A Lutheran Congregation on Reynolds Road in West Toledo
Epiphany Lutheran Church sits at 915 North Reynolds Road on Toledo's west side, just north of the intersection with Brandon Road. The congregation is a member of the Northwestern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and since 2019 it has shared pastoral staff and youth ministry with neighboring All Saints Lutheran Church as part of the West Toledo Parish.
What distinguishes Epiphany is the breadth of what happens under one roof on a single Sunday morning. Two very different services are offered back to back, Sunday School runs between them for every age from kindergarten through adult, a staffed nursery cares for infants and toddlers throughout the morning, and a Wednesday Simply Worship service draws people with developmental disabilities who light candles, welcome visitors, and share their talents alongside the rest of the congregation. Outside the worship space, a long-running food pantry feeds hundreds of families each month, a children's theater company mounts full-scale musicals each fall, and a small group of quilters ties comforters for shipment overseas.
Two Services on Sunday Morning
Epiphany's rhythm on Sunday centers on two worship services separated by an hour of Christian education. Holy Communion is celebrated frequently at both, and any baptized Christian is welcome at the table; visitors who have not been baptized or have not received communion instruction are invited to come forward for a blessing.
The Traditional Worship service begins at 8:30 a.m. and is described as a full expression of traditional Lutheran liturgy. A chancel choir and cantor lead the singing, the lessons follow the appointed lectionary, and piano or organ accompanies hymns in a worship space that greeters describe as warm and welcoming.
At 10:30 a.m., the Contemporary Worship service takes over. It is informal and led by a band rather than a choir, with current music and a Biblically based message. The church describes this service as constructed primarily to connect with young men and women in their twenties and thirties, though anyone is certainly welcome. Worship leader Jessica Dennis also helps lead the contemporary service, known as The Mission.
Greeters at the doors hand each first-time visitor a pamphlet with announcements and event information, and a worship bulletin for the traditional service that guides worshipers through the liturgy.
Sunday School for Every Age at 9:30
Between the two services, Sunday School runs from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. during the school year. Classes are divided by grade level from kindergarten through twelfth grade, and a separate class meets for adults. Visitors looking for a classroom are invited to check in at the welcome center just outside the entrance to the worship space.
During the contemporary service, a separate Children's Church gathers three-, four-, and five-year-olds for Bible stories, play, crafts, and a snack. Children are picked up from the nursery or from the worship space and brought downstairs; after about forty-five minutes, leaders return them to the nursery for parent pickup.
Epiphany's nursery is staffed Sunday mornings from 8:45 a.m. until about noon, covering both worship services and the Sunday School hour. The nursery is open to children from infancy through kindergarten and is also available during other church events. Children of all ages are always welcome to stay in worship with their families; the nursery exists for those who would rather not sit through a full service.
Simply Worship on Wednesdays
On Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m., the same worship space hosts Simply Worship, a service designed specifically to enhance participation for people with developmental disabilities. The songs are simple expressions of faith, the language throughout the service is simple, and the message is shaped to address the experiences of those who live in group homes and participate in activities in the local community.
People of all abilities are invited to take visible roles - lighting candles, welcoming visitors, sharing their talents - in this community of faith. Simply Worship is one of the most unusual things about Epiphany and a defining part of how the congregation defines welcome.
Worship Online and on the Airwaves
For those who cannot attend in person, Epiphany livestreams both Sunday services on its YouTube channel at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Recordings remain available after the broadcast for anyone who missed a Sunday.
The congregation also publishes two podcasts each week: one is a recording of the previous Sunday's sermon, and the other is a more casual conversation called Faith Talk between Pastor Steve and Pastor Dave. Both are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
The Epiphany Players: Theater as Ministry
The performing arts are a serious ministry at Epiphany. The Epiphany Players stage large-scale adult theatrical productions throughout the year and an annual fall musical built around a cast of children and youth, generally aged about eight to eighteen. Past seasons have included full-length Disney classics adapted for young performers, with audition tracks and forms posted online well in advance.
Auditions are open to the wider community, not only to Epiphany members. In addition to actors, singers, and dancers, the company seeks stage crews, artists, and set designers. Music Director Kathy Dennis directs the theater arts ministry. The church sees theater as a way to build bridges between different groups of people, share in Christian community, and put to use the gifts God has given.
