“It wasn’t long before I discovered the commonality of mankind.”

Four years ago I found The Church of the Epiphany and The Welcome Table quite by accident, just blocks from where I worked. I wanted somehow to help the needy I so often came across on the city streets, to do more than just press a quarter or so into an outstretched hand. At Epiphany, I was steered to its kitchen and asked to come back on Sunday morning, around 6:30. It wasn’t long before I discovered the commonality of mankind. Those hundred or so people that I, we, the church served every Sunday at our Welcome Table were us. And, as we were giving to them, they were giving to us. We were all one.

Sunday morning in the Epiphany kitchen is a bright spot in my week. The volunteers I work with frying sausages and bacon, cooking eggs, boiling grits, warming biscuits, ladling apple sauce and pouring orange juice and coffee, represent the best of us. “Caring for people as they are, not as they might be,” I heard a minister once say.

And these gifts of food, I find, are returned in many ways. A true gift is one that keeps on giving by being given again, to someone else, or even back to the giver. My gift may be only in the preparation of a breakfast, but I hope the feeling of physical fullness that the bacon and eggs give, will translate a little into a fullness of goodwill in our breakfast guests, to be spread by them throughout the city. My gift is returned to me as a feeling of not just being an observer of sometimes seemingly cruel, unjust circumstances; not just standing there, but of being able to do something. Quoting another minister, “To you I give. From you I receive. Together we share. Together we live.”

And to further the reach of the Welcome Table, I try to raise money by joining in as many of the city’s annual Homeless Walks as possible and when people ask me what I would like for my birthday or for Christmas, I simply say “a check to Epiphany’s Welcome Table.

Robert Trautman, Welcome Table Volunteer

“I am very fortunate to have The Welcome Table…. It is a joy to help in providing the spiritual nourishment and in receiving it as well.”

Over the last few years, I have had the great fortune to participate in Epiphany's Welcome Table Bible Study at 7:15am for those attending the 8:00 service. Ruth and John Ferrill coordinate the program and various Epiphany members take turns in leading. Each week, we follow a set format of reading the Gospel lesson. Individuals comment on a particular verse that has meaning, we discuss how God's word is spoken in the Gospel, and state how we will take the Gospel's message and apply it to our lives in the coming week.

Each Sunday we are also joined by the Seminarians and they are very helpful in explaining some of the more cryptic verses. They also share their knowledge gained from classes at the Seminary and provide insight into the historical and theological background for the lesson. This is very beneficial when some of the readings appear to stump the entire group.

On most occasions, discussion is lively and inspirational. The group is very diverse, as it is a good mix of Epiphany parishioners as well as our Welcome Table guests. The discussion is comfortable, relaxed and most of the members of the group offer their views and insights freely.

Recently, I led a discussion based on the lesson in which the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus responds that if they have as much faith as a grain of mustard seed, they could command a gigantic fig tree to uproot and throw itself into the sea. The lesson goes on to explain faith and service to others as our duty.

This lesson generated a lot of discussion on service. One of the regular members shared how she worked at a job where her boss never gave her or anyone any recognition for a job well done. The only recognition received was when things went wrong. After working in a negative environment all day, she would come home to cook dinner for her family and take care of her children. There was very little thanks in that job either. Her experience hit home how there are many thankless jobs that we as Christians perform. And some bear that burden more than others.

In spite of those thankless jobs, our faith keeps us going. Although we may not receive recognition, we hope that we have made a difference in others' lives, though they might not realize it at the time. It does us no good to be a martyr, and we need to stand up for ourselves. Being humble does not mean being a doormat. At the same time, we do not need to be rewarded for doing what is expected of us in treating others with dignity and respect.

What is faith? I seem to seek the answer to this question each time the Bible Study group meets. Indeed, I ask this question every time I come to church. Most of the time, I arrive at the conclusion that faith is based on a closer relationship with Christ. By knowing our Lord and having his love for us revealed in new and different ways, I find my faith increases. Through the short time that the 7:15 Bible Study meets, I feel I gain a better understanding of myself, of others, and of ways of how I can best interact with others that are in my life.
I am very fortunate to have The Welcome Table. People come to the 8:00 service for different reasons. Those that attend the Bible Study and the 8:00 service are looking for spiritual as well as physical nourishment. It is a joy to help in providing the spiritual nourishment and in receiving it as well.

Dawson Nash, Parishioner

“…the fact that these prayers came from the fellowship of believers at Epiphany added to our understanding of fellowship.”

Fellowship with words of welcome and smiles greet me in the narthex on Sunday. But as a ‘doer’ I need to have projects to be involved with. Initially that happened when I found fellowship with a small but faithful band that fold, stamp, staple and sort monthly Parish Guides. Unexpectedly, I learned about the parish demographics to - how folks from Maryland, Virginia and D.C. gather to be a part of Epiphany. I surmised there must be some special pull here.

‘Doers’ are the epitome of the Welcome Table volunteers. Fellowship saturates these mornings to say nothing of the sweat and good cheer of the crew that zips in well-ordered fashion through the multitude of tasks to serve breakfast. This experience offers great reciprocity – there’s fellowship among the team of workers as well as fellowship given to and received from the guests.

Recently my experiences with fellowship in the 160th celebration committee have given me an additional insight about fellowship. Becoming acquainted with the names and stories of Epiphany parishioners of the last century is a kind of fellowship with roots, with the rich foundation of the parish.

Fellowship abounds in these opportunities within Epiphany, but there’s been another kind of supportive fellowship that’s come unexpectedly through the prayers of the people. Our son, Chris, was diagnosed with cancer last March. Because he lives in Rochester, as we did for 17 years, no one here knows him; in fact few people know us. But, for weeks and weeks, Chris’ name appeared on the prayer list. We are happy to say with surgeries and chemotherapy, Chris’ cancer is in remission. Our understanding of prayer reaches into the inexplicable, but what is clear to our family is that prayer is immensely powerful for those who are ill, for their loved ones, and for their caregivers. And the fact that these prayers came from the fellowship of believers at Epiphany added to our understanding of fellowship.

I’m beginning to understand the special pull at Epiphany and part of that is the fellowship. It is friendly smiles shared with those we see and work with; it is effort focused on a common task; it is a sense of belonging to a community with roots that reach to our sense of belonging infused by the care, support and guidance of the spirit of God.

Susan Weinbeck, Parishioner