In the first week of January, we gathered together for The Burning of the Greens, one of my all-time favorite traditions. Parishioners brought clippings from their trees or their wreathes and we stacked them all together and then… we set them on fire! What a way to say goodbye to the Christmas season. This comes from the idea that we don’t just throw away the items we use for worship, but burn them in a sacred embodied ritual. This ritual symbolizes Christ as the light of the world. Watching the flames helped us to prepare for the new year and the season of Epiphany — our namesake. I love the name of our parish. I love the story of the wise people and the star and the baby. I’ve also been thinking about the meaning of the word Epiphany as in, “I had an epiphany!” This idea that comes to mind that brings us to a new place, a new understanding, or a new sense of meaning. Often accompanied by a holy clarity. This too is our legacy. We gather together to have new epiphanies that move us closer to God, to each other, and to our neighbors. I pray you have new epiphanies during this Epiphany season while following that guiding star. May those epiphanies fill you with hope this day.
With gratitude,
Rev. Janelle
