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The Newsletter for The Parish of the Epiphany, Winchester, MA |
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September 6, 2006
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Epiphany Worship Schedule Worship is central to the life of our community. When we gather for prayer, singing, and hearing God’s word, it is a corporate attempt to unite ourselves with others to acknowledge God’s holiness. Deciding how to best do this in every congregation is always a challenge. Churches are forever held in creative tension between tradition and new expressions of liturgy.
At Epiphany, some years ago, the worship was divided from two services at 8am and 10am followed by Christian Education and fellowship; to our current schedule of 3 services at 7:30am, 9:00am and 11:15 am with Christian Education following the 9:00am service. For many of us, including me, the three service schedule is the tradition at Epiphany because it is all we have known. When the service schedule was changed, it was thought that it would help the parish to grow by providing more comfortable seating and more choice. Since that time, the Parish of the Epiphany has endured many transitions and it is not clear whether the change has encouraged growth.
Other concerns at the time were lack of seating at the main service and the crowded nature of the service combined with the belief that a church more than 75% full was unwelcoming to new people. Some of us now feel that a church that is full is an indication of a vibrant ministry while two services that are less full seem flat. There are many other considerations as well.
The clergy and vestry have heard many voices regarding our worship schedule, but as of yet no consensus. Beginning on September 17th, we will be distributing a parish wide questionnaire
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that will help us gauge the sense of our community with regard to worship schedule. Some of us would prefer to return to a two service Sunday, others are happy with the current schedule and this questionnaire is intended to gather parish opinion so that we can decide whether or not a change is in order. The questionnaire will also be available on Epiphany’s website.
In addition, there will be two occasions when we can discuss the pros and cons of our worship schedule as a group. The first will be following our monthly pot-luck supper on October 4th and during the Christian Education hour on October 8th. You are also invited to make your feelings known to the clergy, the wardens or members of the vestry.
Any change of this nature is sweeping and if a change is in order, we only want to make that change after hearing from the entire parish. So please take the time to fill out the questionnaire and let us know your feelings so that we can provide the best environment for our worship of God.
- Rev.
Bob Trache Kathleen Joins Us Please welcome Kathleen Kenny as our new Director of Christian Education. Kathleen began on September 5th. She comes to us with a marketing and computer background, but also a keen interest in children’s education. Sunday, Rally Day September 10, will be our first opportunity to meet Kathleen and welcome her to The Parish of the Epiphany.
Sharing Our prayers of sympathy go out to Martha Gaythwaite and her family on the death of her mother, Julia Gaythwaite. |
Adult Education Program The Adult Education Committee has developed an exciting and excellent program of education for this fall. As a result of the current global political and religious conflicts, the fall program begins with, Windows on Islam, a serious look at Islam and its relationship to Judaism and Christianity. This program has been designed in the wake of growing interest and questions raised in the Parish.
On September 17th, Dr. Denis Sullivan, Director of the Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development at Northeastern University will open our series with an in depth discussion of the current global conflicts within Islam and between Islam and Christianity with an emphasis on roads to peace.
He will be followed on September 24th and October 1, by Dr. Merlin Swartz, Professor of Islamic Studies at Boston University, who will lead a two part series that looks at classical Islam including the rise and early history of Islam followed by a discussion on the Koran and the fundamental institutions of Islamic religion. This series will also address the development of Islam into the modern period including the emergence of radical Islam.
On October 29, Anne Meirowitz, former Director of Hillel at Northeastern University, and a member of Temple Shir Tikva will be our Adult Education discussion leader to present a Jewish perspective on Islam.
Please plan to attend on Sunday mornings at 10:15 and do not hesitate to bring others who may be interested in this very important topic.
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