For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. -Romans 12:3
Dear Friends,
Sober judgment. I feel in this day, in this age, every decision we make requires sober judgment. We are faced with so many decisions on a daily basis that affect almost every movement of our lives. Do I go to the grocery store today, or would it be better to order curbside pick up? Do I visit my family, whom I haven’t seen in person for months, or do I continue to keep in touch through FaceTime, Zoom, and phone calls? We grapple with staying safe, and yet try to move forward as we define our ‘new normal.’ We know we need to do both. This includes our life as Epiphany because it is part of who we are.
Your Vestry is tasked with making decisions that require sober judgment, relying on our faith in God and an earnestness to do what is right for Epiphany and the world we are living in. Two recent decisions were made that I would like to share with you.
The first decision involves our plan for re-gathering in our building. A team came together from various areas of operations of the parish, both staff and volunteers, to develop a plan for how we could move forward in a slow and steady, sure and measured, manner – a plan that would define our new normal. This plan defines not only the protocols and procedures that will be followed as we hold worship services in our building, but it also includes those that will be followed by our tenants and other organizations that share our space. I am very pleased to announce that our petition has been reviewed by the Diocese’s Review Team and has been recommended for approval to re-gather, once our Health District meets the required health metrics. The Review Team’s comments of our petition included the appreciation for the intentional and ‘small step’ approach with which our plan was drafted. Please click here to review the plan we submitted. If you are interested in following the health metrics that are updated daily, click here and select Fairfax for the Health District in cell C2. Keep in mind, I do not expect to be approved for re-gathering until all metrics are in a state of decline.
The second decision that has been made concerns our preschool. As you may have read in the weekly eNews this week, the Vestry approved the opening of Epiphany’s Preschool for the 2020-2021 school year, beginning September 21, 2020. This decision was not made lightly and was based on the significant planning made by our Preschool Director, Gayle Massey, in defining our new normal for the preschool. The Vestry voted, with the utmost confidence, that the protocols and procedures laid out in the preschool plan for opening addresses concerns to do so in a safe manner. The Vestry underscored in its approval for opening that Epiphany’s Preschool is very much a ministry of our church. We support it fully as an extension of what God calls us to do.
I hope you join with me in thanking the dedicated members of Epiphany that worked so hard and diligently on these two efforts:
- The PRAC (Parish Regathering Action Committee): Susan Forbes, Bill Forbes, Tom Seeley, Elizabeth Gilmore, Myron Laible, Richard Durkin, Dennis DeGaetano, Nadia Baker, & Susan Buckner
- The Epiphany Preschool Board: Gayle Massey, Elizabeth Gilmore, Jonathan Isner, Keola Nosaka, Nadia Baker, & Susan Buckner
- The Epiphany Vestry: Susan Buckner, Susan Forbes, Dick Fichter, Heather Modzelewski, Matt Mason, Elizabeth Gilmore, Keola Nosaka, Myron Laible, Anne Johnson, & Jonathan Isner
Together, we have come together to make decisions, with sober judgment, that will move Epiphany into the future as the loving, community of God it is known to be, as the Church on the Corner, where God Loves You, No Exceptions.
Blessings to you all,
Susan Buckner
Senior Warden
srwarden@epiphanyec.org