April 13, 2023

I sit in the same place this morning that I sat a year ago: the Tuesday before Easter writing a message that you will read in 3 Crowns the week after Easter. So much will happen between my writing and your reading.

Last year I was so aware of how uncertain the next week would be: we hadn’t celebrated Easter together inside our sanctuary for two years, and we had learned from the arrival of the Omicron variant right before Christmas just how quickly plans could change. Clearly it would be risky to write a message about how wonderful it would be to be together.

I thought that I would sit down this year much more confident that I knew how we would walk the coming week together.

And yet… how much do I really know? I know what my calendar tells me about when I will walk through the doors of Epiphany each day between now and Easter… but do I really know what that journey will look like? 

I wonder if the uncertainty of the past few years has taught me something about the powerful presence of that uncertainty… to take each step wondering what will be revealed in the moments to come. The uncertainty is a gift in itself that leaves me open to wonder what will actually happen when we join together and bring our relationships and presence to one another in a journey that is both familiar and new each year.

So I send this off a bit like a message in a bottle… looking forward to encountering each of you as we walk the path together from Palm Sunday to Easter. And you will read it at the other end of that road when we all look back at where that path took us this year.

Nelia Newell

Please note that the parish office will be closed following Easter, from Monday, April 10 through Patriots' Day on Monday, April 17. The following week, the office will be staffed for limited hours by volunteers from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Tuesday, April 18 through Thursday, April 20. For pastoral emergencies such as a hospitalization or a death, please call 781-729-1922 Ext. 5. 

Our next Word & Table service will be held on Sunday, April 23 at 5:00 pm in Hadley Hall. Offered once a month, Word & Table is a casual, contemporary, and creative service based on our familiar Episcopal liturgy. Our last Word & Table service of the program year will be on May 21.  

On Saturday evening, April 29, from 4:30 – 6:15 pm, Epiphany will be serving at The Dwelling Place, a soup kitchen in Woburn for those experiencing food insecurity. Volunteers will be needed to set up, serve, and clean up on that evening (families and kids of all ages are welcome!). We will also have a cook day in the Epiphany kitchen to prepare the meals. Interested in being a part of the cooking team or the on-site The Dwelling Place team? Click the button above to sign up! Contact Rev. Janelle with any questions. 

On Sundays, April 30 and May 7, join Rev. Nick in the Chapel at 9:00 am for this two-part series designed for inquirers and those interested in knowing more about the Episcopal Church and how we understand and engage scripture and our lived faith. For more details, contact Rev. Nick.

On Sundays, April 30 – May 28 at 11:30 am in Hadley Hall, we are excited to welcome back Dr. Brian Litzenberger to our Faith Forum in Hadley Hall. During the season of Eastertide, we will explore the seeds of possibility and wholeness as we discern God’s voice in our own lives and life together. Reflecting upon the post-Resurrection stories in the New Testament, Dr. Brian and Rev. Nick will invite us to explore, through dialogue and teaching, where God is calling us as a community. 

On Sunday, April 30 at 5:00 pm, enjoy an evening with two of Epiphany’s Parish Choir section leaders, soprano Ann-Marie Iacoviello and mezzo-soprano Cindy Vredeveld. Both seasoned performers, they combine forces to offer a program of their favorite solos and duets. This event is free; donations are gladly accepted.

Graduation Sunday will be celebrated on May 21! If you have a graduating senior who would like to be recognized, please contact Rev. Janelle.