Epiphany Episcopal Chicago | Epiphany Amp Mission

So, what did you think of the event last night? Did you like it?

I loved the event, and the music. I thought the music and the space worked very well together; the gathered community was joyful and respectful of each other and the musicians and our home; the Empty Bottle and Goose Island's thoughtful care for people created great space flow and furthered people's ability to have a great time.

Did you have people coming up to you with their reactions?

Yes! In addition to loving the music event, people were surprised and pleased by the openness and hospitality of epiphany community and our space; surprised and happy - well, maybe more curious - to find a church community like this [personally, i find that sad - Jesus took people outside the established religious "authoritative" structure seriously, why wouldn't we?]. I was thanked for trusting people into our space; asked for more info about our mission and worship; and met a few people who had been to Ayako Kato's dance performance at epiphany.

Also, could I just get some more background on you? You said you moved to Chicago to attend Seminary School. What did you do post-college before you went to Seminary School?

I worked for the solar energy association of idaho, the US forest service, taught school for 3 years in rural idaho, and became mom to 2 amazing kids. One of the things i've noticed when we do things at epiphany such as the indoor winter farmer's markets or dance or music performances, is that people tend to focus on me as unusual for a clergy person. i think looking at me risks missing the point - while epiphany may be unusual, we are seeking faithful expression in our regular, daily lives, of what it means to be connected to each other and all of humanity, indeed the universe, in Christ. we profess that God loves and takes seriously our lives - so seriously that God came among us in human form. If God takes our incarnate, embodied life that seriously, we should too. Jesus came among us laughing and weeping, eating and drinking, caring about our jobs and our relationships and our treatment of strangers and friends and earth, as well as our relationship with God. Scripture tells us great stories about this, and we're joyfully walking our lives forward with those stories informing our laughing and weeping, eating and drinking, relationships with others, economic justice, etc.

What exactly did you mean by you were asked to come to Epiphany to see if you could restart the congregation to see if it could become a community? Or, what does it mean to you to be a community?

Brandi Richards - a member here - said it better than me: "I came to Epiphany at a time in my life when I was unsure how to live out my Christian faith.I found in Epiphany, a community of people who are interested in asking the question, "How do we love God and love people?" After spending time at Epiphany on Sundays, I realized that so much of what goes into answering that question happens beyond the hours of Sunday morning. Can we love God by planting flowers, composting and encouraging people to conserve gas? We think so. Can we love others by supporting local farmers and fair trade crafts while at the same time providing food options for those in our neighborhood during the winter? We think so. We also are finding that we can love God and people by supporting local artists. We believe that God inspires creativity in the world and we want to create a space where emerging artists can express themselves."

here's me: This was a congregation turned in on itself - worrying about preserving its building and maintaining a particular way of Sunday morning. But Christians are not primarily called to preserve and maintain. Christians are called to follow Jesus, who spent his time out among people, and withdrew to pray in the natural world much more often than into buildings. Jesus' recorded time in building is mostly for community meals, for healing and teaching, for celebrations. We re called into living - profoundly. Human communities need places to gather - need homes, if you will.Human communities have purposes and guidelines, spoken or unspoken. Our gathering place is for fellowship, for meals, for joyful and serious and thoughtful time together, as we seek best, appropriate ways to be available to each other as we struggle with the Gospel and the Spirit. Bottom line: either we believe the Holy Spirit is currently at work shaping history, the community of Christ [church] and individuals, or we don't. And since we do, we seek to live faithful to God's love for all creation.

Also, tell me again why you allowed shows to be booked at the church? Is it because you love music and also wanted more people to know about the church?

Neither. It is because we believe creativity is a blessing, a grace of God, and we believe the Holy Spirit is at work in the world, and we know that you don't have to be a Christian to get inspired. God uses whom God chooses, in or out of the church. So we have a healthy respect for creativity and thoughtful art, and we have a fabulous space with great acoustics. We were seeking ways to encourage emerging artists, and Bruce has a heart for new music and alternative spaces. This collaboration makes for great place where people can come together in community and experience creativity. Madeline L'Engle wries about this in - I think the title is "Christian Arts." [It is true I love music, and of course we are delighted people are learning about Epiphany.]

If you remember, can you tell me how you felt watching people fill the church on the first night and see the band set up on the pulpit? Were you feeling nervous, or excited? I know you have performances all the time at the church, but this was a different kind of event.

First, a little church architecture lingo - the band set up in the part of the building called the "chancel." The chancel is where, in traditional church architecture, the choir is located. Thus, the band set up in the part of the space in which, historically speaking, musicians set up. Those of us from the church who have been at the concerts are excited, and all of us are grateful that we can participate in supporting newer artists.

What days specifically do you incorporate rock music into you sermons? Do you just quote the lyrics, correct? Or do you actually play the music?

I can't tell you what day specifically very much ahead of time. Here's how it works for me: on Monday I read the scripture selection for the following Sunday and I spend my week with people, reading the news, listening, praying, riding my bike, talking with my kids, studying - in other words living and working and present. And sometimes I remember a song, or hear a song, or someone tells me a song - or a story, poem, painting - that fits and so I weave it in. If we have permission to play the music we'll play it, but you know you don't have to - you can mention a song and people will know it, or the brief quote makes the point. We honor copyrights.

[Here's another church language tidbit: we are a lectionary cycle church - that means I don't choose the readings for the day. So, I can't hear a cool song on somebody's iPod and say, "oh, wow, that reminds me of Ezekiel whatever, whatever, I think I'll preach about that on Sunday." A lectionary cycle takes us through essentially continuous readings of scripture. For example, this year we are reading through the Gospel of Matthew and the Genesis/Exodus covenant stories. For example, I heard Everlast's Watch Me Shine while driving to Detroit years ago. I waited probably 2 years before I could use it in a Good Friday sermon.]

Why do you think people view you as an unusual clergy person and why do you think people think Epiphany is unusual?

1. our focus on living a daily life, rather than separating church life and "real" life. I know other faithful communities also, so I think that this seems "unusual" has more to do with the cultures perceptions of church as all about itself [much of that perception earned, but not all of it.]

2. in the sense that we are doing lots of things many churches won't. I gave some examples last time. [ I'm pleased to say that more churches in Chicago are doing Winter Farmers Markets this year]

3. we are not oriented the same way to the world - we don't close our doors on Sunday morning [well, maybe in January :)] because we aren't entering the stronghold and pulling up the drawbridge

One of the things i've noticed when we do things at epiphany such as the indoor winter farmer's markets or dance or music performances, is that people tend to focus on me as unusual for a clergy person. i think looking at me risks missing the point - while epiphany may be unusual, we are seeking faithful expression in our regular, daily lives, of what it means to be connected to each other and all of humanity, indeed the universe, in Christ. we profess that God loves and takes seriously our lives - so seriously that God came among us in human form. If God takes our incarnate, embodied life that seriously, we should too. Jesus came among us laughing and weeping, eating and drinking, caring about our jobs and our relationships and our treatment of strangers and friends and earth, as well as our relationship with God. Scripture tells us great stories about this, and we're joyfully walking our lives forward with those stories informing our laughing and weeping, eating and drinking, relationships with others, economic justice, etc.

Epiphany is a group of folks who've chosen joy over happiness, resilience over stasis, courage over routine, faithfulness over safety and smugness. I'm amazed, and grateful to be part of this emerging community.