Our Congregational Life

Church of the Epiphany

An Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion

We'll describe ourselves a bit, but we're much better in person. Our main event is Sunday morning worship at 9:00 a.m., a service of Holy Eucharist.   We are rather informal. There is programming for children ages 3 through 6th grade.   The children's program involves a lesson, prayers, and response time tied to the church season, and it's Montessori-based. Children start the service with their families, then are excused during the sermon time, and return to receive communion with their families. We offer a soft cushioned play area for parents with active toddlers in the back of the sanctuary, and that's a win-win for parent & child.  If a nursery is a better option for your family, we have gentle care and good toys there, too.

Currently, we are without a permanent priest, so the Bishop of the Diocese of Western Michigan is our Rector--the Right Reverend Robert Gepert.  Since he's a busy man, we're enjoying guest priests from around the region on many Sundays of this season.

Our church music includes both hymns sung to bright tempos played by organist Christie Johnson, as well as some meaningful choruses that we sing as the Eucharist is being distributed.

We are exuberant in greeting one another with the peace of Christ. Coffee hour is another sacred time, following Sunday worship (where there are other beverages available for non-coffee drinkers).

The choir processes in to start our worship. Candles illuminate our beautiful sanctuary. Stained glass windows surround us. In July and August, we are acutely aware that it is air conditioned, thanks be to God! Lectors use a microphone. We stand some, we kneel some, and the padded pews are alright too.

And worship is each Sunday at 9:00 a.m., a fact worth repeating.

Church of the Epiphany welcomes all visitors and guests! Founded in 1898, ours is a warm, caring community. Some in the pews have been members of our church for their entire lives, as were their parents and grandparents. Other members have come from other faith traditions, so we’d like to explain our worship service to you.

At Epiphany, we believe it is our call to share the wholeness we’ve been given through Jesus Christ. Regardless of whether you are familiar with the Episcopal Church, visiting a church for the first time, or somewhere in between, we encourage you to participate in today’s liturgy to whatever extent you are comfortable.

We hope you find the information contained here to be helpful in explaining “why we do what we do”.

The “User’s Guide” to Our Liturgy

Sit, Stand, or Kneel

Many people who are not familiar with our liturgy become self conscious about sitting, standing, or kneeling at the “right” time. Some advice: Don’t worry about it! It’s not a precision drill. In fact, these practices vary somewhat from church to church.

Generally, we sit when we are listening or learning, we stand when we sing or when the Gospel is proclaimed, and we kneel to pray.

But that’s just “generally”. Sometimes we sing while seated and sometimes you’ll see some people kneeling while others are standing. If kneeling is physically difficult for you, feel free to sit or stand instead.

All Those Books!

Our liturgy is guided by the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and we use The 1982 Hymnal for congregational singing. Don’t worry if you can’t keep them straight. The colors and sizes of these books vary from church to church. Here, the BCP is black and the Hymnal is red.

Even we find it difficult at times to get to the proper page in the BCP quickly! So, especially during special seasons of the church year, we may use a separate document to guide us through the service in detail. A single page handout guides us through the week’s scripture readings, psalms, and announcements.

We also use a third book at Epiphany, which is a loose leaf binder of songs that are a little less traditional than those found in The 1982 Hymnal. We use the music in this binder most often at communion time.

Eucharist

The primary liturgical feast is the Celebration of the Eucharist, also referred to as “the Eucharist”, “communion”, or “mass”. It is the reenactment of the Last Supper where Christ commends his Apostles to “do this in memory of me” and all who are baptized or are seeking a deeper relationship with Christ are welcome to receive.

Communion is administered in both forms – bread and wine. You may take the bread and wine separately as they are offered to you or you may hold the bread in your hand and dip into the wine.

If you wish to receive only a blessing, you may indicate this to the priest by crossing your arms over your chest. If you wish to receive only bread and not wine, simply do the same as the chalice bearer approaches you.

Healing Prayers

At Communion time, it is our practice at Church of the Epiphany to offer healing prayers at the side altar. You are welcome to come to this altar for prayers after receiving communion, particularly if you have a special need for healing for yourself or another.

Exchanging a Sign of Peace

There is a time reserved in our service when we greet one another and this part is referred to as “The Peace”. Visitors to Church of the Epiphany often comment about ours because it lasts so long! We consider this to be a compliment and a testament of the deep, caring relationships that are built here.

Children

Children are an important part of our community life and our future. We want families and children to be comfortable here and there is a “soft space” for young children in the back of the church.

Children through sixth grade may attend Church School in the Worship Center during the academic year. Following the gospel reading, the children gather in the back of the sanctuary, come forward for a prayer, and are dismissed to their class in the middle of our service. Your child may join the other children at this time. The children return at Communion time. Parents and guardians are welcome to escort their child if that is more comfortable.

Coffee Hour

At just about every Episcopal Church, Coffee Hour follows the service and this gives you an idea of the importance of “community” in our tradition. Please join us at Coffee Hour. It will give us a chance to meet you and answer any questions you may have. (Coffee Hour doesn’t really last an hour . . . but there’s always coffee!)

Questions?

If you have any questions, just ask the person next to you. Another tradition of The Episcopal Church was expressed well in a national advertisement prepared for the Church, which read, “There’s only one problem with religions that have all the answers. They don’t allow questions.” (Now, the person next to you may or may not know the answers to your questions – but it’s OK to ask!)

Our youth are involved in worship. Here, Anastasia Cowie and Isaiah Kelemen handle acolyte duties.

The youth in middle school on up have spaces all their own, curriculum that suits them, and plenty of opportunities for fellowship with each other and service to the community and beyond.

During Advent, we made food gifts for animal friends that dwell in our yard or in our home. Here, Marina Cowie and Dick Hart roll out dog treats for some of our best friends.