Epiphany 2024

What a joy it was to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany this year! Like Christmas, Epiphany is both a feast day and a season. The term epiphany means, “to make known or reveal.” On the Feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate the coming of the Magi who brought gifts to the Christ-child, and in so doing, revealed Jesus as Lord and King to the world. Some common themes of the season of Epiphany are crowns (to celebrate the Magi recognizing Jesus and King), light (Jesus as the Light of the World), and the star which led the Magi to Jesus. January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany, and the time between this feast and the season of Lent is called either the season of the Epiphany or Ordinary Time. Depending on the year, this season can last four to nine weeks.

For centuries the Church has set aside the Feast of the Epiphany as a day for house blessings and "chalking of the doors." Epiphany house blessings take place at the front door with the priest praying a prayer of blessing and marking the door frame with a special inscription: 20+M+B+C+24. While it might look like scribbles, there is a logical symbolism behind each mark: C, M, and B have two meanings. The letters abbreviate the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat, meaning “May Christ bless the house.” They also represent the initials of the traditional names of the three magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. While these are probably not actually the names of the magi (especially since we don't know the exact number of magi), these names have been commonly used since 500AD. The numbers on either side represent the year 2024. Next year the chalk will have 20 at the beginning and 25 at the end.

On Saturday, January 6, Fr. Porter, Rebecca, and their boys hit the road for 15 Epiphany house blessings throughout Brevard County. This is one of their favorite days of the year as it allows them to give thanks for the place from which you are sent out for ministry into the world and your presence in their lives. Enjoy some photos from the day below!

Later that evening we gathered with our sister parish, Christ Episcopal Church, for a joint service of Holy Eucharist. The liturgy began outside with a chalking of the doors for St. David’s before the procession into the Nave.

Mother Cynthia, Rector of Christ Episcopal Church and Fr. Porter’s mother-in-law, preached a powerful sermon reminding us that “everyone needs an Epiphany.” During the service Fr. Porter read the Proclamation of Easter on Epiphany. Before these days were automatically added to your iPhone’s calendar or were easily “Google-able,” the date of Easter and other significant church celebrations were proclaimed by the clergy to make these moveable feasts easier to navigate for lay people. Fr. Porter also blessed the icons written by our most recent iconography class taught by Jeanne Weaver, Artist in Residence for the St. David’s Institute.

Following the service, we had a wonderful time of fellowship during our reception and art show which raised funds for new lighting for the Stations of the Cross.

We are already looking forward to celebrating the Ascension with CEC in Suntree-Viera in a few months!