“For ‘in him we live and move and have our being;'” Acts 17:22-31

Dear Friends:

The sun is shining. The sky is blue and the temperatures are warming. Folks are out and about, walking, biking, kicking a ball back and forth, enjoying the much-needed warm spring now finally upon us. With spring comes hope and possibility. With spring comes a newness in life.  This is our prayer, the opportunity for a healing life, a whole life. New seasons also call for adaptability. 

We’re adapting to working at home. Our dining rooms and bedrooms are now outfitted as our office space. We’re now experts at working remotely and telecommuting. Zoom meetings are amazingly efficient as we’re able to tick items off the meeting agenda while eating dinner, folding the laundry and emptying the dishwasher. We’re adapting to going to school on a screen with kids logging into their teachers online instruction. We’re adapting to lots and lots of togetherness within our immediate households. We’re adapting to a faithfulness to worship online livestreaming that has opened doors of future possibilities for worship. There are blessings in adaptability. 

Adaptability also means we’re called to flexibility as things do not stay the same. Such is so true with our time these days. Authorities are working furiously at developing ways to help restore the economy by safely reopening businesses, restaurants, shops, and exercise studios. Recently Governor Northam, in an effort to reopen on Friday May 15, noted that the concentration of COVID-19 cases in Northern Virginia is cause to not open our region until two weeks later than the rest of the state. Northern Virginia will move to phase one on May 29th. 

Our Bishops Goff and Brooke-Davidson are adapting the protocol for worship as well. Always with health and safety in mind, today the Bishops announced that while we continue to fast from physical, in-person worship, beginning May 22, we may record online worship from our worship space to livestream on Sunday May 24 and continuing.  At her request, we’ll be writing a letter to Bishop Goff telling her of our plans for worship and seeking permission to record in the worship space. One clergy person and one video-grapher will be present during recording. Masks will be worn except when it is necessary to speak. Holy Communion will remain a practice of spiritual communion, fasting from consumption of any kind. The music will continue to adapt virtually. The worship space and worship elements will continue to be sanitized. We can give thanks for the resolve and adaptability of our bishops who look for solutions while thoroughly aware of the steps necessary in maintaining safety for all. 

Sometimes with adaptability, we don’t always know the way ahead. On Sunday, as we continue with a look at the book of Acts, the apostle Paul is stunned by the Athenians search for God through the worship of idols. He calls them to adapt to the possibility of searching for God not in images and false idols. But, adapt to finding God in our very selves. Our God, “who made the world and everything in it,…he gives to all mortals life and breath…he is not far from each of us. For ‘in him we live and move and have our being’.” This God, who comes to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ with the promise of the Spirit of truth and love, is our God who never leaves us. It is with our God in Christ that we are able to adapt to the truths around us, trusting in what’s to come.

Your Senior Warden, Susan Buckner, Junior Warden, Susan Forbes, Treasurer, Jonathan Isner, staff, vestry and trustees are working very closely with the Diocesan Transition Minister, the Rev. Sarah Brockenbrough to help all adapt to the transition of my retirement scheduled for May 31. God is good as Sarah and leadership are now planning for supply clergy to begin June 7 and continue as Epiphany prepares for its next steps in clergy leadership. In the meantime, I’m here until May 31 and happy to hear from you by email, by phone or by standing safely at a distance in the parking lot.

Embrace the gift of adaptability my good friends. God is working in our season of new life and abundant possibilities.  Come, and let’s worship again on Sunday tuning in at 10:00 a.m.: https://www.youtube.com/c/epiphanyepiscopal

Thank you as well for your continued giving to the very full and active life of Epiphany: https://epiphanyec.org/give/

I look forward to “seeing” you in worship on Sunday. 

Stay well.

Many blessings,

Hillary