Weekly e-News
from Epiphany Parish

June 22, 2021

Communion Wafer Pick Up for Virtual Worship - Click Here
Sunday In-Person Worship Sign Up - Click Here
From Rev Christen
Dear Epiphany Parish,

This Sunday marks a milestone for our community: our first indoor worship service as a community since the pandemic forced us to suspend in-person worship over 15 months ago. I can’t wait!

A few things to note as we prepare for Sunday-
There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes right now. The regathering team is finalizing our regathering plans, the vestry will be voting to approve these plans, Cindy Falcone, Nancy Wakefield, and I are preparing the bulletins and music for the service, and work is being done to clean and organize the building after 15 months of standing mostly empty. I ask for your continued patience as we get everything organized for you! An email will go out on Friday with our regathering plans and more information about what you can expect on Sunday. What we do know right now is that our 8:30am service will continue to be held over the phone and that we will continue to live-stream our 10:15am service throughout the summer so folks can attend church even if they aren’t able to attend in-person.

Finally, as we’ve all learned this year, our church is not a building. It’s the people gathered (both in-person and virtually) to worship and serve God. However, that doesn’t mean our building isn’t important.  I went to a retirement party for the Rev. Jennifer Phillips this past weekend and as she was thanking St. John’s parish in Westwood for 6 years of ministry together, she talked about how their building was the ark that has held their parish community through everything they had been through together. 

I love that image. Our building is the ark that has held us together through the ups and downs of the history of this parish. And it is ready to welcome you back.
Have a great week and see you on Sunday!

Peace in Christ,
Rev. Christen
The common cathedral collection is this Sunday, June 27th
Fruit & Granola Bars.
BCH Center reopens for summer Family Camp Weekends.
New interim directors at the helm.
After more than a year of pandemic-necessitated closure, the diocese’s Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Greenfield, N.H., is reopening for Family Camp Weekends this summer, with new interim directors at the helm.
 The Rev. Deacon Helen and Rick Hargreaves arrived at the end of May to serve for six months as interim directors, following the departure in April of longtime executive director John Koch who took a new position at the Bishop’s Ranch retreat and conference center in the Diocese of California.
 Instead of a traditional summer camp program this year, the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center will be hosting six Family Camp Weekends starting July 2. Households can choose private lodge rooms or a cabin, and there will be both inter-generational and age-specific activities, along with evening childcare available. 
After Labor Day, the center plans to host a full fall schedule--including an Oct. 22-24 “Haydays” celebration weekend of activities--and it is accepting group and retreat reservations through December 2022.
 For more information go to the webpage - here.
Sunday, June 27, 2021
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Morning Prayer via phone - 8:30 AM
Sunday Worship In-Person or on Facebook Live at 10:15 AM

Please sign up in advance for attendance in-person or for wafers if worshiping virtually.
To sign up for in-person worship - CLICK HERE.
The Bulletin & Prayers of the People will be emailed on Friday.
Notes from the Office
The office will be closed next week, June 28-July 2, as Cindy will be on vacation. All office emails and phone messages will be answered on July 5th. Happy Fourth of July!!

Weekly Calendar
Sunday Morning Prayer - by Phone at 8:30am
Sunday Morning Worship - In-Person & Facebook Live at 10:15am
common cathedral collection
Tuesday Open Vestry Meetings - virtually every third Tuesday via Zoom
Wednesday Morning Prayer - by Phone at 7:15
Wednesday - First of the month - Sacred Ground July 7, 2021
Saturdays - Wafer - 10:00am - 12:00pm

Office Hours
The office is open for the summer on Wednesdays 10-2:00pm. Please call to arrange a time to meet in person for different days or times. Please contact Rev Christen directly if you have a pastoral emergency.‌
common cathedral
Sunday, June 27th
We are signed up for 50 granola bars and 50 pieces of fruit.
common cathedral has requested to bring only soft fruit (like bananas, oranges, grapes) no hard fruit (like apples). Please bring more bananas than oranges if able.
common cathedral provides food, community, worship, and so much more to folks in Boston who are experiencing homelessness. Epiphany Parish has supported common cathedral in many ways throughout the years. common cathedral has adapted their programs during the pandemic in order to continue to safely support the members of their community. They are also asking that you please also consider a monetary gift to support this meaningful and very needed ministry: https://commoncathedral.org/donations
Need help?  
Please CLICK HERE for a list of resources and support for mental health, domestic violence, and substance abuse disorders.
Food insecurity: Contact the Project Bread FoodSource Hotline: 1-800-645-8333; open 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Friday, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays throughout the crisis (TTY line: 1-800-377-1292).
Financial Assistance: There are also some funds available at Epiphany Parish to help members of our community in a financial emergency. Please reach out confidentially to Rev. Christen (978-758-7270) if you have any questions or need financial support. If you are struggling to buy food or medicine, pay bills, buy gas, or struggling in any other way, please do not suffer in silence. We are all in this together and Epiphany Parish is here to support you in whatever ways we can.
Outreach Opportunities - Walpole & Beyond
Give blood - If you are eligible to give blood and wish to do so, you can make an appointment online here: https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html
Hospital Visitation - If you or a loved one is in need of a hospital visit please contact Rev. Christen at christen.epiphany@gmail.com.
Feeling a call (or a tug, or a pull) - to get involved in the life of our Parish, but don't know where to start? Please contact Rev. Christen at christen.epiphany@gmail.com to learn about the many opportunities to serve.
‌Epiphany Parish Welcome Statement - Epiphany Episcopal Parish welcomes all those who seek a spiritual connection to God. We embrace the young and the old; the seasoned and the newcomer; the married, single, separated, divorced and widowed; those of all sexual orientations and gender identities; those from any economic, ethnic, cultural or religious background; and those of all abilities. We not only welcome diversity at Epiphany, we celebrate it.
Epiphany Email Policy: As recently as April 8th, fraudulent emails are continuing to become more common and more sophisticated, please note that Rev. Christen, Epiphany Parish staff, and/or the members of our Vestry will never solicit money, gift cards, or personal information via email. If you have any questions or concerns about an email request you receive from a leader or staff person in our parish, please do not hesitate to contact the parish office at 508-668-2353.‌