The Problem of Good
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday — a uniquely odd day of the church year dedicated to a theological doctrine. It may not get your blood pumping, and that's okay. But, the way we think and talk about God makes a difference, because our lives and living are shaped by core beliefs, whether they be religious or not.
I follow a singer and songwriter named Nick Cave. He has written some amazing lyrics that are weirdly religious, like:
I don't believe in an interventionist God But I know, darling, that you do But if I did, I would kneel down and ask Him Not to intervene when it came to you
Silly, right? Who talks like this? Who would even know what interventionism is as a theological concept? In fact, I haven't heard "interventionist God" outside a systematic theology class. Maybe it's all just nonsense.
Each month, Nick Cave takes questions from fans and attempts to answer them in longer format writing that he shares with his "The Red Hand Files" email list. I'm on that list. This month, someone asked him plainly: "In your opinion, what is God?" Nick responds simply: "God is love." Does that sound familiar?
This rock star then goes on to say something so beautifully heartbreaking, I must share it with you. He writes: "(In this world) There is no problem of evil. There is only a problem of good. Why does a world that is so often cruel, insist on being beautiful, of being good? Why does it take a devastation for the world to reveal its true spiritual nature? I don’t know the answer to this, but I do know there exists a kind of potentiality just beyond trauma. I suspect that trauma is the purifying fire through which we truly encounter the good in the world."
The backstory here is that Cave has had two sons die prematurely and tragically in recent years. These words do not come from a soul inexperienced with the realities of this world.
And, of course, neither are you. None of us is spared the tragedies and chances of this life. We see it all around us, in the headlines, in our relationships, in our hearts. And yet, the good remains. There is good in this world and in our lives. We have one another. You are a gift and a sign of goodness in my life — this I know. Each Sunday, even this oddly and awkwardly theological one like Trinity Sunday, is touched by the unspeakable goodness of coming together, feeling one another's presence, extending our hands to receive the mystery of Christ, and being shaped by actions and words and stories and warm bodies that remind us amidst the despair and devastation that, yes, there is goodness, even now. Hearts opened, hands extended, we say: "Yes, wow, thanks."
See you Sunday, Nick
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Evensong: June 12
All are invited to a service of Choral Evensong this Sunday, June 12 at 5:00 pm. Choral Evensong is the most particularly Anglican service in all of Christian worship. Originating from monastic hours, it consists of the distinctive parts of the ancient offices of Vespers and Compline. The choir offers canticles, prayers, and anthems so that everyone’s devotions at the end of the day may be enhanced by music, scripture, and candlelight.
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Staffing Update
Eva Dalzell's final day as Interim Director of Youth Ministries will be Sunday, July 10, after which she will be moving to New Jersey to attend Princeton Theological Seminary. She is deeply grateful for all the support she's been given and everything she's learned in her time at Epiphany, and is excited for the next stage of Epiphany's life as a community with Janelle Hiroshige as the Associate for Youth and Community Partnerships.
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Funeral Announcement:
Jay Westcott
Jay Westcott, husband of Suzy Westcott, died this past week after a long illness. Suzy worked at Epiphany for many years as our financial administrator and recently retired to spend more time with Jay. Please keep Suzy and her family in your prayers. A memorial service for Jay Westcott will take place on Friday, July 8 at 11:00 am at Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill.
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Podcast Featuring Janet & Reid Boswell
Janet and Reid Boswell were recent guests on the podcast We Not Me, discussing their experiences delivering medicine and dental care to the people of Haiti. Click the button below to hear the podcast.
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New Epiphany Household Directory
A new May 2022 Epiphany household directory is now available for download! However, we need your help. This is the first directory produced with our new database program, Realm — please take a moment to review your household information and confirm its accuracy. For any corrections or changes, please contact Kathryn in the parish office.
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Register Now for Parish Weekend Away!
To register for Epiphany's intergenerational Parish Weekend Away at the Barbara C. Harris Camp & Conference Center in Greenfield, NH the weekend of September 23-25, 2022, please click the button below!
