Epiphany News and Notes
Epiphany
Sailing at night on the Chesapeake Bay is an adventure! I learned
to sail at night by going out at 4 a.m. so that if I got lost, I could simply
wait for the dawn.
Night sailing requires a huge amount of trust on your instruments: you watch the
depth meter so that you avoid going aground, and you trust your compass to head
in the correct direction.
However, on the Bay there are many lighted buoys to help guide your way. Leaving
the Baltimore Harbor is relatively easy because there are many city lights that
actually light up the water. But, when you get to the Frances Scott Key Bridge,
it is rather dark out there. The only way you know where you are is by sailing
toward the lighted buoys, identifying them, and locating them on the chart which
you keep at your side.
As you sail along down Bay, you can tick off the buoys and keep a fairly steady
heading. But, you'll find areas that don't have many lighted buoys and the night
is really dark. Sometimes we have to use binoculars to see the next light from a
buoy to guide us.
Epiphany means to make manifest. We associate the star and the Magi in
Matthew's birth narrative with the coming of Jesus to show us the way. It would
be as difficult finding your way through life without Jesus Christ as it is to
sail the Bay at night without the lighted buoys.
That's why Epiphany Lutheran Church is so important to its community of Columbia
Hills and the region of upper Columbia and to all of us who want to share God's
love with our neighbors.
We should ask ourselves whether we are showing God's light to the world. Are you
a light in anyone's life? Are we as a church and are you as a Christian guiding
anyone out of the darkness into the light of Jesus Christ?
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, "You are like light for the whole
world." Let us light the way!
The Chair
There sat a chair in the entrance of the church. It looked very important for it had arms and a high back with carvings. But the upholstery was thread bare.
Along comes the community of Columbia Hills and Meadowbrook Farms to the rescue. Richard and Marlyn Ely knew how to get it done. It is now a beautiful piece of furniture in the Narthex of the church. Many thanks to the Elys and the community!
New Service Booklet. We have revised and corrected the booklet for our service. This new booklet follows the order of our service using only the words so that it should help us know where we are in the service. Most found it helpful last Sunday. Please leave the booklet for use for the next Sunday. For non-communion Sundays, a different booklet printed on a different color paper will be used.