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Weekly News & Notes from Incarnation
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News & Notes - Aug 9, 2020
The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
Service Online at 9:30 a.m. (see below for details)
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Reminder: Sunday Service Time Change
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Our Sunday online worship service time is changing to 9:30 a.m. beginning this Sunday, August 9. This will be in line with the outdoor service time on the first Sunday of the month and will allow us to add a second outdoor service as needed. See "Online Services" below for Zoom and Facebook links.
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Dear friends,
Earlier this week I was in the church building and happened to open up the small hatch leading to the crawlspace under the floor. To my surprise, I saw a long plastic capsule--the capsule containing our "Alleluia" banner. It had been there, under the floorboards, since the burial of the Alleluias just before the start of Lent.
Easter came this year, of course. We celebrated the Great Vigil and knew that Christ was indeed risen. But we weren't in the church building to pull up the banner. So there under the floor it stayed, dormant, like so much else about our regular lives we used to take for granted.
It will be a long time before our lives return to anything like what once seemed normal. But we need practices for the meantime, ways to sustain ourselves spiritually for the months ahead. We're now approaching the fall, the time when our church program year traditionally begins. It's clear that this will be a program year like no other. Yet our ministry continues.
I believe we need to plan for 2020-21 with the expectation that our common life as a congregation will continue to take place mostly at a distance. Our worship will remain mostly online, supplemented by our new monthly in-person Sunday services, but not replaced by them. Our classes, fellowship gatherings, and ministry groups will also be mostly online. Not everything will happen through a screen--phone calls and good old-fashioned mail will also be important parts of our life together. And over time, to the extent we can legally and responsibly add some more in-person gatherings in, with all appropriate precautions, we'll do so. But that may or may not happen. So our primary focus will be on developing ways to "equip the saints for ministry" at home, or from wherever we are.
In a little over a week, our vestry will be spending a half-day on "virtual retreat" together. We never got to have our regularly scheduled vestry retreat this year, so this is much-needed time for orientation, team-building, and prayer and discernment about God's priorities for us in the year ahead. Once we've done that, we want to take some time to share some of what we're thinking with the whole congregation, and hear from the congregation about your own sense of where we are and where we're going. So we'd like to invite you to a Congregational Town Hall on Sunday, August 23, after the 9:30 online service. This will essentially be our regular Zoom coffee hour time, but more structured, with opportunities to ask questions and share ideas about our common life in 2020-21.
We didn't get to pull up the Alleluia banner at the Vigil. But Jesus is no less raised because of that. There will come a time when our congregational life looks more like what it did before. But for now Jesus is inviting us to do things differently. Let's follow him on this strange path and see where it leads together.
In Christ's love,
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During this time of pandemic, our worship continues. Using technology, we can gather from wherever we may be and join together in the Word and in prayer.
Sunday Services:
- To dial in: Call (669) 900-9128. Enter meeting ID code: 997 787 434 #.
We are also livestreaming each Zoom service on our Facebook page, so you can also watch the service on Facebook, and it will be archived there for viewing later in case you're not able to join in live. You don't need to be a Facebook member to see the livestream on the Facebook page by clicking the link above. |
Sunday, August 9
7 am - 8:30 am - Open Table's Breakfast
7 am - 8:30 am - Open Table's Breakfast
Monday, August 10
Tuesday, August 11
8:00 - 9:00 am: Outdoor Morning Prayer. Register here to attend. We meet in the courtyard, socially distanced, with face coverings. Enter via the 636 Cherry Street parking lot. Prayer Books will be provided or you may bring your own. Hand sanitizer will be available.
Wednesday, August 12
6:00 pm - Alleluia Choir: Zoom
Thursday, August 13
6:00 pm - St. Cecilia Choir: Zoom
Friday, August 14
Saturday, August 15
9 am to 11:00 am - Open Table Prep
Sunday, August 16
Readings:
7 am - 8:30 am - Open Table's Breakfast
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Please join us for outdoor worship services (advance registration required):
(1) Outdoor Morning Prayer, Tuesdays at 8:00 a.m., in the central courtyard (enter via the parking lot at 636 Cherry Street). Limited to 12 people, with advance registration; face coverings required.
