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News & Resources: Spiritual Spot

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Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

You'll find here occasional writings, a few rants, and hopefully some insights too, about Christian discipleship, the Episcopal Church, and on faith community's life at the Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester, Massachusetts. At the Epiphany we understand ourselves to be "a welcoming Episcopal community, united in God, called to seek and serve Christ in all persons, and to transform the world with love and generosity."


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  • February 13, 2025 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Passing of the Peace during a Parish of the Epiphany worship serviceOver the past two weeks, I have received more feedback on my sermons than at any other time of ministry together here. In short, the message is clear: our lives are touched by pain and suffering, both personal and societal, and we are all hungry for, in need of, hope and meaning. Whether it is a medical diagnosis that has turned our world upside down, or a sense that all we thought we knew about this nation, our systems and structures, and our identity as citizens, there is a sense of helplessness and its product, meaninglessness. They are, certainly, the twin dis-eases of our time.

    A friend from the other side of the pond sent me a message on WhatsApp, and it is a quote from a book he is reading, Soil and Soul by Alastair Macintosh. I share it with you: "I am often approached by English people who feel confused about their national identity and ask what they can do. I simply suggest that they dig where they stand."

    So many have asked, and I ask myself often: What can I do? What can I do in the face of a friend's diagnosis? What can I do in the face of national strife? What can I do in the face of my own helplessness? This answer from Macintosh strikes me as faithful: Dig where you stand. Do not go looking to some far-flung location to find your meaning. Do not seek your identity and purpose somewhere unknown. Start right where you are, with who you are, surrounded by those who are nearby. If we can't dig into ourselves, dig up our meaning with the help of others, or dig down into our Source of faith, hope, and love, then we will certainly not find such things or do such work in some other place. There is nowhere else. We are put right here, with one another, to find our meaning and to know our strength together.

    In her poem 'Natural Resources,' Adrienne Rich writes:

    My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
    so much has been destroyed

    I have to cast my lot with those
    who age after age, perversely,

    with no extraordinary power,
    reconstitute the world.

    As Jesus teaches us in the Beatitudes: no peoples are more worthy of honor and blessedness than those who, in faith and hope and trust in God, make something beautiful out of a broken world. We cast our lot together.

    God bless you and keep this day,
    Nick

  • February 06, 2025 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Stock image of a hand giving a paper heart to another outstretched handLast December, Journey to Justice (J2J) hosted a wonderful conversation about the book Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder. Rough Sleepers is about Boston’s unhoused community and about Dr. Jim O’Connell, who helped start Boston Health Care for the Homeless. We welcomed our very own parishioner, Dr. Ginger Barrow, as well as one of her colleagues, who both spent many years working for Boston Health Care for the Homeless. It was a lovely conversation, and one of the key takeaways for me was that, when we were talking about people who are unhoused, the energy in the room started to feel overwhelming and sad. And then Ginger reminded us that though we can’t solve homelessness, we can participate in acts that dignify people all the time. She said that even though there were plenty of sad moments in her work, it was also amazing to be present with someone in the moment, look them in the eyes, and care for them. We had two people who spent a considerable amount of time caring for people who are unhoused that reminded us not to despair, but to focus on the things we can do. And one of those things was buying $5 Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards to hand out so that people could get a nice warm meal and have access to a bathroom. Quiet acts of care that can be so dignifying to another’s humanity and personhood.

    When we are inundated with distressing, sad, or overwhelming news, the natural response can be to shut down and feel powerless. As Ginger reminded us on that Sunday afternoon, there are always things that we can do. And I believe that is the mark of our Christian faith. Perhaps we cannot solve all the big things, but we can dignify the person right in front of us. (Which sometimes also leads us to work on the big things too.) We can work to build the things that matter like community and respect and love. And there are opportunities every single day to do that.

