August 2025
We thought that back in mid-June we were already into August…same thing could be said of July…now that August is at the door we wonder what it will actually have in store for us. The heat and humidity have been wicked with plenty of records broken. Hope everyone is been cautious and looking in on neighbors and the outside critters.
There are many conversations out there saying that the church is dying. I’m speaking of the biblical “church” (Greek: ekklesia} that primarily refers to a community of believers built on faith, with Jesus Christ as the foundation.
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23
But truth be told, the church is not dying. It’s just shedding everything that looked more like Caesar than Jesus. The empire is dying and good riddance. What’s dying is the version of the church that cozied up to power. The one that wrapped the cross with the flag, kissed the ring of white supremacy and called that “biblical.” That church. Yes, it’s crumbling, and it should be.
People aren’t leaving Jesus; they’re leaving the toxic nonsense you built up around him. The racism, the patriarchy, the abuse. The million-dollar sanctuaries and the treating of the poor as if they are ruining the aesthetic. Folks are waking up; they’re not simply deconstructing their faith. They’re demolishing the idols you propped up in the name of tradition.
If your faith can’t survive without control, comfort, and a curated narrative, then that’s not church. That’s just an empire with a steeple.
So, no, love isn’t dying, justice isn’t dying, liberation isn’t dying. But your grip on the narrative, that’s evaporating really quickly and, honestly, that’s resurrection in the making.
One thing for certain that Jesus taught us and it matters deeply and more now than ever: when there is God, when there is Love, there are no endings, only new beginnings. The Love that has always sought to be known is still within us. The spirit that is the church will go on – thrive, even. It will just look different and sing differently and teach differently, but it will go on. Jesus taught us that death does not get the final word.
Maybe death or near death is a blessing after all. It is so human of us to hold on so tightly that we miss the opportunity to catch hold of something that might lead us to wider fields where we will dance in those new fields and share Love in ways we’ve never imagined.
God’s Peace. We have a wonderful opportunity to seek a practice in finding a way to walk this journey, this new wider field in rhythm with God.
Thank you to my brother in Christ, Mark Sandlin, for his inspiration.
Jim Fisher – Sr. Warden
Happenings Around Epiphany
Vestry will be taking the Month of August off. The next meeting is scheduled for September 11th. 6:30 meal and 7:00 meeting times.
The nursery has been emptied of the yard sale donations and is ready for the next batch. Thank you for your donations thus far.
There are little re-freshening projects going on around the church:
- Susie has made a large dent in organizing and clearing many shelves.
- The bell tower was recently cleaned of much of the black muck that builds between the bell and little red roof. We found, though, that some stucco work needs to be performed, and an entire fresh painting is much needed. We could also use some stucco work inside the tower with a new paint job.
- The small roof over the tower vestibule was power cleaned as was everything below/underneath. A fresh painting of was white to the vestibule and a fresh cover of red to the tower doors were added. New door sweeps and a new lights completed the re-fresh.
- The columbarium and bench received its biannual power wash. A couple of markers of our departed needed to be raised and then a paver sand was applied to fill the creases of the entire top.
- Our Epiphany name wall also received its biannual wash down, removing traffic dust and dirt and brightening the light-colored stone wall.
More cleaning, painting and re-freshening will be occurring as we move forward re-finding ourselves. These projects will help bring a sense of a new path, a cleaning off of the worn out and the lifting of our journey to a wider field and transition.
Marcie is doing well, and her broken ankle healing is coming along. Len & Tina have been back joining us at service and Len now has the brace off from his broken back episode.
The containers used to take home altar flowers have been on vacation for some time now. There are 3 of them. Please have a look about to see if you have one. Thank you.
We continue to be grateful for our supply/guest priests and organists: The Rev. Julia Ashby, The Rev. Peg Buelow, The Rev. Canon Win Lewis, The Rev. John Baldwin & the Rev. Berkley Ford;
Pat Spoettle, Joe Ritchie and Scott Foxwell. Each of them has contributed to Epiphany having a weekly priest with eucharist and beautiful music. Thank you.
A shout out to our lectors, ushers, sexton and volunteers that help keep Epiphany humming along. You are appreciated.
August Schedule
August 3rd
- The Rev. Canon Win Lewis
- Organist: Joe Ritchie
- Flowers: Marcia Cronin
- Altar: Len & Tina Wright
- Lector: Marcia Cronin
- Usher: Jackie Rochelle
- Flower sponsors: Gertie & Caviar
August 10th
- Morning Prayer
- Organist: Scott Foxwell
- Flowers: Jim Fisher
- Altar: Kevin LaPointe
- Lector: Marcie Kidd
- Usher: Kevin LaPointe
- Flower sponsors: Jim & Kevin
August 17th
- The Rev. Peg Buelow
- Organist: Pat Spoettle
- Flowers: Jim Fisher
- Altar: Ariel Fernandez
- Lector: Jim Fisher
- Usher: Kevin LaPointe
- Flower sponsor: Angie Kellam
August 24th
- The Rev. John Baldwin
- Organist: Scott Foxwell
- Flowers: Jim Fisher
- Altar: Kevin LaPointe
- Lector: Brian Pritchard
- Usher: Susie Pedigo
- Flower sponsor: Mary Shaffer
August 31st
- The Rev. Canon Win Lewis
- Organist: Joe Ritchie
- Flowers: Jim Fisher
- Altar: Kevin LaPointe
- Lector: John Childers
- Usher: Tom Gilleland
- Flower Sponsor: Mike Diaz