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It's not too late to pledge! |
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Sunday, 19 November 2006 |
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If you have not made your 2007 Stewardship pledge there is still plenty of time! Pledge cards are available in the back of the sanctuary on Sundays or by calling the church office. Return your card to Pastor Matt anytime. Epiphany UCC deeply appreciates your commitment of time, talent and treasure to the work of our church! Questions? Contact Laura Brix at 773-255-6204 or
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THERE IS NO WAY TO PEACE - PEACE IS THE WAY |
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Tuesday, 31 October 2006 |
On Sunday November 5th, please join the Amistad Committee for a special worship service dedicated to peace. In the face of the ever present temptation to place our faith in war to bring us peace and salvation from fear and death, let us join together as a community for a Peace Stewardship Worship Service to recommit ourselves to the Gospel that says no to the sacrifice of other peoples' lives for our salvation and yes to our own selfless sacrifice for others. Come hear Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly preach the Gospel of Peace. Kathy is a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a Chicago based campaign to end U.S. military and economic war against Iraq. She was a co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness (VitW), a human rights group formed in 1996 in Chicago that worked to lift the economic sanctions against Iraq. And following the dedication of the peace pole, we will dedicate ourselves at the first annual Epiphany UCC Stewardship involvement fair where we will explore opportunities for service in the church and the community.
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Tuesday, 10 October 2006 |
A few months ago church member Aralia Taylor noticed that the American flag is not displayed in our sanctuary. She reached out to me to express her concerns about its absence and we had an intense and very good conversation. What follows is a summary of our disagreement and an introduction to the solution that we found. In the UCC a difference of opinions is more than welcome, it is expected. We are going to disagree. The question is will we disagree well? I'm glad to say that in this case Aralia and I feel that we challenged each other with great care. Both of us hope that the result of our difference will help our church.
Matt's perspective --
As far as I remember the American flag was removed from the sanctuary when the carpet was replaced about five years ago. I was not sorry to see it go. I have a deep love for our country, but feel quite strongly that a Christian sanctuary is no place for a nation's flag. I would feel this way if we were Canadians or South Africans, if I agreed with virtually everything our government did, or if I opposed most of its decisions. The flag represents America. The rest of the symbolism in the sanctuary points toward and participates in the God of Jesus Christ. I think that the presence of non-Christian symbolism in the sanctuary is confusing. The cross, the paraments and the stained glass windows all point toward Jesus Christ, his death, his life, and his resurrection. The flag, meanwhile, points toward the American concept of freedom. American freedom is a powerful thing, but it is not Christian. In language more pointed than I would use, the theologian Charlie Pardue makes this point clear. "Freedom, as the church understands it isn't freedom from taxation without representation, or even the right to worship without persecution. Instead, Christian freedom is the freedom to live faithfully in obedience to the One who made, and redeemed us through Jesus. In the Church we find freedom at the cross; Jesus calls us to loose our lives in order to gain them and that's where our freedom lies, not in the U.S. constitution." Of course, we do find freedom in our nation's constitution. But it is a different sort of freedom than that which we receive from Christ. Christian freedom orients us toward serving God and one another. American freedom permits us to pursue our own happiness. My concern is that when they sit side by side, symbols which refer to these two very different understandings of liberty will let us be confused about the very real distinctions between America and Christianity. And history has proved that when a nation confuses its will with God's will, trouble and violence soon follow. This is why, despite my love of country, I am comfortable worshiping in a sanctuary without the American flag.
Aralia's perspective --
It is extremely important that we never forget that our country was founded by our ancestors seeking freedom of religion and also speech. Historically, American freedom exists because our forefathers had the courage to make this possible. The United States is known as the melting pot of the world. The Revolutionary War was fought for these freedoms. We must remember and realize what our flag means in respect to freedom of religion. The flag has been displayed at Epiphany Church for over 110 years. Throughout my lifetime I have never gone to a church that does not display the United States flag in the Sanctuary. In my opinion, when the flag is displayed in the church it is not a political symbol, but rather a symbol of my religious freedom. Our country offers us the freedom to worship God as you please and the flag is a symbol of this religious freedom.
