MAY 2019
In May's Issue:
Message from the Interim Rector Music Notes Invitation to Epiphany Under the Stars May 19 Choral Evensong Epiphany 351: Faith on the Move Photos from: the Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday, and the Easter Egg Hunt Episcopal Charities Sunday Rest In Peace John Romig Johnson Families Behind Bars Panel Discussion, sponsored by Circles of Support Easter Flowers Music & Organ Fund Contributions Sunday Servers' Schedule May Scripture Readings May Church Calendar
FROM THE INTERIM RECTOR
I am reminded of an old nursery rhyme I grew up with. Perhaps you know it. “Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people.” Of course the rhyme only works if it is accompanied by the hand motions. But, if you know the rhyme, you know the hand motions. The two are inexorably linked for anyone who grew up with this old rhyme and passed it on to their children and grandchildren. What made me think of this happy rhyme, besides the sound of happy children playing outside my office window, are the people of the Church of the Epiphany. And there are a lot of you. Of us!
There are the people who worship here at one of the three services on Sunday. There are the people who sing in the choir, prepare the altar, wash the linens, serve as ushers, Welcomers, crucifers, chalice bearers, Lay Eucharistic Visitors, assisting clergy, and coffee hour hosts. There are the people who gather throughout the day on Wednesday to prepare and serve a hot three course meal to 80-120 people 52 weeks a year. There are the people who come to be nourished by that meal, not just physically, but relationally, by being in true community with those who serve and are being served.
There are the people who entrust their most precious possessions to us five days a week: the parents of the children of the Church of the Epiphany Day School (CEDS). These parents, in partnership with the Church of the Epiphany, ensure that CEDS continues to be a place where their children are eager to come to each morning. A place where they can and do flourish, as all children should. There are the children, who laugh and play and learn and sometimes get angry, frustrated, or cry, but know there is a loving, patient teacher or aide there to help them in ways that are most helpful to them. There are the people who serve on the Vestry, the School Committee, the Communications and Marketing Team, the parish nurses, the prison ministry team, Racket, Youth ministry, and Sunday School. The list goes on and on and I could fill the Manifest with naming them all and extolling the work they do.
And there are the employees of the Church of the Epiphany and CEDS. That too is a long list of people, from the sextons to the teachers, to school administration, to the office staff, choir section leaders, organist/choir director, and on and on. People who come to work, but more than just that—people who come to enrich the lives of all the people I’ve named above. People who come to help us flourish. To help us become more deeply embraced by this community of faith. To help us serve others so that in everything we do, in thought, word, or deed, we do it all to the glory of God. (Colossians 3:17 & I Corinthians 10:31.)
“Here is the church. Here is the Steeple. Open the doors, and see all the people” may be an old nursery rhyme but church has always been and will always be about the people. All the people who give of themselves so that all of us in community together may do all that we do to the Glory of God. As we continue preparations for the next chapter of Epiphany’s life, mission, and ministry, may we remember that it is always about the people. People like yourself whom God has already entrusted to us as a community of faith and people who are even now on their way to discovering the Christ-centered life that the people of Epiphany create each day at York and 74th. By God’s grace and to God’s glory.
Roy+
MUSIC NOTES
Larry Long, Organist & Choirmaster
Music Notes for May
Music in the Liturgy
Following is a list of scheduled choral music for Sundays in May. The four pieces listed are choral introit, psalm, offering, and communion.
May 5, 2019 • EASTER 3
Christ is arisen; J. Klug
Psalm 30; refrain Larry J. Long; verses Ray Francis Brown
This is the feast of victory; Joel Martinson (b. 1960); arr. Daniel Schwandt
O sacred communion; Larry J. Long (b. 1954)
May 12, 2019 • EASTER 4
Cherub Choir sings today
I am the Resurrection; Thomas Morley (c.1557-1602)
Psalm 23; refrain Larry J. Long; verses Daniel Pinkham (1923-2006)
Ich bin die Auferstehung; Gallus Dressler (1533-c.1585)
The Lord is my Shepherd; Spiritual; arr. Larry J. Long (b. 1954)
May 19, 2019 • EASTER 5
Children’s Choir sings today
Praise to the Lord; Hugo Distler (1908-1942)
Psalm 148; Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)
And I saw a new heaven; Edgar L. Bainton (1880-1956)
Total Praise; Richard Smallwood (b. 1948)
May 19, 2019 • CHORAL EVENSONG at 5:00pm
Dame Julian of Norwich, c. 1417
Preces and Responses; Louise Mundinger (b. 1955)
Psalm 27:5-11; Elizabeth Posten (1905-1987)
Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in A-flat; Sarah MacDonald (b. 1968)
As truly as God is our Father; William Mathias (1934-1992)
May 26, 2019 • EASTER 6
This joyful Eastertide; Charles Wood (1866-1926)
Psalm 67; Larry J. Long (b. 1954)
O blessed spring; Robert Bucklee Farlee (b. 1950)
At the river; Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
At Choral Evensong on Sunday, May 19, the service will include music mostly by women composers. The two hymn texts that will be sung were written by women (one uses her husband’s music, the other is by a female composer). Louise Mundinger and I were both undergraduate music students at Valparaiso University. She is currently the music director at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Episcopal) in Boston. Elizabeth Posten was a British compomser whose most famous choir anthem is “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree”, which we have sung at our Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols. Sarah MacDonald is originally from Ontario, Canada, and now resides in Cambridge, England where holds the positions of Fellow and Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Director of Ely Cathedral Girls' Choir. The William Mathias anthem “As truly as God is our Father” is a setting of a text by Dame Julian of Norwich, who lived in England c. 1342-c.1417. The second line of the text is “so just as truly is he our Mother.” Julian wrote the earliest surviving book in the English language to be written by a woman, Revelations of Divine Love.