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Youth Lock-In: June 24
Registration is open for our Youth Group Lock-In! We'll gather the evening of Friday, June 24 for a progressive dinner before returning to the church for a camp-out in the Bishop's Garden, with s'mores, games, and fellowship. Participants will sleep in individual tents, to minimize the risk of Covid transmission. On Saturday, we will learn more about a local organization making a difference in the community, and spend a couple hours working with them. Please reach out to Eva Dalzell with any questions or if you'd like to help out!
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Help with Fellowship Hour in June
We are looking forward to fellowship hours on Sundays in June, and would greatly appreciate your help! Please click on the button below to contribute a baked good, fresh fruit, a gluten-free snack, and/or your time.
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Winchester Interfaith Resettlement Partnership Gaining Traction
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Nighttime Landscape in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Photo by Farid Ershad on Unsplash.
It’s hard to imagine that the seed sown at a Network for
Social Justice forum on October 13, 2021 has bloomed into a community effort
to resettle an Afghan family. Following
that conversation about the complexities of immigration status and of finding
suitable community sponsors, clergy, rabbinical, and lay representatives built
the structure which would eventually unite six faith communities and over sixty
volunteers in WIRP (Winchester Interfaith Resettlement Partnership).
Once agreement was reached with Ascentria Alliance, a
federally-approved resettlement organization, WIRP began training volunteers,
looking for suitable housing for a family, and raising money through individual
and congregational giving. On January 13, nearly twenty volunteers from our faith partners formed the core that has now
grown remarkably: volunteers serve on 15 different teams — transportation,
education, childcare, legal, health care, financial, employment, housing and
furnishings, and many others.
Our Afghan evacuee family, Ihsanullah and Zahida Rawan,
arrived at their new apartment in Arlington on February 20. In five months of resettling the Rawans, the
WIRP team has raised over $50,000 and helped the family secure additional funds
from public assistance, food stamps, and refugee support funds from the federal
and state government.
While there is still much work to be done in this twelve-month
period allotted for resettling the Rawan family into the American culture,
there is much to be proud of, and we can look forward confidently to upcoming
challenges and accomplishments.
For more information on how you can support this work, click
here or contact Bob
Davidson, frbobdav@msn.com. |
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This Week's Calendar
Click here to access the complete parish calendar.
Thursday, June 9
5:30pm Men's Group via Zoom
7:30pm Healing Prayer via Zoom
7:30pm Parish Choir Rehearsal in the Upper Parish Hall
9:00pm Compline via Zoom
Friday, June 10
6:00pm Mission and Outreach Retreat in Hadley Hall, the Suter Room, and Chapel
Saturday, June 11
8:30am Mission and Outreach Retreat in Hadley Hall, the Suter Room, and Chapel
Sunday, June 12
8:00am Holy Eucharist in the Sanctuary
9:00am Bible Study in the Suter Room
9:00am Fellowship Hour in Hadley Hall
9:00am Parish Choir Warm-up in the Sanctuary
10:00am Holy Eucharist in the Sanctuary, Hadley Hall, and via YouTube
11:15am Fellowship Hour in Hadley Hall and the Cloister Garden
11:15am Newcomer Coffee Hour in the Upper Parish Hall
11:15am High School Youth Group in the Garret and via Zoom
3:45pm Parish Choir Warm-up in the Sanctuary
5:00pm Evensong in the Sanctuary
5:30pm Middle School Youth Group in the Garret and via Zoom
Monday, June 13
4:00pm Circle of Life via Zoom
5:00pm Prayer Team Meeting via Zoom
6:00pm AA Meeting in Hadley Hall
7:30pm AA Meeting in Hadley Hall
Tuesday, June 14
8:30am Employment Transition Group via Zoom
9:30am Staff Meeting in the Suter Room
7:00pm Stephen Ministries Meeting in the Chapel
Wednesday, June 15
11:00am Prayer and Communion Service at the Gables at Winchester
7:30pm Vestry Meeting in the Upper Parish Hall
Thursday, June 16
5:30pm Men's Group via Zoom
7:30pm Healing Prayer via Zoom
9:00pm Compline via Zoom |
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70 Church Street, Winchester, MA 01890
781-729-1922
www.3crowns.org
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