March 2024
Lent – a time to pray for others.
As this season of Lent unfolds, you call us to return again and again.
As you invite us to reflect on your love made visible in the person of Jesus, align our lives more closely with you through prayer, fasting and generous giving.
Bless our desire to accompany Jesus’ suffering here and now in the crucified people of our world.
With your grace, may we live Lent fully and move with transformed hearts into the abundant life of Easter morning.
Amen.
A Special Birthday Wish and Special Prayers for Kitty Sizemore on her 102nd birthday on March 7, 2024! Cheers!
The Presiding Bishop Michael Curry underwent a procedure to implant a pacemaker as part of his ongoing treatment for Atrial Fibrillation and the surgery was successful. Bishop Curry is now recuperating at home. We lift prayers for his continued healing.
The Lenten program has been well received and attended (15) and as usual, fantastic food is had beforehand. The Season for Healing Hearts -daily meditations, actions & prayers by Joe Sica. There are two more sessions (Thursdays, March 14st and March 21st, with dinner starting at 6 p.m. and discussion from 6:30 to 7:30) and then Holy Week begins.
Re-keying of the church doors
Recently, a decision was made by the vestry to re-key our parish doors. The sacristy also has had a keyless entry pad installed.
Gail Irby not only covered the cost of re-keying, her labor was included. Do notice that she realigned all four doors so they no longer stick and the back door no longer slams. The panic bar of the back door also has been adjusted to properly open at the touch.
The vestry thanks Gail very much for her gifts and her love of Epiphany.
A round of applause!!
Daylight Savings Time
It’s that time again…. Daylight savings. Please remember to Spring ahead one hour THIS Sunday, March 10 @ 2:00 a.m.
Borrowed from Episcopal Church Memes 😊
This Sunday, what comes after the Recessional Hymn?
The folks who forgot to change their clocks ahead.
Transition Update
Epiphany continues to hold its own in the areas of worship, music and finances. Fellowship in the parish hall also continues to bloom each Sunday. The after service gathering feels like it did 10 years ago, full of vibrant energy, wonderful eats and connection.
The Rotating Pulpit 😊 continues to be popular and welcomed by the congregation and we continue to be Blessed each week having a Presider and we are thankful. We have a Presider scheduled each Sunday through the end of June, with the exception, for now, of two dates. We can always do Morning Prayer if need be. Our average attendance is 35 – wonderful.
The Musical Chair of organists is also full through the end of June and once again, we count our blessings.
Our finances are in order with paying our bills and pledging is doing quite well, thank you. We have faced some heavy billings recently. The roof over the parish hall needed work at the cost of $4,600, and the church tower and parish roof needed the removal of trees and overgrowth at a cost of $1,600, as branches from our neighbor were rubbing on the roof of the tower and reaching the bell.
There is nothing new to report of Epiphany having a permanent priest. The Bishop and her staff continue to search and do what they can with what is available and we are one of 48 parishes without.
Please continue to do as we all have been doing and allow the Holy Spirit to move our direction in its time. The vestry thanks each of you for your continued support on so many levels and the showing of so much love of and to Epiphany.
If I may, once the church bell rings, it is a call to worship. Might we practice, please, to silent ourselves from our conversations, enter quiet reflection and take in the gift of our organists’ music for both the prelude and postlude. Thank you.
The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 2:20
MARCH WORSHIP SCHEDULE
March 3
Celebrant: Rev. Berkley Ford
Organist: Scott Foxwell
Lector: Tina Wright
Usher: Jackie Rochelle
March 10
Celebrant: Rev. Berkley Ford
Organist: Scott Foxwell
Lector: Marcie Kidd
Usher: Kevin LaPointe
March 17
Celebrant: Rev. Hayes Purdue
Organist: Mary Scheible
Lector: Jim Fisher
Usher: Kathy Moore
Holy Week Schedule
March 24 – Palm Sunday
Celebrant: Rev. Peg Buelow
Organist: Joe Ritchie
Lector: Brian Pritchard
Usher: Susie Pedigo
March 28 – Maundy Thursday – 6:00 p.m. service
(followed by an Agape meal and stripping of the altar)
Celebrant: The Rev. Peg Buelow
Organist – Mary Scheible
March 29 – Good Friday – 6:00 p.m. service with Stations of the Cross
March 31 – Easter – 11:00 a.m. (PLEASE NOTE THE TIME!)
Celebrant: The Rev. Julia Ashby
Organist: Joe Ritchie
Lector: John Childers
Usher: Tom Gilleland
Thank you.
Jim Fisher
Co-Warden