Clergy Reflection
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
As I reminded you all last week, we read portions of the Acts of the Apostles at every Eucharist during the Great Fifty Days of Easter. This is both a generous and generative choice by those who organize the lectionary. We hear the miraculous accounts of the resurrection of Jesus and his teaching in the remarkable days after he left the tomb to wander and linger in the world a bit longer. Jesus spent those first sacred fifty days declaring again his path and his promises and standing as the proof that God has the power to fulfill them.
In the lectionary readings this Easter season, many questions are raised and answered in the narratives that unfold after the tomb is found empty. In fact, the divine message of the Great Fifty Days of Easter might best be summed up in this simple word: Yes. Yes human life includes immense suffering. Yes physical death awaits all in the flesh. But yes, the Messiah who lived as we live, died as we die, did rise from the dead, defeat death, and flood the world with the power of resurrection. And we can enter that flowing grace through the waters of baptism. Yes.
Might suffering abide in my life? Yes. Might suffering consume whole parts of our world? Yes. Is Christ present in this suffering? Yes. Is the destiny of the human body to share in the resurrection of the body of Christ? Yes. Is it true that nothing can separate us from the love of the Lord Jesus? Yes. Will the Spirit of God come to us, go before us, with us and take us into the life of the Triune God forever? Yes. As St. Paul said so well to the Church at Corinth,
"
For in Christ every one of God's promises is a 'Yes.' For this reason it is through him that we say the 'Amen,' to the glory of God."
We drink and dive into the Yes of the Easter season to teach us and to remind us why we say Amen all year.
In the Acts of the Apostles this weekend, we hear in the narrative that Christ ends his time on earth.
And in the absence of Christ, the disciples retreat to the Upper Room. It is, in many ways, a womb for them; a womb of prayer, fasting, community, fear, darkness, and even confusion. Christ's physical body leaves them but they have been told that
they
will be the Body of Christ going forward. We are told that too, in every Eucharist. But are we? Can we? Like the disciples, in the wake of our prayers, liturgies or other forms of the presence of God, we often retreat to Upper Rooms where we slide from 'Yes' to 'How?'
The Upper Room for the disciples is the critical quiet and retreat before the public and chaotic miracle of Pentecost. Finding and feasting on this peaceful and pregnant place in the liturgical year is our gift and opportunity this last Sunday of Easter.
And as if to hint that the Spirit of God is readying for birth among the believers the text tells us that in the Upper Room the disciples are visited by Mary the Mother of God -- the Godbearer, whose flesh was the first home to God on earth. She reappears after a long absence in the Gospel of Luke, to be a midwife to the fearful followers: this time to the Holy Spirit who is borne in all of us and who makes us one Body, as the Sunday's Gospel says, one as Christ and the Father are one.
Yes. Amen.
-Tricia Lyons
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Mission & Ministry
Worship at Epiphany
Sunday Readings
Pledge to Pray
Beginning May 25, all are invited to join Archbishop Justin Welby in pledging to pray as part of "
Thy Kingdom Come."
During the next 10 days, it is hoped that everyone who participates will deepen their friendship with Jesus, bring others to know Jesus or know him better, and come to know that every aspect of their life is the stuff of prayer.
 Holiday Closing
Monday, May 29
Epiphany will be closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
Pentecost Coffee Hour
Sunday, June 4
Please join us for coffee hour as we welcome our special guest, Rev. Glenna Huber. She will be attending both the 8:00 and 11:00 services , and will be joined by her family at 11:00. The Vestry is hosting Coffee Hour after the 11:00 service where we will give the Huber family a big Epiphany welcome!
Parish Picture Day 
Sunday, June 4
We are in the midst of updating our Parish Directory and creating new print and digital editions. To complete this process, we would like to have a photo of each person alongside their name.
Arrien, communications coordinator, will be at church to take your pictures on Sunday, June 4 from 9:00am-12:00pm in the community hall. Please be sure to stop by the photo corner either before or after service.
Building and Grounds Committee
We are happy to announce that the Building and Grounds Committee has been revived. Members of the committee include:
Irvin Peterson - Chair
Marge McNaughton - Co-Chair
Tony Pressley - Chief of Security
Linda Grigsby - Security Assistant
Kevin Golden - Building Maintenance
David Knepper - Building Maintenance
Ann Gordon - Liaison to Vestry
Parish Work Day
Saturday, July 15
All are invited to join us in preparing the church to welcome our new rector by cleaning and making Epiphany sparkle! Please save the date on your summer calendars.
