Epiphany Church
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The history of our parish

In the spring of 1964 Archbishop Leo Binz appointed Father Bernard Reiser to start a parish in the northern suburb of Coon Rapids, and so on June 16, 1964 the Church of the Epiphany had it’s formal beginning. Our first church buildings were dedicated in October of 1967, and they included the church sanctuary, which later became our school gymnasium, 12 classrooms, a convent for 20 sisters and the parish offices. The school was expanded in 1970, again in 1975 and again in 1997, and now educates over 600 students each year in the day school, which includes grades Kindergarten through 8th grade, and over 1000 students in our Faith Formation classes.

Our present church, with seating for over 1900, was built in 1984, and it is attached by a foyer to the school, administration building, and the parish offices. In 1994 the Epiphany Pines 107 senior apartments were completed, providing independent living for seniors with easy indoor access to our church, and other facilities, by a connecting link. Epiphany Assisted Living, built in 1998, also has 50 assisted living apartments and 14 memory care apartments

Epiphany also has a large cemetery a few hundred yards from the church. The Epiphany complex also has meeting rooms, a perpetual adoration chapel, a lending library, a preschool and extended day program, and a beautiful religious gift shop.

Epiphany parish has grown from 200 families in 1964 to over 5,000 families (20,000 parishioners). Each year we baptize approximately 450 babies, celebrate 40 weddings, have 300 first communions, 200 confirmations and over 100 funerals.

The mission statement of Epiphany expresses our educational priorities and our desire to minister to our sisters and brothers by reaching out and responding to their spiritual and physical needs. The complex, built on the 72 acres of Coon Rapids farmland, is a place where people can gather together to expand their spiritual, educational and cultural horizons. The buildings house the programs and ministries that we provide to our parishioners and to the community.

We minister to the grieving, the separated and divorced. We have youth programs, Scripture studies, music concerts, a food shelf, extensive pro-life activities, and many other ministries. There are Faith Formation classes, from preschool through confirmation, RCIA, as well as many other formation programs.

We have also reached beyond our own community, supporting missions in Kentucky, Haiti, Bosnia, Guatemala, Africa, and South America.

The Epiphany Diner at the Minnesota State Fair has been a landmark at the Fair for many years. The Diner serves 35,000 customers yearly, and is run by 1500 volunteers. After 46 years at the state fair, the Epiphany diner closed at the end of the 2011 fair. For news coverage of this event click here.

Including our founding pastor, we have had three pastors here at Epiphany.

  • Father Bernard Reiser, pastor 1964 - 2001
  • Father Patrick Kennedy, pastor 2001 - 2005
  • Father Dennis Zehren, pastor 2005 to present

 
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