Epiphany Episcopal Church: Our Story

Our Beginnings in Baltimore City

Epiphany Church has its origins in Baltimore City’s Govans’ neighborhood. In the midst of racial tension in the late fifties, the congregation struggled with identity and mission. Suburban development posed an opportunity, as parishioners moved into Baltimore County. While by some accounts “a White Flight” church, Epiphany has struggled to understand this element of our history within the context of racism and classism. To that end, Epiphany has become a congregation that strives for social and economic justice- particularly in matters of housing and homelessness- through our founding of the Episcopal Housing Corporation in 1995 and Neighbor-to-Neighbor in 2009.

The Early Days in Timonium

Epiphany’s first worship service in Timonium occurred in the spring of 1960 at the club house of the newly developed Spring Lake community, commonly called “the bath house”. This “bath house gang” were said to have a “pioneering” quality about them then, and that spirit of faith and mission has carried us through to the present.

The Story Continues

The “ground breaking” for the current building in which we worship occurred in 1964, with major renovations occurring a number of times during the decades to follow. These included the addition of classrooms, a Tracker organ, and an outdoor memorial garden. The main worship space was also artfully re-designed to resemble a “clearing in the woods”.

In 1981, Epiphany opened a daycare center on-site, and its vital ministry in our community continues today. Other more recent highlights include the construction of a labyrinth on the grounds for people to walk in prayer, and the naming of the Rev. Dr. Kathryn Wajda and the Rev. Kristofer Lindh-Payne as Co-Rectors of Epiphany. Today, we seek to continue to partner in the mission of God in the greater Baltimore community, as we love God, love our neighbor and change the world.