eNews for January 2, 2026 | | | |
- Epiphany Pageant - 1/6/26
- Feast Day Feast - 1/6/26 RSVP
- DEAM Pantry Drive for January
- Family Eucharist Service - 1/13
- Office Closed for MLK - 1/19
- Annual Parish Meeting - 1/25
- Epiphany Grant Endowment Period opens 1/25
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Formation
Adult Formation—Sundays at 11:30 a.m. • parish hall
Bible & Poverty: This five-session course explores biblical views on and responses to material poverty. We will examine the causes and dimensions of economic inequality in the biblical world and how that reality is addressed by various parts of Scripture, from the Law and Prophets to the Gospels and Epistles. In addition, we will consider the nature and scope of the problem of poverty in America today, including how we can cultivate more just, effective, and transformative responses to poverty in our own churches and communities. Facilitated by Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio, Executive Director of the Candler Foundry. Sessions will take place 1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 2/1, and 2/8.
Children's Formation—Sundays at 11:30 a.m. • locations vary
2026 Formation for Children and Youth will begin on January 4, 2026. Visit epiphany.org 2026. Visit epiphany.org/rsvp to register your children and youth for formation.
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Room 206—Godly Play for children 3 years old through 2nd grade.
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Room 205—Godly Play children in 3rd through 5th grade—a lectionary based curriculum for older children
Youth Formation—Sundays at 11:30 a.m. • lower-level classroom / donut den
Youth (6th through 12th grade) curriculum for the New Year is Current: Seeking God Together. Seeking God Together explores 13 spiritual practices that can deepen and transform our relationship with God and others using interactive, age-appropriate strategies to help children and youth connect with God and the church as whole.
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Youth Group
5:00-6:30 p.m. • donut den
Youth Group Epiphany Blessings: Our first youth group of the semester is an Epiphany House blessing over the youth room. We will learn more about this tradition and bless the youth room, and youth will receive kits to take home and perform blessings over their homes as well.
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The Nativities Display
now on view through January 6
This is the last Sunday to view the Nativities.If you can help pack them back up on Wednesday, January 7 or Thursday, January 8, please sign up.
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Altar Arrangements & Sanctuary Light Sign Up
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The Arrangements at the Altar are given to the Glory of God and in memory of Lucy & Bob Yntema, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary of 1/1/1949, by their son, John Yntema.
- The Sanctuary Light is given to the Glory of God.
Altar Arrangements & the Sanctuary Light can be given in honor of an anniversary, birthday, or in memory of a loved one. Click the button link to reserve dates that have meaning for you.
Click here to choose a date >>
| | | | The Feast of the Epiphany - January 6 | | | | |
The Feast of the Epiphany
Tuesday, January 6 at 6:00 p.m.
1/6—The Feast of the Epiphany will be celebrated on our Feast Day, Tuesday, January 6 at 6:00 p.m. Following the service, please join us in the parish hall for our Feast Day Feast.
Rehearsal Reminder. For those participating in the pageant, the rehearsal will take place at 4:30 p.m. on January 6.
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Epiphany Feast Day Feast
please RSVP for the dinner
1/6—Following the Epiphany Pageant service will be our Feast Day Feast: A Tex-Mex potluck dinner. Sign up to bring a table-ready entrée (chili con carne, tamales, enchiladas, etc.) side, salad, or cornbread. Drinks, desserts, toppings, and chips & salsa will be provided. Please RSVP up if you plan to stay for dinner and let us know what you are bringing.
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January DEAM Pantry Drive
Epiphany stocks the pantry at the Decatur-area Emergency Assistance Ministry (DEAM) twice a year in January and June.
For the month of January, we are collecting cereal, soup, canned fruit.
Our goal this time is to collect 50 of each. Wooden bins for your donations are in the gallery by the front door. Also, if you have travel toiletries that you want to clean out, you can drop those in the bins as well.
| | Group Meetings & Programs Taking Place Next Week | | |
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Men’s Breakfast Group—Tuesdays following the 7:00 a.m. service
1/6—The Men’s Breakfast Group gathers for breakfast and discussion following the 7:00 a.m. Tuesday service and are typically on their way by 8:00 a.m. Contact John Yntema with any questions.
Gateway Center Meal Ministry—meals served 2nd Fridays of the month
1/7-9—Volunteers cook in the Epiphany kitchen and then serve the meal at Gateway Shelter once a month. To help prepare, cook, or serve the meal, visit epiphany.org/rsvp.
The Grief Pastoral Care Group—1st Thursdays at 12:00 p.m. • Zoom
1/8—The group meets online each month for a healing and faith-based conversation around grief and loss. It is led by parishioner and trained psychotherapist, Nancy Thompson. Please log into Realm to contact Nancy before attending for the first time.
