Church of the Epiphany is an Episcopal parish at 8000 Hermitage Road in Lakeside, a wooded, dense suburban neighborhood in Henrico County, north of Richmond's city line and east of Glen Allen. It is known for a diverse, multicultural, family-centered congregation and for two Sunday Eucharists, one quiet and one with hymns, organ, and choir. The parish also puts faith into action through diaper distribution, food support, meals for people experiencing homelessness, blood pressure screenings, tutoring, and other work directed toward neighbors in Lakeside and the surrounding Richmond area.
Two Sunday Eucharists and the Anglican Middle Way
Epiphany worship is firmly liturgical and rooted in the Anglican tradition. The 8:15 a.m. Sunday Eucharist is a quiet, spoken service without music. At 10:30 a.m., Holy Eucharist, Rite Two uses more modern language and includes hymn singing, organ music, and the Chancel Choir. Both celebrate Holy Communion. The 10:30 service is the principal Sunday gathering, while the early service offers a quieter setting. Children are welcome at both, and all baptized Christians are welcome to receive Communion.
The church describes itself as Broad Church and Anglican Via Media, or the Middle Way. It keeps the traditions of the ancient Church while adapting them to modern sensibilities. The Book of Common Prayer gives the parish shared forms for the Eucharist, Daily Office, Great Litany, collects, baptism, pastoral offices, and other worship. Even with different theological and political views in the congregation, people pray with the same words on Sunday, then also practice spontaneous and personal prayer at home, before meals, in meetings, and while serving others.
A separate 10:30 a.m. online Morning Prayer is offered for those unable to attend in person, allowing the scattered community to pray together each Sunday. The 10:30 service is followed by coffee, tea, refreshments, and fellowship in the Parish Hall. On the second Sunday of each month, that gathering becomes a shared lunch with a changing menu. The meal is free and open to neighbors, though it pauses during Lent and summer.
Epiphany stands set back on the north side of Hermitage Road between Staples Mill Road and Hilliard Road. The building is north of Richmond and east of Glen Allen, and a map to Epiphany helps visitors find the entrance.
A Parish That Moved With Its Neighborhood
The story of Epiphany begins in 1890, when six men formed a Bible study class and met in one another's homes in Barton Heights, adjacent to Richmond. By 1896, support for an independent church had matured, and the Rev. F. W. Crisman had become its rector. The church laid the cornerstone for its Hanes Avenue building in June 1929.
In 1951, Epiphany's vestry created a Committee on the Future of Epiphany. After study, it asked Richmond Convocation to establish a mission in Lakeside. The mission began in 1952, with regular Sunday services at Lakeside Elementary School. The Rev. Rufus Womble conducted services at both Hanes Avenue and the school. Funds raised by 1955 made possible the Lakeside Chapel, now the Parish House. The Hanes Avenue congregation eventually joined the Lakeside congregation, and their first combined service took place on All Saints' Day in 1959.
As membership grew, a new church building became necessary. Its cornerstone was laid in 1967, and construction was completed by Easter 1968 for the first service in the new church. Major Parish House renovations followed during the 1990s, including eight memorial stained-glass windows installed in 1992. An addition completed in 2004 joined the original building, now the Parish Hall, to the church. It provides an accessible route for people with limited mobility and also houses an industrial kitchen, nursery, and offices.
Epiphany's neighborhood is central to its identity. Members include people who grew up in Lakeside, newcomers from other states, and adults who settled in Richmond from other countries. They work in shops, offices, trades, health care, education, libraries, transit, universities, and the arts. Their ages range from under eight into their eighties, and many joined the Episcopal Church from Quaker, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Mormon, and Baptist backgrounds.
Music as a Vital Form of Prayer
Music is an integral part of worship and a vital form of prayer. The priest ensures that selections serve the congregation and align with the Book of Common Prayer and Episcopal theology, including at weddings and funerals. Epiphany's repertoire includes antiphonal singing between priest and congregation, Chancel Choir offerings, instrumental music, chanted prayers and scripture, sung Psalms, and congregational hymns. The result is a service shaped by both choral precision and the whole congregation's voice.
The Chancel Choir leads congregational singing and practices Thursdays at 6:15 p.m. from September through May, with monthly rehearsals in summer. The Handbell Choir, made up of school-age children through retirees and including musicians from the neighborhood, practices at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays during the same season. Epiphany also has a long tradition of youth acolytes, who may begin at twelve and often serve through high school. They light altar candles, carry them in procession, hold the missal for the Gospel proclamation, and prepare wine and water.
