Skipping Rocks

Photo Rock Skipping by -Aero-Lite

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:17-18

"My wife Irene loves to skip rocks when we are backpacking in the mountains. Often we find ourselves at a river bank or at the edge of a mountain lake so that Irene can skip rocks. I usually find a place to rest and watch her as she skips rocks with childlike joy and wonder. The rocks skip across the water, the more skips the better, then they slow to a stop and sink to the bottom.

As I watched this for some time, it hit me that many us, go through life like skipping rocks. Many of us are skipping rocks in our relationships with God and with one another. We rush through life at such a pace that we hit the surface of interaction and relating to God and others and we bounce to the next person or the next big thing, only to bounce on . . . and on . . . and on. In the process we miss the depth and richness that God has for us. If only we were to slow down long enough, we would sink to the depth of relationship that God has in mind for each of us to have with Himself and with one another.

Paul relates this truth well in Ephesians 3:18 when he prays that the Church in Ephesus would 'have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ' for them. Would we also be given the power and ability to understand, grasp and sink to the depths of Christ's love for us and for one another.

Lord, we praise you for the depth of love that you have for us and for calling us into that depth of love for you and for one another. We confess that we often go through life like skipping rocks and barely skim the surface of what you have for us. Grant us Lord Jesus the power and presence of your Holy Spirit to slow us down and sink us to the depths of your love. Amen!

Church of the Epiphany Partners with Souper Bowl of Caring for the Sixth Year

This past Super Bowl Sunday, February 6^th 2011, Church of the Epiphany in Herndon Virginia participated in the Souper Bowl of Caring for their sixth year. The Souper Bowl of Caring is a national organization dedicated to supporting charities that feed the hungry and help the homeless across the nation and all over the globe. As of today, February 8, 2011, over five million dollars has been raised to help people in need.

The way the Souper Bowl of Caring works is through local congregations leveraging the excitement of the Super Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday by holding soup pots after Sunday services and collecting financial donations and canned goods for their charity of choice. Church of the Epiphany collected donations after their 8:00am and 10:00am services. They supported Western Fairfax Christian Ministries again this year and raised $372.00 and over 75 canned goods during their collection.

To celebrate the collection the Youth Ministries at Epiphany threw a Super Bowl Party where they collected more canned goods, watched the game, and had dinner and fellowship together. Over 47 people participated in the Super Bowl Party and Celebration and a wonderful time was had by all who participated, proving that service and celebration fit together beautifully!

According to the Souper Bowl of Caring web site, thousands of youth from churches all across the country tackled hunger on Super Bowl Sunday. Over 4,955 groups have participated so far. In 2010, youth across the country generated over $10 million for local charities through the Souper Bowl of Caring. In 2011, they hope to mobilize even more youth and generate even more money for those in need.

No matter the size of your congregation, or of your youth group, you can help provide shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry, and compassion to the needy by joining the Souper Bowl of Caring. So join the movement and act on Jesus’ call to care for our neighbors by going online today and check out the Souper Bowl of Caring: http://souperbowl.org/about/.