In this Issue
Clergy Reflection

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

You can find the Gospel set for  this Sunday  here. For those who want the quick summary, it's the one where Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as a field full of good wheat, but also weeds. Those who work for the person who owns the land are quick to want to rip up the weeds in order to allow the good wheat to flourish. But the householder asks them to leave the weeds in with the wheat for fear of mistaking wheat for weed.  And then that famous line at the end of the passage, describing the final judgement when those in the 'good' camp will be rescued while the others will be tossed into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Don't you just wish that you were not sitting in Matthew's Church this week, couldn't we be with Mark, Luke or John? But actually, this is such an important point Jesus is making though this parable, so important that he takes time to explain the parable - something he doesn't always do. The question our Gospel encourages us to ponder this week is whether we are true to our professed desire to be a church that is open and welcoming to all. Or...do we hear ourselves discussing who is 'in' and who is 'out' - whether that be because of different approaches to the Christian faith, or different political views, or different ways of understanding the mission of our church? 

We currently have a group of people at Epiphany who call themselves 'the narthex group' and who are thinking about all the aspects of how we extend a welcome to those who visit our church. They're looking at first impressions when stepping into the narthex, at the tone and language of our signage, lighting, accessibility and a myriad of other ways in which we convey a feeling of welcome and hospitality to our guests and visitors. They are doing a great job, so be sure to notice the changes you see appearing around the narthex.  This Sunday's  parable reminds us of the importance of their work, of the importance of recognizing that our calling to be a place of universal welcome means that we resist deciding who is in and who is out, who gets to stay and who has to go. That's not our job; our job is to do the best we can to help this community of faith flourish as the mixed bag reality that it is. 

With my prayers for a blessed weekend,
Catriona 
Mission & Ministry

Worship at Epiphany
  Sunday Readings

Parish Announcements

Street Sense Theater
Tonight! July 20
7:00pm
Church of the Epiphany
Join Street Sense artists and local high school students as they perform a series of scenes and monologues that touch on some of the most integral aspects of the human experience: family, love, misconceptions, deferred dreams, and the definition of 'home.'

Social Justice Ministry - Brainstorming Session
Sunday, July 23 & July 30
Through the Search Committee process we heard many expressions of interest in relaunching a Social Justice ministry at Epiphany. If anyone is interested in participating in a brainstorming session on this topic, please contact Vestry member Caroline Klam ( klamcd@aol.com  or 703-538-4549 ) and/or volunteer Kathy Haines ( kathyh1124@gmail.com  or  203-314-4199 ). 

Brainstorming sessions will be held in the Willard Room  on Sunday  July 23rd, 2017 and Sunday July 30th, 2017 from 9:45am to 10:45am. If you cannot make it but are still interested, please reach out to Caroline and Kathy to indicate your interest. Thank you!

Capitol Counsel Blood Drive
July 24
9:30am-3:00pm
In an effort to do something helpful in response to recent violent events, Capitol Counsel, Epiphany's next door neighbor, is partnering with the American Red Cross to hold their ever first blood drive.  The Outside Blood Mobile will be open from 9:30am-3:00pm in front of 700 13th St., NW.

Volunteers can click here to schedule an appointment.

Parish Calendar
Would you like to know what's going on at Epiphany this week? Be sure to check out our Google Calendar! This calendar can also be viewed on the homepage of our website, and is updated each week by the Epiphany staff.


This week in Epiphany History
The early days of toiletry distribution, stained glass window memorials and much more! Be sure to  get your daily dose of Epiphany History by following  the Celebrating 175 page .


Music & The ArtsMusic

Tuesday Concert Series
July 25, 2017 at 12:10pm

Wings in the Night: Songs about Birds

Laura Choi Stuartsoprano, &  Chuyoung Suterpiano, perform a program to include works by Handel, Head, Brahms, Mahler, Berg, Hahn, Debussy, Rangstrom,
and Grieg.

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 .

Support the arts at Epiphany by making a donation online now, or set up a recurring gift.
 
Learn more about musical events at Epiphany by visiting our  website
Prayer & Pastoral Care

We ask for your Prayers

For all who seek healing in mind, body, spirit or relationship, especially:
Susan Sutton
Carroll Pye
Tripp Jones
Ernest Xamboj 
Zalira Ayers
Sawyer Hutt 
Kim Sanders 
Anne Schmidt
Diane Carbin, sister of Rasheen Carbin
Holly Foster, daughter of Barbara Ford-Foster
Kelly Miller
Angela Christian
Elaine Hollingsworth, sister of James Hollingsworth

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.

Labyrinth entrance 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.

Service in Mission & MinistryService
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. 
 
Sundays:
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).


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).
 
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.
 

Blogs & Websites
Episcopal Cafe   S ite featuring Episcopal news, commentary, and meditations 
Sojourners  Faith in action for social justice
Sacred Space  Daily Prayer from the Irish Jesuits

Epiphany@Metro Center | 202-347-2635 | info@EpiphanyDC.org
1317 G St, NW  |   Washington, DC 20005