Epiphany’s Legacy of Creativity, or, Why You Should Give Us Your Money

If I were to win the lottery… I would be very surprised because I’ve never bought a ticket. But assuming I were to come into a large, lottery-level sum of money in some other way, there are several organizations and institutions I would support.

My church would get enough to pay a full-time pastor. Cal Lutheran University, where I went to college, would find themselves endowed with a brand new theater (my professors when I was there frequently complained that major donors always endow the sports facilities and never the theater department). Spirit OnStage would have enough for all the epic projects I’ve been planning for years. And of course, Epiphany Space would get… Honestly, anything they wanted, and a fair bit more besides.

How Epiphany Space Has Shaped My Creative Legacy

The theme this quarter has been A Legacy of Creativity, and I’ve written three articles about my own. But these last few years, my creative legacy has been influenced and supported by Epiphany Space in so many different ways, and I’d like to take some time to talk about that.

I first came to Epiphany in 2017. I attended a couple of events, met a lot of really cool people. Then at the end of the year, Spirit OnStage was looking for a place to perform our annual Christmas show. We used to have a permanent venue, at the church where I grew up, but after I stopped attending there, we eventually had to stop performing there, too. So for a couple of years, we struggled to find a place to do the show, and in 2016, we ended up paying a small theater a massive amount of rent and losing a lot of money in the process.

So in 2017, as we faced that possibility again, I said to my mother, “Hey, why not do it at Epiphany Space?” To which she probably responded, “What’s that?” because she hadn’t been there yet. But I introduced her to the people and the space, and Hartsock House became our performance space for Christmas 2017. Then again for Christmas 2018 and 2019. In 2018, we also did a bigger, more elaborate show in the courtyard, during the summer.

They still charged us rent, of course, but it was much less than we would have had to pay elsewhere—and it came with a built-in community to support us and help us out with whatever we needed. Becky even washed our dishes a couple of times, in spite of the sign above the sink that said, “Dishwashing Service Is Not Provided!”

The Great Memorial Day Bake Off

Then in 2018, I had another project I wanted to do. I’d been watching a special celebrity episode of the Great British Bake Off on YouTube, and the show concluded with an announcement: “Visit this website to send away for a kit, to host your own charity Bake Off and raise money for Stand Up to Cancer.” An opportunity like that was too good to pass up. I got the kit, I recruited some bakers, and I started planning my very own Bake Off event. It had a Signature Challenge (cookies), a Technical Challenge (bread), and a Showstopper Challenge (cheesecake). What it didn’t have was a venue.

To be honest, I didn’t even think of holding the Bake Off event at Epiphany. But when I mentioned to Cortney that I wasn’t sure where we were going to be yet, she said, “Why not do it at Epiphany, and combine it with my open mic that’s the same day, in order to bring in more people?”

Then Melissa and Hans volunteered to be our judges. (Hans even broke out his Paul Hollywood accent for the occasion.) Cortney and Ben were two of our bakers. And tons of Epiphany people showed up to support. We held the event on Memorial Day, and it was a tremendous success. By selling our contestants’ cookies and breads and cheesecakes in a bake sale, we raised a couple of hundred dollars for cancer research.

The next year we did it again, with Hans and Cortney as our judges and Shelby donating a delicious vegan cake to be part of the bake sale. The event was smaller that year, but we still ended up raising another couple of hundred dollars. 

Would the Great Memorial Day Bake Off have happened without Epiphany Space? I’m sure I would have found a way. But it wouldn’t have been nearly as successful, had nearly as much support, or raised nearly as much money. And it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun, either.

A Community in Transition

Then came the Pandemic. A show that Spirit OnStage was planning to perform at Epiphany had to be postponed indefinitely. Events weren’t happening. In person meetings weren’t happening. And to top it all off, right during that same time, Epiphany Space had to move out of its location. Not to mention Melissa moving to Georgia. Was this the end of Epiphany Space?

Of course not. Through all the difficulties, all the bumps in the road, we continued to be a community, and we continued to carry on that legacy of creativity. There were events on Zoom. In 2021, when things finally started opening up again, there was regular co-working in a coffee shop up the street.

Then we finally moved into our new location, right across the street from the old one. It was smaller. No more two buildings and a courtyard. But there was still so much we could do with it. Parties, workshops, games, dinners… Last year, Spirit OnStage even did a show there.

And of course, there’s the Georgia branch of Epiphany now, too. We’re two separate communities, but we’re also one big community, encompassing both locations and plenty of other places all around the country, as those who have moved away over the years continue to keep in touch. We meet with one another, talk to one another, collaborate with one another, and support one another, through Zoom events, hybrid events, and Mighty Networks.

