Updates from Council & Pastor Julie

Council Update: April 13, 2023

Call Committee Update: "He has risen indeed!"

Wow, do I have a great announcement on the heels of the Easter season; we have our associate pastor call committee! Amazingly, when the chair accepted, we received another six enthusiastic "yeses" in succession. There is no denying God's work in this (God math…again?!), and our Council team is humbled by the group of individuals the Holy Spirit formed to call the associate pastor that God has already chosen for Epiphany. Yes, this is our sincere belief, and I invite all of you to pray for this special team as they receive their training and begin this vital work. We will make the finalized Ministry Site Profile (MSP) and pastor job descriptions available upon request once they are finalized for posting.

Epiphany Associate Pastor Call Committee

Michele Uhl - Chair
Diana Pearson
Lee Dixon
Sandy Houpt
Becky Zink
Jim Lehman
Cooper Henderson

Note: The installation of our call committee will take place during the Austin livestream worship service on April 30.

Budget-Focused Community Conversation May 7

Epiphany's leadership has been listening, and we've heard you; let's create an opportunity before the annual congregational meeting to discuss next year's budget. This event, held after service on May 7, aims to share the draft budget, highlight significant changes from last year, and do our best to answer your questions. We understand there are concerns about what Epiphany can and cannot afford and a desire to see where ministry dollars are being allocated. Wireless mics will be available to ensure everyone can hear questions during Q & A.

Date: Sunday, May 7, 2023

Time: Noon

Location: Far Hills Sanctuary

Strategic Planning

At our March 19 community conversation, we shared that there were 142 respondents to our congregation-wide survey. We now have themes for each question. We are working with staff to identify two to three "quick wins" that align with this feedback. Next, we plan to commission a group of four to six individuals with gifts in strategic planning to review Epiphany's mission and values, then develop Epiphany's strategic plan. This work will take a commitment of time with periodic member feedback as part of the process. It will involve digging deeper into member feedback, reviewing the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis conducted last summer, looking outside Epiphany at current community needs, and prayerfully deriving two to three themes that clarify Epiphany's current expression of loving Jesus by serving others. If this work interests you, please email president@epiphanydayton.org so we can connect with you at the right time!

Check It Out! Austin Ballpark to See Improvements

I am excited about our Council and staff's new partnership with a local youth baseball team. They will make field improvements this year and have begun collaborating with another local team to utilize this space fully! We have already received plenty of clean-up help (weeds, mowing, etc.), and other exciting upgrades are planned. We will share changes through our various communication channels as they are made. Throughout the summer months, stop by Austin to see the progress!

In Closing

I want to thank the many staff members and volunteers who have worked hard to make our Lenten events and Holy Week successful this year. This is an awesome season for us Christians, and our Council appreciates the many seeds planted and fruits discovered during this special time.

In Christ,

Anthony Brown

Congregation Council President

What's Up, Pastor Julie?

Staff Updates April 2023

We are pleased to announce some new faces among our staff this month. Please welcome the following Epiphany members who are joining our staff:

Bob Hess, Facilities Manager. Bob and his wife Cindy have been members of Epiphany for five years. Bob has been an enthusiastic member of the Handy Crew and has had a 32-year career in firefighting. Bob will average 28 hours a week at Epiphany and will provide oversight to the maintenance of our extensive physical plant and grounds.

Allison Crews, Interim Praise Team Director. Allison, her husband Paul, and children Tristan, Ria, and Archer attended Epiphany before moving to St. Croix for 18 months, and the family officially became members at first opportunity when they moved back in the summer of 2022. Allison is a trained opera singer, but her heart is in Christian Praise music. She has loved being a member of the Praise Team both times that the family has lived in the area. She works professionally as a project manager, so she is ready to partner with the praise team to expand its ranks and lead worship at our praise services as we seek a permanent director.

Melonie June Warren, Interim Bulletin Administrator. Melonie’s gifts in organization and attention to detail are well known at Epiphany; she has drafted and edited bulletins for various services as a volunteer for over 13 years, as well as serving as one of Epiphany’s wedding coordinators for years. Besides constructing bulletins each week, Melonie will also create slides for worship until a permanent hire is made to cover worship administrative duties. Melonie has her own pet care business and continues to serve in her volunteer capacities as cantor, Sunday morning tech team, and assisting minister.

Other staff notes:

Robyn Zimmann, Office Administrator, returns after five weeks out for knee surgery. Welcome back, Robyn!

We will welcome Pastor Chris Young as one of our member preachers later this month. Chris and his wife Katrina joined Epiphany a year ago, and son Jasper was just baptized at the Vigil! Chris is a hospice chaplain rostered with the Federation of Christian Ministries. The ELCA is in full communion with six other major denominations in the US, but as the FCM is not yet in full communion, Pastor Chris will partner with member ELCA pastors who will preside at Holy Communion.

And a plea for grace:

We continue to work to cover Natalie Heimann’s duties, as she officially concluded her ministry this week, as well as other long-standing vacancies in our staff.

Erin Haligowski continues to serve full-time as our Director of Youth and Families, as well as covering livestreaming and social media which she took on during the pandemic due to increased need and downsizing of staff at that time.
Sarah Richter is serving part-time as our Communications Coordinator, formerly a full-time position. Social media responsibilities are in the process of transitioning from Erin to Sarah. Sarah is also Interim Sunday School Coordinator as the Children and Families position is currently open and under review.
Campus Coordinators Brittany Albert and Jennifer Henderson are increasing their hours from a maximum of 10 per week to 15 per week as they take on greater responsibilities with congregation care and welcome to cover the member engagement duties in Natalie’s job description.
Marcia Drake continues to work part-time as our Finance person on staff; this was a full-time position prior to the pandemic.
Pastor Barry Scott continues to work half-time to cover pastoral needs and preaching until we call an associate pastor. As part of his part-time status, he is off one Sunday per month.

It will take some time to work out the kinks in this interim time, and despite our best efforts, we will surely find some holes in coverage. Therefore, I am asking in advance for your patience and understanding! Our Epiphany staff are a dedicated and talented bunch, and I am grateful for how they continue to step up to the challenges of being a smaller team in times of transition. I am especially grateful to Kathy Whited, Director of Operations, who has led the charge in documenting numerous details of the positions in flux and helped to reorganize staff duties in this time of change. I could not do this job without her.

I look forward to sharing more information with you as we move forward in this Easter season and beyond. As a dear friend once said to me, the resurrection is all about change! I take heart that in Christ, God makes all things new. When we lay down our preconceived notions and even our beloved past, God raises up our hopes and dreams, better than we could have imagined.

“I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5.

Christ is Risen!

Pastor Julie

jreuning-scherer@epiphanydayton.org

First-Quarter Giving Statements Update

While first-quarter giving statements are typically sent at the beginning of April, an error in the emailing platform has caused a delay. Please know that we are aware of the issue and that Kathy Whited and the vendor are working on getting statements out as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience.