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News & Resources: Spiritual Spot

Welcome! 

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."


  • August 03, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Black-and-white photo of youth at Parish of the Epiphany, WinchesterThis past Sunday, I met with some of our youth over ice cream to brainstorm for the next program year. I asked them if they desired a space where they could share about their lives with others. (Because that’s my hope!) One of our teens said yes, but that she would feel more open to doing that if she felt like she knew the group more. That was such an honest and real answer. 

    Sometimes I can be quick to make an assumption that just because it’s church, people will naturally want to share their lives with another. But as our wise teen noted, it’s easier to do that with some built-up trust and relationship first! As beautiful as our Sunday worship is together, that is just one opportunity of many to grow in friendship with one another. Our staff have met throughout this summer with a desire to have more intentional offerings in this next program year for community building. Whether that is through joining a Faith Circle (small groups launching this fall), a book group with other parents (talk to Bryn!), group theological study (Education for Ministry), sharing a meal at Midweek, serving together (St. Luke’s, The Dwelling Place, or The Malden Warming Center), or demographic-specific gatherings (parents, young adults, youth), there’s something for everyone. 

    Our hope is that you would consider sharing your life with this community in new ways this next year. Barbara Brown Taylor once said, “in our embodied life together, the words of our doctrines take on flesh.” We actually practice and grow in our faith in the ways we are in community together. And as Pauli Murray said, “The marks of a community of faith are communion, participation, mutual trust, sharing, and fellowship.” In our society which is getting more and more isolated, it is an act of resistance to build community and share life with one another. Jesus certainly modeled that in his life. 

    Friends, let’s be church to one another this next year!

    With gratitude,
    Rev. Janelle

  • July 27, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    A variety of different brass instrumentsDear Friends,

    The music at Parish of the Epiphany exists firstly because of your generosity, and for this we are grateful. I am writing to invite you to consider becoming a Friend of Music here at Epiphany. Friends of Music donations go into the Music Fund, which is used to supplement our music ministry; this fund enables us to offer special services such as Choral Evensong and Lessons & Carols, concerts both sacred and secular, and allows us to supplement festival services, all of this offered freely to the Glory of God and for the enrichment of the parish and larger community.

    Friends of Music donors will, if they wish, be acknowledged in the printed programs of concerts and special services throughout the season. While it is helpful to receive donations at the beginning of the program year, we welcome donations of any amount at any time.

    If you would like to fund a specific need, this is also possible and can be specifically acknowledged or not, as you wish. Perhaps you’d like to provide the funds for a brass quintet at our annual Lessons & Carols service (estimated cost is $3,500), or you might feel called to provide a string quartet for the 7:00 pm & 10:00 pm Christmas Eve services (estimated cost is $2,000); such musical adornments are not always possible depending on the annual budget. Your gift to the Music Fund as a Friend of Music helps ensure that we are able to offer our very best back to God and to the community.

    Please consider giving today toward the vitality of our music ministry for tomorrow, a ministry which supports our passion to invite, welcome, and connect the larger community to our life here at Epiphany. I hope you agree, and that you will prayerfully consider becoming a Friend of Music for this upcoming season! The donation form can be printed out and submitted with your check; hard copies of the form will be available in the office and at the back of the church. Online donations are also possible, choosing the “Music Donations” option in the dropdown menu (please do still complete and return the donation form).

    Please contact me directly with questions or ideas as we begin the Friends of Music at Epiphany. Many thanks for your continued support, and all best wishes for the remainder of the summer,

    Jeremy Bruns

  • July 20, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    It doesn’t seem possible that out of compassion for refugees who were caught up in the United States’ abrupt withdrawal in August 2021 from two decades of presence in Afghanistan, a family of two adults with five children under 9 would land in Massachusetts. Ihsanullah and Zahida Rawan escaped their country and were eventually sponsored for resettlement through an organization called Ascentria Alliance. Working with six other faith communities in Winchester, a partnership was established under the name Winchester Interfaith Resettlement Partnership. Rev. Bob Davidson shared leadership duties with a member of Shir Tikvah Temple, and together they guided almost 70 volunteers to provide support for the Rawans beginning in February 2022. Over 20 of those volunteers came from Parish of the Epiphany and tirelessly gave of their time and heart to grow to love this amazing family as we witnessed their gradual integration into American culture.