Contemplative Book Group—five-week book study Thursdays • Room 201
1/8 (Week 4)—Join us for discussion of Richard Rohr’s book, The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage as we learn to live compassionately in a time of violence and despair. Using what he calls “sacred criticism,” Rohr shares a distinct approach to confronting evil and injustice that acknowledges the wholeness of history, our interconnectedness, and the reality of a divine and universal love. Register at epiphany.org/rsvp.
Caregiver Support Group—2nd Fridays at 11:45 a.m. • Zoom
1/9—The Caregiver Support Group meet monthly over Zoom. Parish members who are caring for a loved one gather to talk about their experience and support one another. The group is co-facilitated by parishioner Nancy Thompson, a Georgia-licensed psychologist, and by parishioner Anne Bucey, a trained spiritual advisor. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Nancy Thompson.
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Social Justice Action Group—Virtual Group
This social advocacy group promotes social and cultural change. The group identifies community events in which we can participate, and also provides a curated list of local community happenings via Realm Groups. If you’d like to be part of this virtual group, join via Realm to view current opportunities of social justice action in our area.
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Looking Ahead
1/11—Contemplative Practice—2nd Sundays at 4:00 p.m. • Choir Loft
1/12—Epiphany Book Group—2nd Mondays at 7:00 p.m. • location varies
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January 12: A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anny Tyler (Zoom).
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February 9: A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman (Zoom).
1/13—ECW—2nd Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. • Kitchen and lunch out
1/20—Epiphany & Earth & Soul—3rd Tuesdays at 5:00 p.m. • Room 201
1/21—The Munch Bunch—3rd Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. • Thinking Man Tavern
1/26—Community of Hope’s Circle of Care—Last Mondays of the month
| | | | Upcoming Services & Events | | |
Family Eucharist Service & Service Project—all activities in the parish hall
1/13—We look forward to seeing you for this family and kid focused celebration of the Eucharist. Please arrive at 5:00 p.m. for the service project, 6:00 p.m. for pizza (RSVP at epiphany.org/rsvp), and 6:15 p.m. for the start of the service.
Office Closure
1/19—The office will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King Day holiday.
Annual Parish Meeting
1/25—All members of the parish are encouraged to join us in the parish hall at 11:30 a.m. for this important meeting in the life of our church. The Rev. Amy Dills-Wright and members of the Vestry will report on the state of the parish in 2025 and look ahead to what’s planned for 2026. We will also elect new vestry members and thank the retiring ones. Adult formation will not take place. Children & Youth are meeting upstairs.
Epiphany Grant Endowment Submission Period Opens January 25!
1/25—Applications for the Epiphany Grant Endowment are available online and in the gallery tract rack and can be submitted beginning January 25. Grants may be for capital improvements; scholarships or grants to members; or community outreach projects. Application deadline is February 25, 2026.
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For members who are bidding our prayers: Kim Boswell • Chris Braden • Larry Wilcox • Joy Boyden • Mike Curry • Wes, Kelly & Lillian Wright • Laraine Fraijo-Paul • Chris Miller • Ellen Mintzmyer • Philip Anderson • Bruce & Ann Fort • Louise Bedrossian (wife of Bob Thompson) • Barbara Belcore • Esther Harbert • Veta Smith (mother of Cecilia Democko) • Sally Brockington
For friends and family: Barbara Geiger, mother of Jacob Geiger • Brett Gurley, mother of Stephen Gurley • Sally Williams, daughter of Susan & Loren Williams • Mark McCord, cousin of Pam Tipton • Kay Harris, mother of Rebecca Webb • Danny Nodine, brother of Larry Nodine • Mark Thornhill, uncle of Kurt Erskine • Louise Peters, grandmother of Tristen Webb • Sherri Sharpe, cousin of Terri Lawrence & Julie Ryder • Dave Tipton, brother of Pam Tipton • Isabel, granddaughter of Mike & Beth Towers
For members who desire our continuing prayers: Jewel Allen • Mary McCall Cash • Wende Crowe • Pat & Bill Graves • Esther Harbert • Robin Hairston • Rod MacLeod • Sally McClintock • Chris Miller & Ron Hutcheson • Ann Rowles • Pat Spivey • Beth Towers • Michael Towers, Jr. • Wayne & Judy Urban • Larry Wilcox • Colleen
For those who have died: Ray Piper, husband of Charlotte Piper • Archie Miller, father of Chris Miller • Polly Becton, friend of Page Love & Steve Smith
For those celebrating anniversaries the week of 1/4-10: Katie & Leonard Teel
For those celebrating birthdays the week of 1/4-10: Patricia Price • Stephanie DiBello • Rod MacLeod • Ed Van Ness • Forrest Boulée • Joy Boyden • Maise Neel
For our Haitian siblings and the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti.
| | | | Did we miss your anniversary or birthday? Send the full date of your anniversary and/or your date of birth to the parish office so that we can update our records. | | | |
The weekly deadline for submission of announcements for the Friday Morning eNews
and the Sunday bulletin is Wednesdays at Noon. Please send your submissions
ready to go to the parish office.
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