The
Epiphany Group
A Catholic interfaith community of those seeking to explore current issues affecting our Church and personal lives, prayerfully responding to our baptismal call with "fresh eyes, open minds, and changed hearts," by promoting social justice, education and advocacy.
P.O. Box 4444, Tulsa, OK 74159
Email us at epiphanygrouptulsa@gmail.com
|
Welcome! The Epiphany Group can be pictured as an oasis for those on the spiritual journey; to gather together for a while, to pause, refresh, to think about our direction. The Holy Spirit is our guide and in that embrace we listen, renew, and seek the grace and courage to go where we are led. We wish to welcome all fellow travelers with gratitude for the humble strength we gain from each other. Maureen Watson, Past President, June 2001
Please be sure to view the Nov 2015 Newsletter for updates on the upcoming Synod as well as a remembrance of Pat Ashe. The Feb 2015 Newsletter has obituaries for Fr. Bill Skeehan and Mary Murphy, and the Sept 2014 Newsletter has remembrances of 4 other long-time members we recently lost.
|
|||||
|
Rev. William Skeehan Memorial Lecture Series Sunday, November 15, 2:00 p.m. A reschedule of the March lecture cancelled due to weather The Parish Church of St. Jerome, 205 W King St., Tulsa, OK
St. Jerome is an
Inclusive, Anglican-Rite parish following in the Old Catholic
Deborah Rose-Milavec, Executive Director of FutureChurch
Pope Francis is creating a new atmosphere of openness and dialogue in the synod processes, a significant change that has stoked hope in those who want to see power decentralized and fear in those who want to maintain centralized authority along with the “smaller, purer” brand of Catholicism heralded by Pope Benedict XVI. Will Pope Francis succeed in his efforts? In this presentation, Deborah Rose-Milavec, Executive Director of FutureChurch, will be discussing the results of the October 2015 Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, as well as Francis’ efforts at reform, the significant documents, his allies and critics and their influence in the process of reforming the Church.
Deb was in Rome for the October 2015 Synod. Her blog, Synodwatch, captured aspects of the synod not reported by other media. She led a coalition efforts to help Catholics influence the process by meeting with bishops to talk about synod, asking synod leaders to “widen the circle” of invitees and encouraging listening sessions to dialogue together.
Liberation Theology Workshop
September 21st,
28th,
October 5th,
12th
2014
(Sundays at 2:00 p.m.)
Recently Pope Francis was quoted as saying, “How I would like a church that is poor, and for the poor”. The term “the church of the poor” was first used in 1962 in a message by Pope John XXIII at the start of Vatican II. We find reflections of this being expressed in the theologies of third world countries and nowhere more ardently than in the church of South America through the writings and preaching of Fr. Gutiérrez who is considered the father of Liberation Theology. This summer Fr. Gutiérrez taught a class in Liberation Theology at Boston College. It was attended by Susan Murphy, a Bartlesville resident and pastoral minister who has been working with the poor for the last 20 years. Susan will be sharing the knowledge she gathered from this Boston College experience in a Liberation Theology workshop to be presented by The Epiphany Group. It will be held on Sunday afternoons September 21st, 28th, October 5th, and 12th at Hardesty Library from 2:00 – 3:30. If you feel called by the Gospel to reflect on and practice a spirituality that includes liberating the oppressed, relieving suffering, and restoring human dignity to the marginalized, then we invite you to join us for this interesting class. Though not essential, please RSVP to epiphanygrouptulsa@gmail.com (or 918-809-6325) so we can be sure to have enough handouts and chairs. |
|||||
 |
|
||||
We
live at a time when a far-reaching historical event is being
experienced. Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez calls it “the irruption of
the poor”. It is the new visibility and new presence of those
from the “underside of history” - those who use to be “absent”
from our society – individuals or groups of little importance to
the culture. They are the voiceless ones that we relegate to
the margins because they threaten our comforts, sensibilities,
and even the way we relate to God.|
Click here for info and photos from Sr. Helen's lecture |
|
|
2013 Epiphany Group Lecture Helen Maher Garvey, BVM Living the
Spiritual Challenges of Vatican II in the 21st Century: Sunday, February 17, 2013, 2:00 PM
Hardesty Regional Library Lecture is FREE and open to the public |
 |
|
Helen Maher Garvey is a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque, Iowa. Helen is currently an organizational consultant for religious congregations, parishes and schools. Helen was president of her congregation, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque Iowa from 1984-92, served in the presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) from 1986-89 and was a U. S. Delegate to the International Union of Superiors General. She was the director of the LCWR History Exhibit, Women and Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America. She held the position of Director of the Office of Pastoral Services for the Diocese of Lexington for ten years. Helen received the LCWR Outstanding Leadership award in 2009. Helen received her BA in English from Clarke College and her masters and doctorate in Organizational Development from Columbia University, New York |
|
|
An Evening
Meditation and Book-Signing Wednesday,
March 28th, 2012, 7:00 p.m.,
Pax Christi of Eastern
Oklahoma, The Epiphany Group, and Fellowship Congregational Church are sponsoring
a return visit to Tulsa by Fr. John Dear, part of a national
tour for his new book, “Lazarus, Come Forth!”. |
 Rev. John Dear S.J. is a Jesuit Priest, Peace Activist, Organizer, Lecturer, Retreat leader, and author/editor of 28 books on peace and nonviolence, including Living Peace, published by Doubleday. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. |
Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them,
“Unbind him and let him go.” – John 1
In
chapter eleven of John’s Gospel, Jesus approaches the tomb
where his friend Lazarus lies dead, and issues three new
astonishing commandments: “Take away the stone!” “Lazarus,
come forth!” and “Unbind him and let him go free!”
