According to the dictionary the word Epiphany has three different meanings which are along the following lines. A sudden realisation or discovery; an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being; and a Church festival celebrating the arrival at Bethlehem of the 3 Wise Men or the 3 Kings. And yet whilst they are all slightly different, they all link together. A sudden realisation is that eureka moment when it finally all clicks; an appearance or manifestation implies a God like experience, perhaps a Holy Spirit encounter; and the Church festival when the 3 Kings visit the stable and see the baby Jesus. So the Kings have all 3 definitions rolled into one. They followed the star which directed them to the stable, a sort of God like sat nav; they saw Jesus and suddenly realised that this was indeed something amazing, their eureka moment; and then they departed with the good news and the Church honoured their visit with the feast day of the Epiphany.The 3 Kings encapsulate the 3 dictionary definitions and that is what we will try and replicate at our own Epiphany celebration.
At 4.00 pm on the 8th January at the Village Hall there will be suitable refreshments before we will be joined by 3 giant Kings and a hand maiden, all dressed in their finery, who will then lead a candlelight procession to our church for a short meaningful service. Being a short journey our Kings will not be be riding camels but will have to make do with Shanks’s ponies and fortunately as they know the way they won’t have to rely on a star. But it is all good news so please do come and join us.
Simon Herbert