CHORAL EVENSONG: MAY 19 AT 5:00PM
Our next Choral Evensong service of the season will be Sunday, May 19 at 5:00pm, when we will remember Dame Julian of Norwich (c.1342 - c.1417). Music sung during the service is either composed by women or uses texts written by women, including two texts by Julian herself: "As truly as God is our Father" (music by William Mathias), and "Mothering God, you gave me birth," adapted by Jean Janzen (b. 1933). Other composers include Louise Mundinger (b. 1955), Elizabth Posten (1905-1987), Sharon Marion Hershey, and Sarah MacDonald (b. 1968).
Organ music begins at 4:45pm.
Conclude your Sunday afternoon with this candlelit, quiet, reflective service of beautiful choral music, scripture, and prayer.
EPIPHANY 351: FAITH ON THE MOVE
Special thanks to Woody Swain and the Marketing Committee for desiging our new logo for Epiphany 351. We have such a deep bench of talent at Epiphany. Thank you!
Starting in 2021, the Church of the Epiphany will find its new home one block west, in a restored and modernized church space at 351 East 74th Street. Coming soon, we will launch Epiphany 351: Faith on the Move on the EpiphanyNYC.org website. We are currently creating a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the renovation and upcoming move to include on the new webpage. This will be an ongoing conversation, with updates as new information becomes available. You can contribute your own questions or comments by emailing us at [email protected].
We recently received a question from a former parishioner who was married from Epiphany in the 1990s, and no longer lives in the area: I just heard from a friend in the neighborhood that the Church has been sold and that you’ve bought the old Jan Hus building. Is there any truth to that story/rumor?
Epiphany's Answer:
It is, indeed, a time of great changes at Epiphany – changes that are both exciting and bittersweet.
After careful and prayerful deliberation, and under the by-laws of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, last summer the Vestry of Church of the Epiphany voted to move its house of worship from York Avenue at 74th Street one block west to the historic Jan Hus Presbyterian Church at 351 East 74th Street. This will be Epiphany’s sixth home since its founding in downtown Manhattan in 1833. The leadership at the Church of the Epiphany deliberately chose not to sell the York Avenue property to a for-profit developer. In keeping with its historic ministry to the health care community, Epiphany sold the property to the non-profit Weill Cornell Medical Center. In turn, Epiphany purchased the Jan Hus property, and Jan Hus and its parishioners have purchased a smaller location on the Upper East Side. Both congregations will continue their ministries in the community.
The three parties, Epiphany, Jan Hus and Weill Cornell, signed contracts in November and the official closing was in February of 2019.
While Epiphany is renovating the property at 351 East 74th Street, the parish and school will remain at their current location on York Avenue, worshiping, serving and educating, with full services and Vacation Bible School through Spring 2021. After the congregation and school move to our newly renovated space, the church building at York Avenue will be demolished. Weill Cornell’s intent is to build medical student housing on this site that is convenient to New York Hospital.
The Church of the Epiphany is a vibrant and growing parish but just does not have enough space for its ministry, outreach programs and Day School. If you open a closet or look closely at the back of the nave, Epiphany’s current state of crowding is very apparent. Storage is a luxury. Moving one block west will give Epiphany an additional 15,000 square feet and some much needed breathing room. The proceeds from this sale will allow Epiphany to renovate the property at 351 East 74th Street, close its intractable and unsustainable operating budget gap, and grow its ministry within the community.
It will be sad to see the building go, but we are so excited for the opportunities that the move will give our parish to continue to grow and serve the community.
EASTER VIGIL 2019
Epiphany celebrated the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday, April 20. Click through for a slide show from this beautiful end to the Lenten season!
EASTER SUNDAY 2019
Click through for a slide show of our 2019 Easter Sunday service!
Click the first photo below to launch the slide show.
