The Parish of the Epiphany

Family Newsletter
June 14 2020
The Second Sunday after Pentecost

Dear Epiphany Families,

Friends, we've made it to the end of the school and program year. And what a year it was! We all knew this would be a year of transitions, but who could have imagined what that would truly mean, back in the fall when we began our interim after saying farewell to Carolyn and Thomas. And yet against a lot of odds, this was an amazing year of learning, loving, and growing together. Parents and parishioners worked on, in new and flexible ways. I'm filled with gratitude for all that we learned and gave together in 2019-2020. This is an amazing community.

And where might we be going from here? I'm bubbling over with hope and excitement for a new kind of summer here at Epiphany. We are beginning a summer where we will keep our community strong, supportive, connected, and growing. I urge you to stay fully plugged in at Parish of the Epiphany (you'll hear more about summer formation soon). We continue together. 

And we look toward a fall where our community will continue belonging, believing, and becoming--a beautiful, beloved community challenged but so full of life, creativity, and love that I have no doubt our new ideas and our spiritual growth will be a blessing we can't even comprehend at this moment. I am filled with joy to be serving beside you all--for our children, our parish, this community, and God's glorious creation.

In gratitude and love, Bryn

bhollenbeck@3crowns.org

This Week's Pajama Church:

Sunday School LIVE on Zoom at 9:30am!

Our Sunday School program year ends this Sunday, June 14. Children in preschool through grade 5, please join your teachers LIVE on Zoom at 9:30am. We will celebrate our year, learn more about God's Holy Spirit, and look ahead to summer! 

Click this Zoom Link to Join at 9:30am this Sunday!

Parents, please think ahead about an object your child can grab (scavenger-hunt style) that represents to them ONE of the following: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, or self-control. (Just in case they need some on-the-spot ideas!)

Church Worship Service: 10am on YouTube

Here are some related materials we can use during the service to help us hear, listen, and understand the sacred scriptures.

Coloring Page: Moses

Word Find: Did you hear these words during our Scripture readings? These words are from Romans 5: 1-8. This is a really important passage. See if you can learn it!

Congratulations Graduating Seniors!

Our 2020 graduates are Ella Aldrich, Lizi Barrow, Tori Barrow, Charlie Burbine, Elizabeth Ceruolo, Tommy Degnan, Lucy Foot, Ben Loosian, Matt Loosian, Robert New, Lizzie Reynolds, Thyra Roller, and Owen Sullivan.

Watch this video of them growing through the years! Parish of the Epiphany is Proud of our Graduating Seniors.

And Congratulations College graduates, Middle Schoolers moving to High School, Elementary Students moving to Middle School, and Preschoolers moving to Kindergarten! Each of these milestones is to be celebrated. 

Youth: An Important Message from the Diocese of Massachusetts

An opportunity for middle school and high school students to speak to the church about dismantling racism, with Bishop Alan Gates and Bishop Gayle Harris

Sunday, June 28, 1:00 pm

Registration required: Click here. 

In the last few weeks, we have heard and witnessed many necessary and overdue conversations about race, violence, and policing in America. As is the case with most movements for justice throughout history, young people have been on the forefront of this movement today. In the Diocese of Massachusetts, we have heard from our bishops , from the bishops of the seven dioceses in New England , as well as from the Presiding Bishop . In order to determine our next steps in the work of dismantling racism, we must also listen to our young people, and it is only together that we can make meaningful, long-term progress towards racial justice and reconciliation.

With this in mind, on Sunday, June 28th, young people and church leaders will come together for a virtual, moderated “town hall”-style conversation with Bishop Alan Gates and Bishop Gayle Harris about dismantling racism. All ages are welcome to attend--with those over the age of 20 invited to attend and listen, and those under 20 invited to tell us what we need to hear.

  • What do you want to tell the church? What was missing from the statements made by church leadership?
  • Where do you see a need for justice and reconciliation in the church? What do you expect from the church?
  • what do you think is the role of the church in dismantling racism? What support do you need from the church?
  • What are you willing to commit to the church?

Registration is required. If you have any questions, please contact Youth Missioner H. Mark Smith.

Youth: Check out Kids4Peace Boston!

They have brought their programming online this summer. Check out their resources and courses on race, anti-racism, and the pandemic. Click here. 

This Week's Family Devotions:

This is a good week to look back at the year we are completing, and forward to the summer. Together as a family give thanks, offer prayers, and create visions. 

Monday: Prayers of Gratitude for the school year. What did we learn? How did we grow? In what ways are we different now than we were in September? 

Tuesday: Prayers for our teachers, friends, tutors, priests, Sunday School teachers, and coaches. Who helped us this year? Who gave time, attention, support and love to our families? 

Wednesday: Prayers for the summer. What do we hope these months will be? Offer God your feelings, both sad and hopeful.

Thursday: Prayers for the Church, local and global. What does the church do? How are we part of the church? What does the church need now?

Friday: Prayers for the nation. What does our nation need? What are we thankful for? How does our nation need to learn and grow, and what can we do to help? 

Did you know

Every Monday Parish of the Epiphany sends out a parish-wide newsletter, called The Three Crowns. You can find issues here. 

There is a Bible Study for grown-ups (and teens) at 9am each Sunday via Zoom. Click here to join.

Support for Parenting Children Through These Crises

How do we apologize? How do we restore relationships?

We're all in tight quarters with a lot of time together right now, and this will continue in the summer--boundaries are going to be crossed and feelings hurt. Now is great time for the whole family to practice healthy apologies. Molding hearts ready to repent and forgive are life-long skills we all need. Right now, parents can:

  • Model apologies: Model admitting a mistake, without being asked. Children benefit when we give them words and vocabulary to help with big feelings and difficult tasks. Model words like "I'm sorry" and "I should not have."

  • Model making amends: "How can I fix this?" and (in the family) "May I give you a hug?"

  • Model moving forward: Show how both the one who wrongs and the one wronged can offer grace and move forward in better ways.

A great (grown-up) book is: Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes in You and Your Kids, by Turansky and Miller. The cover and title don't do this book justice: we just call this "The Respect Book." 

And once again I recommend Dr. Rachel Kramer’s excellent webinars on parenting during crises.

A long but excellent list of resources for teaching children and youth (and grownups) about racism can be found here at Rows of Sharon. There is a lot of work through in this list. 

Here are two additional lists of books for children and teens that highlight diverse characters and help us learn to talk about racism and privilege. The NYT. And Today's Parent.

    Please excuse the type-os.  This is how we've rolled this season. You probably have too!
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