Please note that the parish office will be closed from Friday, December 23, 2022 through Monday, January 2, 2023 for Christmas. The office will reopen at 9:00 am on Tuesday, January 3. While the office is closed, we are accepting and processing year-end gifts. Feel free to contact Bill Brickman if you you have any questions. A very Merry Christmas from the staff of Parish of the Epiphany! 

Celebrate our Savior’s birth with Christmas worship at Parish of the Epiphany! On Christmas Eve on Saturday, December 24, we will offer three services: a family service with our children’s pageant at 4:00 pm, as well as Choral Eucharists at 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm. (Please note that the 10:00 pm service will include incense.) All are welcome! 

On Tuesday, December 13 at 7:00 pm in Hadley Hall, we invite you to "Strength for the Holidays: An Evening Presentation of Loss and Resilience," led by the Reverend Bob Davidson, Epiphany's Assisting Priest and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Hospice Chaplain. During this time of festive holiday celebrations, many struggle with the absence of loved ones. All are welcome to learn more about coping tools and ways to be present to loss and memories of happier times. Members of the public are welcome. 

Join Rev. Nick and Janelle on December 4, 11, and 18 as they host an Advent forum series looking at what it means to long for home in this world. We will hear from our Refugee Resettlement team on their experiences and welcome GreenRoots from Chelsea and partners from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem as we explore our place in this world, our identities, and our sense of longing for home and belonging. 

Our Christmas pageant will be on Christmas Eve at the 4:00 pm worship service. All children are welcome to take part! We hold rehearsals at 11:15 am following worship on Sundays in December. You may still participate if you cannot make rehearsal! Please email Bryn to let her know your schedule and we will find a work-around. Please click here to sign your child up to participate in the pageant and to indicate their preferred role. 

Every year, the sanctuary is decorated with beautiful poinsettias and greens in memory of loved ones or in gratitude for blessings received. To dedicate a poinsettia using our online form, please click here. Submissions must be received by Sunday, December 11 so that your dedication may be included in the Christmas bulletins.

To make a contribution in any amount for the poinsettias and greens decorating the church, or to the music during our services, please give online. Select "Christmas Flowers/Music" from the "Fund" dropdown menu. You can also drop a check in the Sunday offering plate or mail it to the parish office. Please make checks payable to the Parish of the Epiphany and write "Christmas Poinsettia/Music" in the memo line. 

To become a volunteer, or to get current information on how to help with this resettlement work, please contact the Rev Bob Davidson.

NEEDS:

• Volunteers for driving Adil and dad to TOPSoccer on Sunday. Volunteer drivers are still needed for 10/16 and 10/23. If you'd like to drive, please sign up on columns F and G on the Transportation Tab. 
• Drivers to take Zahida to OB appointments
• In search of: volunteer to join Roz Nazzaro on the housing team. Contact Roz to learn what she does!  
  
  
  

Lots of smiles at Adil’s soccer clinic

MORE FAMILY NEWS:

The whole family has been very busy this fall! A few of their recent activities:

• Zahida shops for some new school clothes for the boys with Barbara.
• Adil completes his series of 8 PT visits at Spaulding Lexington.
• APS is moving ahead with a full evaluation plan for Adil potentially including PT, OT, and individualized learning support. 
• School is going swimmingly for Toheed, Sapna, Mansor, and Adil. They are all eager, happy learners. Adil laid his 100 strip out on the dining room floor to demonstrate his counting expertise; everyone, even Kifayat, joined in counting practice. 
• Ihsanullah and Zahida loved attending Curriculum Night at Thompson School last week, meeting the children's teachers (Sapna, Mansor, and Adil) and seeing their classrooms. 
• Mansor's soccer team will be playing at Thorndike Field, in case you'd like to watch on Sunday, 10/9, at 2:00 pm.
• The WIC/EATS shopping team has begun teaching Zahida and Ihsanullah to use the scale at Stop & Shop to understand per-pound pricing. WIC card, SNAP, and EBT cash shopping for non-food items seem to have clicked after a significant learning period. 
• Kudos to Kevin McDonough, literacy tutor for Ihsanullah and Zahida! Both are working hard between Kevin's weekly sessions and are so proud of their increasing ability to read the flash cards he leaves with them. Literacy and numeracy are a long, hard slog for the Rawans and they are making great progress! 

Parish of the Epiphany is launching a new worship service on the third Sunday of each month at 5:00 pm. Our first Word and Table service will be Sunday, September 18 at 5:00 pm in Hadley Hall. This casual, contemporary, and creative service will be based on our familiar Episcopal liturgy as we explore an ancient and modern worship experience. We hope this service will engage those new to or familiar with our tradition, but also meet the needs of those who are unable to attend Sunday morning services.

Dear Epiphany family,

It has been nearly two and a half years since our beloved Reverend Gayle Pershouse Vaughan died. Gayle was an immeasurable gift in our lives, as friend, confidant, and companion. Due to the pandemic, we have not been able to have a memorial service here at Epiphany for Gayle. After conversations with Frank Vaughan, and the Pershouse family, we are happy to invite everyone to a memorial service as we remember, give thanks for, and celebrate Gayle's life among us.

Please join us for a memorial service on Saturday, July 2, 2022 at 10:00 am at Parish of the Epiphany. The service will also be available via livestream on Epiphany's YouTube channel. The service will be followed by a reception in Hadley Hall. The Rt. Rev. Alan Gates, Bishop Diocesan of the Diocese of Massachusetts, will preside. We look forward to this memorial service together and invite your prayers for Frank and the Pershouse family.

Faithfully in Christ,
Nick