This week in Epiphany History
The original flying machine, Manifest Destiny, and the creation of the Diocese of Washington! Be sure to
get your daily dose of Epiphany History by following
the
Celebrating 175 page
.
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Music & The Arts
Tuesday Concert Series 
May 30, 2017 at 12:10pm
Roberto Cappochi, guitar, performs music by William Walton, Astor Piazzola & Augustin Barrios.
Admission is free but a donation of $10 is suggested
to support the Concert Series.
Epiphany Choir CD
Copies are available now for just
$15
in the church office or by contacting our Director of Music,
Jeremy Filsell
.
Guest Performances
June 4 2017, 3:00pm - Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic
The Philharmonic's principal trombonist Tyler Castrucci reveals Creston's lyrical melodies and extended harmonic idiom. "Hauntingly Mysterious", "Richly Lyrical", "Soaring Melodies" - these are all phrases used to describe the music of Thomas M. Sleeper. WMP is pleased to introduce Sleeper's beautiful music to our audiences. Finally, the Philharmonic ends the season with Ives' humorous and surprising variations on the well-known "My Country 'tis of Thee" tune. Visit their website for tickets.
June 10, 2017, 8:00pm - Washington Men's Camerata
Vive la France! - Washington's favorite soprano, Rosa Lamoreaux, joins the Camerata in a celebration of French song with music Debussy, Poulenc, Faure, Gounod and more! Visit their website for tickets.
Learn more about musical events at Epiphany by visiting our
website.
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Service in Mission & Ministry
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How might you become more involved in the mission and ministry of our parish? There is so much going on at Epiphany and we are so grateful for the contributions you all offer towards making this happen. There are a few areas where we could really use your help! Please have a look at the list below and think where you might feel you could benefit from and contribute to the life of our community.
The Welcome Table team are looking for more volunteers to help in the kitchen and dining room. Please contact Maria Hunter if you are interested in getting involved in this important aspect of our ministry at Epiphany (
mhunter@strategicm.com).
Coffee Hour after the 11am service. Pat Pickering and John McDermott do a fantastic job, but they can't do it every week. Coffee Hour can be as simple or as elaborate as we want to make it. What's important is that we have a time of fellowship after worship. Please contact Catriona if you can help (
claing@epiphanydc.org).
Liturgical Leaders: We are always looking for people to help with the important ministries that make our Sunday worship possible. We welcome new additions to the ranks of greeters, ushers, readers, lay Eucharistic ministers, as well as the flower guild, and altar guild. If you are interested in learning more about any of these roles, please contact Catriona (
claing@epiphanydc.org).
Weekdays:
Office Volunteers: We are looking for volunteers to sit at the front desk between 10am-2pm on weekdays. Bertha does a great job on Tuesdays and we're looking for others to help throughout the week. If you want to find out more, talk to Bertha and please contact Catherine in the office if you can help (
cmanhardt@epiphanydc.org).
Music Library: Epiphany's music director would appreciate a volunteer to help with organizing the music library, including alphabetizing, rearranging shelves, labeling boxes, and updating the music library spreadsheet. Please email Jeremy at
jfilsell@epiphanydc.org.
If you are interested in learning about one or more of these ministries, you can also complete our Epiphany volunteer poll here.
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Prayer & Pastoral Care
Prayer List
We invite you to add those on your heart to our prayer list.
We will pray for them aloud on Wednesdays at our 12:10 Healing Service and will add them to the Sunday list. Contact the church office with the name of the person and what we need to know about them.
Pastoral Care
If you or someone you know is in need of prayer or conversation, please contact the church office. We would rather hear from many than miss the opportunity to connect with someone.
Wednesday Silent Prayer
Come and join us for 20 minutes of silent prayer and meditation followed by a short time of prayer for the parish. We will meet in the sanctuary on Wednesdays at 11:30am. All are welcome. To find out more, contact Catriona: claing@epiphanydc.org.
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Blogs & Websites
Episcopal Cafe
S
ite featuring Episcopal news, commentary, and meditations
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