|
PARISH PROFILE
 Church of the Epiphany, Richmond: Meeting space used every night
By Steve Neill
Of The Catholic Virginian
Parishioners of Church of the Epiphany in suburban Richmond know full well that their buildings are in constant use on weekday nights, in addition to having a packed house on Sundays.
“We’re packed to the gills each night of the week,” said Susan Crudup, the parish’s director of administration.
“I hate to say no to any group if we don’t have any more space because every group is valuable,” she added.
There are seven or eight Cursillo groups which meet at night during the week. Elementary Christian education classes meet on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and middle school, high school, and Confirmation classes meet on Sundays.
In addition, there is Bible study on Tuesday nights, Boy Scout Troop 310 which also meets on Tuesdays, two groups of Alcoholics Anonymous, one group of Narcotics Anonymous and various ministry meetings throughout the month.
Located in the Smoketree subdivision off Courthouse Road in Chesterfield County, the Church of the Epiphany is located in a suburban neighborhood which has a blend of colonial and transitional homes.
Established as a parish in 1979, Epiphany has just under 1,900 families or about 6,500 individuals, Mrs. Crudup said.
“The largest group is from young families in their 20s and 30s,” she said.
 But Epiphany also has a good number of retirees, many of whom live in Brandermill Woods, a retirement community.
Father Steven R. Rule, known best to parisioners as Father Randy, has been pastor of Epiphany since June 2004. He is only the third pastor since the parish’s establishment in 1979. Father John E. Leonard was founding pastor and guided Epiphany when it first began having Mass at Monacan High School and Bliley Funeral Home’s Chippenham Chapel.
Msgr. Thomas F. Shreve, currently Vicar General of the Diocese who helps out on weekends, served as pastor from 1987 to Father Rule’s arrival in 2004.
While Epiphany has a variety of ministries in which parishioners are involved, one which stands out is that of refugee resettlement. The effort comes under the banner of Human Concerns which is directed by Molly Smith, a member of the parish since 1980.
Back when Epiphany was still in its infancy in the early 1980s, the parish sponsored 27 refugee families, mostly Cambodians.
“They were stellar,” said Marilyn Breslow, director of the diocesan Office of Refugee and Immigration Services, of Epiphany parishioners.
“They were very compassionate, resourceful and hard-working,” she added. “They stretched themselves to allow extended families to stay together.”
Paul and Margie Sobert, who are among the most recent refugee sponsors at Epiphany, have been involved for about a year.
“We started when Henry Mukuye, a former refugee from Uganda, gave a talk at church thanking people for helping him,” Mr. Sobert explained.
 “It was a moving and touching experience of what he had done and where he had been.”
The Soberts, who have five children and eight grandchilden, signed up to help resettle the Chikoka family from Angola. Mr. Sobert compared the experience of helping resettle the refugees to the struggles he and his wife had when they first got married and he was in the military. They had four children within five years.
“It was never burdensome,” Mrs. Sobert said of their efforts to help the refugee family. “I consider them dear friends of my family who came to our 50th wedding anniversary celebration.”
“It takes a lot of involvement initially when they first arrive,” Mrs. Smith said of the refugee families. “It’s getting furniture, household items and making sure the house or apartment is clean.
“We’ve had pretty good luck with response because we’ve had a long-standing tradition with resettling refugees at Epiphany. People have heard these good stories and they get involved.”
 Epiphany is also involved in ministry to Freedom House, a program which aids the homeless.
“People cook meals in their homes and other volunteers drive the meals down to Freedom House five times a month,” Mrs. Smith said.
Parishioners also volunteer their time at St. Francis Home in South Richmond. A group goes down once a month to give birthday parties for the residents and play bingo with them.
“The other big thing that has come up is called Praying Hands, a group of women who knit and crochet prayer shawls,” Mrs. Smith said. “They pray over them and give them to people who need some special attention for a crisis.”
The group also sends “prayer squares” to people in the military who are relatives and friends of parishioners. They are mailed directly to the soldiers or military personnel through an APO address. Soldiers have written and thanked them for the squares which they say they have put in their helmets or carry with them through the day.
Epiphany’s Human Concerns ministry reviews grant applications and gives away about $100,000 a year to charitable organizations in the community.
 Maryjane Fuller, a member of the parish for 21 years, is an adult leader of the Children’s Liturgy of the Word during the Saturday 5:15 p.m. Mass. The children leave the sanctuary and head to a classroom where they begin each session with prayer and then break into three groups based on age. The discussion is based on the first reading and the Gospel and geared to the children’s level, Mrs. Fuller explained.
One of the most important things which defines Epiphany, she feels, is the personal use of first names by parishioners during the Prayers of the Faithful at Mass. The minister cites the names of all individuals who are either sick, have recently died or are serving in the military. After each name is mentioned, the assembly repeats the first name to emphasize the personal prayer for that person.
“It is a powerful thing to hear your name spoken by the entire community,” Mrs. Fuller said.
There is much opportunity for fellowship at Epiphany. The parish picnic is an annual event in September and has grown in popularity since its inception. The number of those attending has grown so much each year that the last two picnics were moved from the parish grounds to the Smoketree Swim and Tennis Club right next door.
 Victor Valle, president of the parish pastoral council, joined Epiphany when he moved to Richmond in 2004 with others from Philip Morris when the company’s corporate office moved from New York to Richmond. He is like many others in the parish who have moved here from places beyond Virginia.
“It’s been a blessing finding Epiphany,” Mr. Valle said. “To me there is a real sense of community here.”
Father Rule told The Catholic Virginian that the parish’s upcoming Parish Mission March 3–7 will focus on evangelization and outreach.
“The people are open and very generous with time and talent and their treasure,” he said. “Outreach is beyond imagination.”
Asked what his vision is for Epiphany’s future, he replied, “My vision for us is to continue on the vision we started 28 years ago and to build on it.”
“We’re looking into long-range planning between now and 2009 when we celebrate our 30th anniversary.”
|
Corrections
Two statements made in the article on the new church of St. Mary’s parish in Blacksburg in the Feb. 12 issue were incorrect.
To clarify, the correct information is as follows: the sanctuary of the new church will seat 800 and the building will contain 10 education rooms.
|
back to top
Copyright © 2006 The Catholic Virginian Press. Articles from Catholic News Services, including Fr. Ditzen’s column, may not be reproduced here due to copyright considerations.
The Catholic Virginian is a biweekly publication serving the people of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. This website includes some, but not all, of the articles from the print version of The Catholic Virginian.
For subscription information Contact Us.
|
