Make a
Difference

Epiphany Under the Stars is an annual benefit auction that raises money to support our Wednesday Night Dinner Program, which feeds hundreds of hungry New Yorkers every month.

The benefit is always a festive evening for parishioners and guests alike as they engage in friendly bidding for items donated by parishioners. In years past, items up for auction have ranged from designer handbags, gift certificates to local restaurants, tickets and a backstage tour of a Broadway musical, to a 5-day stay at a Key West house. There are items for every price range, including coffee table books and gently used clothing and accessories, such as scarves and costume jewelry,

Benefit director Kirsten Plonner and her dedicated group of volunteers work  hard each year to make the event a success. 

The auction has raised over $20,000 each year to support the Wednesday Evening Dinner Program.

If you wish to make a donation, you may do so here; please choose Epiphany Under the Stars Event from the drop-down menu.

We look forward to holding the benefit again in the spring of 2023.

For more information, please contact [email protected]

Incarceration doesn’t just affect those who are incarcerated. It has an enormous impact on friends, family and loved ones who remain at home, often forgotten by the justice system, ignored by support services, and left voiceless.

Several times each year, Epiphany hosts Raising My Voice-Kin. This is a four-week program held for those who have a loved one who is currently incarcerated or who has recently returned home. It supports participants as they learn how to tell their story in a safe space surrounded by people with a shared experience.

The program’s purpose is to provide leadership training and teach public speaking skills, enabling participants to speak at schools, community and youth groups, and other venues where their stories will have an impact. In hosting the program at Epiphany, participants have the opportunity to experience God’s love as they are welcomed into our place of worship. As Paul wrote in Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Each week, the program facilitator guides participants through a series of exercises. These exercises help trainees craft a 10-minute talk describing their experience with the criminal justice system and the impact it’s had on their lives. By the end of the program they’ve created a message of hope tailored to the group they are addressing.

Volunteers offer encouraging feedback, making suggestions or posing questions as trainees work on their stories. No special training is required, other than to share God’s love with our guests. It is a deeply humbling and rewarding experience to minister to families who are essentially left behind.

While volunteers are encouraged to participate throughout the program and attend graduation when trainees deliver their final talk, one can join as time allows. Volunteers make a huge difference at any stage of the program.

For more information or to get involved, please email [email protected]

Checkout their website: http://www.weracket.com

For many years, Epiphany has worked actively with our sister parish, The Church of the Epiphany in Doha, Qatar, in the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. Recently, working with St. George’s Baghdad, we have provided support to the refugees from ISIS through the development of an education center in the Baghdad refugee camp which teaches English and job skills such as computers and sewing. In addition, we have helped with the creation of kindergarten and primary school at St. George’s. Your support of these projects is greatly appreciated.

Click here for our pamphlet or go to the website of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf.

Epiphany is in partnership with three sister parishes both in the Diocese of New York and abroad:

The Church of the Epiphany in Doha, Qatar

All Hallows by the Tower in London, England

St. Margaret’s Church in the Bronx

In late September, the Sustainable Development Goals Fund of the Episcopal Diocese of New York awarded $15,000 to the Church of the Epiphany to help reestablish chicken farming in northern Iraq. Epiphany is collaborating with St. George’s Anglican Church, Baghdad, Stand with Iraqi Christians (SWIC) in the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and International Christian Concern (ICC), an NGO, to participate in a pilot project to redevelop this vital industry. A well-connected project manager employed jointly by St. George’s and ICC has been vetting and recruiting farmers for the past year.

Christians have also been a crucial component of Iraq’s economy, developing a variety of agricultural sectors, particularly chicken farming. Prior to ISIS, the city of Qaraqosh was home to up to 100 farms producing poultry. The Iraq War and ISIS destroyed the area. Countless people were killed, and many more became refugees. Today, with stability returning, former chicken farmers with the skills and the desire to rebuild the poultry industry remain in the area. With sufficient funding, these men will help to create jobs, bring economic growth and community development, and instill pride in a people long without hope.

Two chicken farms were started in April 2019, each with 3,000 chicks. Chicks are taken to market in 30-50 days and Iraq possesses an infrastructure for processing and transporting the poultry. And the first group of chickens was taken to market in June. Proceeds from the sale of these chickens enabled these farms to become self-sustaining, using a portion of the market proceeds to purchase and care for the next flock. All new funds raised, including the grant money awarded to Epiphany, is used to start new farms. This exciting project creates self-sustaining enterprises in a relatively short time. In addition to the farmer and his family, economic benefit extends to approximately 134 other jobs, including farm day laborers, veterinarians and staff, feed suppliers, including growers and sellers, hatchery workers, processing workers (butchers) and transporters, and sellers of both live and processed chickens, all of whom will benefit as the market expands. Importantly, the people of Iraq will benefit from improved and lower cost food, along with the development of a more stable community in Christian Northern Iraq.

We are excited to finally move into our new home at 351 East 74th Street in the Summer of 2023, and to announce our Stewardship Campaign: “Faith on the Move: Forward as One.”

We remember that we are united as one through “One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.” As part of this year’s Stewardship Campaign, we will focus on three distinct areas to which we invite your support:

One Lord: The Stewardship of Our Resources – We invite you to make a pledge of financial support for Epiphany and its ministries throughout 2023.

One Faith: The Stewardship of Our Future – We invite you to consider including Epiphany in your Planned Giving, either by a bequest or other kind of gift.

One Baptism: The Stewardship of Our Service – We invite you to support the Wednesday Night Dinner Program, especially as we expand this ministry once we are moved into our new building.

 If you didn’t receive a pledge card, or if you have any questions, please call the Church Office at 212-737-2720.

https://www.epiphanynyc.org/2022-stewardship-campaign/