From Rev. Christen's Desk

Dear Epiphany Parish,

You have may have heard it said that we are a 'Resurrection People', people that live in joy and hope because Jesus' resurrection is true each and every day - not just on Easter morning. We are a Resurrection People because of God's gift of eternal life.

In Advent, we also remember that we are an 'Incarnational People'. We are people who follow a savior that is both fully God and fully human. That means that we are people who experience God not just in a mystical, spiritual way, but also in a real, tangible, incarnate way. We experience God in what we can taste and touch and see and hear. We find God in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, we experience God's presence in the waters and oil of baptism, we see God presence in the advent light, and maybe most importantly, we can come to know Christ in each other and in ourselves.

What this means this Advent, is that even while we wait for Christmas, even while we wait for Christ's coming again into our world, we have joy and hope because it is already true and we look to celebrate God's presence in our world in every moment of every day.

~ Adapted from sermon preached at Epiphany Parish on 12/2/18

First Coming

He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.

He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine.

He did not wait till hearts were pure.
In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.

He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.

We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice! 

~ by Madeleine L'Engle

Peace in Christ,

 Rev. Christen

Advent is Here... 

Thanks to all who took part in the Greening of the Church this past Sunday.  Everything looks magnificent and we are ready to celebrate the coming Jesus into the world.  There are still many great offerings to

take part in over the next few weeks.  We hope you will continue to celebrate with us. 

Sunday, December 16 ~ Following the 10:00am service Rev. Christen and George Ford will be leading the first of two Advent forums.

Sunday, December 23 ~ Following the 10:00am service Rev. Christen and George Ford will be leading the second Advent forum.

Monday, December 24 ~ We will hold two Christmas Eve services: A family service at 5:00pm and a Candlelight Service at 10:00pm.

Tuesday, December 25 ~ we will have one service at 10:00am to celebrate the joyous birth of Jesus!  The service will begin with a Christmas hymn sing at the piano and we will have a hot chocolate-to-go bar in the Narthex following the service.

Gifts for Kids Giving Tree

The tree is up and it is decorated with the wishes of 10 children.

Once again this year we are working with "Gifts for Kids" to help ease the financial burden for less fortunate families during the holiday season.  Children identified by human service providers in Norfolk County including the surrounding commu­nities of Canton, Dedham, Foxboro, Medfield, Millis, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Sharon, Walpole, Westwood, and Wrentham, receive holiday gifts through the generosity of people like you.

Please take a tag from the tree which is located in the Narthex. Each tag has the name, corresponding number and "wishes" for each child.  There are 2 or 3 tags on the tree for each of the 10 children we have received requests for. This year's list includes two sets of twins!  Some tags have general wishes like clothes, board games, books, arts & crafts, and age appropriate games; while others are very specific - a winter jacket, boots, a Lego Friends sets, basketball. You aren't responsible for all the items on the "wish list" they are suggestions the kids came up with when dreaming about the holidays.

Place the NEW and UNWRAPPED gifts and clothing in a large sealed bag.  Please include the one identification tag inside the bag and tape a second tag on the outside.

A separate donation of wrapping paper and tape is greatly appreciated.  

Please bring your gifts on December 9th or drop off no later than Monday, December 10th during office hours - all gifts must be delivered to Gifts for Kids on Tuesday, December 11.

Warden's Corner ~ Discernment Process  

We are entering an exciting and important year in Epiphany's life together, the final year of The Rev. Christen H. Mills' contract as our Priest-in-Charge. Rev. Christen has been our priest in charge since November 1, 2016, and it is now time to determine the future leadership of our parish. This past week the vestry met with three representatives from the diocese, The Rev. Jean Baptiste Ntagengwa, Diocesan Consultant Stephen Mascoll and The Rt. Rev. Dr. Carol J. Gallagher to learn about the discernment process, which typically takes place during the third year of a Priest-in-Charge's contract.

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Stewardship Update

We have reach the end of our pledge campaign, however we welcome pledges whenever they come in.

For those who have sent in a pledge, THANK YOU! Your continued support of Epiphany is greatly appreciated! If you have not yet had to opportunity to send in your pledge, you can either mail your pledge card to the church or place it in the collection plate on Sunday.

The Vestry is in the midst of budget planning for next year and information regarding pledges is critical to the planning process and the proper stewardship of our finances. 

Update:

As of December 3, a summary of the pledges received is as follows:

2018 Pledge Goal: $103,000

Pledges Received to Date: 52

Amount pledged to date: $84,806 (82.34% of goal)

Average Pledge Amount: $ 1,631

Number of Pledges

$1 to $500....................... 15

$501 to $1,000............... 11

$1,001 to $1,500.............. 7

$1,501 to $2,000.............. 6

$2,001 to $3,000.............. 3

$3,001 to $5,000.............. 8

$5,000+............................. 2

Change in Pledge from 2017

New Pledges....................... 3

Pledges Increased............ 21

Pledges Held the Same.... 21

Pledges Decreased............. 7

If you have not received a stewardship packet and would like one, please contact Susan Cosman at susan.cosman@verizon.net or 508-668-3882. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about anything in the life of our parish, please do not hesitate to speak with any of the vestry members.