    Will we figure out how to solve all of the complexities and anxieties around immigration? Perhaps not, but we can attend the J2J forum this coming Sunday and hear from a panel of people who are working to dignify the people around them and create systems that bring freedom. Can we completely change our school systems so that our neurodivergent kids can have places where they can flourish? I would love that, but for now, we can gather together as community with our Lighthouse Ministry and work on the skills for resilience and love and care to make Epiphany a place where all our kids can flourish. Can we solve our epidemic of loneliness? For those who feel lonely, that means having the courage to keep showing up until a place feels like home, and that also means that we are to keep welcoming and paying attention to others. Can there be a world where no one is hungry? I would love that. But for now we keep feeding at St. Luke’s, The Dwelling Place, The Malden Warming Center, and handing out our Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards. Do not stop advocating for a better world, but do not let the complexities of our world stop you from loving the human beings around you and remembering the things we can do.


    With gratitude,
    Rev. Janelle

  • January 30, 2025 1:53 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Parish of the Epiphany parishioners seated at round tables at Annual Meeting 2025“Happy are those whose hope is in God. They are like trees planted near streams, rooted in life-giving waters.”
    (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

    Does that sound familiar? It is the verse that our Stewardship Campaign “Rooted Together” was taken from. I love that this reflects both the fact that we genuinely enjoy being together and that it is in those connections that we draw together from God’s life-giving waters sustain us.

    At our Annual Meeting on Sunday, we gathered to look back at what we have done together this past year and to thank the people who have supported, encouraged, and challenged us in our life together as a community. If you haven’t already, take some time to read what our staff and lay leaders wrote for the Annual Report

    It was also an incredible moment as Rev Nick called us to what it means to be a follower of Jesus in our world. For those who weren't there, I encourage you to read his address. What Nick said was powerful, but equally powerful was the clear sense of ‘yes’ from the room. I am not only grateful for Nick’s wisdom, clarity, and leadership but equally grateful to be on this journey with each of you knowing that we’re not sure what it all means or where it will lead, but we’ll learn together and help each other along the way.


    Thank you,
    Nelia


  • January 26, 2025 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Parish of the Epiphany parishioners seated around tables for Annual Meeting 2025"In this place, we will respect all, value all, love all, embrace all, and work for the dignity of every human being in the name of Christ."

    Read the Rector's Annual Address, given by the Rev. Nick Myers at Parish of the Epiphany's Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 26, 2025. 

  • January 23, 2025 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Parishioner Marie Johnson being awarded the Icon of the Manifestation of the Magi at Parish of the Epiphany's January 2024 Annual MeetingBe merciful, as your Father in heaven is merciful." These words are from Jesus to the disciples. Mercy is at the very heart of God. Mercy is at the heart of our calling towards others. Mercy has the siblings of love and compassion—these are the things of God and the things of Christian moral vision.

    The Church must have a vision for this world; as the book of Proverbs says, "without a vision, the people perish." Our witness as the church is always before us in this life. Calling for mercy in this life is not about identity politics, but the politics of our identity as Christians. Our identity as followers of Christ demand certain things of us and to deny this is to have forsaken the narrow gate of which Jesus speaks; it is to deny the cross of Christ. My witness and your witness to Jesus in this life matter, and I want to say: it matters as much today as it ever has in this world.

    This Sunday, in my Annual Address, I will speak of three things: 1) the great work and ministry of our parish over the past year; 2) updates about our Building for the Ages Campaign and building improvements; 3) our witness as the church today.

    I look forward to being with you on Sunday for a time of celebration and reflection together,


    Rev. Nick

  • January 16, 2025 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Parish of the Epiphany volunteers at St. Luke's-San Lucas Community KitchenThe Merriam-Webster dictionary describes charity as "generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering" and "aid given to those in need." Charity is often a response to a need that is not met due to unjust systems. And while Journey to Justice (J2J) grapples with how to change unjust systems, we also grapple with how best to engage in charity work. Often, charitable or service opportunities involve well-meaning people who swoop in from another community, give a few hours of their time, then head home and feel good about what they just did without getting to know the community or why what they did was needed. J2J yearns for a different model — a way to be in partnership with an organization and in relationship with its people, a way to act with dignity and respect for all (our Baptismal Covenant has a few things to say about this!), a way to partner with, not do for, others.