Liturgical service is supported by an Altar Guild that cares for vestments, vessels, linens, and sanctuary flowers; readers who proclaim Scripture and lead prayers; and ushers who welcome visitors, help with seating, assist at Communion, and escort families to the nursery or Parish Hall. Lay Eucharistic Ministers help distribute Communion, while Lay Eucharistic Visitors carry consecrated bread and wine to homebound parishioners and those recovering from illness. These roles combine worship with direct care for the congregation.
Children Are Part of the Congregation
Epiphany calls itself a multigenerational church and believes that the place for children during worship is in worship. Families bring children to both Sunday services, and some noise is expected. The front of the nave helps children see what is happening in the liturgy; families who need easier entry and exit can sit in the back pews near the doors. Busy bags for children are available in the narthex from the ushers.
Nursery care for children two and younger is provided as needed at the 10:30 a.m. service. Sunday School meets year-round from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. for children of all ages, using an Episcopal curriculum coordinated with the Sunday readings. Gail Wood leads the teaching team and is an experienced Christian educator who was twice voted Henrico County Teacher of the Year. Children who have been baptized may receive Communion when their parents believe they are ready, without a fixed minimum age.
Formation continues beyond the classroom. Parents are regarded as the primary Christian educators, and the parish works to be a safe place for children to learn about God, Scripture, Church tradition, and the sacraments. Confirmation is typically sought between late childhood and early adolescence, around ages twelve to sixteen, and may occur at any age.
Learning Together and Following the Calling
Sunday Forum gathers in the parlor at 9:30 a.m. as the Sunday Bible study. The group reads aloud the Old Testament, a Psalm, a New Testament epistle, and a Gospel, then discusses the day's readings, personal experience, questions, and faith. The same parlor becomes the setting for an in-depth study of one biblical book on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. from September through May. Everyone is welcome.
Education for Ministry, known as EfM, is a four-year small-group program centered on theological reflection and the practice of Christian service. Rosemary Arneson, a trained mentor with more than a decade of experience, leads Epiphany's group. The program brings the Christian tradition into conversation with people's experience of home, work, and community, helping participants explore how their lives can answer a call to service.
Other groups make room for different seasons of life. Episcopal Church Women Chapter 5 generally includes women with school-aged through college-aged children, while Chapter 4 tends to gather retired members during the day; Denise Russell and Kathy Jimerson lead the two groups. The Men's Chapter 11 brings together men from young unmarried adults to retired grandfathers for fun, service, prayer, and conversation, and organizes parish dinners and outings. A Care and Connection Committee meets quarterly to arrange home visits and keep in touch with homebound parishioners and people recovering from illness or surgery.
Faith Meeting the Needs of Lakeside
Epiphany's practical service begins close to home. The parish distributes free diapers on the third Saturday of every month from 10:00 a.m. to noon, a ministry that has welcomed local families since 2018. On the first Sunday of each month, parish nurse Crystal Sarvay offers free blood pressure screenings in the parlor at 11:45 a.m. The screenings are open to everyone, and volunteers can help with either ministry.
Epiphany supports LAMB's Basket, the Lakeside neighborhood food bank, which distributes food on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to noon at 8419 Oakview Avenue. Parishioners can bring cereal, peanut butter, jelly, and canned food on Sunday, or sign up for a distribution shift. Multiple teams also buy food, prepare bagged lunches, and deliver them on Saturday mornings to people experiencing homelessness.
At the church entrance, a Blessing Box invites anyone to take what is needed and leave what is possible. Its shelves hold toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, school supplies, small toys, canned goods, pasta, rice, and granola bars. The youth, parents, and educators behind Epiphany's Little Free Library include books that have been challenged by area school systems, Spanish-language books, and Bibles in English and Spanish. Donated books are left in a bag outside the parish office.
The parish partners occasionally with nearby Elizabeth Holladay Elementary School by collecting school supplies, gathering warm coats, and recruiting adults who can tutor or support students. Some volunteers speak Spanish or Arabic. Epiphany also belongs to the Hermitage Road Sidewalk Coalition, working with Henrico County toward safer pedestrian travel along the road. The coalition meets in the parlor and has developed a working relationship with the county's Department of Public Works.
