“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;” 1 Peter 5:2 Dear Friends: On Monday night, your vestry, with great thanksgiving, bid farewell to Mary Erdeljon, Susan Simmons and Jeanne Trimble […]
The days are coming when I will make a new covenant…Jeremiah 31:31 Dear Friends: When 36,000 feet up, just before the captain has turned off the seat belt sign, the flight attendant gives us the very familiar in flight speech. Basically, in case of an emergency, remember, we’re always to first put on our own […]
Dear Friends, It’s 6:30 p.m. Do You Know Where Your Parishioners Are? At this past Sunday’s annual meeting, as I watched four ministries (out of about 12+ ministries) highlight their activities during 2017 and tell us about 2018, I was absolutely blown away — the scope and depth about the way we (people at Epiphany) […]
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 Dear Friends: In the Episcopal Church, we have a lot of meetings. With our roots as far back as those very first Christians, we’ve learned to have a lot of meetings. Meetings help us define […]
“The morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy” Job 38:7 Dear Friends: My home church is St. James’s, Richmond. Along with Freddie’s family, St. James’s raised me up to be a faithful disciple as an Episcopalian in my young adult years. Aware of the glory of God transforming my life, […]
“May I continue to find favor in your eyes, sir…” Ruth 2:13 Dear Friends: Calling all women! Behold, beginning Wednesday January 31 at 7:30p.m. we’ll gather for some story telling as we romp through the Book of Ruth. The book, often read and understood as a sweet folktale; a story of triumphant victory that stems […]
Dear Friends, When I joined the vestry two years ago, Hillary told us that we were entering a critical period in our congregation’s history (and in that of the broader church, but that’s for another Hump Day message). We were growing rapidly and would soon undergo a phase shift in which our previous modes of […]
Dearest Epiphany, Please let me begin this Hump Day Message by saying: Thank YouEpiphany. Thank you for all of your love; thank you for all of your support; thank you for all of the cards; thank you for all of the warm meals and delicious goodies; thank you for all of your visits; thank you for mourning with us the loss of our infant child, Adelia Sue; and […]
Dear Congregation, It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to you. As many of you know, I work a full time job as an elementary music and chorus teacher for Fairfax County. I also have three kids that keep me very busy with sports and other kid “stuff.” I recently approached […]