    For about 15 years, Epiphany has served breakfast and lunch at St. Luke’s-San Lucas Episcopal Church’s Community Dining program one Saturday per month. In recent years, our participation there has been challenging, more “doing for” than “partnering with.” We came in, made our regular meal, dealt with challenges as best we could, cleaned up, and left. There was little time to form any real connections.

    This fall, we were thrilled to hear that Father Edgar wanted to hire a chef/kitchen manager to coordinate the meal prep and the partner church volunteers. With some seed funding from our J2J budget, Chef David was hired, and he is fantastic! He plans culturally familiar menus, oversees the cooking, troubleshoots, and exudes joy. Because he speaks Spanish, we are able to interact more fully with the guests and better meet their needs. Under his direction, we are able to show up, fit into his plan, and do what is asked of us. With less stress, we have time to get to know David, the dining guests, and members of the St. Luke’s community. This new role has enabled us to be in partnership with St. Luke’s in ways that are (I hope) mutually beneficial.

    It was a joy for me to arrive at St. Luke’s on the Saturday before Christmas and be greeted by the wonderful aroma of roasting Jamaican jerk chicken and the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. If you would like to join the joy, we will be at St. Luke’s this Saturday! Click here to sign up, or contact Anne Whitson 
    for more information.

    Betsy Walsh
    J2J Co-leader

  • January 09, 2025 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Parishioners seated in folding chairs for an adult forum in Parish of the Epiphany's Hadley HallI couldn't find an open exercise machine on January 2nd at the gym. Today, only a week later, I had the pick of the litter. Now, that's not to say the place wasn't still hopping, but it has been noticeably quieter even after the new year's deluge of well-intentioned upstarts. There is no judgment from me on this, I'm as keen as the next person to start things off right, to make a plan, to have some resolutions on the table. And, I can't help but notice this is who we are as people. While the world might encourage us to seek only the perfect or the pure (and sadly, the Church does this often too), we are all about a long faithfulness in the same direction. That's what our trying to follow Jesus is all about in this life—just trying, moving in the same direction, over a lifetime. No saint is writing this, but I can say that life is funny in that progress, for most of us, is not a straight line, but neither is it happenstance. 

    So, this New Year, all I've got, is the same old me. But, I can try again at some familiar things—I've recently found a new spiritual director, something I've always had, but this is a completely new person and I feel a bit like I'm starting all over. I could be frustrated by this, or simply realize, this is not a step backward, just maybe to the side, for another view of things. As we move into this new year, with change ahead of us as a nation and people, I'd encourage you to take this time to look around right where you are in life and begin again with what is at hand, in your hands, or holding you. Continue on a long faithfulness in the same direction. 

    This Sunday, you'll have lots of opportunity to do that here at Epiphany. After the 10:00 am, I'd invite you to join J2J in the UPH as we explore, learning together, and wonder about how we, as the church, can be faithful amidst the pressures and realities of immigration in this country. Or, join the first of a three part series entitled Stand by Me in Hadley Hall on making hard decisions at the end of life and how we can support loved ones and ourselves in this faithfulness. And, if you're a mother of young ones, perhaps now is the time to build some community with others, as our Moms of Young Children Group meets in the Rector's study for an informal luncheon. There is so much going on—much of it familiar, all of it close to home, right where we are. Come, join in, let's be our same old selves, in new ways, and together.


    See you Sunday,
    Nick

  • January 02, 2025 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Parish of the Epiphany's stained glass window of the magi visiting JesusDear community,

    Happy New Year, but moreover, Happy 9th Day of Christmas! 

    Yes indeed, we mark 12 days of Christmas here, all the way from the 25th until the Feast of Epiphany (our namesake) when we remember the arrival of the magi from the East, who followed the star to find and worship the newborn King. 

