Dear all, 

What a gift to worship and meet online with so many of you this past Sunday. What a great attendance and time for us to “be together” to pray, plan, present, and dream about what God is calling us to do as a church. If you were not able to attend the meeting, don’t worry! We will have plenty of opportunities, as we begin to regather in our beautiful church home, to discern as a community what our role is in the long-term recovery of the gorge. I am so grateful for the amazing opportunity we have to continue and expand our ministries and presence in the gorge area. 

If you have a moment, please share your thanks to the vestry members who are rolling off, Tom Scott (senior warden), Charlene Cassidy, and Debbie Wright. As always, thank you to our continuing vestry members! Also, a warm welcome to our newest members of vestry: Linda Carter, Randy Penn, and George Van Eron. Dixie Robinson will serve as our Sr. Warden, and Randy as our Jr. Warden. It is going to be a good year for our parish with the leadership of this great team. 

The big news to share is our plans to worship at Transfiguration this Sunday! Praise God! Please see information below for details. 

To see the readings for Sunday, the 7th Sunday in Epiphany, Click Here.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5th. I invite us all to prayerfully begin moving toward the posture of reflective growth as we look for this new liturgical season to begin. 

God’s peace, 

Fr. John

Upcoming Events: 

• Pre-Eulogy This Thursday February 20 at La Strada 6 pm

• Church Workday: Saturday, Feb. 22nd, we will have a church workday in our gardens and to get our church ready for worship on Sunday! There will be plenty of work for all. Please plan to arrive around 1:00pm. If you have garden tools, please bring some along. 

• Sunday Feb. 23rd - our Return to Transfiguration in Bat Cave!

• 10:00am for now, 8:00am to return soon, more information to come. 



• Wednesday, March 5th - Ash Wednesday. 

Re-Gathering on Sundays

It has been 21 weeks since we have been able to gather at our church home for a Sunday morning service: God willing, we will return this Sunday! Thank you all for your patience and understanding during this long season away. While this is an amazing step to celebrate, there certainly are some important things to be aware of, as Bat Cave is far from normal:

• If you have not been back to the church yet, please be aware that driving through Bat Cave is hard to see; so much amazing work has been done, but it is far from recovered. 
• Each week things may change in terms of our road access, please stay tuned from week to week - God willing we will continue to worship there each week! Our presence back in Bat Cave is so important. 
• Road Access - as of now, you can drive in from Route 64 or Highway 9. As you are likely aware, the road through Chimney Rock is not open for regular use - however - we WILL be able to use it on Sunday mornings only. 
• We have been told by Chimney Rock leadership that if we go to the checkpoint on Sunday morning, just say you are going to church at Transfiguration and they will let you through. If you are having trouble, call Barbara Meliski at 828-289-9911. 
• It will be good to limit the cars going through, so I do encourage some possible carpooling. Also, be aware the road through is getting better every day, but it’s not an easy drive. Larger vehicles are ideal if you have the option. 

While there are some challenges in returning, it will be so good to be back in our church home. All are most welcome. See you Sunday morning! 

Church to Host Resource Pop-up

In the wake of Helene, many different organizations have been involved in relief efforts. A few months ago, a LTRG (Long-Term Recovery Group) for Henderson County was established to help centralize things so that information is shared, resources are pooled, unmet needs are addressed, and disaster recovery reaches ALL corners of the county. Community participation is also encouraged and our Church was asked to attend a meeting to learn about the LTRG and see how we could facilitate communication with residents and volunteers in Bat Cave. Marlise was available to attend and was impressed with their action-oriented enthusiasm! As a result, the Church is now tentatively hosting a "resource pop-up" on Saturday March 1st from 9am-1pm. Representatives from 10-15 agencies will be there to answer questions and provide information. They also plan to provide lunch and other goodies (we just provide the place to meet). Details will be forthcoming but we wanted folks in the Bat Cave area to make note of the event. The goal is that this will be the first of several pop-ups the LTRG holds throughout Henderson County. [For more information on the LTRG visit https://sites.google.com/view/hcltrg/home]

M&M Movie Event: Wicked

 Feb 23rd at 2:30 pm

You are invited to an EPIC movie event with the M&M (ECW) group... Wicked is making a return to the Tryon Theater and we are coordinating a group to go to the Sunday Matinee on Feb. 23rd at 2:30pm. Some of have seen this before and I can promise it is AMAZING!

