June 30, 2022

Praying with All Your Senses

What gets in the way when you try to pray? We are born to pray, created in God's image and with a natural, innate longing to connect with the Creator. It should be easy to pray, and for some of us, sometimes, it is. 

But what about the other times? When we're overwhelmed — with grief, with anger, with injustice, with despair. Or when our nervous or excited energy is too much. Or, when we’re too busy, too distracted, or too confused about what we're even supposed to be doing when we pray. 

This past year our parish children have practiced prayer together. These amazing small humans never hesitate to ask "why?" and "how?" and "what is this?" so we needed to explore what prayer is, why we try, and how we can grow in our practice. Like with everything for children, a nice idea has to be played with, or it becomes just a random thing some adult (or teacher, or priest) made us do for a few minutes. 

Has prayer become for you just a thing some adult (perhaps you yourself) makes you do? How then can you become like the children, learning and enlivening, searching to make prayer your own?

With children, we easily admit that quiet is hard. And we love to remember that everyone connects differently. Everyone learns differently. Everyone expresses themselves differently. Everyone prays differently. What if we welcomed adults to admit that, too?

In the back of the church, as you come in the tower doors, you'll see a rainbow of bags. These are worship bags for the children, and they contain different activities to help them hear, feel, pray, and simply be during worship. In these bags are pieces of the prayer practices we worked with this year because we know that movement, our hands, our senses, our mindsthese are holy gifts that sustain prayer, rather than derail it. 

Prayer dough: a soft playdough to roll, to hold, to squeeze, to smell, to shape as we pray. Prayer labyrinths: where we walk our fingers (and ourselves) in and out a long, calm path. Prayer color wheels: where colors, pictures, and words help us to find and name our feelings, and bring our true selves to God. Wax sticks, mandalas and colored pencils. There are many ways to enter into conversation with God. 

You, fully grown reader, are welcome to try these too. May you feel as welcome as the little ones to explore, to feel, to move, and to find the practices of prayer that unite you with God.

Bryn

Parish Office Closed for Independence Day

Please note that the parish office will be closed on Monday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. 

 
 

July Birthdays & Anniversaries

Congratulations to all our Epiphany friends celebrating birthdays and anniversaries during the month of July!

 
 

Help with Fellowship Hour in July

We will be enjoying punch, popsicles, and other light refreshments at fellowship hour after the 10:00 service in July. Please consider signing up to help serve or to bring a snack to share:

 
Sign Up to Help with Fellowship Hour!
 
 

Join Us for a Day of Sun, Fun, Food & Magic!

On Friday, July 29, 80 kids and staff from B-SAFE, the summer program run by St. Stephen's Youth Programs (SSYP), will visit Winchester. We will play, splash, run and create in the morning at Shannon Beach on Mystic Lake and then we will eat, laugh and witness some amazing magic at Epiphany in the afternoon.

We will also provide 50 bags of groceries for families facing food insecurity. 
Your donation of time and food will help make the magic happen. Click here to donate food and click here to volunteer your time.

Please contact Betsy Walsh with any questions. Thank you!

 
 

Christmas Fair is Coming on November 19:
How Can You Help? 

Many people have already committed to leadership roles but there are still positions open. Find a friend and sign up! There is a detailed book on what has been done in the past, but you can remake it to be new, different and yours! Most needed is a co-chair or co-chairs who will be able to take over next year. The Children's Room needs leaders. You might have some great ideas for activities to engage our young people. If you'd like to be more involved with Jewelry, White Elephant, or any of the other areas, sign up.

Over the summer if you make jams or do crafts, consider saving some to contribute to the fair. What can you contribute to the silent auction? Collaborate with friends to do a theme basket! Offer tickets to a sporting event, theater, or symphony! Share a vacation home! Offer to share your unique talent for a tour, dinner, you name it!

Contact Sara Post with any questions or to sign up.

 
 

This Week's Calendar

Click here to access the complete parish calendar.


Thursday, June 30

5:30pm Men's Group via Zoom 

7:00pm Healing Prayer via Zoom

9:00pm Compline via Zoom 


Friday, July 1

5:00pm Marlees West and Joseph Owayda Wedding Rehearsal in the Sanctuary  


Saturday, July 2

10:00am Gayle Pershouse Vaughan Funeral & Reception in Sanctuary and Hadley Hall
4:00pm Marlees West and Joseph Owayda Wedding in the Sanctuary  


Sunday, July 3

8:00am Holy Eucharist in the Sanctuary 

9:00am Fellowship Hour in Hadley Hall 

9:00am Summer Choir Warm-up in the Choir Loft

10:00am Holy Eucharist in the Sanctuary, Hadley Hall, and via YouTube 

11:15am Fellowship Hour in Hadley Hall and the Cloister Garden


Monday, July 4

All Day Parish Office is Closed for Independence Day 
5:00 Prayer Team Meeting via Zoom 
6:00pm AA Meeting in Hadley Hall
7:30pm AA Meeting in Hadley Hall


Tuesday, July 5

8:30am Employment Transition Group via Zoom 

9:30am Staff Meeting in the Suter Room


Thursday, July 6

5:30pm Men's Group via Zoom 

7:00pm Healing Prayer via Zoom

9:00pm Compline via Zoom 

 

For More Information

For pastoral emergencies, please contact Rev. Nick by dialing 781-729-1922 Ext. 5. 
Click to view our Family Newsletter for parents, youth, and children. 
Click to find information on our worship services
Click to learn more if you are new to Epiphany.
Sign-up for online pledge payments here.

 

70 Church Street, Winchester, MA  01890
781-729-1922
www.3crowns.org

A WELCOMING COMMUNITY