April 21, 2022

One of my favorite parts of the day is walking early in the morning with my dog. The trails near our house take me past ponds, through stands of trees and fields, and past stone walls and other reminders of an earlier history. When you walk the same trails every day, the subtle changes as one season shifts to another float into the edges of your awareness. The air feels different, the light changes and the bird songs change. My favorite is the first day that I hear the frogs.

At some point this winter I started to head off on my walk with my mind full of lists of things to do and unresolved problems. I felt like I needed to use the time to work through things that needed to get done and was less and less tuned into what was happening around me. It was a gradual shift, one that I didn’t notice until one very cold day when the juxtaposition of a bird song that I associate with spring and my frost-bitten fingers was sufficiently jarring to push its way through the clutter of lists in my brain. It made me come to a full stop and just listen.

In the past few weeks, a line from a song I like has been surfacing in the background: “Peace, be still, be silent and you’ll hear the whispered roar …” I’ve been trying to explore the many ways to listen. What began as commitment to leave behind the day’s projects for the duration of a morning walk has grown to a practice of spending time being still and waiting to hear God’s voice in the silence. It’s hard for me not to immediately begin to fill silence by framing a question and turning over ideas in my head, but the stillness of listening has become a time I look forward to. Often, I hear something that couldn’t have competed with the chatter that I would generate on my own and sometimes the silence itself is enough.

I write this before we begin our journey together through Holy Week, knowing that it won’t be read until after we celebrate the Resurrection together. I look forward to once again walking these days together and to all of the moments that I associate with an Epiphany Holy Week.      

Nelia 

This Saturday, April 23, we invite you to Parish of the Epiphany's Spring Golf Outing at Sagamore Spring Golf Course (1287 Main Street, Lynnfield, MA). Tee times begin at 9:00 am (18 holes). The green's fees are $59 walking or $80 riding. All Epiphany members (and guests), men and women, regardless of ability, are welcome to play. Please RSVP no later than April 11 to Rich Bartels at rich.bartels@gmail.com or 781-862-8208. Carpooling from the church is encouraged. 

Join Rev. Nick and the wardens of the parish for a forum after the 10:00 am service this Sunday, April 24 to discuss the state of our parish, and to reflect upon our hopes moving forward. As you know, our priorities for 2022 have been reconnecting with each other, increasing our staffing capacity, and expanding our digital ministries. As we start our planning for 2023, we're looking to engage with you to share a bit about how we have been spending our time as a vestry, and to learn about what's important to you.  

We will have time for conversation, small group discussion, and questions. The forum will take place in Hadley Hall.  

Please note that there is no Church School this Sunday, April 24, because of school vacation week. Church School resumes on May 1, in-person at 10:00 am and on Zoom at 9:00 am. We'll start our new Storymakers zine and learn about Jesus, his disciples, the early church, and the Holy Spirit! 

Please note that the parish office will be closed following Easter, from Monday, April 18 through Friday, April 22. Epiphany's staff will be on break during this time. 

For pastoral emergencies, please call 781-729-1922 Ext. 5. Rev. Nick will be away but checking the pastoral emergency line. 

Happy Easter to you and your loved ones from the staff of Parish of the Epiphany! 

All are invited to a reception for El Hogar on Saturday, April 30 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm in Hadley Hall. Epiphany has a long-standing deep relationship with this program serving children living in vulnerable conditions in Honduras. Many parishioners — youth and adults — have traveled to El Hogar over the years to experience this ministry directly. Meet the new Executive Director in Honduras, Denise Vargas, and learn about her vision and plans for the future of El Hogar. See and hear how El Hogar’s students are doing as they come back together as a community. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to Candy Beckwith at cbeckwith@elhogar.org or 781-729-7600

Join us on Tuesday, May 3 at 6:00 pm for a grand celebration as Bishop Alan Gates leads us in a worship service to welcome Rev. Nick as our eleventh rector. It will be an evening of celebration, song, and good food. More details to come.