Letter from Amy: January 14, 2026
- Amy Rowe
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Dear Incarnation,
What a sweet Sunday, recalling the hospitality of the Holy Family through chalk and stars, and welcoming Arthur and Mason to our own holy [church] family through water.
It was good to be together after such a dizzying start to the new year. The news cycle has been unrelenting, and if you’re like me, you’re still trying to make sense of the last major headline when the next one (and the next one, and the next one) drops.
As I preached on Sunday, we know how all of these news cycles will someday end; we know the fate of every kingdom, every ruler, every government: “the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15, and the Hallelujah chorus of Handel’s Messiah).
Until then, however, we must learn to live as people of Christ’s kingdom in the midst of the world’s kingdoms. This is challenging at any moment, but feels particularly challenging in this moment, when fellow Christians disagree so strongly on the interpretation of the news and the appropriate moral and ethical response.
We need what Epiphany is all about: the inbreaking light of God by which we order our lives. The word Epiphany means “revelation,” and the scriptures and celebrations of this season tell the stories of faithful people across the ages who discerned the revelation of God in their own time, and then spoke, waited, and acted accordingly. We all need to discern the revelation of God in our own time so that we can do the same.
I invite you in this season to keep your eyes and ears open, your hearts soft, your minds attentive, and your spirits humbly teachable so that you may discern God’s presence in these disorienting times. It's hard work, but we're in it together! I loved this phrase from last week’s Epiphany letter from our wardens: “discernment as a discipline to counter our need for control.” May we all grow in that discipline this year.
***
One area requiring ongoing discernment is our national conversation on immigration. Policies, enforcement strategies, and the on-the-ground realities of immigrants have changed dramatically over the past year. And we are painfully, even violently, divided in our response.
Scripture is consistent and clear about God’s call to care for the immigrant and stranger in our midst. But what does that mean in our current environment? How do we care, think, act, and respond?
Next month, we will send a team to explore these questions through a Border Encounter trip with our outreach partner Abara. Participants will learn the history and present realities of immigration, and hear from multiple perspectives — law enforcement, caregivers, social workers, legal advocates, migrants, churches — on both sides of the border in El Paso-Ciudad Juarez. I have participated in two of these trips, and both times have found them enlightening, challenging, thought-provoking, inspiring, and deeply humanizing.
Russell will be leading this trip; please reach out to him if you are interested in learning more, or sign up here. The deadline to sign up is this Sunday, January 18!
***
Last Sunday was also the launch of weekly services at our beloved church plant, Church of the Holy Comforter in Hyattsville, MD. Over the season of Advent, we prayed for Holy Comforter both aloud and in writing during our Prayers of the People. Katie has compiled those written prayers and shared them here. They are beautiful and hopeful, and I encourage you to read and pray with them as we continue to process this major change in the life of our church.
I'll close with one more prayer, which I've found helpful over the past week:
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
With love,
Amy
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