(2) Outdoor Sunday Services, first Sunday of the month at 9:30 a.m., limited to 50 people, with additional services to be held if more than 50 people register. Face coverings required. The service will also be available via Zoom and Facebook (use the directions for online services above).
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From the Director of Spiritual Formation...
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Spiritual Growth...
...takes time for its roots to grow, and that requires us to be receptive and patient
Rabbi Zalman Schactor-Shalomi
What if we had the opportunity to step out of this current reality and spend a few minutes reflecting on our blessings, wrapped up in our visions of comfort and God? Where would God be? In your body, in the wind or the flowers blooming, a hummingbird buzzing by? What if every time you took in a breath it felt like the warmth of the sun and when you exhaled you were sending out love in the world? What if in this place and state you acknowledged all this gifts of your created being?
Start from the ground up and express gratitude for the various parts of yourself. Greet your toes and feet and thank them for the journey. How about your knees and legs for their transportation. As you move upward thank your spine for always trying to keep you upright, your shoulders and arms for the gifts of carrying people and things and hugs! Your fingers and hands, to be able to express yourself through writing and art, and for holding someone's hand and someone holding yours. Then thank your heart for its literal gift of keeping you alive and repeatedly healing over the course of your life's journeys. Your neck for holding your head on straight, and face that has so many ways to express what you are feeling without using words. Your mind for its ever evolving expansion and its ability to stretch and respond to the call of your heart and to God. Yes, we are not perfect but we are perfectly held and loved by God.
When you can, spend five, ten minutes reflecting on the touchstone of blessings with your eyes closed or not. When you come back to the world after opening yourself up to this radical gratitude may you feel the deep abiding love God has for you, when you can, it infects everything else you see. You may notice lightness where there wasn't before, or potential where you thought a door was closed, maybe even forgiveness under the influence of God where you didn't know it could be given or received. All things are possible with God. These are unique times to say the least with parts of our daily live restricted or slowed down so take care of yourself. Be as gentle with yourself as you would for a friend or a child. It will be a gift to you and everyone else.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called to do in one body, and be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:15-20
Peace Be with You
Daphne
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Daughters of the King
 The next Order of the Daughters of the King meeting will be on Friday, August 7, from 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM. A guest from the International Order of the Daughters will be in attendance and will share information about our prospective project of caring for the needs of the Haitian community. Please contact Joan Hans-Stafford at 530-906-7347 or jesstafford60@gmail.com if you would like to attend the ZOOM meeting. You will then be contacted with the information needed to attend the meeting. The Order of the Daughters of the King is Christian Order for women and girls who pray, serve and evangelize the message of Jesus Christ in their lives. Women engage in a three month preparation via a study guide prior to taking vows. We can be identified by the little silver cross that we wear habitually daily.
Thank you,
Joan Stafford, President
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Property Development Task Force
What does it mean to be a downtown church? How do we fit into our neighborhood, now and in the future? As Santa Rosa engages in planning for the future of the downtown area, are there ways we can more effectively use our location and property to serve God's mission? In January 2020, the Vestry approved a project charter creating a Property Development Task Force, responsible for exploring the potential for future development of the church property so that the church may preserve the value of its assets, have an adequate understanding of options, and make appropriate strategic plans.
A number of questions prompted this--questions like "how do we best secure the Mendocino Avenue frontage and use it to create a more 'public-facing' orientation of the church vis-à-vis the downtown area;" "how might we take advantage of a once-in-a-generation opportunity as our property is included in the city's draft Downtown Station Area Specific Plan;" and "what is our responsibility in stewardship of God's Creation and His gifts to us." This task force reports and makes recommendations to the Vestry. The task force currently consists of 4 active members; we plan to recommend that the vestry appoint 3 new members to grow our team into a more robust group with a breadth of experience and perspectives.
If you have an interest in being nominated for appointment to the task force, or if you have questions or would like more information about the planned research into development possibilities for Incarnation's Campus, please contact Kathleen Kane at khkred2@gmail.com or 707-318-1290.