    After nearly 16 months with us, on June 24, the Rawan family (which now included a six-month old U.S. citizen) boarded an Amtrak train for their new home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Our Interfaith partnership promised to help with securing housing and shipping their household goods, allowing the Rawans to settle into a three-bedroom apartment near several of their closest family. Summer will be a time for becoming familiar with their new location, finding work for Ihsanullah, and registering the school aged children in school and preschool. 

    A unique opportunity for this resettlement partnership was that members of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions worked together as a witness to our shared faith. The Rawans taught us all respect and admiration of their culture and Islamic traditions. Discovering how to deeply communicate with someone whose primary language is not English encouraged volunteers to create bonds not dependent on language. Finally, to see how excited particularly the children were with the simplest gift or new gadget helped us realize how truly privileged our lives are in America.

    Will this mission experience of resettling an Afghan family leave a lasting mark on our parish, in addition to the volunteers whose lives will be forever changed? Hopefully, Parish of the Epiphany will build on the experience of working with other faith traditions, will continue to welcome diverse cultures and languages into our community, and will find ways to lose our grip on the privileges and entitlements of our daily life, which in the end had little to do with the love and hope we gave as gifts to the Rawan family.

    Rev. Bob Davidson, co-lead
    Winchester Interfaith Resettlement Partnership

  • July 13, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    A few weeks ago, a group of us ventured into the White Mountains of New Hampshire for our Youth Hut Hike. The weather forecast was charming: rain and overcast skies for the next three days. On the first day, we went on a day hike up to a summit. Even though it was just a day hike, we wore our backpacks, tested out our hiking boots, and got prepared for our bigger hike the next day. When we got to the top of the summit, we were in a cloud:


    had no idea what the view was supposed to be like, but the cloudy, overcast vibe was beautiful in its own right. We had no idea how high up we were or what any of the surroundings were like. 

    A couple days later, John Jenke texted Ellen Wilson and me what the view was supposed to look like:


    Wow! What a view! I literally had no idea that that was right in front of me.

    In the church calendar, we are in a season called “Ordinary Time.” The liturgical colors are green, signifying life and growth. Most of the church calendar year is Ordinary Time. When I first heard about Ordinary Time, it confirmed for me something I had always felt. Not all of life is spectacular summit views; a lot of it is, well, ordinary. And that’s okay. Kind of like that day at the summit when there wasn’t any view at all. But just because we couldn’t see it that day doesn’t mean it’s not there. There are days when the beauty around us is more visible and other days when it might feel far away, but it’s still there. 

    In these days when the light stretches late into the day, when memories of past summers feel like yesterday and forever ago, and in simple reminders like the joy of a popsicle on a hot day — God is with us. In the ordinary, mundane days, we learn to receive every moment as a gift from our Creator. Ordinary Time is here to remind us that most of life is, well, ordinary. What makes those ordinary days beautiful too, is the people we get to journey alongside. 

    That day on the foggy summit — The view? Not great. The company? Incredible.

    Here’s the secret: the ordinary days, those are sacred, too.

    Peace to you,
    Rev. Janelle

  • July 06, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Open hands with the word "Legacy" on themOne of the gifts of this time of year is the invitation to make space for what is utmost importance. I know that our family is slowing down a bit to make space for rest and reconnection and renewal after a busy school year. Vacation, time away, dinner on the back porch, or a visit with friends helps make summer what it is. This time of year also allows me to make space to look towards the goals and vision for this coming program year. Not that I want to “get on with it” or “keep going”; rather, the slower pace helps make the space to think bigger and remember what is of utmost importance—keeping the main thing, the main thing. 

    This is really all about the work of striving to live with purpose and rootedness in life. Whether it’s work or family life or serving our neighbors—I want my life to have integrity with my deepest values and vision. This time of year invites me to reflect upon: What do I want out of this life? What is the difference I want to make? What is the legacy I am creating for my family, or at Epiphany, within my larger community, this city, or the world? Click here to see a message from me on how you can leave a legacy at Epiphany.

    This time of year can show us this blissful paradox: slowing down helps us get to where we actually want to go. 

    Later this month, we will host the youth, children, and adults from St. Stephen’s Youth Program on Friday, July 28 as they spend a day with us at Epiphany and enjoy an afternoon at Shannon Beach. We invite you to sign-up, get involved, make space in your life to support, serve, or pray for this beautiful and important partnership. It takes all of us to make this kind of difference in the lives of these young ones, even if only for one day. It is a day filled with joy and laughter and rest for these kids and all who serve. It’s a day I often see so clearly what we are about, what I believe God calls us to be and do—by simply being our best selves. I hope you’ll sign up or reach out to know how you can serve.

