Epiphany Season
Meditation on Epiphany by Lara Dworshak 
Growing up, I never knew anything about Epiphany. We just didn't observe it in our church, and Christmas ended on December 25. Later, when I went to college in Mobile, I first learned of Epiphany as the date when the Mardi Gras season starts... the time to party before Lent... Lent? that was a new concept to me too!
Now I know a lot more about Epiphany - and it's not just the time of year that we get back to our "normal" lives after the holidays, not just the average amount of time it takes for someone to break any new year's resolutions, and not just a party before we fast for Lent.
Tradition tells us that Epiphany is the celebration of the manifestation of God in the flesh and the discovery of the Christ Child by the three Magi. It is the time for us to reflect on the mystery of the incarnation and celebrate the ultimate gift of God to humankind. Pretty heavy stuff! And for many years, I just thought that this was the source for finding a little plastic baby in a king cake! The holidays this year gave me lots of time for reflection, and to spend time with family that I don't get to see very often. I spent Thanksgiving with my mother's extended family in Texas, where we sat around and talked with my grandparents, who are well into their 80's, aunts, uncles, cousins. There were 24 of us at the dinner table, and that was only about half us present! After dinner, my grandfather brought out some old gospel song books and asked us all to sing together - something he has always loved. We obliged, but instead of rolling my eyes like some of us grandkids did as teenagers, I was leading the charge and picking some of those "oldies but goodies" like Old Rugged Cross. It's funny to me that times like these have become such a blessing to me instead of the burden I perceived it to be so long ago. With the new year, my resolution is to try and focus more on the many blessings we have in this life. It's quite an understatement to call 2009 a rocky year... How do we find any blessings there? I think there are many people that are not sad to s
ee 2009 now part of the history books. It's easy to look at everything that obstructs our path as a burden, but maybe that's not the right perspective. Maybe we should reflect on the past year in the spirit of the season... and not the Christmas season, but the season of Epiphany.
The technical definition of epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something... Well, not everyone is lucky enough to have these so-called "sudden realizations". For most of us coming to such a comprehension takes a lot of time and soul searching. And a lot of times, our struggles certainly don't appear as blessings, but over time, we may realize that we needed those experiences to come to a richer and deeper understanding of ourselves, our lives and our place in this crazy world.
I'm going to come clean here and admit, that I often "zone out" during our prayers of the people during services... I'm just waiting for hug time and sharing peace with everyone. But lately, one portion has really been jumping out at me. It's the part that says, "We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this life." We add a bit to what the prayer book says and include, "for the community of St. Francis, and for family and friends." I certainly count the St. Francis community as a great blessing in my life. I am so thankful for the people here, our time that we get to share together and our communion of faith. We are certainly blessed in this regard. Happy new year, and may everyone have a blessings-filled 2010!
Epiphany Season - A Word From The Rector
The word "Epiphany" comes from the Greek language, and refers to a divine showing forth, or manifestation. The gospel stories of this season describe various events that "manifest" the divinity of Jesus.
The stories include:
- The coming of the Magi (the wise men), celebrated on the Epiphany (January 6).
- The Baptism of our Lord, observed on the Sunday after Epiphany.
- The wedding at Cana
- The calling of the disciples
- Various miracles and teachings of Jesus
The Last Sunday after the Epiphany is always devoted to the Transfiguration.
In the gospel stories of the baptism and Transfiguration, Jesus' identity as the Son of God is dramatically revealed. These readings call us to respond to Christ in faith through the showings of his divinity. 
The Epiphany season begins on January 6, and lasts anywhere from four to nine weeks, through the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (a.k.a. Mardi Gras Day, or Shrove Tuesday). The length of the season varies according to the date of Easter.
At St. Francis, we close out the Epiphany season with our annual Parish Mardi Gras Party, scheduled for the Saturday evening before Ash Wednesday (February 13th, this year). We incorporate costumes and fun for all ages to include dancing, parading, and even moon pies.