Internationally known author and peacemaker John Dear has
just published a ground-breaking new book, Lazarus Come
Forth! which suggests that Lazarus represents “humanity”
stuck in the culture of death, and that Jesus represents
“the God of life” calling humanity out of the tombs, out of
the culture of violence and war, into “the new life of
resurrection peace.”
Join John Dear for an evening reflection and book-signing on
March 28. John will propose that the Gospel invites us to
carry on this liberating work of Jesus today and obey these
new commandments—to take away the stone that keeps us
trapped in our violent culture of war, to call each other
out of the tombs, to unbind one another and to set each
other free to live in peace and nonviolence. Through this
work, we will find new hope and the fullness of life.
|
Dr. Robin Meyers
Galilean Sage or Supernatural Savior
Sunday, March 27, 2011, 3:00 PM
Hardesty Regional Library Lecture is FREE and open to the public Robin Meyers, Ph.D., has served as the senior minister at Mayflower Congregational UCC Church since 1985, and as professor of rhetoric in the Philosophy Department at Oklahoma City University since 1991. Meyers is the author of five books, most recently Saving Jesus from the Church.
The marriage of bad theology and hypocritical behavior by the church has eroded our spiritual lives. Taking the best of biblical scholarship, Meyers recasts core Christian concepts in an effort to save Christianity from its obsession with personal salvation. Not a plea to try something brand new, but rather the recovery of something very old, Saving Jesus from the Church shows us what it means to follow Jesus' teachings today.
|
||||||
|
||||||
The
Epiphany Group Presents 
 |
|
||||
|
Audio CDs of John Allen's
lecture still available! CDs can be ordered online for a donation to The Epiphany Group. We leave it to you to decide an appropriate amount. |
Past Meeting Topics
Some previous books we have discussed are Saving Jesus From The Church by Dr. Robin Meyers, Catholicism at the Crossroads: How the Laity Can Save the Church by Paul Lakeland, and Sisters in the Wilderness, by Delores S. Williams, who considers how to construct a Christian theology from the point of view of African-American women.
Read the reflection which Terry Klein gave at a recent Epiphany meeting.
Annual Lecture
The Epiphany
Group brings to Tulsa every year a nationally known speaker to present a
free public lecture exploring topics of interest to the Church today. Past speakers have included:
1998, Jun - Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
1999, Nov - Sr. Joan Chittister
2001, Oct - Robert McClory
2002, Mar - Anthony Padavano
2003, Mar - Fr. Richard McBrien
Click here for photos
2004, Apr - Sr. Maureen Fiedler
2005, May - Bishop Thomas Gumbleton Click here for photos
2006, Mar - Fr. John Dear
Click here for photos
2007, Apr - John Allen
Click here for photos
2008, Apr - Fr. Tom Doyle Click here for photos
2009, May - Sr. Helen Prejean Click here for photos
2010, Mar - Sr. Roy
Bourgeois
Click here for photos
2011, Mar - Dr. Robin Meyers
2012, Mar - Fr. John Dear
2013, Feb - Sr. Helen Garvey
2014, Sep - Susan Murphy, Liberation Theology Workshop
2015, Nov - Deborah Rose-Milavec
Newsletter
The Epiphany Group periodically publishes a newsletter, Epiphany, which is distributed to a mailing list of several hundred Catholics across Oklahoma and the country. Following are links to recent issues:
A History of The Epiphany Group
Inspired by prominent national speakers, several Tulsans discussed the possibility of starting a local study group. In late November 1996, we shared names of friends who might be interested in meeting together for faith sharing and furthering the work of the Second Vatican Council. During December 1996, thirteen people gathered several times to plan for establishing a group.
On January 6, 1997, the feast of the Epiphany, the group adopted the same name as the feast day, expressing the hope to "bring gifts of faith" to others and ourselves.
In January 1998, we presented a three-night series on the Bishop's Pastoral "Always Our Children" at the Church of St. Mary. In June of the same year, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit spoke to an audience of 500.
We continued our spiritual nurturing through studying Henri Nouwen's book "In His Image" as well as a reflective study of "To Dance With a Cross on Our Back"by Father Bill Skeehan.
In the spring of 1999, Mary Benet McKinney, a Chicago Benedictine gave a retreat for our group and in November 1999, Sister Joan Chittister spoke to an audience of 400. We will continue to prayerfully explore current issues affecting our Church and personal lives.
We acknowledge, because of our baptism, we
are called to promote social justice, education and advocacy. If you
would like to join us, please contact one of the members.
Denise Mohr, June 2001