    This summer I invite you to slow down and remember who you are and what God is calling you to in your belovedness. Do you sense the abundant life that Jesus promises moving within you (John 10:10)? God wants you to be full alive—not half awake. At Epiphany, I want us to be a community that helps one another slow down to see very clearly where it is we actually want to go in this life—what legacy we want to leave behind and create for others. So, slow down, take a breath, let go, and discover a peace that is already yours—thanks be to God.

    Peace is yours, 
    Nick 

  • June 29, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Multiple stacks of colorful booksI love Summer Reading. I love taking my two kids to the public library to sign up for the Summer Reading Program, and get them their little check-box charts and free bookmarks. And I really love borrowing books—lots of books—and crafting my own pile of summer reads.

    So far, I’ve got a solid stack. I have How to Hide an Empire as my history book; and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers as my parenting book. I’ve got Tales of Falling and Flying as my short story collection, and The Rent Collector as my “outside my field of view” book. I have a Brother Caedfel for my gentle mystery. I’m still in need of something great from the fantasy genre (taking recommendations!). And for ministry, I have The Art of Gathering (thinking Midweek 23-24’) and Professional Christian

    I am ready: ready to get only part way through this stack, and end the summer wondering why long lazy days sitting on a swing with a book aren’t quite as numerous as Summer Reading blogs or displays at libraries and bookstores would make us think.

    Knowing I won't finish my stack somehow doesn't lessen my pleasure in the planning and borrowing. Same goes for my other Summer Bucket List items: listen to ocean; grow garden; attend outdoor concert; pick berries; learn to serve fresh greens so kiddo will eat them. 

    I was meditating on the whole idea of summer goals this week while reading poet Mary Oliver's lovely “The Summer Day.” She ends with these inspiring words:

    I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
    I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
    into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, 
    how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
    which is what I have been doing all day. 
    Tell me, what else should I have done?
    Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
    Tell me, what is it you plan to do 
    with your one wild and precious life? 

    I hope in the next weeks, you are idle and blessed; that you stroll in fields, touch grass, and listen to water move. That your summer reading pile gives you pleasure and never pressure. That your New England soul soaks in long hours of light. And I hope that you can feel all of these things—these summer moments, whether grabbed here and there, or luxuriated in—as prayers.

    Blessings,
    Bryn

  • June 22, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Headshot of the Rev. Janelle HiroshigeI first sensed a call to be what I would now call a priest back when I was in college. At the time, this felt impossible. I grew up in a denomination that did not ordain women, I went to college to be a graphic designer, and I had an extreme fear of public speaking, and really just speaking in general. I felt that God would have to perform a miracle in order for this secret dream to become true one day. Following this call has been the adventure of a lifetime.

    I moved away from my hometown of San Diego to move to Nashville, TN. In Nashville was where I found the church and priest that would encourage me and support me to go to seminary. I moved away from Nashville, a city I would have loved to stay in, to go to Atlanta to test out a call and to attend seminary at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. In Atlanta, I was received into the Episcopal church and interned at a church that became my sponsor parish. I also found many Episcopal priests who were excited to journey with me through the ordination process. And as you all know, I moved away from Atlanta to Boston to be with you all and my husband, Peter. 

    Looking back on this journey, I am filled with gratitude. Though it has been scary and has required a lot of sacrifice, it has also been filled with the most loving communities that I wouldn’t have known had I not taken that next step forward. This Friday is my ordination to the priesthood which is formally a 5-year process, but a journey that I feel started much before then. I see this Friday as a celebration that God and home can be found in many different places. 

    One of my favorite hymn writers, Shirley Erena Murray, has a hymn called "When We Lift Up Our Pack and Go.” The words to this hymn have been a companion to me along my journey that has involved a lot of goodbyes and hellos. The hymn goes like this:

    “When we lift our pack and go,
           when we seek another country,
                  moving far from all we know,
                         when we long to journey free --

    Refrain:  God is in the other place,
           God is in another's face,
           in the faith we travel by,
           God is in the other place.

    In the hands outstretched to greet,
           through the open doors of strangers
                  there is love we yet can meet
                         and believe that Christ is there --

     Refrain:  God is in the other place,
           God is in another's face,
           in the faith we travel by,
           God is in the other place.”

    Now I know that it is your faces that I have been preparing to know throughout this whole journey. What a gift to be called to this community! I hope to see you this Friday at Epiphany at 6:00 pm. 

    If you are unable to attend in person, you may tune in via the livestream here.

