March 24, 2022

Grief: Great sorrow, especially that caused by death.
Grace: The free and unmerited favor of God.

Where is God in the face of grief? Have you recently experienced God’s grace? These questions that Rev. Nick asks us to reflect upon this Lent are ones that I have been turning over in my mind. 

My friend Chris Marrion died suddenly on December 30 of last year. Those of us who knew and loved him are still reeling from this loss. Chris was one of those friends who “got me” — I could just be myself with him and vice versa. His absence over the past months has only added to this sense of isolation I’ve been sitting with for so long. I’ve written before that our faith reminds us that God shows up, we just have to notice. I’ll admit that I’ve struggled to see God in the midst of this grief.

Chris’ memorial service was held on March 12, and his husband Randy asked me to plan the music for it. Chris and I were musical colleagues as well as friends, and I knew that he particularly loved art song and opera. So, I got to work and selected a combination of pre-recorded and live music, each chosen with specific purpose and meaning. Along the way, I offered to take on creating the service bulletin, obsessing about every revision, making sure every detail was covered, working with the technical team at the church where the service was being held to ensure that the pre-recorded materials would be available not only to those in person but also to those attending via Zoom, and so on.

Clearly, this was my way of showing how much I loved Chris, and yet, for one reason or another, every step of the journey to the day of the service felt as though I was pushing a boulder up a mountain. Why was this so hard? Why was I so frustrated? Was everyone else’s grief part of a larger puzzle? Were we each pushing our own boulders to the point where we couldn’t see anything or anyone else?  

Grace within my grief finally arrived on the day of the memorial service. Witnessing and participating in the love and care Chris’ family and friends showed each other through our collective grief was that grace. Whether through the service bulletin, the prepared prayers and remarks, the remembrances, the music, the flowers, or the reception, we showed our love. And it reminds me how important funerals and memorial services are to the grieving process.

God showed up, in community, connection, remembrance and grief, and I noticed. For that I’m grateful.

Where is God in the face of grief? Have you recently experienced God’s grace?

Dave McSweeney, warden

Please note that the youth stargazing event scheduled for this Friday has been postponed to a weekend in April due to weather. We will be putting forth a new date and rain date soon. You can fill out this interest form to stay in the loop for this event, or reach out to Eva Dalzell with any questions.

This Saturday children participating in our Communion Enrichment program will gather with a parent, Nick, and Bryn for a time of preparation and fun, from 9:00 - 11:00 am in Hadley Hall. We ask that children participating in this program also arrive in the Sanctuary on Sunday at 9:35 am, as we prepare for our  special 10:00 am service of worship.

Join us on Sunday, March 27 for a festive 10:00 am service as we celebrate those young ones among us who have participated in our Communion Enrichment program, as well as those being baptized or preparing for Confirmation. 

Join Rev. Nick and Dr. Brian Litzenberger in Hadley Hall each Sunday during the season of Lent after the 10:00 am service for a forum series that will help us explore the many feelings of grief and loss and disorientation that we've experienced through the pandemic. Nick and Brian will host conversations to engage both the theology and practice of moving from trauma to healing. These sessions are open to all ages, as Dr. Litzenberger is particularly engaged with parents, youth and young people in his practice. 

Do you have a birthday or anniversary during the month of April that you would like remembered in 3 Crowns and the Sunday bulletin? If so, please send the details to Kathryn in the parish office by Sunday, March 27.

At our next Midweek gathering on March 30, the children will be helping to fill Easter eggs and Easter bags with candy for our friends at St. Luke's in Chelsea. We'll need lots of candy to make this happen!

Will you donate a bag or two of individually wrapped Easter candy for this outreach project? Any kind of candy is welcome — we just ask that it be wrapped, so our children can sort it into eggs and bags with no worry about germs. (And maybe less candy accidently "falling" into mouths during our work!) 

Please leave this candy (marked St. Luke's) in the church office or hand it right to Bryn. THANK YOU!

All are invited to our next Midweek @ Epiphany on Wednesday, March 30. Dinner will be offered from 6:15 - 7:00 pm, with seating available in Hadley Hall and the Cloister Garden. This week's menu includes baked ham, scalloped potatoes, salad (vegetarian), rolls (vegetarian), pizza for the kids, and warm cookies. From 7:00 - 7:30 pm, join us for Bible study with Rev. Nick in Upper Parish Hall and creative art and music programming for children with Bryn and Jeremy in Hadley Hall. 

We are pleased to announce that we have achieved our fundraising goal of $42,000 to cover the cost of the conservation of Epiphany's tapestries. Thank you very much for your financial support! Thank you also to the members of Epiphany's Altar Guild who helped coordinate the process.

If you missed the presentation on the background of the tapestries and the steps taken to date, please see attached slides from the presentation.

The tapestries will be delivered to Museum Textile Services this week to begin the conservation process.  We plan to share updates and photos of the work as it progresses. The conservation work should be completed by April 2023.

We are very grateful for your support of this centerpiece of our sacred space.

We invite you to join us for Holy Week at Parish of the Epiphany! 

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.

We’re thrilled to announce that camp is back for summer 2022. Summer Camps at BCH are inclusive Christian formation ministries and open to families, campers 4th-12th grades. If you are interested, please visit BCH's website here. 

St. Stephen's Youth Programs (SSYP), one of our Mission and Outreach organizations, is creating a playspace for children (ages 5-10 years old) in their afterschool program. They are looking for the following, in new or gently used condition: 

• pans / dishes / food items for a play kitchen
• veterinary clinic / doctor's office items — tools, stuffed animals (clean and like new), doctor / vet outfits
• puppet theater / puppets
• dress up clothes / costumes
• dolls / doll clothes / doll accessories (racially diverse dolls preferred)
• cars / trucks — both large and small
• wooden train set
• building toys — blocks (wood, magnetic), marble runs, gears, no Legos please (we have lots)
• bracelet making materials — beads, thread
• craft kits for groups of kids

If you would like to donate something new, click here for our Amazon wishlist. If you would like to donate something gently used, please contact me at 781-249-6554 or betsygwalsh@gmail.com. I am happy to pick up items in and near Winchester.

Thank you so much!
Betsy Walsh