by Epiphany | Feb 27, 2016 | Community Announcements
Keynote Speaker: The Rt. Rev. Jacob Owensby Hardtner Camp & Conference Center Friday, April 8 – Sunday, April 10 Bishop Jake Owensby, referencing his latest book, will explore the Gospel promise that God is shaping us right now, toward a vision of who we will become. In God, who we are not yet is shaping who we become. This is a great conversation for those of us who are at turning points in our lives. The program begins with supper at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 8 and ends with a Eucharist and other activities Sunday morning, April 10. Student Cost is $75 per student Which includes housing in a cabin, all meals, study material and sessions. Chaplain/Sponsors who attend with students: $150 Includes a room in the Holy Day Inn (Full accommodations) and meals. (A chaplain or non-student sponsor needs to attend with each ministry’s students.) Please click here for an information sheet/registration...
by Epiphany | Feb 27, 2016 | Community Announcements
Walking Three Days with Jesus A silent retreat for those who want to walk the way of the Cross at the Triduum March 24 – 26, 2016 Hardtner Camp and Conference Center, Pollock, Louisiana More Info! Beginning with Maundy Thursday supper we will begin to walk the three days to the silence of the tomb. Included in the retreat will be the traditional Maundy Thursday liturgy; Good Friday Liturgy; Stations of the Cross; Holy Saturday Liturgy and a series of meditations. There will be time for silent meditation and reflection, walks and rest. The retreat will end after lunch on Holy Saturday. From Maundy Thursday to the Great Vigil of Easter we walk a sacred journey – Jesus sitting at table with his disciples, instituting the Eucharistic feast – the quiet time in the garden praying with Jesus the journey from garden to judgement to the cross and we see Jesus crucified. This is a retreat for anyone who would like to take these three days for retreat and meditation before the great feast of Easter. We will have quiet times as well as times when we can talk together. There will be space for spiritual...
by Epiphany | Feb 27, 2016 | Community Announcements
JEYL stands for Junior Episcopal Youth League. It is a spiritual retreat for middle school youth in a relaxed, fun environment. JEYL, held at Camp Hardtner, begins at 6:00 p.m., Friday, March 11 and concludes Sunday, March 13 at 11:00 a.m. Register...
by Epiphany | Feb 6, 2016 | Community Announcements, Message from Fr. Matt
Bishop Jake’s Annual Visit will take place on Sunday, February 21st, at the 10:30 a.m. Eucharist. Following the Eucharist, there will be a Reception to which all are invited. Please come and participate in this annual celebration when the Shepherd of the Diocese gathers us together in the unity of Christ’s Body. For when we gather with the Bishop of the Diocese, we are gathering with the chief teacher, sanctifier, and shepherd of God’s people. As Bishop, Jake possesses the fullness of Orders (bishop, priest, deacon), so that the fullness of Christ’s grace can flow through the Church in sacramental form. In other words, Bishop Jake has been given the awesome responsibility to see that all the faithful under his care might grow to full stature in Christ and become the very holiness of God. Through the laying on of hands, Bishop Jake has been given a special outpouring of God’s grace for the purpose of continuing the work of the Apostles (we call it Apostolic Succession). Therefore, when we come together with the Bishop of the Diocese in the Eucharist, we are in communion with the Universal Church. In other words, the whole of Christ’s Body, in all its fullness (past, present and future) is made present to us. Anyone who would like to make a reaffirmation of their faith while Bishop Jake is visiting, please feel free to do...
by Epiphany | Jan 29, 2016 | Community Announcements, Episcopal Church, Lenten Messages, Message from Fr. Matt
Epiphany’s Lenten Program will begin on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. We will celebrate the Holy Eucharist at 5:30 pm in the church. Following the service, we will gather in the Parish Hall for a light meal of soup and salad as well as an opportunity to participate in the Lenten Program. This year, best-selling author Kathleen Norris provides a unique viewpoint on “what matters most,” including: Belief Matters: Why does belief matter? To what do we give our hearts? What is the core message of what we believe-creeds or commitment? To what extent is to believe also “to be-love”? The Bible Matters: The Bible is our collective story. How is that story reflected in our daily lives? What is it about the Bible that always seems to address our present moments? Community Matters: In community, individualism and imperfection meet grace and acceptance. What is our part in the Body of Christ? Place Matters: In what ways is faith set within the physical space of home, church, land and people? We Matter: What does it mean to remain in God’s image and to counter our selfishness by embracing the world and its needs? Each of the five DVD session begins with a 10-15 minute video presentation by Kathleen Norris followed by filmed interaction with a diverse small group of adults. Following the video presentation, we will be invited to delve more deeply into each session’s theme. Group members become teachers for one another, following a personal, respectful and engaged model of adult learning. Each person will be supplied with a Participant’s Workbook (suggested donation – $10) which contains all the...
by Epiphany | Jan 29, 2016 | Community Announcements, Episcopal Church, Lenten Messages, Message from Fr. Matt, Website Blog
The Book of Common Prayer issues the following invitation: “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word” (p. 265). Does this mean that Lent is simply to be endured, a time to put aside the excesses of my life in order to accomplish a new goal – an exercise plan, weight loss, better eating habits, a more healthy life-style? As good as these goals are, they really don’t have anything to do with Lent. Lent, rather, is the Church’s annual retreat into the desert with Jesus where we encounter all the illusions we live by so as to see – perhaps for the first time – that true life is in God alone. Historically, Lent was always about baptism: going down with Christ into his death and being raised up with him to new life. It was time when the Church prepared those who were to be baptized at the Easter Vigil: the new Christians were born in the waters of baptism and welcomed by a church community who had relived their own 40-day journey from death to new life in Christ. Thus, the entire Church experienced in ever new ways the truth that the deepest meanings of life are to be seen in Jesus own life, death and resurrection: how he willingly died to self so that others might live. The Lenten season begins on February 10th with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. On this day we will be signed with...
