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January 2007
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Over 100 Guests Attend Open House January 6th With the sun gleaming and temperatures hitting an all time record high of 73 degrees, it felt more like Easter than the 12th Day of Christmas. The climate allowed us to open the doors wide at Epiphany House as we welcomed more than 100 guests through the day. It was very pleasing to introduce Epiphany House to new folks, as well as enjoy the company of longtime friends and supporters. Dozens of kids played outside in the lovely weather tossing footballs, roller balding and skateboarding. The day long event featured wonderful portraits, from the Philadelphia Heart Gallery, of children waiting for families. We had the opportunity to introduce Nicky O'Keefe to many of our guests. It is the plan for Nicky, a medically needy teen from Voorhees New Jersey, to be moving into the family within the coming year. Local singer song writer Tom Mullian performed in the later afternoon. The day was an opportunity to celebrate our 4th anniversary as an organization. While the open house was not planned as a fundraiser, we gratefully received $1200 in contributions. These donations and the spirit of the day set the tone for this year's goal in which we will celebrate foster/adoptive families through a community outreach aimed to recruit five new foster/adoptive homes for waiting children. Are You Saved?
Have you ever been blind sided with the question," Are you saved?" The questioner usually follows up with, "if you die right now are you certain that you are going to heaven; have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?" Many of us may be able to identify with a circumstance like this. If so, perhaps, in the face of the questioner, we felt caught off guard, awkward or trapped and squirming to get away. Or maybe the bumper sticker, “Lord save me from your followers,” came to mind. In any case, I thought about this question on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday when I was reading a scripture account, in the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25. It’s about the last judgment and who gets saved. In this parable Jesus provides a different slant on what being saved means. He tells of the when the ‘son of man’ comes in his glory he separates the peoples of the nations into two groups the way a shepherd separates sheep from goats. The sheep are saved the goats are not. The reason the sheep are saved is because they responded to the needs of the least of their brethren. The goats on the other hand were either totally oblivious or just didn’t give a damn. What the king says to the saved sheep is, “For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty you gave me to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, I was ill and you comforted me, in prison you visited me." The ‘sheep’ then ask when did they do this? The king replies, “..as often as you did it for one of the least ones, you did it for me." So, here’s a clue to salvation. Respond with compassion to the least and you get saved. But here’s a twist, the scripture passage does not indicate that you have to be Christian or even believe in Jesus for this kind of salvation. “Lord,” the sheep asked, “when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger or naked, ill or in prison and attend to you.” He answers, “When you did it to the least, you did it to me. Come now inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” With this in mind allow me bring up the fact that we have thousands of kids in our society who just want to be part of a stable loving family. We here at Epiphany House are looking for those kind of families. How about yours? Who knows, whether you are religious or not, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist or Atheist, some waiting kid out there could be your eternal salvation. In Memoriam: Myra Callahan
The following comentary appeared in the Philadelphia Inquier on January 4, 2007. The author, Kathryn Quigley, was influenced by the Epiphany House mission to become a foster parent with a goal to adopt. Holiday Blessing As a new foster parent, I had the best Christmas ever because there was a child with me to open presents. You, too, can touch a life. By Kathryn Quigley I learned a few things this holiday season, such as: Don't eat all the chocolate in one sitting, even if it is the delicious Moose Munch Crunch. The holiday newsletters got me thinking as well, primarily because I am now a foster parent and have no time to mail out a newsletter. I am too busy chasing a child, feeding the child, and eating the Christmas chocolate. However, since I am a freelance writer, let me save on postage and write my New Year's newsletter in this space. Here goes: Dear friends and family, near and far! Let me take this opportunity to thank you, en masse, for your Christmas newsletters and comment on the contents therein. A few of you included some rather odd tidbits of your lives that I, personally, would not share. But hey, it is your newsletter. So, I am sorry to hear that: Your child is still not potty trained. Your husband still can't find a job. It rained on all your vacations. A hawk ate your cat. Some of you had very good fortune this year and bought new houses, fancy cars, or took European vacations. My big news is that I became a licensed foster parent for the state of New Jersey. My Christmas was the best ever because there was a child with me to open presents on Christmas morning. Since I am writing this in the newspaper and not in a letter, privacy laws prohibit me from telling you the details about my foster child. Many of you have already met this child and know that the child has brought lots of love and laughter and Hokey Pokey Elmo into my life. I am asking you, on behalf of the thousands of foster children in New Jersey, to think about becoming a foster parent like me. Maybe you can help one of these kids in need. It is not as hard as you might think. The state didn't care that I am single, work full-time, rent my home instead of own it and work as a teacher, so I don't make a lot of money. They cared that I have a good heart, a clean criminal record and the determination to do this. The child's day care is paid for. I get a stipend ever y month to pay for food and clothes. If the child ever becomes available for adoption, becoming the child's legal mom will cost me nothing. Compare that to the $20,000 to $30,000 it costs for a foreign adoption. I am not going to lie to you: It isn't easy. Being a foster parent can be frustrating, heartbreaking and irritating. Things change all the time. In fact, the state's child welfare agency is now called the Department of Children and Families. DCF instead of DYFS. My foster child has had three social workers in seven months. The uncertainty of the child's future with me often makes me anxious and upset. Sometimes I don't know who cries more - I or my foster child. The constant scrutiny from social workers of my life and parenting skills can be exasperating. It isn't a Friday unless some social worker is here inspecting my refrigerator, flushing my toilet, checking my locks, and taking copious notes. When I tell people I am a fo s ter parent in New Jersey, their most common response is how "the system is so messed up." Yeah it is. But who do you think is supposed to fix it? Us. So think about becoming a foster parent. It might even take your mind off your ruined vacation, your diaper-wearing son, and your husband's unemployment. Probably not the hawk. That is just sad. But here is your chance to make a child happy. For information about becoming a foster parent in New Jersey, call 1-877-NJFOSTER or 1-800-NJ-ADOPT, or go to these Web sites: www.njfostercare.org or www.njadopt.org. Kathryn Quigley is an assistant professor of journalism at Rowan University in Glassboro. Celebrating Foster/Adoptive Families in 2007. Epiphany House is kicking off this challenge with an open house on January 6th (see below). During the year Epiphany House will be honoring current adoptive families with a view to inspiring others to consider becoming foster/adoptive families. Each month we will host a family of the month celebration here at Epiphany House. Throughout the region we will work with local churches and community organizations to identify and honor families in those communities who are foster/adoptive parents. For further information about Pennsylvania waiting children.
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Epiphany House mourns the January 1, 2007 death of Myra Callahan, who with her husband, Bernie, have been good friends and volunteers at Epiphany House. Myra had been diagnosed with cancer several years ago but had been responding to treatments. An unforseen complication, that developed suddenly on New Years Eve, resulted in her sudden death. Myra did not allow her illness to take the form of bitterness or self pity. She, rather, embraced suffering in a way that drew her close to God and made her compassionate. She most recently was a volunteer with the Epiphany House benefit gala in September. She had also been key to the production of the little book The Great Wave which our our children had written in response to the devastating Tsunami in Asia several years ago. Our sympathy and prayers go out to Bernie and Myra's family and friends. 
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