Church of the Epiphany dedicates new location

Site serves Southern Highlands residents

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Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori stood before the door of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany.

"Let the door be opened," she said.

Jefferts Schori marked the sign of the cross on the threshold of the church. With that gesture, she officially dedicated the building in the back corner of an office complex on Pecos Road as a church.

"It was an incredible amount of work designing the church in an office space," said Connie Barlow, a clerk at the Church of the Epiphany. "We designed the space in a traditional cross space to give some semblance of tradition in an untraditional setting."

The 2-year-old fledgling commuter church finally has its own home. The new space, completed in March and consecrated June 6, is larger than the parishioners are accustomed to at 3,800 square feet. Aside from the worship area, the Church of the Epiphany also has storage and classroom space, luxuries the church did not previously have.

"We've created something that feels sacred," Barlow said.

The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, which serves the areas of Anthem, Green Valley, Seven Hills and Southern Highlands, began when a handful of people approached the pastor of the Christ Episcopal Church, 2100 S. Maryland Parkway, in early 2002, and began to hold 5 p.m. services. The group of laity had an idea to reach the people who lived on the southern end of the Las Vegas valley.

In October 2004, the church officially became its own parish.

The church grew as word spread, and the services continued to move from place to place, with a different visiting priest presiding each week.

Previously, the church celebrated services at Henderson's St. Rose Hospital, police department, Healthsouth Rehab Hospital and Miller Middle School.

From the original handful, a congregation of about 120 people has grown. Jefferts Schori said she expects the congregation will continue to expand.

"I think they will outgrow this place pretty quickly," she said.

But land prices are expensive, Jefferts Schori said. The Church of the Epiphany rents the office space, and will likely lease out the building when it is not being used during the week to cover the cost.

Jefferts Schori said members of the church welcome all.

"It's easier for newcomers to enter because they're all newcomers," she said. "The community values the gifts of everybody who's here."

The Rev. Michael Annis has served as a priest associate for Church of the Epiphany for almost three years. He described the church as centered around the lay ministry.

"A church is not a building. It's a congregation," Annis said.

Anthem resident Judy Koehn, who is in charge of worship and liturgy, said everyone is doing what they can to contribute to the growing community. Many are donating furniture.

"These trash baskets are just as important as the chairs," Koehn said.

Koehn said the church is "lively" and centered on youth. About one-third of the congregation is comprised of children, she said.

"We're very kids-oriented," she said. "If you want to come to a church with old folks singing old hymns, you won't find it here."

Junior Warden Bill Kohn reaffirmed Koehn's statement.

"It is a dynamic, welcoming place of worship," he said. "We're traditional, but we're not stodgy about it. There's always a joke about the Episcopal church being the 'chosen frozen.' We're the opposite of that."

Initially, Kohn began attending Church of the Epiphany because of the closeness to his Sun City Anthem home. Now as junior warden, he is in charge of membership and drawing more people to join the church.

The church uses word-of-mouth as its main strategy for getting the message out.

Priest associate the Rev. Helen McPeak said the church is growing well.

"What I've observed is that people come in and get a whiff of God and they come back," she said.

Sun City Anthem resident Gloria Newton has been to five services at Church of the Epiphany and plans to transfer her Los Angeles Episcopal Church membership to the Henderson parish. She moved from Los Angeles on Good Friday this year. Newton discovered the church when looking for a place to worship close to her house. Newton informed them she is legally blind and could not drive herself. The church authorities sent Kohn and his wife to pick her up and take her to services.

She said she was impressed with both of the priests, and felt particularly drawn to McPeak because she is a woman.

"When I found out there was a female priest, it excited me," Newton said. "I liked her right from the first Sunday."

Newton sang in her church choir in Los Angeles for 11 years. When she told this to the choir at Church of the Epiphany, they asked her to sing with them. Newton said they enlarged the sheet music so she could read it.

"They try to find out my needs and then they address those needs," she said. "Right from the beginning, they took me in like I was here all along."

Koehn said she is hopeful for the future of the church, which she said will grow with the Southern Las Vegas and Henderson communities.

"As long as we can keep this spirit and excitement going, I think this will work," she said.

Sunday worship at the Church of the Epiphany begins at 10 a.m. The church is at 9041 S. Pecos Road, Suite 4000, north of Interstate 215.