The Miracle Of Epiphany

    After a flurry of e-mails concerning Epiphany’s vision, I sat back and thought what a miraculous church I am fortunate enough to serve.  Since I arrived, Epiphany has called a new youth director, Erin Haligowski, who begins her work on June 16.  The Church Council has formed a new purpose statement, “We love Jesus by serving others.”  (From the e-mails I have received, the Church Council has hit a home run.)  Within a week or two, the Council will have an ambitious vision of what Epiphany will be like in the year 2021.  A Call Committee has been appointed and members are being contacted about their first meeting.  We are a vote away from hiring a new Coordinator of Communications.  Finally, the Council is beginning to look at the financial challenges that will face Epiphany over the next three to four years.
    Psalm 46 is one of my favorite psalms.  As I look at the list above, I think of the words in verses 2-3, “Therefore we will not fear though the world should change, though the mountains quake in the heart of the sea; though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake with its tumult.”  The world has changed for Epiphany and I thank you for letting me be part of it.
    As I thought about how to share my feelings about the changes cited above, I thought of the last verse in Paul’s famous love chapter of 1 Corinthians, “...faith, hope, love abide but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)
    I interpret this verse as having three time references.  Faith, for example, represents the past.  Faith is built on past experiences that affirm God’s presence in both joyous celebrations and in the deepest of valleys.  The way a church or an individual builds faith is to identify the places God has intervened in the church’s ministry or in holding up a “wounded” believer.  I believe God’s presence is apparent in what has happened in the last four months.
    On the other end of the spectrum, hope represents the future.  (The theological definition of hope is the certainty that tomorrow can be different than today.)  I have watched Council members pray and seek out God’s vision, God’s tomorrow, for Epiphany.  The statement that is being produced is evidence of God’s guiding hand.  Proverbs 29:18 states “where there is no vision the people perish.” (King James Version).  The Council has worked hard to discern God’s vision.  This is a very positive sign of new life and vitality.
    When there is a past that reveals God’s presence in life, and when there is a vision that gives hope for the future, the end result is that love can thrive in the present.  Because we know that God has been with us, and because we know we are pursuing God’s vision, we have the strength and courage to be able to love today.  Because we have a past and a future, we can love Jesus by serving others in the present.
    I can give you a number of organizational theories about why Epiphany has achieved so much in such a short period of time.  But, what I really want to say is that without the guiding hand of God, none of what has happened really makes any sense to me.  So, thank you Epiphany for letting me part of your ministry and to see first hand how God works in, through, and under God’s people.
Pastor Pete