November 24, 2022

I have two big boxes full of Christmas story books—curated over forty years—and the day in late November that I drag them from the basement storage closet up to our living room is one of my favorite days of the year. A handful of these books tell the story of Jesus’s birth with scripture. The dozens of others? They invite me into the mystery of Christmas through poems and fables; through the eyes of mice and spruce trees; and even through cookies that come alive, or a strange green creature that discovers “Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” 

There are so many ways to tell the story of Jesus’s birth—perhaps the most famous story there is. Over the next four weeks, we’ll hear it in the holy scriptures read during worship and in the music we sing. We’ll see it as our spaces are adorned and transformed. We’ll experience the story as theater in our pageant. The children (in our aptly named Storymakers class) will explore this story in comics, in comedy, in art, and—if I feel brave—in stables made of graham crackers and sheep made of marshmallows and licorice. 

We say to our little ones, the mystery of Christmas is coming near and we don’t want to miss it. Imagine all of the ways you’ll hear this story in the coming weeks. Imagine of all the ways you’ll tell it. Through old worn story books; through foods and scents; through traditions and decorations; through the giving of gifts and the visits of friends. This beautiful, mysterious story—of a Creator so loving that God became human to walk among us—is all around us. I hope and pray that as we enter Advent this Sunday, we will all feel this story in everything and everyone around us. Know that this story is for each one of us. It is our story.

With love,
Bryn

Please note that the parish office will be closed Wednesday, November 23 through Friday, November 25 in observance of Thanksgiving.

The following week, the office will be staffed by volunteers from 9:00 am — 1:00 pm on Monday, November 28 and Tuesday, November 29 while our parish administrator Kathryn is on vacation. Normal office hours will resume on Wednesday, November 30. 

Thank you to those who have pledged to date. If you have not yet pledged, please submit your 2023 pledge as soon as you are able. To accompany the campaign progress graphic, we are sharing Dave McSweeney’s update in church this past Sunday.

As we turn our attention to Thanksgiving this week, and we express our gratitude for the many blessings in our lives, it will come as no surprise that I’m going to talk a little bit about Stewardship and the many blessings that Epiphany brings. 

Those of you who have seen me here at the lectern reflecting on Stewardship may recall that I often refer to an influential sermon given here many years ago by Bishop Gene Robinson on the topic of stewardship. 

His key points were:

• Stewardship is about gratitude
• We have so much to be thankful for, so what are we going to do about it
• We ourselves are the greatest beneficiaries of our own giving
• If we don’t have a lump in our throats when we write our checks, then we aren’t giving enough — that punchline is my personal favorite

I’m sure each of us has a story of how Epiphany has blessed our lives over the past years. When we joined Epiphany in 2012, I had no idea about all the things that are involved in making a church run well. I now realize its all of you. I am privileged to be your warden and grateful for your support.

If you have already submitted your pledge, thank you! I’m here to share that our current projections indicate we will end up about $150K short of our goal of $1.2 million.

Pledges make up over 90% of our annual budget, and the projected shortfall of $150K means we will need to make some difficult decisions in the coming weeks to have a balanced budget. The shortfall will lead to cuts in our programming and incremental staffing plans. Our finance committee has been working diligently on draft budget scenarios, and we had a great conversation about it at last Wednesday’s vestry meeting. Our plan is to approve a final budget at our next vestry meeting on December 14. Every pledge counts even more now, leading directly to less cuts in programs.

Some highlights of our 2023 plans are:

• To maintain existing ministries and initiatives such as Midweek and our Word & Table Service
• To fund the growth in our youth, Church School, and music programs
• To improve our IT infrastructure
• To cover increased costs related to inflationary pressures on property expenses and greater participation in our healthcare benefits
• And finally to support a renewed culture of welcome and to create capacity and resources to enable small groups to help connect us to God and one another.

So dear friends, my hope is that those of you who usually make pledges at the end of the year will do so now if your financial situation allows, and for those of you who have never pledged, please consider doing so. Meeting our goal requires that all of us commit to our share of funding our life and ministry together.

After all, in the words of Bishop Gene Robinson, “We ourselves are the greatest beneficiaries of our own giving."

Our Christmas pageant will be on Christmas Eve at the 4:00 pm worship service. All children are welcome to take part! We hold rehearsals at 11:15 am following worship on Sundays in December. You may still participate if you cannot make rehearsal! Please email Bryn to let her know your schedule and we will find a work-around. Please click here to sign your child up to participate in the pageant and to indicate their preferred role. 