    With gratitude,
    Rev. Janelle

  • June 15, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Green road sign reading "Future Ahead"On Sunday, many of us gathered after the 10:00 am service in Hadley Hall and on Zoom for a State of the Church conversation with Rev. Nick and the wardens. A special thank you to many of you who got there even though you hadn’t been at the 10:00 am service (yes, we noticed!). Rev. Nick opened with a reflection on the program year and possible next steps in our current activities, as well as some of the bigger questions about where we are going and the challenges we face.

    One area that will have a major impact on our future as a church is stewardship. For our upcoming stewardship campaign, 
    one of our challenges is to sustain pledge levels that support our current activities, as well as increases in staff salaries and inflationary increases across all of our costs. Historically, three households have contributed almost one-third of the pledges that fund our budget. Clearly, that is unsustainable and we will, in fact, see a reduction of about 10% of our budget next year. A key element of our stewardship campaign this fall will be small-group gatherings with the goal of building a greater awareness of how our individual pledges impact what we can do as a community, as well as engaging everyone in conversations about who we are and our priorities.

    While stewardship addresses our immediate needs, one of our long-term needs centers around the repair and maintenance of our property and our endowment. Our property committee has been scrutinizing last year’s property assessment, and our current thinking is that our property repairs are roughly $3M over the next 10 years. Concurrently, our Endowment and Planned Giving Committee performed a short study comparing our endowment of $1M to other churches in the diocese of similar size and similar demographics. Based on that comparison, we are substantially underfunded. We do not have a buffer to absorb a down year. Our parish is funded from stewardship campaign to stewardship campaign. As a parish, we are doing the equivalent of living paycheck to paycheck. An increased endowment is an opportunity to fix that.  

    One of the things that holds us back as a parish is that each year $250K of your stewardship dollars goes to utilities, maintenance, and repairs to our campus. An opportunity with the capital campaign is to raise enough of an endowment to offset some or even all of the annual building costs. A $6M endowment for our buildings would free up $250K each year, which could have a profound impact on furthering our programming, mission, and impact on society. 

    Our Vestry is committed to addressing these challenges. For the capital campaign, the Vestry has approved funding for a campaign consultant to help plan and execute our capital campaign. Our first step will be a feasibility assessment, which we plan to start in the early fall. The planning stages of our capital and stewardship campaigns will be happening in parallel. Both campaigns will impact the overall direction of the church, which needs to be a shared vision with input from the full congregation. We will want to hear from you, probably multiple times. 

    In closing, this is an exciting time for Epiphany. We have had a very strong ‘22/’23 program year which has been a source of joy and gratitude: our community is growing; wonderful things are happening; and there are many places in which God is calling us into deeper relationships and faith as a parish community. We are facing some challenges which we plan to address through stewardship and a capital campaign. While they focus on things like operating budgets and property endowments, in the end these campaigns are really about investing in the future of this vibrant, active and involved parish that we call Epiphany.

    Thank you, 
    Darwin Keith-Lucas & Nelia Newell 

  • June 08, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Whenever my mother had something important to tell me, she would have this "voice." She'd say, "Nick, I want to talk to you about something." And I knew at that moment that something important was about to be shared. 

    Our "State of the Church" this Sunday at 11:30 am in Hadley Hall is one of those moments. We have something(s) important to share with you, Epiphany. Joining me on Sunday will be our wardens, Nelia Newell and Darwin Keith-Lucas. Together, we will reflect upon the past year and look to the year ahead, with a clarified understanding about the challenges and opportunities we are being invited into as a parish. This time will be focused on us sharing, but more importantly, we want to have a space to dialogue together. We are a strong and vibrant parish right now. We continue to welcome newcomers and visitors and deepen our ministries of children, families, youth, and connecting the generations. Our music program is thriving, our worship is robust, our service to neighbors is steadfast. And, with this growth comes opportunity and responsibility. We do all of this together, and without you our life together would be diminished—we would not be who we are.

    So, Epiphany, we want to talk to you about something. We want to talk about the next chapter in our life together, what we see emerging, and the challenges that are before us. We want to talk and listen together and be renewed as we close our program year.

    I hope you can join us for this State of the Church on Sunday. Childcare for nursery-aged little ones will be available until 12:30 pm and board games for older kids will be available in the library off the parish hall.

    If you cannot be in person, you can view this State of the Church conversation by clicking here and joining on Zoom.

    See you Sunday,
    Rev. Nick

  • June 01, 2023 1:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    View of the Grand Tetons through a windowLast 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


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Phone: 781.729.1922
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