Social Responsibility

Social Responsibility, as it has been defined at Epiphany, represents this community's commitment to reach out to the larger world. The many ministries listed under Social Responsibility express the Gospel concern to love all persons, especially those who suffer from oppression, deprivation, or violence.

An Opportunity for Kindness

Posted Wed, 05/12/2010 - 01:00

drawing of a human figure offering a drink to another.Volunteers Needed to Respond to Emergency Requests

Through our Emergency Assistance ministry, we partner with the Area Ministries, Sister Visitor Program and area St. Vincent de Paul groups to respond to the growing need for help with rent, mortgage payments and utility bills.  Many persons are now coming to the end of their unemployment support, others fall under the high rates for utility re-connections. 

It is noteworthy that more and more of these calls are from persons who were previously employed at well-paying jobs.  In March, we received appeals from over 70 people, some of which already were living without electricity or water in their home.

Epiphany Partners with Bread for the World

Posted Wed, 04/21/2010 - 01:00

Bread for the World logo: an slice of bread and a Christian fish symbolFor many years, Epiphany has partnered with Bread for the World in their annual Offering of Letters Campaign.  Each year's campaign has a particular legislative focus.  This year's goal is to protect and strengthen the Earned Income Tax Credit  program.  Keep reading to learn how you can participate, and to reflect on the personal witness of Epiphany member Larry Hunt.

 

A House for Luz

A hispanic woman and her seven children stand in the doorway of their simple wooden home.Luz (pronounced loos, meaning “light”,) is a single mom with seven beautiful children:  Jairo Josue (15), Jesica Carolina (13), Denia Yolany (10), Jennifer Paola (9), Christian Fernando (7), Wilians Idai (3) and Alvaro Luis (3 months).   She only has a first grade education.   She migrated to the city of Tegucigalpa from the countryside about 16 years ago with the hope of finding a way to make a living and help her family.  Luz washes clothes and also repairs old shoes for an "honorable living", but she is barely able to feed her family.

 

 

 

At the end of our March 2010 visit, one of the lay leaders of the Divine Mercy Community approached us with a proposal on behalf of the church community.  Pointing out that Luz’s family is among the very poorest of the neighborhood, he asked we might be willing to partner with the Divine Mercy community in order to build a simple house for Luz and her children.  He promised that the community would match our contribution with their labor, working side by side with us. 

 

Faith Witness: Bread for the World

Larry Hunt’s Personal Statement of FaithLarry Hunt, all smiles!

Larry was asked, "What has drawn you to Bread for the World, and kept your commitment alive?"  Here's his answer:

I am a non-traditional Catholic whose faith has been fostered and developed by the Community of Epiphany over the past three decades.  I was raised in an unchurched but loving and wholesome family environment, and entered the RCIA program after attending Masses at Epiphany for 7 years with my wife and 3 children in the 1980's.   The strong message of social justice and responsibility in both homilies and activities of many parishioners stimulated me to make this faith commitment.  Over the next 2 years, I learned much from my readings and the words of Sister Josette Gocella and Fr. Joe Graffis.   I continue to be inspired by the compassion and extreme tolerance of Jesus during his lifetime, in stark contrast to the highly structured and dogmatic religion practiced by the Pharisees.  My Catholic heroes of the past century include John XXIII, Thomas Merton, Oscar Romero, Daniel Berrigan and Joseph Bernardin.

Agua con Bendiciones

Posted Wed, 04/14/2010 - 01:00

A young boys sips from a cup of just-purified water.The gift and blessing of water.

Those of us who have worked in medical clinics in developing countries know well that the most common medical complaints stem from contaminated water. Working with the Catholic community of Divine Mercy, and with members of other Catholic and United Methodist Congregations, we are collaboratively developing a ministry for water purification that starts with Honduran women in leadership.

Read more, see the photos, and find out how you can help….