Feeding the Neighborhood
Epiphany hosts the Feed Your Neighbor food pantry, which serves hundreds of needy families in the community every month. In recent years the pantry has expanded to include free books, community resources, and devotionals alongside groceries. It was one of the very few in-person ministries the church maintained throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Epiphany Quilters meet weekly on Fridays to tie quilts for Lutheran World Relief. They also make cloth sandwiches for Sparrow's Nest, a local women's shelter, and blankets for the Linus Project, which provides comfort items to children in foster care.
Each fall the congregation partners with Hawkins Elementary School to host a school supply drive that restocks a teacher supply pantry open to Hawkins staff throughout the year. Around Thanksgiving, members donate and assemble holiday meal boxes for dozens of area families who would otherwise go without.
Camp Create and the Summer Stretch
Every summer, Epiphany offers Camp Create, a free week-long program for preschool through eighth grade. Professional instructors lead classes in theater, art, music, dance, and athletics, while youth and adult volunteers lead Bible stories, games, and crafts for the younger campers. An adult Bible study runs alongside the children's programming, so parents can drop off and join a class of their own.
Youth Ministry and Confirmation
Confirmation instruction begins in sixth grade and continues for three years. Upon completion, students become fully confirmed and voting members of Epiphany through the Affirmation of Baptism.
The Youth Group, for grades six through twelve, is overseen by the Youth Board, whose mission is to involve young people in the work of Christ and to promote genuine Christian fellowship. Activities include mission trips, service projects, and regular gatherings for fun and fellowship. Pastor David Frye is the primary contact for the youth ministry.
Next Steps: Stephen Ministry and Via de Cristo
Through its relationship with the Northwestern Ohio Synod and the West Toledo Parish, Epiphany hosts two longer-form faith-formation programs.
Stephen Ministry is a one-to-one lay caring ministry. Stephen Ministers are trained lay caregivers who provide confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting. Training totals about fifty hours, delivered in three-hour sessions, and is held on a regular basis at the Epiphany campus. Active Stephen Ministers continue in supervisory groups and continuing education. Michelle Detmer completed Stephen Ministry training in 2024.
Via de Cristo is a three-day weekend retreat that reviews Christian fundamentals and offers practical tools for living them out. Men and women gather on separate weekends each spring, living and studying together at the Epiphany campus. The weekend includes prayer, worship, communion, and a great deal of singing, all aimed at deepening a permanent, living awareness of faith.
Small Bible study groups meet throughout the week, with offerings running from Sunday morning through Thursday evening. A Zoom-based online Bible study, begun during the COVID-19 pandemic, continues for those whose schedules or geography keep them home. Fellowship events include potlucks, bonfires, and semi-annual euchre tournaments.
The West Toledo Parish
Since 2019, Epiphany has shared resources with All Saints Lutheran Church as the West Toledo Parish. The arrangement began as an agreement to share what could be done better together. Today the two congregations share pastoral staff, with one pastor serving as senior pastor for preaching, vision, mission, and organization, and the other focused on youth and family ministry while also preaching. Youth ministry is shared across both campuses, and the partnership extends to Bible studies, the Drive-Through Nativity, Alpha, and the Feed Your Neighbor food pantry.
Pastor David Frye, who graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in psychology and from Wartburg Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity focused on Word and Sacrament, accepted the call as Associate Pastor to the West Toledo Parish in May 2022 and now serves as Lead Pastor. Vicar Michelle Detmer, a Synod Authorized Minister who came to the parish in fall 2024 and is studying remotely at Wartburg Theological Seminary through its Collaborative Learning program, serves alongside him.
Visiting Epiphany
Epiphany is located at 915 North Reynolds Road in Toledo. The parking lot entrance is off Brandon Road. Visitors enter through the double glass doors on the south side of the building, then head upstairs to the worship space; an elevator is available at that entrance for anyone who needs it. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and the building is otherwise open around Sunday morning services and scheduled events.
Giving is welcome in any of three ways: cash or check brought to Sunday worship or mailed to the church office; online through the church's electronic giving partner; or as a planned legacy gift through estate planning. A full-service podcast feed keeps the sermon and Faith Talk conversation available all week.
Children of all ages are welcome in worship. Families who would like childcare can use the staffed nursery during either service and during Sunday School. The church asks only that visitors arrive a few minutes early so greeters can hand over an announcements pamphlet and a worship bulletin, and so families with children can find the welcome center before classes begin.