The Legacy of Support

The legacy of Epiphany goes so much further than just an event/co-working space. The real legacy is the community of artists that they bring together and the ongoing fountain of support that they provide to that community. All the people I’ve mentioned in this article, and many others, are part of Epiphany’s creative legacy, and Epiphany is part of theirs.

And of course, Epiphany has been an invaluable part of my creative legacy as well, in more ways than I can count. They’ve supported me when I needed it most. A couple of years ago, I happened to mention, while talking to some Epiphany people, that most of the work that I do is ghostwriting. Assembling a portfolio can be difficult because a lot of my work doesn’t have my name on it. Not long after that, I got an e-mail from Becky, asking me if I wanted to help out with a new Epiphany newsletter she was putting together, wherein I would interview other members of the Epiphany community. It wasn’t much, she told me, but it was something that I could put my name on. And so The Spark was born.

Then, late last year or early this year (or more likely both, along with plenty of times before and since), I was complaining about some clients who weren’t paying me. I’d done a lot of work and was owed a lot of money, but it just wasn’t coming in, and I was struggling.

Not long after that, I got an e-mail from Melissa. Would I be interested in expanding my involvement in The Spark by writing a few articles and other things—and getting paid for it? The result is what you’re reading now. Not only has it been a great creative outlet that I’ve had a lot of fun with over the past year, that little extra from Epiphany has saved me multiple times when other money just wasn’t coming in.

The Legacy of Community

In previous articles, I’ve talked about the time I spent up in Paso Robles this summer. Both last year and this year, it was an amazing experience that not only helped refresh me mentally and emotionally but also allowed me to expand my creative horizons in everything from writing to cooking to photography.

The one drawback is that it can be lonely up there. Most days, the only ones around to talk to are the corgis. Don’t get me wrong, I love those corgis so much… But they don’t speak English, and I, unfortunately, don’t speak Dog, so our conversations tend to be a little one-sided, no matter who’s doing the talking.

But do you know what I have during my time away? I have Epiphany Space. From Idea Machine to Project Accelerator to two different writing groups, and more, there are Zoom-based events throughout the month that let me connect and converse with my friends and keep me grounded.

I’m far from the only one who has stories like this, either. Just about anyone who’s been here for any length of time, when you ask them to talk about how they got involved with Epiphany, will have stories about events they’ve done, people they’ve collaborated with, and more. I’ve heard so many stories that start with, “I happened to mention a cool thing I wanted to do, and the next thing I knew, I was hosting it at Epiphany.” If you’re part of Epiphany Space, I’m sure you have at least one or two stories of your own about events you’ve attended, people you’ve connected with, and creative things you’ve done, that wouldn’t have happened without Epiphany Space.

There are so many projects that never would have come to be without this community. There are so many ideas I’ve seen the Epiphany community nurture into everything from songs to games to shows to workshops, to a host of other projects. If you hang around long enough, and you pay attention, you can hear people go from “So I was thinking of doing this thing” to “I’m doing this thing!” to “Guess what! I did this thing!” over the course of weeks, months, and even years. Seeing that evolution always brings me joy and makes me feel like I’m part of that success—even if it’s just a small part.

This has been a difficult year for a lot of us. I know it has been for me. But throughout the difficult times, when I’ve needed something or someone, Epiphany Space and its members have been there for me. And they’ve been there through the good times too, to support me, to cheer me on. The support I’ve gotten from them over the past seven years, and throughout this year in particular, has meant more to me than I can express. I know many of you feel the same way. So now, it’s time for us to support them, too.

Support Your Local Creative Community

We’re currently in the middle of our end-of-year fundraiser. Epiphany Space wants to raise $15,000. I’m sure Melissa or Becky or someone else who knows the ins and outs could explain much better than I exactly what it’s used for. What I do know is that everything costs money, from bills to rent to the Trader Joe’s snacks on the table when you come in for an event, and probably a hundred other little things from day to day.

If I had that kind of money to spare, I would give it to Epiphany Space in a heartbeat.  Unfortunately, as has been a recurring theme in several of my Spark articles (including this one), I seem to be constantly owed money, but never quite in possession of it.

Money is tight for a lot of us right now. But if you do have a little extra right now, and Epiphany Space has helped you on your creative journey this year, then I urge you to consider donating a few dollars—whatever is comfortable for you. A couple of bucks might not seem like much, but a couple of bucks from me, a couple of bucks from you, and eventually it adds up. Every bit helps, and a little can go a long way.

So this holiday season, I urge you to join me in supporting Epiphany Space’s Legacy of Creativity. And then in the coming year, Epiphany Space can continue to support each of us in ours.