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From Shomrei Torah: Climate Crisis Presentation
Our friends at Congregation Shomrei Torah have passed along an invitation to this event. All are welcome.
 The Climate Crisis with John Mihalik MD - Zoom
Wednesday, August 19: 7 pm - 8 pm
The Climate Crisis: A Call For Moral, Equitable and Just Solutions
"There is no climate justice without racial justice. The poor are hit first and hardest by the climate, race and Covid 19 crises," John Mihalik, MD.
In this presentation, Dr. Mihalik will present the science, the intersection of climate change, public health, opportunity and basic human rights of all people. It is our moral obligation to solve the Climate Crisis in a just and equitable manner. He will address 3 questions:
1. Must we change? (the science of Climate Crisis and state of affairs)
2. Can we Change? (the solutions at hand and being developed).
3. Will we Change?
To Register for this zoom event, please click HERE
If you have any questions regarding zoom, please email zoom@cstsr.org .
John Mihalik, MD, is a physician, ethicist and climate activist. He is a member of the Climate Reality Project founded by former Vice President Al Gore. A former Jesuit, trained as an ethicist, John went on to a career in medicine as a rural family doctor, before becoming a hospital specialist at Kaiser. He has done volunteer medical work since 2006 with Somos Amigos Medical Missions providing care in the remote mountains of the Dominican Republic near the Haitian border.
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Church Campus Update
In accordance with both state and county orders, our campus remains closed for most activities. At present the only in-person gatherings permitted are the following:
- Minimum church business needed to maintain our basic operations (this includes staff, vestry, and approved office volunteers doing tasks that can't be done from home)
- Sunday Open Table programs and preparation (permitted under the provision for charitable feeding programs)
- Limited in-person worship gatherings (permitted under a special provision for worship services)
We do not currently have permission for any other groups to meet. Please contact Alison Cole or Stephen Shaver with questions about activities on the church campus.
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Talk with Stephen
Could you use a prayer or a listening ear? Do you have ideas you'd like to share? Although our offices are closed, Pastor Stephen is available to talk by phone or via Zoom. If you'd like to find a time to talk with Stephen, you can call Alison at 707-579-2604 or email Stephen directly at sshaver@incarnationsantarosa.org.
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Prayer requests will stay on our list for 3 weeks. After that, if you would like long-term which is for 3 months, please notify the office. Prayers for those who have died will remain on for 6 months.
Your prayers are requested...
...for members and friends of the parish who are sick, sorrowful, or in any kind of trouble, including Lauren W., Amy C., Aimee K., Edie, Megan, Monique & Kirk, Dicksie, Alice D. , Carolyn, Jeanette, Mary Jo, Susan Shumaker, Marilyn Payne, Amanda Cortese, Nancy Hanke, and Wallace Look.
...for those who have died: Gary Lindsey, David Ratner, Frank Gavaller, John Ziaja, John Gregson, Hollie Agesen, Tom Beckett, Bill Cordtz, Dan Wagenet, Rebecca Gbasha, James Harrod, Richard McGinniss, Susan Hornung, Dale Siela.
for the victims of COVID-19: especially we pray for those affected by the COVID-19 virus, and for all who are in danger.
for our city, county, and community; the city council, the board of supervisors, for those who serve the common good in law enforcement and the courts.
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Need Support?
If you know of anyone, including yourself, who could use a communion visit or a prayer, please call the church office (707-579-2604) or email alison@incarnationsantarosa.org. If you have a pastoral emergency after hours or on weekends, please call the church office (number above) and follow the prompts for the Priest-on-Call.
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Diocesan Newsletter Signup
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 An easy way to keep abreast of the news around the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California, especially during this challenging time, is to subscribe to its newsletter, the Diocesan e-News, which is delivered to your inbox on most Tuesday afternoons. Click here to be directed to their signup page.They take your privacy seriously and do not share their lists with anyone; if you ask to be unsubscribed, by simply clicking on the unsubscribe link that is at the end of each newsletter, you will be taken off the list immediately. If you access your email by phone, you can text EDNC to 28828 and sign up by replying with your email. Subscribe today!
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Church of the Incarnation
550 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
707-579-2604
Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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