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Celebrating Epiphany

December 22, 2009

By debraf

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Christmas is over. The shopping, the wrapping, the giving, the receiving, the visiting, the feasting, the carolling — all are finished.
But wait. There’s one more thing. One more visit before we can say the season has concluded.
When Christians celebrate Epiphany each January 6, we remember the magi, or wise men, who visited the Baby Jesus, presenting him with precious gifts and worshipping him. They recognized Jesus as the Incarnation of God. (The word “Epiphany” — from a Greek root — means “appearance,” or “manifestation,” and refers to God coming to Earth in human form.)
And, though they may not have been aware, they began a tradition: two thousand years later, we still seek — and find — the Incarnation of God among us.
That happens in so many ways. It happens every time someone shines a light in a dark corner, gives help to the poor or brings the hope of peace to those who are in conflict.
In the PWRDF community, it happens in Asian refugee camps, in African medical clinics, in Latin American human rights movements, in agricultural training and business start-ups.
“It’s about reflecting on the light coming into the world and the gift that Jesus is, knowing that the world can be a different place and a better place,” says PWRDF public engagement coordinator Beth Baskin.
We celebrate the Epiphany on one day of the year, but really it happens every time people claim the hope that is theirs, Baskin explains. In Canada, this includes the “marvellous things” Anglicans have been doing “to bring light to the world.”
When Baskin talks to Anglicans all over Canada she is amazed at how committed they are to the “gospel call… to share some of the riches they’ve been given. And it’s often done in a creative way.”
In tiny Haines Junction, Yukon (population 800), for example, a thrift shop started 30 years ago has given all its proceeds for the last two decades to the work of PWRDF. The enterprise was begun in the rectory basement of St. Christopher’s Anglican Church by Barb Henkel, Libby Dulac and the late Tish Tomlin.
The store moved to the church basement in 1991, when the organizers also decided to send all the proceeds to PWRDF. More than $2,000 in revenue per year has meant that “over the years, the thrift shop has raised over $40,000 that has funded PWRDF partner work around the world!” says Sheilagh McGlynn, public engagement network associate.
Two locations used a postal mix-up resulting in double orders of the CD One Voice to raise double the money. In Saskatoon, Mary Ann Assailly, the diocesan rep received 14 cases of CDs instead of the seven she had ordered. Instead of sending the extras back, she sought out places to sell them. “Within a week,” says McGlynn, “she had found homes for the full double order!”
In Rimbey, Alberta, Judy Adams waited for a long time to receive her order of CDs. When they finally arrived, there were twice as many as she had ordered. McGlynn asked her if she could sell the extra batch. No problem. She got her sisters to make popcorn balls and included them as a bonus to each purchaser.
The parish where this happened — Church of the Epiphany!
Stories such as these abound, says Baskin. Through fundraising efforts, story telling and praying for our partners, she points out, “We as Anglicans can be part of Jesus’ incarnation. We are already blessed with thousands of folks who enable that to happen.” Make a real change in the world. 

To support The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund’s work to build local economies, deliver healthcare, and support human rights,
please make an online donation to PWRDF
through Canada Helpsor call 1-866 308-7973.

Gifts can be mailed to
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund,
80 Hayden Street,
Toronto, ON, M4Y 3G2

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