Epiphany volunteers will gather Saturday, July 12 from 9:45 am–Noon in South Seattle to prepare meals for Open Meal Service. Volunteers of all ages are welcome! If you would like to help, please contact Mary Weiss or Amanda Eap. Open Meal Service provides no-cost, nutritious, and culturally relevant meals to many groups in Seattle—shelters, tiny house villages, permanent supportive housing units, Open Meal Service sites, children’s and elder programs, asylum seekers, homeless veterans, and other organizations needing nutritional support. They currently prepare, deliver, and serve 7,000 meals each day! Young women learning computer science at a CREA library in Nicaragua. Elizabeth Gregory Home provides many services for homeless women at their drop-in day center. |
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Alert: Guatemala trip registrations needed by August 1 |
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Trip organizers recently notified us that travelers who plan to attend the November graduation ceremonies at Nicolás Christian School in Guatemala must sign up by August 1. The early decision date is needed to secure airline tickets and hotel reservations for travelers. Estimated cost for the trip is about $2000, depending on air fare. Our preliminary trip itinerary includes overnight stays in Antigua. To learn more, contact Holly Boone. Last year Ann Beck, Margaret Petersen, Amanda Eap, and Holly Boone attended the graduation and had a great time. Check out our travelogue. |
Ann and Amanda pitched in to help with the barbecue that Ivan España, Nicolás School Director, cooks for the teachers and school staff at the end of each school term. |
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Dr. Audrey Evans, a woman who cared |
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Did you ever wonder what band of angels started Ronald McDonald House? Realizing that the entire family of a sick child is “sick,” Dr. Audrey Evans, pioneering pediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, cofounded the original Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia in 1974. Her immensely meaningful life, briefly outlined in the above video, Meet Dr. Audrey Evans, also inspired the recent feature film Audrey’s Children starring Natalie Dormer. If that wasn’t enough, in her “retirement,” Dr. Evans, a woman of deep faith, also helped found the tuition-free St. James School, an Episcopal middle school in Philadelphia. Dr. Evans died, surely a saint, in 2022. |
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Led by the energy and inspiration of Audrey Seale (our Audrey), Epiphany supports Seattle’s Ronald McDonald House each month by preparing dinner for the families with a child undergoing treatment at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Preparing last month’s meal were Katheryn Edwards, Lorelle and Dwayne Shearer, Ariana Ramirez, and Grant Hart. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Audrey. Next meal date is August 18. |
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A giant check for big money. Sound Foundations Operations Manager Barb Oliver receives Epiphany‘s latest gift from parishioners Mike Balin, Pete Melin, Kate Ross, and James Potts. |
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Epiphany builds more—and more—tiny homesBy Jenny Cummins |
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Epiphany Parish recently presented Sound Foundations NW a check for $22,500, which will cover the materials cost for at least five new “Tiny Homes”. Thank you to everyone who donated at February’s Have a Heart fundraiser to make this gift possible. A special thank you goes to Alice Gautsch Foreman, who not only donated the cost of one home ($4500) but also challenged the Women’s Retreat Group to match her gift—and they did! Alice’s home, named “Bob’s Place” in honor and memory of Bob Barnes, will be completed sometime this month. The WRG house, called “Sage Green,” will be built sometime later this summer. Now is a good time to look back and see just what Epiphany has done over the years with our commitment to Sound Foundations. Since Epiphany began actively supporting Sound Foundations in 2021 at the height of the Covid pandemic, parishioners have donated $77,000 and have easily contributed close to 1000 hours of building help. Our group meets every fourth Saturday, and many parishioners go to build at other times as well. Because Epiphany has proved to be a steady and trusted supporter, Barb Oliver, Operations Manager at Sound Foundations, now uses our gifts to establish a matching fund for the annual GiveBIG Campaign in May. This year our $22,500 gift doubled to $45,000, well over half of what they received! More good news is that the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) has been awarded $3.1 million this year and $2.6 million next year for “non congregate housing,” i.e. Tiny Home Villages. That is four new villages plus two scheduled for Pierce County as well. Barb Oliver, Sound Foundations’ Operations Manager, is excited and so should we be at Epiphany. Thank you one and all! |
