You are invited to a very special evening—our annual Epiphany celebration at Heatherhope Farm. We will gather Sunday, January 4, 2015, from 4:30 to about 7:30 p.m.
After sandwiches in the house we gather for a bonfire and singing. Photo by John
At times the darker powers of this world seem to threaten to overwhelm us. But God’s light in Jesus Christ overcomes all evil and gives us courage to stand strong for justice, peace, love and care for Creation. So, in the dark midwinter we gather with Christian friends, show our love for each other and pledge ourselves to lives of righteousness.
We will gather first in the house for barbecue sandwiches, move out to the hayfield for a bonfire of Christmas greens, and then conclude in the barn with a Celtic style Epiphany worship, usually with the sheep peeking around the corner in wonderment. Before we say our farewells we will ask one of our Border Collies, maybe little Betty, to gather the sheep back inside the barn for our final Amen.
We hope that this can be the perfect exclamation point near the end or your Twelve Days of Christmas. We ask you to bring friends, your dried out Christmas tree and other greens for the bonfire, and either a salad or vegetable or a dessert to share. We will provide the pulled chicken barbecue sandwiches, the beverages, the peeping sheep and the dogs who love to show off. We even have two Border Collie pups, the latest offspring of our Cap and Abbie, who will be just about a month old at the time of our celebration. And you will certainly want to hug Bilbo, our newest Pyrenees guard dog and apprentice of Frodo. He will be six months old and a mountain of fluff.
We also ask you to please alert us to your coming so we can plan accordingly. You can respond to this posting on the web site or e-mail us at heatherhopefarm@gmail.com. Of course we do have a phone, so you can ring us up at 815-895-9736. Please let us know how many will be in your party and, if you might be bringing salad, veggie or dessert. Surely, if you decide to come at the last minute and can’t let us know or can’t bring food, just show up and make our joy complete!!
We conclude the night with a Celtic style Epiphany worship in the barn. Photo by John
Why not make this a holiday tradition for yourself and your family. There are friends who have gathered here for Epiphany for 10 years now. It is especially wonderful to see children grow to be strong, good looking young adults returning year after year. Of course, it is good to see people coming for the very first time as well.
For directions to the farm just click on the “Directions” tab at the top of this web page. Call us if you are still unsure about the best route.
We hope to see you!