Tickets will likely sell out fairly quickly so please go online and purchase them ahead of time. https://www.tryontheatre.com/



We may coordinate lunch before hand and carpool groups closer to time. 

Please reach out to Marily / Dawn to let us know if you plan to attend or have any questions.

The theme that I see most commonly in this week’s lectionary readings is that of forgiveness. This forgiveness especially abounds when it is done with God’s love in mind. First, we see Joseph embrace and forgive his brothers among God’s promise of prosperity through his covenants. In Psalm 37, we see a warning to not fret about wrongdoers for justice shall prevail through God’s will. In Corinthians, we once again see that through death comes new life. Lastly, Christ commands in the Gospel of Luke that when we are faced with the threats of our adversaries, it is best to “turn the other cheek”. This week, I invite you to find where God may be calling you to forgive. 

Colin is joining us by way of Blue Ridge Service Corps, a program for young adults in our Diocese to discern career paths in an intentional and spiritual way. He will be splitting his time between Church of the Transfiguration and St. James in Hendersonville helping with community projects relating to hurricane relief and community formation. Colin is originally from Louisiana and is a graduate of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. He is discerning between full time ministry or a career in social work. Colin is thrilled to join our community for the coming months!

Ways to Give And Receive

Dear Friends, we are certainly in a season where we, as a church community, are invited to support and help those who are continuing to recover after Helene. For so many, this will be a long journey and we are so blessed to have different ways to walk alongside those in need of support. If you, or others you know, require assistance, please reach out to Fr. John. 

If you or someone connected to you needs financial help, we have funds available. Please click on or share this link. It will guide whoever is in need through a simple process to request financial support. If you would like to see what our diocese is doing, you can click here. 

The Red Cross has been in our area to help give support and funds to those who need it. Click here to learn more. 

God bless you all; please know the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration is here, as the Hands and Feet of Christ, to walk alongside our community and neighbors. Please reach out anytime. We are Still Here and Still Standing! 

Meals for Volunteers

We still need volunteers to provide some meals for the volunteers serving in the Bat Cave community.

To sign up for taking a meal or to find out more go to

 https://takethemameal.com/OKEB3569

Or contact Carlann for more information.

Praying for those who have asked for our prayers 

and whom we know to be in need

 Sam Thompson, Harriet Taylor, Linda Carter, Lynn Morehead, Gary Seymour, Linda Munson, Sandra Chalker, Steve Gale, Carol Michael, J Michael, Robert Taylor, Marion Wilson, Jeanette Auld, Michael Webster,   April Schick, Heyward & Nancy Nettles, Cathie Dabrowski, Gracie Johnson Hutchinson, Lew Thatcher, Tony Maulden, Emily Wright, Toby Van Eyll, Michele Yackel, Elsie Luciano, Gertie Merrill, Malee Keller, Greg Lemke, Michelle Aubert, Jessica Hendley, Haley Sartain, Sherry Smith, Anita Burton, David Shook, Jim Porter, Bill Vitti, Ken & Ann Washburn, Jerry Porter, Ann Robinson, Wendy Field, Harrison Poe, Tom Taylor, Cameron Day, Genevieve Hipps, Jeanette Dryden, Neva Sheets, Nancy McNary, Colton Corbett, Kristina Robinson



All who are displaced and who are suffering   

To apply for reimbursement for church related expenses, please fill out the following form. https://forms.gle/tnAeRUnsosYB6iJH6