    You may–reasonably, I think–be feeling “done” with Christmas. I personally have spent the last week with my head deep in book, or napping, or celebrating, or generally feeling full of cookies and confused about what day it is. Today the kids are back to school, we’re back to work, and normal winter days stretch ahead of us. And yet: We have four more days of Christmas. What are we supposed to do with those?

    Do you ever look at the stained glass windows and the tapestries above the high altar, at the very front of the sanctuary? Really, really look? The story of Christmas–from the prophets foretelling the birth of a new kind of king, a messiah, a savior–all the way through baby Jesus’s presentation in the temple; these moments are in front of us every time we worship. We don’t put those up for Advent and Christmas. This story of God’s incarnation is literally before us all year. 

    I pointed these images out to our pageant participants, and we wondered together. I wonder why we chose this story for our window?  I wonder, which piece of the story is the most important? I wonder what Mary "pondered in her heart," and I wonder what will you ponder in your heart, as you notice these images before you all year long? 

    Merry Christmas,
    Bryn

  • December 26, 2024 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Group photo of Parish of the Epiphany's 2024 Parish Weekend Away at the Barbara C. Harris Camp in Greenfield, NHMerry Christmas!

    We are officially in the in-between times, that liminal space between Christmas and New Years. For those of us who were there, it was wonderful to be together for Christmas Eve as well as our Christmas Day service!

    I wrote about this last year, and I am going to write about it again. I find this part of the year to be the perfect time to intentionally reflect on the year that has almost just passed. If we aren’t careful, the years will all blur together, and we might miss out on some of the learning if there isn’t time to reflect. So I invite you to take out a pen and paper, or just sit on your couch and listen to some music and truly think back on the year. What is helpful for jogging my memory is looking back on my phone at all the photos I took throughout the year. There is something sacred about choosing to remember.

    Here are some questions to ponder:

    • What were some of my favorite moments this year? Why were they my favorite?
    • What places did I visit? What people did I make time for this year?
    • What losses did I experience this year? What was hard?
    • When was a time that I felt most creative or most alive?
    • What books did I read? What movies, shows, or music spoke to me this year?
    • When was a time that I felt close to God?
    • What was my favorite thing about being a part of Epiphany this year?

    Blessings to you as you reflect and remember!

    With gratitude,
    Rev. Janelle

  • December 19, 2024 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Wooden nativity set amongst Christmas greenery at Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester, MAOn Sunday past, we gathered for what I consider the most glorious service of Lessons and Carols we have done together. If you were there, then you know the deep beauty and power of sound and song holding us, finding ourselves in the story of God's love told through the ancient stories of the Bible. One particular anthem took my breath away, and I share the lyrics with you here. The anthem, "Come, Renew Us" was written by Eleanor Daley, using the words of Anglican priest and poet, David Adam. The piece was commissioned by Christ Church, Cambridge, MA for the 250th anniversary of the dedication of their church—so, this wonderful piece has a close connection to us all, here in our diocese. 

    Come, Lord, come to us, enter our darkness with your light.
    Fill our emptiness with your presence.
    Come, refresh, restore, renew us.
       In our sadness, come as joy,
       
    In our troubles, come as peace,
       In our fearfulness, come as hope,
       In our darkness, come as light,
       In our frailty, come as strength,
       In our loneliness, come as love.
    Come, refresh, restore, renew us.

    David Adam (1936-2020)

    These words from David Adam are the words of a praying heart. They speak of the Christmas joy and promise we celebrate in the coming days: God is Emmanuel, God with us, God come to us. We often think of Christmas as the birthday of Jesus the Christ, born in Bethlehem—and this is right. But, like every promise of God and every high holy day, what we celebrate here and now is not simply what was, but what is, and is to come: God, come near to us, "as joy..as peace..as hope..as light..as strength..as love." This Christmas, wherever and with whomever you find yourself, I pray that these words will be yours not only in hope, but in truth. Amidst the light and sounds, may the deepest and most desired gift be the knowledge and truth of God with you and in this, by the tether of the Spirit, the knowing that we are together, always. 

    Advent blessings to you this day, in hope, and waiting,
    Nick

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