Community life includes two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the Parish Hall. Chair in the Center gathers Friday evenings from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., and Keep It Simple meets Sunday evenings during the same hour. The Richmond Council of Garden Clubs also meets there on the first Friday morning of most months. These groups, along with the food bank, diaper ministry, school partnerships, and shared lunches, show how Epiphany's hospitality extends beyond Sunday worship.
A Broad Faith Held in Common Prayer
Epiphany holds a Trinitarian faith in one God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It teaches that God created everything and continues to sustain creation, that the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ opened salvation to all people, and that God loves every person without exception. The Apostles' Creed is used at baptism and in Daily Morning and Evening Prayer; the Nicene Creed is said together during Holy Eucharist. Anglicanism joins Scripture, Tradition, and Reason as three sources of authority that interpret and critique one another.
The church's Broad Church identity shapes both welcome and practice. The Episcopal Church holds that the offices of bishop, priest, and deacon are open without discrimination, and leadership can be expressed by all people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Laypeople and clergy share leadership throughout the church. At Epiphany, women and men share service in worship, education, outreach, and governance.
Epiphany understands Holy Eucharist as thanksgiving and teaches that the bread and wine become really present as the body and blood of Christ. All baptized Christians are welcome to receive Communion. The parish also keeps the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, the full Psalter, the lectionary, the Great Litany, and the threefold authority of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason at the center of its common life.
Sacraments and Care Through Every Stage of Life
Preparation for Holy Baptism includes several meetings with the parish priest and a preparation class. Baptism may be received at any age, from infancy through old age, and is normally celebrated during the principal Sunday service on major baptismal feast days. Parents make the vows for an infant, while an adult makes the promises personally, supported by sponsors and the congregation. There is no charge for baptism.
Marriage is approached through three pre-marriage sessions of about ninety minutes each, with additional guidance when needed. Weddings are normally for regularly attending parishioners in good standing and their immediate families, use the authorized Book of Common Prayer liturgy, and are not scheduled on Sundays or in Advent or Lent. There is no fee for the service, and flash photography or videography is prohibited.
Reconciliation of a Penitent is available by appointment or request. The priest also administers unction, or anointing with oil and the laying on of hands, for those who are seriously ill, facing surgery, or recovering from illness. Funerals are services of worship, customarily held on weekdays, and members are encouraged to record their funeral wishes with the priest. The St. Francis Memorial Garden on the church grounds accepts burial plots for cremated remains.
Pastoral counseling accompanies spiritual questions, crises, marriage preparation, grief, the arrival of a child, and other significant moments. The priest may refer people to spiritual directors, licensed counselors, clinical social workers, psychiatrists, or public social services when specialized care is appropriate. Care and Connection volunteers also make home visits and maintain contact with homebound parishioners and those recovering from surgery or illness.
Rector, Lay Leadership, and Shared Stewardship
The Rev. Kristin P. R. Wickersham has served as rector since Pentecost 2022. She was ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in 2019 and previously worked as an environmental chemist, Montessori School trustee, and community advocate. A certified conflict mediator and professional spiritual director, she has served on the diocesan Standing Committee, Creation Care Committee, and Constitution and Canons Committee. She studies Anglican sacramental theology and liturgy in a hybrid-distance doctoral program at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. Her work emphasizes preaching, teaching, prayer, pastoral care, ecumenism, and liturgy.
Anita Williams has directed Epiphany's music ministry since November 1999 and earned a bachelor of arts in church music from VCU. The elected Vestry works with the rector on spiritual care, worship, property, finances, and the practical life of the parish. Lay leaders guide worship, education, outreach, music, hospitality, the choir, altar service, acolytes, ushers, and the small groups, making Epiphany's ministry chiefly collaborative.
Shared stewardship includes the annual pledge campaign, gifts in memory or honor, altar flowers, and a Rector's Alms and Pastoral Aid Fund used for financial assistance to people in need. The annual campaign supports worship, ministries, and daily parish work. Giving is available online, and additional gifts may be directed specifically to the alms fund. The giving approach reflects the parish's stated mission to restore people to unity with God and one another in Christ through worship, proclamation, justice, peace, and love.
Epiphany's identity joins a long history with a present rhythm: two Sunday Eucharists, common prayer, choral and handbell music, children in the nave, adults in serious study, and neighbors supported with practical resources. Its history began with six men reading Scripture together in Barton Heights and grew into a multigenerational parish centered in Lakeside. That same combination of rooted Anglican worship, family formation, and direct neighborhood service remains the clearest expression of Church of the Epiphany in Richmond.