The National Advocacy Center of Sisters of the Good Shepherd celebrated the epiphany on January 6, 2023, in front of the US Capitol. Participants and guest speakers from many faith traditions called for the preservation of democracy and peace.
On the same morning, NAC Policy Advocate Leslye Colvin took part in a sunrise prayer vigil for democracy. Several of us participated in an interfaith prayer service the night before. Each of these events reflected epiphany light and hope. They inspired us to enter more fully into advocacy throughout 2023.
After the celebration, we held a NAC gathering to demonstrate our commitment to continuing the epiphany movement. We acknowledged that epiphany celebrates the unity between those from different backgrounds and nations coming together to welcome God.
In a time when darkness seems to cover the land and people’s hearts seem to have grown cold, so as not to welcome and love our neighbors, we feel called to enrich our spirits with the true message of epiphany (God becoming human) to be among us modeling virtues of peace, love, trust, and unity.
As we celebrated epiphany, we shared gifts (no gold, frankincense, or myrrh), laughed together, sang, and lifted one another up in courage for a new year of challenges.