Dear friends,

This week we saw a momentous transition with the inauguration of a new presidential administration. I’m grateful, after the events in the Capitol two weeks ago, that the inauguration seems to have proceeded smoothly and without violence. And I’m proud, among other things, that this country now has our first woman, and person of color, to serve as vice president.

This is a time of new beginnings. Please pray for President Biden, Vice President Harris, all legislators and judges, and all who serve as leaders.

It’s also a time of new beginnings in a smaller setting: our own congregation. This Sunday, at our Annual Meeting, we will celebrate our four outgoing vestry members: Mark Neumann, Fernando Dizon, Bob Priestley, and Nancy Wegge. And we will elect four new vestry members, plus the slate of delegates who will represent our parish at Diocesan Convention this year.

One of the things I’m proud of about the Episcopal Church is our participatory system of leadership. Clergy share authority with lay leaders at all levels of the church’s life. We elect our bishops and other leaders. Our church was founded not long after the American Revolution, and its governance reflects those influences: participatory democracy and multiple centers of authority.

No system of leadership is perfect. But God can work through our systems, and through the flawed people that inhabit them. May God grant wisdom to our new leaders, both in civil society and in the church. And may our common life work toward the building up of God’s Beloved Community.

In Christ’s love,

Here's more on how to use Zoom.

We are also live streaming 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 live stream on the Facebook page by clicking the link above.

At our Annual Parish Meeting, we reflect on and celebrate the year gone by, look ahead to the year to come, and do some important work by electing new vestry members and delegates to Diocesan Convention. You can now download the 2020 Annual Reports by clicking the links above.

This year our Annual Meeting will be held on Zoom after the 9:30 a.m. worship service (using the same link as for worship). Please plan on attending, whether or not you are a member of Incarnation. In order to vote in the parish elections, you need to be:

A link to the online election ballot will be provided during the Annual Meeting.

Come and celebrate our congregational life together on the 24th.

We have four candidates standing for election to the Vestry at our Annual Meeting: Allan Bolchazy, Sara Joslyn, Patrick Lancaster, and Kathleen Robarts. Photos and bios of the candidates are available on our website at the link below:

If you are interested in nominating yourself for Vestry, please contact Vestry members, Nancy Wegge, 916-600-5458, nancywegge@yahoo.com, or Connie Sinclair, 707-849-4240, constancesinclair@hotmail.com.

Thanks to recent support for our program, we begin the New Year with a budget to meet our immediate needs. We are serving approximately 80 people on Sunday morning. Currently we are beginning at 7:30 am. This works with the later sun rise and seems appreciated by volunteers who get an extra wink of sleep. In addition to our bagged breakfasts with sandwiches, eggs and snacks we have been distributing scarves, hats, gloves, socks and underwear as well as hygiene products. These items have been very much appreciated.

We don’t have much storage room for clothing donations, but can always accept warm coats, sweats in good condition and new or newish socks. If you are moved to help with this program, we have several regular weekend jobs – Saturday prep and Sunday distribution – as well as some occasional jobs. We also can use someone to help with our distribution of items mentioned above. Volunteers can come just once or twice a month and that makes a big difference in sharing the load. Check with opportunities on line here, or contact Mark Neuman at Markscomputer@gmail.com.

Nevett Steele Bartow, known as Ned, was born in 1934 in New York city. He attended the Blair academy in New Jersey, and graduated from the Manhattan school of music in 1956. The following year for his Master’s thesis, he wrote the “Mass of the bells”. Subsequent studies took him to Rome and Vienna, but he found that he was not comfortable with serialism and the harsh atonality which was then the norm. Returning to the US, he was hired to head the music department at his alma mater, Blair academy. He found there a friendly and accepting place to teach and to write in the neo-romantic style with which he was comfortable. In 1967, he was diagnosed with a form of leukemia, but continued to teach and compose until his death in 1973 at the age of 39.

Our organist Robert Young, will play Bartow's arrangement of How Firm a Foundation, for the Postlude this coming Sunday, January 24.

Open to everyone who enjoys singing. For complete information click here.

We are taking a break from outdoor Sunday services for January and February. With the colder, wetter weather and the likely post-Christmas increase in COVID-19 cases, this will give us a chance to take a break, re-evaluate our plans for in-person worship as we get deeper into 2021, and to plan for what an eventual return to indoor worship will look like. Thanks to all who have participated in outdoor services during the fall; please watch for more updates in the new year.

Do you feel helpless to effect change in our pandemic hobbled world? Add your voice to assist in the healing of a divided nation. A group of Incarnation parishioners is praying together every Monday at 3:00 pm on Zoom. The meeting is short (about 15 minutes) and centers on prayers from the Book of Common Prayer. Our nation needs your help. Please join us!

For Zoom link, please email Brad, bradsmith51@yahoo.com.

To learn more about the Way of Love podcasts visit The Episcopal Church website.

..Marsha, Hans & Julie, Phil B., Richard M., Tosh, Lorin, Betty, Dawn, Alice D., Cammie, Cory, Dicksie, Matt C., Don B., Amy C., Francoise, Gene & Elizabeth, Rob M., Hugh & Angela, Robyn, Monique & Kirk, Amanda, and Nancy H.

...for those who have died: Bruce Cronan, Marlene Broce, Kay Conner, Mario & Henni P., Harry Dingwall, Athy, Bill Whidden, Marjorie Thoreson, Maureen Green, Alberta Jacobson, Ellen Meuse, Geoff Wright, Carole Jean Martino, Susan Hedges, Jerry Angel, Marilyn Payne.

click here for the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer.

click here for the Anglican Cycle of Prayer.

Monday, January 25

Tuesday, January 26

Wednesday, January 27

Thursday, January 28

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.

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