, at the core of God, in an eternal relationship with no beginning and no end - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit belonging to each other in love; where there is no joining or quitting, but only being in love. The Trinity is the mover, the maker and the center of all things and all time - the magnet that calls and pulls all created beings and things into its own dynamic relationship. Genesis tells us that we did not join God. Rather, The Triune God said, "Let us make humans in our image." Our freedom belongs to and longs for the image of God in us. It is the purpose of faith to form this longing for God into a way of abundant life. Our design is our destiny: we belong to God. The sacraments are just part of the grammar of belonging, but they are crucial. So keep coming to church, my friends, that you would become more fluent in the language of your freedom.
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday and it reminds me every year that humans handle the notion of Trinity best when we do so with a commitment to both curiosity and humility. Frankly, when talking about the core or essence of who God is, we all ought to be careful not to declare more than a creature can or should say about the Creator. We call the Trinity a sacred mystery not because there are things we don't know yet, but rather because there are dimensions of that reality that we cannot know at all. As St. Paul says of the whole human project to understand reality while limited by human understanding, "now we see through a glass dimly."
What was, and remains, the church's consensus on a conception and conviction of 'The Trinity?' We believe that God - at the core and essence of God's life - is not a solitary being but a being in relationship. Think of God at every second of eternity as ...
moving.
Think of God as loving and freely receiving love. Think of God as being known and also constantly knowing. Think of God as reaching as well as embracing. A God in Three Persons means that we need verbs to describe God, not just nouns or adjectives. The Trinity means that God not only exists, but that God also is eternally
happening.
My friends, we continue to teach and preach the Trinity because the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation paint and pant for a God who is One yet not alone. The core of God is not only a Creator but also a community. We say God is One not because God is single: we say God is One because God is a unified, peaceful, loving reality in eternal relationship. The Trinity rules the creation in love, but no part of the Trinity rules the Trinity. There is no hierarchy in God. There is only grace flowing in mutual relationship. Forever. God belongs to God. And we, through Christ, are invited to claim our belonging to God, to satisfy our longing to live by Christ, and with Christ and in Christ, who is with us now and always, as the Gospel for this Sunday says, "even to the close of the age."
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Mission & Ministry
Worship at Epiphany
Sunday Readings
Congratulations Leslie Thornton!
Leslie Thornton, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of WGL Holdings, Inc. and Welcome Table volunteer, was honored last week at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law 2017 Annual Gala. Learn more about Leslie's accomplishments and spirit of giving by watching the video below, featuring our very own Maria Hunter and Kevin Golden.
Pride Parade
Saturday, June 10
Come out and represent Epiphany, wave the parish banner and join other churches from across the diocese to march with the Cathedral this Saturday from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Participants are asked to arrive anytime between
4:00pm to 4:30pm
along 23rd Street between Q and P Streets. The parade route is roughly a 1.5 mile through the Dupont and Logan neighborhoods. For more information, you can view the parade route and details here.
Rev. Catriona will be marching and representing Epiphany, please contact her for any further information and/or if you would like to meet up.
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.
Do you have a name tag?
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.
Summer Reading
 Our very own Rev. Patricia Lyons has released a new book, Teaching Faith with Harry Potter: A Guidebook for Parents and Educators for Multi-generational Faith Formation. Available now on Amazon!
"Here is the definitive faith-based commentary on the remarkable phenomenon of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter. Bringing her personal biography and a remarkable grasp of the literary achievement of Rowling's, Lyons writes illuminatingly about all the key themes of theology from sin to Eucharist. An astonishing tour de force-a text to read, study, and use."
-The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, PhD, Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and Professor of Theology and Ethics.
This week in Epiphany History
Priesthood and the LGBT community, the 35th Justice of the Supreme Court, and American Civil War nurses! 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 13, 2017 at 12:10pm
Jeremy Filsell, piano & Erik Suter, organ in music by Marcel Dupré & Sergei Rachmaninov - including an arrangement of his spectacular Rhapsy on a theme of Paganini for piano & organ
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
.
Guest Performances
June 10, 2017, 8:00pm - Washington Men's Camerata
Vive la France! - Washington's favorite soprano, Rosa Lamoreaux, joins the Camerata in a celebration of French song with music Debussy, Poulenc, Faure, Gounod and more! Visit their website for tickets.
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
S
ite featuring Episcopal news, commentary, and meditations
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