 

The Seamless Garment: A New Committee for Life Concerns

Posted Wed, 04/07/2010 - 01:00

Baby and adult hands intertwinedThanks to the response of several of our community members, we are ready to begin a new Life Concerns Committee.  This committee will lead us in responding to Catholic Social Teaching as it relates to "life issues" (abortion, death penalty, euthanasia, etc.).

We have always faithfully collaborated with the Catholic Conference of Kentucky and the US Catholic Bishops with regards to any legislative action to be taken on life concerns, but it has been several years since there was an active committee to lead the parish in awareness and action around this issue.

Suyapa's Water Story

Famiily with safe water“Imagine the difference this will make for us—a whole $8 a month that we won’t have to spend on water to drink!  We can buy more food…I can save for the children’s uniforms so they can go to school...  This water filter doesn’t just help us obtain clean water.  It helps us to improve our lives in many ways.  And for some of my friends, they couldn’t even buy the drinking water—so it’s the first time they have had clean water for their children.” 

Suyapa is a Honduran woman who is a member of Divine Mercy Catholic Church.  She was one of the first ten women to be chosen by lottery for the Living Water Women’s Ministry, in February 2009.  As a member of the ministry, Suyapa attended a training session in which she and her friends discussed the dangers of impure water, assembled and decorated their own filtration systems, and made a commitment to share the filtered water with at least three other neighbor households.

Appalachia Mission: An Investment with Enormous Returns

Posted Mon, 04/05/2010 - 01:00

by David Hileman

No running water.  A roof that doesn’t leak when it rains, it becTwo young women kneel at the top of a wheelchair ramp they have helped to construct.omes a waterfall.  A house without interior walls.  You are in a wheelchair and your house doesn’t have a ramp to the second floor living area.  All of these exist in our own back yard, in eastern Kentucky.

Hand in Hand Ministries is a faith based Louisville organization that addresses these basic essentials in life.  This past spring, Hand in Hand was the recipient of a grant from Epiphany.

In these tough economic times, this grant is an answer to many prayers.  It will be used to continue the work in Appalachia, where we serve the poorest of the poor.  The funds will be used to fix the leaky roof, build wheel chair ramps and provide for other “basic” home repairs.

The ability to positively impact someone’s life by giving them something we all take as a given changes not only their life, but most importantly, changes ours.  The grant received is much appreciated and is an investment that will yield returns beyond expectations.

Life Concerns: Memo for Interested Parishioners

Memo: Forming a Committee for Life Concerns: Preparation and Guiding PrinciplesIntertwined baby and adult hands
To: Interested Epiphany community members
From: Sister Larraine Lauter
Date: April 1, 2010

Introduction:
A sincere thank you for bringing forward your interest in creating a pro-life, or "life concerns" committee.  What we call this effort right now is not so important as getting set up in a way that will truly promote a well-rounded and effective ministry in this area. This memo sets forth the context for this ministry, including leadership, resources for familiarizing yourself with the broad scope of this issue.  

We will hold an organizational meeting on Tuesday April 20, at 7 pm.  I hope you will consider attending this meeting and possibly serving on a committee.  To begin, please read through this email, and study the materials that you find via the links.  Then we will all be on the same page (more or less!) to get started!  

Part 1
First, let's look at The Context: Catholic Social Teaching

Compassion--the Path to Social Action

Posted Wed, 03/31/2010 - 01:00

Operation Rice Bowl logo

The Challenge of Compassion  Our Lenten focus on compassion can lead us to social action.  Here are some possibilities:

  • Disaster Relief The recent earthquake in Chile, while less devastating than that of Haiti, calls for our sacrificial generosity.  Catholic Relief Services is a reliable and effective avenue for offering our help.  You can make a special contribution through our office (please mark your check for CRS Chile) or go directly to their website at www.crs.org. 
  • Operation Rice Bowl, an annual CRS fundraiser, supports many good works throughout the developing world.  Our community Rice Bowl in the Gathering Area (look for the dangling coins!) is waiting for your loose change!
  • Donations of Food, especially canned protein (tuna, meat, beans) are very much needed at EACM.  As we do our own grocery shopping, let’s remember the hungry with compassion.
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