To watch the sermon click here.
Greetings Epiphany, for those of you I haven’t met yet, my name is Jamie Balducci. I have been a part of the Epiphany Family and the Epiphany choir for 13 years. When my husband, Anthony and I weren’t looking for a church, we were drawn in here by our friends and musical colleagues, Kathea and Dan, and we found a place to anchor our family’s spiritual journey here, with all of you. Now our children are a little taller, one is a senior, the other is a freshman both at Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle. To our great joy and delight ALL the Balducci’s now sing in the Epiphany Choir. Our kids both enjoyed the Chorister program here, and (though I’m biased) are good examples of how valuable that program is for young humans regardless of how they continue their musical or spiritual journey.
I also want to shout out to my West Seattle neighbors who attend Epiphany. Helen, Miles & Katie, Tom & Sally, Terresa, Karen & Jason, Carson, Jenny, Bryan, and so many others who come over the river and through the woods to be part of this community. Doyt and Kate both remind us often that the Neighborhood church is the Hope of the world. At Epiphany, that neighborhood extends from Madrona, to Magnolia, West Seattle, to Woodinville, Tacoma and Bainbridge, encompassing more than 60 zip codes. For those of you who live far away, or can’t always be here in person, I am so grateful that you are present and with us online. How ever you show up at Epiphany your presence matters.
This summer I had the opportunity to volunteer at a conference that was held here on AI and the Church. My job is in Healthcare Technology focused on Patient Access. It was deeply refreshing to be with people exploring the moral implications of AI and technology in the context of faith. I made some amazing connections with folks. I was asked more than once, what is it about Epiphany? They recognized that they were in a special place where the Holy Spirit is awakening souls. They wanted to know: What makes your place so different? What can I learn and tell other communities so they can replicate it?
I have thought about it a lot since then, and I invite you to ponder how you would answer.
There are two small phrases that keep resonating for me. We Show Up. And we Do The Work.
We Show up. Epiphany has unlocked a way of operating that I think is a superpower of successful churches. We have communities within communities. The choir, my wonderful friends up here, are a great example. Let me take you back a few years: The choir was busily preparing for Lent and Easter in the Spring of 2020. Then, suddenly, we were shut down. For many other choir communities, this was a tragedy. For our community, we leaned into each other. We kept our Thursday rehearsals and met online. Musically, it was not the most fulfilling experience, but after we were done singing each evening, we would stay online and stay connected to each other and pray together. As a result, when we came back from lockdown, our community was strong, and that is the foundation of our work together.
It is an alignment to HOPE that kept us together. The choir was led by Zach’s tireless efforts, and sustained by your faithful financial support during those dark days of the pandemic. Beyond the music program, each of our ministries found a way to stay connected, through zoom meetings, and online prayer groups. We jumped into the wild experiment of online church and through the creativity of Jad, Bryan and many others, produced more than 500 YouTube videos, including a very memorable Easter Vigil. You showed up and tuned in. You kept pledging and we were able to sustain our operations and even invest in the cameras and audio equipment that give us a much broader toolkit for reaching out from this place to the broader community, that enables us to show up for each other where ever we are.
13 years ago, Anthony and I were welcomed by the choir community and by Tom Foster and instantly felt at home. That is one reason why we began our practice of pledging to Epiphany that first year. One of my strongest memories of our time with Tom was singing “Teach Me My God and King” by Craig Phillips. The poem is by George Herbert, one of Tom’s favorite poets. We will share those words and music later in the service.
Tom stopped rehearsal and drew our attention to the words of this poem.
“All may of Thee partake:
Nothing can be so mean,
which with his tincture—”for Thy sake”—
Will not grow bright and clean.
A servant with this clause
makes drudgery divine:
Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws,
makes that and the action fine.
Tom’s point is: Everything we do, is for the glory of God. That is not only true for the choir, but for each of us in how we show up. All the ministries of Epiphany. You showed up for us in the meals that were delivered when my Mother in law had cancer. WE show up to correct bulletins, and teach children and attend classes and arrange flowers, and stuff backpacks. Our pledges make up 85% of Epiphany’s operating budget. This maintains the buildings where we show up and the staff who organize things when we do show up. Thank you.
This leads me to the second part of the secret sauce. We do the work. I know you’ve all heard the tired old joke – How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.
That’s how it works in the choir. That’s how it works at work. That’s how it works with sports. That’s how it works at Epiphany.
You heard Doyt preach last Sunday about the spiritual gym where we come to practice being better human beings. Because we practice our faith, those visitors at the AI & the Church conference, met practicing spiritual beings and recognized the Holy Spirit shining through the people of Epiphany. WE are the secret sauce because we show up, and we do the work.
I am deeply thankful to be part of the spiritual and musical practice here in the choir. To sing with my friends and family every week is an extraordinary gift. As I am sure you all know, the things that seem the most effortless usually take the most concentration and practice. That’s why, Choir, in the words of our friend Jose Luis, we have to: “DO THE WORK!”. But, how can I help you all understand what that means to us?
How many of you drive a car? Now, how many of you have had the pleasure of teaching someone how to drive? I hope you all would agree with me that there is nothing quite so awakening to the consciousness than coaching a new driver through a lane change at speed. (Our eldest child is doing great, by the way). This experience reminded me of the million tiny things I do easily as a matter of habit while driving. I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t habit, but it didn’t start that way, and it takes a lot of practice.
When we sing in the choir, it’s a little like driving a car. We have all those years of built-up habits and practice behind us. When we start to drift off and think about something else, we can end up in the wrong lane, or in a musical crash. That’s why we must DO THE WORK every time. Luckily people are very rarely injured in a musical crash – though I did leave a rehearsal once in an ambulance, but that was a different choir, and another story.
I really want to bring us back to our friend and poet, George Herbert: Teach me, my God and King, In all things Thee to see, And what I do in anything, To do it as for Thee. We do the work, we pay attention to the actions of our faith, and to the needs of our neighbors.
This is the alchemy of Epiphany. We are present here with God because God is present here with us. We show up to be here with each other. Through the different seasons of our life, the way we show up and the WORK we do will change, and that is also part of God’s plan. Right now, the work in front of us is the Annual Appeal. We need everyone to contribute to keep this place the dynamic special place that it is. The city needs us to be this, our neighbors need us to be this, the country needs us to be this, future generations need us to be this right now. That is why we pledge.
13 years ago, when Anthony and I walked onto this campus with our kids in our arms, we were full of expectation. It also happened to be Stewardship Season. We made our first pledge that year, barely knowing you. It was an act of hope, and an outward sign of the commitment we were making to be part of this place. To show up, and to do the work we could do to contribute. We have been rewarded a thousandfold over the years. We continue to give, though now it is both a gift of gratitude and renewed hope that this community will continue to bless all of you as it has blessed us. I hope you feel like we do and will give and give generously this year.