Engaging with Epiphany

I definitely did not visit The Church of the Epiphany in the District. They definitely engaged me in their Sunday.

My friend Lisa picked me up at 6:40 this morning for the drive in. As we got our name tags in the narthex folks were checking in to get their number for breakfast before going to activities or to sit in the church. Epiphany serves the only Sunday hot breakfast for the homeless in the area. I participated in the 7:00 a.m. Bible study with some of the Gospel Arts members. After that Lisa took me into the church to introduce me to the music ministers, and I ended up singing with the pick-up choir for the 8:00 a.m. service.

The majority of the worshippers at the early service are homeless. The vast majority of them participate in the service, which is fairly short. The Prayers of the People are truly the Prayers of the People. The priest recognized individuals who indicate they have a prayer, and the prayers continue until there are no more. When the service ends, those who signed up for breakfast are called in order to eat. The choir has the opportunity to eat with the first shift. Lisa and I went up the street to a little coffee shop and had coffee and oatmeal.

We returned to check in with the Gospel Arts program. I did some odds and ends until someone came looking for help with preparing lemonade and ice tea for the parish Pentecost picnic that took place after the 11:00 service. That would be me. Back to the art program to help set up the display for the picnic. By the time Lisa and I went into the church for the 11:00 service, I'd had a full day.

The 11:00 a.m. service was much more the familiar liturgy. It was also considerably longer than the early service. The opening of the sermon was identical to the one the rector preached at 8:00, but he expanded it quite a bit. There was a prelude, an anthem, and a postlude. The Prayers of the People began with Form 4 but then continued with individual prayers like we'd had at the early service.

The congregation was much more diverse than any church I've been to so far. And it's quite clear that the homeless ministry the church engages in is as much with as it is to the homeless. There's also a visible and active lbgt membership in the parish.

Toward the end of the picnic I took pictures of the Gospel Arts display and some of the artists. They try to document every display to report back to granting organizations and to use for new grant applications.

It was almost 2:00 p.m. by the time Lisa and I loaded the pew (one of the ones taken out during the ongoing renovation of the church) she bought into the car and headed home.

I know that part of my engagement happened because I went with Lisa, but it was still and incredible, and incredibly exhausting, day.I could write more, but I don't think more words would do any better at capturing the people and the spirit of Epiphany. In many ways it looks like the parish many of us at Grace Norwalk envisioned, and those still there continue to envision. Definitely someplace I will take anyone from Grace/Betania who comes down to visit!

It's still to early in my search to make any decisions, and Lisa continues to encourages me to explore as many churches as possible. But it's also clear that Lisa loves being a part of her church. And I loved having her share her church with me. Do check out their website.