Fellowship
At Epiphany, we understand the importance of building a vibrant and welcoming community with an abundance of fellowship events. In biblical fellowship, there is mutual encouragement and care, a mutual bearing of one another's burdens and mutual contributions to each other’s spiritual growth. It is where the building up of others is the primary motivation and where the personal gain or growth is a natural outcome of that process. It is where newcomers can notice a community based on the love of Jesus Christ, feel welcome to join and can learn who Jesus is in a comfortable and socially safe environment. Hebrews 10:24-25 illustrates that God desires that we meet regularly in Christian fellowship.
After Mass Fellowship
Whether you prefer early morning Sunday Mass or an evening celebration, we've got you covered! Immediately following Mass, we serve coffee, donuts, and other light snacks, (or pizza and beer after the 7:30pm Mass) providing the perfect setting for relaxed and meaningful conversations. It's an opportunity to meet new friends, deepen existing connections, and feel the warmth of our community.
Special Occasions
Additionally, we believe in celebrating special occasions together. When summer ends we welcome everyone back with our annual block party when we close down 22nd Street for a barbeque with music for all and games for our children. We love to party with one another on occasions like Mardi Gras, Octoberfest, and St. Patrick's Day, and we have such fun with our children at our Halloween event and when Santa arrives to light our plaza (and the neighborhood) with 100 Christmas trees! Join us when we screen films in the open air on the plaza and in our parish hall.
Regular Fellowship
Our seniors enjoy one another’s company with Bingo and card games every week at the 22 Club, and we are blessed to share in the rich culture and cuisine of our active Filippino Community. Every ministry makes an effort to program fellowship activities regularly with their members. There are so many ways to grow in fellowship and friendship with our Epiphany sisters and brothers!
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To be in fellowship means to encourage one another, to learn from one another, to build one another up in faith, and to pray, play, laugh and weep with one another.
After the 4pm Saturday Mass, and the 11am and 7:30pm Masses every Sunday, our Epiphany community is invited to enjoy one another’s company over a cup of coffee and a donut (or pizza and beer after the 7:30pm Mass) at our 3 Kings Cafe in the Narthex of the church, or outside on our plaza. Adults and children exchange greetings and catch up on the week that has passed and the week to come. In these gatherings, we continue the celebration of our lives together after the Mass.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO HELP US IN THIS MINISTRY, CONTACT Nancy Benedetto Nancybenedetto24@gmail.com
PLAZA and PARISH HALL EVENTS
Our Epiphany family believes in celebrating special occasions together. When summer ends we welcome everyone back with our annual block party when we close down 22nd Street for a barbeque with music for all and games for our children. We also love to celebrate with one another on occasions like Mardi Gras, Octoberfest, and St. Patrick's Day, and we have such fun with our children at our Halloween event and when Santa arrives to light our plaza (and the neighborhood) with 100 Christmas trees! Join us when we screen films in the open air on the plaza and in our parish hall, and for many other fellowship events throughout the seasons!
EPIPHANY YOUNG ADULTS
Epiphany has one of the largest and most active young adult groups in New York City. Many meet and make lasting friends at the 7:30pm Sunday Mass or at the Alpha course, and they continue their fellowship with weekly or monthly spiritual programs at the church and many activities throughout the city. A Young Adults committee regularly programs event opportunities like Broadway plays, concerts, karaoke, camping trips, bowling nights, and gatherings at some of the best pubs in the Gramercy Park area.
FILIPINO COMMUNITY
Nestled within the heart of our Epiphany family, there exists a vibrant and tight-knit Catholic Filipino community that brings a unique flavor to our spiritual journey. The blend of deeply-rooted faith, cultural traditions, and a spirit of camaraderie has made this community a true gem that enriches the lives of its members and the wider church family. Our Filippino sisters and brothers find solace and strength in their devotion to God, often seen through their active participation in masses, novenas, and various religious events..
Through colorful festivities and cultural gatherings, they showcase the beauty of Filipino traditions. For many years they have been an integral part of our parish, providing us with weekly novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, yearly Masses to honor the first Filipino Saint, Lorenzo Ruiz, and Our Lady of Pillar, and wonderful receptions featuring delicious Filipino food, drink and fellowship.
For more information about our Filipino Community, contact Lolita Compas lolitabcompas@aol.com
BETTER TOGETHER SMALL INTEREST GROUPS
Our Better Together program was created to address one of the particular challenges of life in a big, busy, impersonal city like New York: bringing people together in friendship and providing them with a caring community of support, learning and inspiration. At Epiphany, where we offer community through faith and worship, we wish to expand opportunities for personal encounter and belonging in small groups that focus on shared interests, passions, challenges, or life stages. Experiencing together our love of cooking, or hiking, or music, or reading makes us better neighbors and parishioners, and enables us to share the joy and fulfillment that is at the heart of our faith. As we grow together in friendship, we hope to explore deeper conversations and introduce a faith dimension that naturally evolves from our shared experiences. Better Together is about fostering fellowship, creating a space where everyone feels valued and loved, and gently inviting others to explore the beauty of our Epiphany community. These small groups help build up the larger Epiphany faith community.
Epiphany parishioners are invited to be founders/coordinators and members of Better Together groups which offer the shared experiences of cooking, biking, reading, arts and crafts, theater, photography, hiking….and many other interests. They organize events, set up their own meetings spaces and times.
For more information about Better Together, contact Carmine Raimondi carmineraimondi @gmail.com
