"Jesus Loves Me, This I Know"

Ever since my daughters were born, Andrea and I have been singing bedtime songs to them. We sing a different song each night of the week. "Jesus Loves Me" is our song for Wednesday night. "Jesus Loves Me" is also one of several songs we sing with the residents over at Chantilly Heights memory care home during the Epiphany worship services there. Residents who otherwise barely speak come to life singing this simple song from their childhood.

And it is a simple song, isn't it? Most of the time we make it simpler still by only singing the first verse.

Jesus loves me!

This I know,

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong;

They are weak but He is strong.

All of this means that I thought I knew "Jesus Loves Me" when some of our musicians stood up to sing it as an offertory piece this past Sunday. I underestimated what was possible and was deeply touched by the beauty they brought out of it. Maybe you were as well.

I know that was the case for some of you because you told me. One person shared how when she was a very young child growing up with unloving parents, "Jesus Loves Me" changed her life by telling her someone loved her. Another told me how "Jesus Loves Me" had comforted them as one of their parents was dying.

Jesus does love us. We can know it. It was good to hear those simple words in a new way last Sunday. Thank you musicians.

God Bless,

P.S. A neighboring church has reached out to us to see if anyone might be able or willing to serve as teaching assistants for their ESL classes. Read about it below.

Meet and Eat Meal Thank-You

Epiphany's second "Meet and Eat" meal of the summer was July 31. We had a great turn-out and enjoyed getting to know each other better over a meal of grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and watermelon superintended by Epiphany's Wardens Don Holt and Jon Crane. Thank you to all who helped them make this gathering a success.

Adult Education Starts Sunday

Starting at 9:15am on Sunday, August 4, we will be offering two adult education classes.  

Mr. Morgan Cook will be teaching a class exploring our beliefs about the world, truth and the meaning of everything (worldview) from a Christian perspective.  Morgan brings training he received as a member of the Colson Fellows Program and a deep interest in Christian apologetics to this class.  Morgan's class will meet in the Blue classroom.

Fr. Peter will be teaching a class titled “Weird Things Anglicans Believe and Do” that will cover infant baptism, reading from the Apocrypha, ordaining bishops, priests and deacons and other beliefs and practices we have as Anglicans that can be confusing or lead to pointed questions from other evangelical Christians.  Fr. Peter's class will meet in the Library.

All are welcome to attend.

Youth Class in August

A class for our youngest of emerging adults (rising 5th grade through high school) will explore hard questions about doubt, hell, and why bad things happen in an interactive setting during Adult Education time this August. The time will not focus on preaching, so students should come ready to explore and listen to each other. Questions? Contact Mgr. Pamela at pmeeks@epiphanyanglican.net

Local Church Seeking ESL Ministry Help

Ox Hill Baptist Church, located less than a mile from Epiphany on Route 50, is seeking volunteers to join them in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes that serve new immigrants to our area. Here is the note we received from Lon Enloe, one of their ministry leaders: "We teach English language classes on Thursdays, roughly aligned with the calendar of the Fairfax County Public Schools. We teach three levels of instruction, beginner, intermediate, and advanced, in two, two-hour sessions on Thursdays. One group of students, teachers, and teaching assistants meets in the morning, and the other meets in the evening.

We would welcome anyone who would like to join us in this ministry in either session. We have a particular need this upcoming fall semester in our beginners' class in the morning. Our classes are structured so we have a lead teacher in each class with one or more assistants who help students during in-class exercises and do on-the-spot corrections of written exercises that the students turn in each week.

We have found these classes to be very effective vehicles for connecting with our neighbors and letting them know, by example, how Christ cares for them. Unlike some of our other outreach activities, ESOL classes naturally foster long-term, repeated opportunities for us and our neighbors to interact."

If you are interested in helping, please contact Lon at lowreflight1959@gmail.com, or by calling 719-660-5442.

Christian Leadership For Everyone

A Note on Giving Books to Epiphany

We have a small library at Epiphany.  Our focus is on books that will be useful for small groups and Bible study leaders as well as some general Christian reference works.  Because we have limited shelf space, there are many books we cannot keep such as Christian fiction.  If you have books to donate, thank you!  Please let Fr. Peter know in advance of donating so that he can advise you about whether Epiphany can use them.  If you have books you would like to give away but aren’t a good fit for Epiphany, Fairfax County Library branches are happy to receive books.

This Week At Epiphany

Church of the Epiphany | 3863 Centerview Drive | 703-481-8601

www.epiphanyanglican.net

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