Last year on Pentecost Sunday, I attended a service at the Chapel of the Transfiguration in the Grand Teton mountains in Wyoming. The little chapel looks like a cabin and has the most stunning views of the Grand Teton mountains behind the altar. I was helping lead a pilgrimage trip for the youth from St. Luke’s in Atlanta. Due to the pandemic, this trip had been cancelled multiple times and by the time we were able to do it, some of the youth had recently graduated and were about to start college in the fall. It was the perfect time for a pilgrimage — and not just for the youth. Just a week before the trip, I had accepted a job to be with you all in the fall! I knew in my own life, things were about to drastically change. What better way to process upcoming changes than by spending time in the mountains? Sometimes it helps to take a step outside of day-to-day life in order to notice God faithfulness.
So our group sat in those pews in that little chapel with the Teton mountain range as the backdrop on that Pentecost Sunday. The priest, Rev. Roxanne Friday, preached about the Holy Spirit appearing to her in a dream about her late grandmother. The wind blew through the open windows and it was one of the most memorable Sunday mornings I’ve ever been too. The place, our group, and where we all were at in our lives seemed to intersect in deeply profound ways that week that could only be credited to the work of the Spirit.
We are coming towards the end of our program year together. When I look back on the year, I am filled with gratitude for the ways our lives have intersected at Epiphany. This I would credit to the work of the Spirit. Epiphany is truly a special and incredible community. My year with you all started with getting dunked in a dunk tank and, as it continued, it included: a night hike at the Parish Weekend Away, commemorating the end of Christmas by burning branches from our trees together at Midweek, playing hide-and-go-seek at the church with our teens, exploring new community partnerships and ways we can be in solidarity with our neighbors, and countless moments of joy in community.
In a couple weeks, on June 23 at 6:00 pm, I will be ordained to the priesthood here at Epiphany. You are invited! In The Episcopal Church, ordinations to the priesthood are made possible when a parish calls the soon-to-be-priest. This typically happens when one has found their first job out of seminary. My ordination to the priesthood is made possible because you all are my first call. What a deep honor that is for me. I believe that God’s spirit led me to you. It’s just that more meaningful that I’ve already been here for almost a year. We got a bonus year together as I started this position before I was ordained, and I look forward to the memories we have yet to make and the ways that God’s spirit will continue to breathe in each and every moment. Thanks be to God.
With gratitude,
Rev. Janelle