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Ahli-Arab Hospital endures in Gaza By Holly Boone “Ahli Hospital will keep operating even if no buildings are left standing.” That was Archbishop Hosam Naoum’s response to questions about the Palm Sunday attack on Ahli at our AFEDJ board meeting in Houston May 1–4. Some news sources have reported that Ahli has closed. I assure you it is still open for its business of caring for people struggling to survive in a hellish Gaza. Owned and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, Ahli is Gaza’s oldest hospital and the only one that provides care to all in need, regardless of religion, political affiliation, or ability to pay. The American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ) is committed to ensuring the continued operation of Ahli and other ministries of the Diocese of Jerusalem. Epiphany has long supported (since 2014) the mission of AFEDJ through our annual Have a Heart funding. Our faithful and generous support helps ensure that Ahli can continue its mission of healing and hope for those who need it most. The Palm Sunday attack destroyed the hospital’s two-story Genetic Laboratory and severely damaged the pharmacy, emergency department, and other nearby buildings on the hospital grounds, including St. Philip’s Church, which served as an emergency hospital ward and shelter. Staff were given twenty minutes to evacuate hundreds of patients from the hospital, and a child suffering a head wound died in the rushed evacuation. A subsequent military drone strike on June 5 targeted the hospital garden near the diagnostic building, killing five individuals, including three journalists and a father accompanying his son to the surgical unit for treatment. Thirty others were wounded in the assault, including four hospital staff. Conditions at the hospital continue to deteriorate. Food and medical supplies are dwindling. Surgical equipment is failing, forcing surgeons to resort to ordinary power tools to perform amputations. Only essential surgeries are carried out, and those with little to no anesthesia. Ahli is kept operating only by its courageous, exhausted staff and volunteer medical workers and the funds the Diocese of Jerusalem can still, miraculously, get into Gaza. Following the latest attack, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem issued a statement strongly condemning the attack and calling Christians and people of good will to pray for an end to the war and the release of all captives. Epiphany, let us pray for the people of Gaza and all people of the Holy Land—Muslim, Christian, or Jew—who are suffering in this war. |
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There are more love songs than anything else. If songs could make you do something, we would all love one another. — Frank Zappa |
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Things to do soon Every Tuesday and Wednesday: Prep and pack food bags for the YWCA Food Bank in Madrona or deliver food to clients’ homes. Saturday, July 12 from 9:45 am–Noon: Prepare meals with Open Meal Service. Saturday, July 19, 7:00–10:00 pm: Serve dinner to 150 or so guests at the Operation Nightwatch Dispatch Center. Thursday, July 17, 11:30 am–2:00 pm: Serve lunch at Angeline’s Day Center for Women in Belltown. Monday, August 18, 12:45–4:00 pm: Prepare dinners for families with a sick child at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Thursday, July 24, 6:30–8:30 pm: Prepare a meal for young people on the streets at a church in the University District. Saturday, July 26, 9:00 am–3:00 pm: Build tiny homes at Sound Foundations NW in south Seattle. Contact Amanda to volunteer for any of these activities. |
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Operation Nightwatch Community Dinner, Capitol Hill Every Tuesday, 5:00–6:30 PM Help Nightwatch staff and volunteers set up, serve food, and clean up. Ronald McDonald House, Sand Point Dates vary, 12:45–4:00 PM Prepare dinners for families with a sick child at Seattle Children’s Hospital. YWCA Central Area Food Bank, Madrona Tuesdays and Wednesdays Prep and pack food bags Tuesday or Wednesday morning or deliver groceries to clients’ homes Wednesday afternoon. Tiny Home Build, Sound Foundations, South Seattle Fourth Saturdays, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM Swing a hammer with Epiphany friends building tiny homes, proven stopovers for people moving from the streets to permanent housing. Operation Nightwatch Nightly Meal, Nightwatch Dispatch Center Third Saturday of odd-numbered months, 7:00–10:00 PM Epiphany’s night to cook and serve food to 150 or so clients before they head for various city shelters for the night. Teen Feed, UCC Church, University District Fourth Thursday, January–October, 6:30–8:30 PM Epiphany’s crew makes enchiladas for young people living on the streets. YWCA Angeline’s Day Center for Women, Belltown Third Thursday of the month, 11:30 AM–2:00 PM Serve lunch to women using Angeline’s drop-in services for the homeless. To get involved, please contact Amanda. |
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Wherever you are on your spiritual journey you have a place at Epiphany |
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