Calvary Episcopal Church
Memphis, Tennessee
THE CHRONICLE
February 4, 2001, The Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany
Volume 46, No.5

Light and Darkness!!
Welcome to you all – visitors, seekers, parishioners – whoever you are, wherever you've come from – welcome to Calvary Church and to this season of Epiphany which celebrates the coming of the inextinguishable Light of Christ into a darkened world. It's a season that invites each of us to consider the places of light and darkness in our own lives as well.

When I was a child, my Sunday School teacher, on the first Sunday of Epiphany, took all of us into the basement hallway of our parish hall, gathered us close around her and then ... turned off all the lights! Suddenly there was total darkness. We could see nothing. She stood there with us for what seemed a long time and then, finally, lit a single candle. I still remember how good it was to see that light and, because of it, to see the people around me and to know that I wasn't alone. That one tiny, steady flame was stronger than all of the heavy darkness. And now, so many years later, I realize that that simple Sunday School event, which gave me a child's understanding of the power of light and the importance of seeing, has now become the foundation for a theological understanding critical to my adult Christian faith.

I'm further aware of how that same light shines through the life of God's people. It's shining through LaRue Downing as he joins our clergy staff. It's shining through the new members and officers of the Vestry that were recently elected, and through the myriad committed people in this community who give so much of themselves for the benefit of others. It shines in music, prayer and worship, in kind faces and thoughtful words, in the trust of a child and the exuberance of youth. It shines in you and in me.

For this light is God's gift to us; we are its stewards. Together, our charge is to keep it burning for all to see.

Recently, Calvary Church was honored at the National Church Headquarters in New York City as a beacon of the Light of Christ, both in the Church and in the City of Memphis. Come see part of that exhibit, which has been reassembled in our Great Hall. And then commit yourself to doing your part to keep the flame burning.
~ Peggy Gunness