Weekly Announcements

"A thrill of Hope..." an Advent Bible Study in word and art. ~ George Ford and Rev. Christen will be co-leading a two-part Advent Bible Study that will meet on Sunday, December 16 and Sunday, December 23 after the 10am service. In this study we will be looking at the familiar passages of the Christmas story in a new light. We will study the scripture passages together, and then we will watch a brief video presentation that looks at each story through the work of the American artist John August Swanson. We hope that you will join us this Advent to see how the Christmas story continues to speak a new word to our lives today. To see examples of John August Swanson's work that we will be studying, you can visit: http://www.johnaugustswanson.com/default.cfm/PID%3d1.2-4.html

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Adventword ~  The Brothers of Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge and the Anglican Communion Office are once again hosting their global digital Advent Calendar. Each day in Advent has been given a theme and people from all over the globe are invited to upload photos that represent that theme to them using the hashtag #adventword. If you would like to view the digital Advent Calendar or sign-up to contribute your own photos, please visit: Adventword.org  

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Volunteers Needed to help organize music ~ In January and February of 2019, our parish organist, Nancy Wakefield will be working to reorganize the sheet music at Epiphany. She would like some help with this work. If you would like to help her, please email her at nanwake@yahoo.com.  

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Meals for the Marchands ~ Epiphany Parish is bringing meals for Patti & Frenchie Marchand once a week while Patti receives treatment for lung cancer. If you would like to sign up to bring a meal to them, please email the office at office.epiphany@verizon.net.

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Join the choir! ~ Do you like to sing? We need more singers for our communion choir each week. This is a fun and easy way to help enhance our worship together. If you would like to participate please email Nancy Wakefield, our music director, at nanwake@yahoo.com.

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Altar Flowers ~ Do you want to commemorate a special date in your life? Celebrate a birthday or anniversary? Honor the memory of someone special? Do you sim­ply want to give thanks for a blessing? December 9 & 16 are available. See the sign up poster in the Narthex or you can sign up by e-mailing or by calling the parish office to reserve one of these dates or to check for future dates. You are invited to make a donation of $40 for one vase or $75 for both vases; however donations of any amount are welcome to help defray the cost of flowers.

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The Sacrament of Baptism will be offered on Sunday, January 6, 2019. Please speak with Rev. Christen if you would like to have your child baptized.

In Our Prayers

Julianna Costa, Tom Fuller, Jonathan White & Family, Marge Buttimer, Jimmy, Janna Jones Bellwin, Bill Davidson, Patti Marchand

We also continue to remember: Richland Arcikowski, Frank Baronie, Dick Brideau, Jan Bryson, Paul Canavan,Scott Dalrymple, Clinton Dempsey, Peter DiPasca (Sr), Jane Emswiler, Mary Lou Fitzpatrick, Patrick Fleming, Sandy Frye, Ed Glebus, Skip Gould, Nancy Griswold, Jack Hammill, Sandy Hammill, Beverly Happnie, Nancy Harrington, Todd King, Bob Laurie, Laura Marchese, Dena Miller, George Najarian, Alex Panosian, Harry Pritoni, Robert Quimby, Susie & John Rogers, Ashley Rose, Art Sachs, Eric Sanford, Nicole Shirley, Jackie Sones, Denise Sullivan, Don Uliano, Tina Valentine, Barbara, Grant, Jim, Mark and Alexis, Maureen & Family, Molly, Sarah, Shawn

• We pray for our first responders and military personnel and their families.
• We pray for those affected by war, terrorism, natural disaster and violence, abuse, addiction or loneliness.

Recently Departed: Ruth Robinson, Rick Warrender

Parish Cycle of Prayer: Phyllis & Don MacKinnon, Patti & Frenchie Marchand, Shelby & Charlie Marscher and Family, Adriana & Leo Martinez and Family

Walpole Cycle of Prayer: Blessed Sacrament Parish

Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: St. Paul's Church, Bedford; All Saints' Church, Belmont; St. Mark's Church, Burlington; The Officers of the Diocese

Celebrating Birthdays: Dec. 10: Kye Stockwell, Eric Davis; Dec. 11: Michelle Wilmot; Dec. 12: Paul G. Donlan, Charlie Roberts; Dec. 14: Shelby Marscher

Celebrating Anniversaries: Dec. 9: Christen Mills & Dan Hicks

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Names on our prayer list are listed in the order in which the prayer request is received and are kept on that list for 6 weeks. At that point, if prayers are still needed, the name will be moved down into the alphabetical list. We appreciate updates for those we hold in prayer. Please contact the parish office or e-mail the office at office.epiphany@verizon.net to update our list.