Every year, the sanctuary is decorated with beautiful poinsettias and greens in memory of loved ones or in gratitude for blessings received. To dedicate a poinsettia using our online form, please click here. Submissions must be received by Sunday, December 11 so that your dedication may be included in the Christmas bulletins.

To make a contribution in any amount for the poinsettias and greens decorating the church, or to the music during our services, please give online. Select "Christmas Flowers/Music" from the "Fund" dropdown menu. You can also drop a check in the Sunday offering plate or mail it to the parish office. Please make checks payable to the Parish of the Epiphany and write "Christmas Poinsettia/Music" in the memo line. 

Join Rev. Nick and Janelle on December 4, 11, and 18 as they host an Advent forum series looking at what it means to long for home in this world. We will hear from our Refugee Resettlement team on their experiences, welcome GreenRoots from Chelsea, and partners from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem as we explore our place in this world, our identities, and our sense of longing for home and belonging. 

On Sunday, December 4 at 5:00 pm, all are invited to a harpsichord concert performed by Peter Sykes. One of the most distinguished and versatile keyboard artists performing today, Peter Sykes is on the music faculties of both Boston University and the Juilliard School of Music. The concert will feature the works of Sweelinck, Byrd, Peter Philips, Buxtehude, and Handel, played on Sykes's own 2005 Allan Winkler harpsichord that is patterned after a 1719 Carl Fleischer original from Hamburg. Admission is free; donations are gladly accepted. 

Join us on Saturday, December 10 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm for a youth (6th — 12th grade) holiday movie night with crafts, snacks, and festivities. Please RSVP to Janelle. 

Advent is here and the Giving Trees are back in church with opportunities to join in Epiphany’s gift ministry. One is at the back of Hadley Hall and one in front of the church nave. The trees are covered with tags describing suggested donations to be made to organizations supported by Mission & Outreach. Please take tags from the trees and follow the instructions to make donations by the date indicated. In addition, the information on the tree tags appears below and you can simply make your donation, as described, without collecting a tag. Your prayerful support of our partners, and the families they serve, would be greatly appreciated during this Christmas giving season.

St. Luke’s/San Lucas Church, Chelsea
Purchase a $20 Target gift card to be given to a child at the St. Luke’s Christmas Eve service. Put all cards to be donated into an envelope labeled “St. Luke’s” and place in the gift card collection box in the Epiphany office by Wednesday, 12/21.

Council of Social Concern, Woburn:
Purchase gift cards (value $10 to $100) from Target, Walmart, Kohl’s, Gamestop, Amazon, Visa, or Mastercard. Note the value on the cards and put them in the gift card collection box in the Epiphany Office. Cards returned by Thursday, 12/8 will be donated to individual families to buy Christmas gifts. Late cards will go to the Children’s Center classrooms.

St. Stephen’s Youth Program, South End Boston:
Purchase a $20 Target gift card to be given to a child at the St. Stephen’s Christmas Eve service. Put each gift card in a signed Christmas card with “St. Stephen’s” on the envelope and place in the gift card collection box in the Epiphany office by Wednesday, 12/21.

Blackstone School Library, South End: 
Order requested children’s books from a Wishlist supported by Bookends in Winchester here. Bring the books to Hadley Hall and a volunteer will deliver them to the Library.

El Hogar Ministries, Honduras: Donate directly to El Hogar here.

Haiti Nursing Foundation: Donate directly to the Haiti Nursing Foundation here. 

Mosaic: Interfaith Youth Action (formerly Kids 4 Peace Boston): Donate directly to Mosaic here.

Quest Adventures, Boston: Donate directly to Quest here.

Network for Social Justice, Winchester: Donate directly to the Network for Social Justice here.

For Epiphany, reducing our emissions and saving energy are part of the legacy we must leave our children and grandchildren. And to help fulfil that legacy, we have developed a new role the Epiphany, “Energy Manager."

This person would be a liaison between the Property Committee and Creation Care and would be responsible for tracking the Parish’s monthly energy use and carbon emissions as well as making recommendations for savings. This role is crucial, but will only take about five hours per month.

The ideal person doesn’t need to be highly quantitative, but should be comfortable with spreadsheets and would and have a strong interest in reducing our energy consumption. If you think this might be you, and you’d like to learn more, email Josh Reynolds.