Conclusion --
Clearly we disagree about this! And I am sure that this brief note will evoke differing opinions within our congregation. Again, this is not a bad thing. The challenge as we've said, is to disagree well. I'm glad to say that when we talked Aralia and I laughed quite a bit, and I think we both learned from each other. Ultimately we decided that in order to honor the veterans, immigrants and patriotic souls in our congregation we would display the flag at Epiphany. However, in order to preserve the distinction between God and nation that we must make, the flag will not be flown in the sanctuary. Instead, it will be displayed in the narthex. If you believe that it is American liberty which permits us to worship Christ, you might like this symbolism, as the flag will now sit at the entrance to our place of worship. If you are concerned that we honor the distinction between America and Christianity you might like this compromise, as it allows our Christian symbolism to speak for itself during worship. Regardless of where you come down on this question we hope you feel good about belonging to a church that welcomes a variety of opinions and knows how to disagree with Christian love.
God bless you, Pastor Matt and Aralia Taylor |
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Tuesday, 10 October 2006 |
Please join the Amistad Committee for a special worship service dedicated to peace. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence (see Bio below), will speak and the service will conclude with the dedication of Epiphany's own Peace Pole. The names of our loved ones who have served in the military are being collected to be read as part of this service. If you have served in the military please let us know- we would like to honor your service. And also please give us the names of family members, friends, and past members of Epiphany who have served. Please specify if they have died in war, and send
them to Dianne in the Epiphany office (
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).
For more information or to be involved in planning contact Sara Wohlleb
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Our guest for the service will be Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a Chicago based campaign to end U.S. military and economic war against Iraq. She was a co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness (VitW), a human rights group formed in 1996 in Chicago that worked to lift the economic sanctions against Iraq. VitW delivered medical supplies to Iraqis and organized over 70 such delegations as part of a campaign of civil disobedience from 1996 to 2003. Kelly and her organization have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times for their work. Kelly has also been active with the Catholic Worker movement and, peace teams efforts in Nicaragua, the West Bank, Bosnia, and Haiti. As a pacifist and war tax refuser, she has refused payment of all the US Federal income tax for over 20 years.
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Friday, 01 September 2006 |
We begin our second year with the "homework" project in the villages of Cefa and Berechui. The family of Epiphany has graciously funded the work so that many of the Gypsy children will have tutors to help them with their schoolwork and therefore, remain in school.
Statistically, the school dropout rate among Gypsy children is quite high, since the Romanian teachers do not offer them any help with understanding their schoolwork. To curb this, our church has established a tutorial program in two neighboring villages in northwest Romania, near the border of Hungary. The Gypsy children of the villages of Cefa (Cheffah) and Berechui (Bery-que) come to the Gypsy church each afternoon following their regular day in the Romanian school. They are fed a good meal and work with trained teachers who use textbooks and lessons from the Romanian school. They are aided with completing their homework and understanding the materials.
The program is open to all children in the community, regardless of their association with the church. The success of the program is such that two of our young Gypsy women will go to a vocational school this Fall, following completion of their schooling in the community.
Members of Epiphany will travel to Romania on October 5th. We plan to complete a classroom at the facility in Berechui while we are there and we could use your help. If you would like to become a part of this outreach, please contact Keith Schwartz (773.549.9918) or Laura Brix (773.935.3572). It is not too late to buy a ticket and join us.
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Sunday, 30 July 2006 |
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Amistad Committee “Bring Me Home” Project
Reported by Ross Hyman
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war any more.” Isaiah 2:4b, Micah 4.3b.
The Amistad Committee is turning war toys into symbols of peace and opposition to war. We are placing labels that say “Stop the war. Bring me home,” on little green plastic soldiers. People can then distribute the soldiers at interesting places around Chicago. The Bring Me Home Project is a way for the church to give voice to our silenced soldiers who desire the war to end. If you would like to participate, contact Ross at
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or Sara Wohlleb at
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.
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