EASTER EGG HUNT 2019
Click through for a slide show of our 2019 Easter Egg Hunt!
Click the first photo below to launch the slide show. EPISCOPAL CHARITIES SUNDAY IS MOTHER'S DAY, MAY 12
Please join us for Episcopal Charities Sunday, Mother's Day, May 12. We will provide donation envelopes in the bulletin that day, and donation checks should be made out to Episcopal Charities.
Thank you for helping support the needy and hungry in the Diocese of New York. REST IN PEACE JOHN ROMIG JOHNSON
This week, we at Epiphany learned that Rev. Dr. John Romig Johnson, 83, died peacefully at home on Tuesday, February 5, 2019 in hospice care. Rev. Johnson served as a Pastoral Associate at the Church of the Epiphany from 1980 to 1997, leading many aspects of worship, including the 12:15pm chapel service. A full obituary for Rev. Johnson can be found here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1
1 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Staff meeting (Garden Room) may 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Homeless Dinner Program (Parish Hall)
THURSDAY, MAY 2
2 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm Cherub Choir rehearsal (Sanctuary) may 4:45 pm – 5:30 pm Children's Choir rehearsal (Sanctuary) 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Sanctuary)
SATURDAY, MAY 4
4 9:00 am – 11:00 am Girl Scouts (Sanctuary) may
SUNDAY, MAY 5
5 8:30 am – 9:30 am Holy Eucharist, Rite I (Chapel) may 9:30 am – 10:15 am Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Nave) 10:30 am – 11:30 am Holy Eucharist with Music (Nave) 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Forum: Organ Task Force (Chapel) 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ACOA (Garden Room) 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Evening Eucharist (Chapel)
MONDAY, MAY 6
6 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm AA Meditation Meeting (Nave) may 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Vestry (Parish Hall)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8
8 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Staff meeting (Garden Room) may 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Homeless Dinner Program (Parish Hall)
THURSDAY, MAY 9
9 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Cherub Choir rehearsal (Chapel) may 4:45 pm – 5:30 pm Children's Choir rehearsal (Chapel) 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Chapel)
FRIDAY, MAY 10
10 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Breaking Through AA Meeting (Parish Hall) may
SATURDAY, MAY 11 11 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Concert: Mozart for Munchkins (Sanctuary) may
SUNDAY, MAY 12
12 8:30 am – 9:30 am Holy Eucharist, Rite I (Chapel) may 9:30 am – 10:15 am Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Nave) 10:30 am – 11:30 am Holy Eucharist with Music (Nave) 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ACOA (Garden Room) 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Evening Eucharist (Chapel)
MONDAY, MAY 13
13 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm AA Meditation Meeting (Nave) may
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15
15 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Staff meeting (Garden Room) may 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Homeless Dinner Program (Parish Hall)
UPCOMING EVENTS
THURSDAY, MAY 16
16 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Cherub Choir rehearsal (Sanctuary) may 4:45 pm – 5:30 pm Children's Choir rehearsal (Sanctuary) 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Sanctuary)
FRIDAY, MAY 17
17 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Epiphany Under the Stars Auction (Sanctuary) may 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Breaking Through AA Meeting (Parish Hall)
SATURDAY, MAY 18
18 9:00 am – 11:00 am Girl Scouts (Sanctuary) may
SUNDAY, MAY 19
19 8:30 am – 9:30 am Holy Eucharist, Rite I (Chapel) may 9:30 am – 10:15 am Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Nave) 10:30 am – 11:30 am Holy Eucharist with Music (Nave) 3:15 pm – 4:30 pm Evensong Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary) 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ACOA (Garden Room) 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Choral Evensong (Sanctuary)
MONDAY, MAY 20
20 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm AA Meditation Meeting (Nave) may
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
22 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Staff meeting (Garden Room) may 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Homeless Dinner Program (Parish Hall)
THURSDAY, MAY 23
23 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Cherub Choir rehearsal (Chapel) may 4:45 pm – 5:30 pm Children's Choir rehearsal (Chapel) 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Chapel)
FRIDAY, MAY 24
24 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Breaking Through AA Meeting (Parish Hall) may
SUNDAY, MAY 26
26 8:30 am – 9:30 am Holy Eucharist, Rite I (Chapel) may 9:30 am – 10:15 am Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Nave) 10:30 am – 11:30 am Holy Eucharist with Music (Nave) 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Parish Barbecue (Garden) 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ACOA (Garden Room) 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Evening Eucharist (Chapel)
MONDAY, MAY 27
27 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm AA Meditation Meeting (Nave) may
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29
29 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Staff meeting (Garden Room) may 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Homeless Dinner Program (Parish Hall)
THURSDAY, MAY 30
30 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm Epiphany Choir rehearsal (Chapel) may
FRIDAY, MAY 31
31 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Breaking Through AA Meeting (Parish Hall) may LET'S CONNECT