But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. – 1 John 1:7

Dear Friends,

The Lord is Risen! Alleluia! The Lord is Risen! Alleluia! The Lord is Risen! Alleluia!

Doesn’t it make you feel good to hear those words? It gives me comfort, bringing me back to the memories of hearing it each Easter Sunday in our worship space. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is resurrected and our sins have been forgiven. All is good because God is great!

As discussed in 1 John, fellowship is so important to any church, including Epiphany. It creates the community that allows for sharing and participation and brings us closer to Christ together. It’s one of the things that I miss the most looking back over the past year. 

Jesus Christ is the light so that we don’t walk in darkness. While I know He is walking with me, I miss the interaction with my Epiphany family and friends. For most of us, our interactions have been reduced to emails, handwritten letters and cards, and Zoom meetings. Not that those interactions aren’t very appreciated – you wouldn’t imagine my delight when I open my mail to find hand-colored pictures sent to me by my Epiphany family. I love seeing them every day, hanging on my frig, as it reminds me of my community!

As more people are receiving vaccines, we can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel where we will be able to get to that elusive ‘normalcy’ that everyone is looking forward to. But we must not jump ahead before it’s time. Unfortunately we’re still seeing new cases spike in various portions of the country. However, I’m happy to report that as of this morning, Fairfax County’s 7-day moving average of new cases per 100K people is on a declining trajectory and is currently at 13.1. With that, we will continue to be able to open our doors once again to welcome a small number of folks to worship in our sanctuary, per our approved regathering plan.

As we move forward, we will remain cautious and steadfast in our protocols. As I was relaying recently to my fellow warden, we have come so far and done so much this year without having to alter what we’re doing because of a Covid outbreak affecting our building. It would be devastating to have something happen now because we jumped too fast too soon. But, that should not prevent us from moving forward. We know so much more than we did last year, and we have practiced our protocols. We just need to continue doing what we know we should do. Please forgive me if I remind you to stay 6 feet away from non-family members or if I ask you to use the hand sanitizer as you walk in the sanctuary. It is all for the good and safety of our Epiphany community!

But we are now finding we need to make some adjustments to our regathering plan. When our plan was originally developed, there were many things that were unknown. It was crafted with the most conservative protocols for what we knew at the time. What we didn’t incorporate in it is the flexibility to change our capacity limits based on recommendations from both the CDC and the Diocese of Virginia. There are also new variations in the guidelines for holding non-standard services and events that we would like to have incorporated into our plan. With that, the faithful and dedicated Parish Regathering Action Committee (PRAC) will be reconvening to address these issues so that we can submit a revised plan for approval in the coming weeks. Look for more information on this coming soon.

I look forward to seeing those who are able to attend our next in-person service celebrating the Second Sunday in Easter this weekend. You can make a reservation to attend the service in person on our Signup Genius page found here. If you would prefer to join us online via YouTube, you can find our bulletin and the link to the service here. 

Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God (BCP, p. 376).

Peace to you all,

Susan Buckner
Senior Warden