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Weekly News & Notes from Incarnation
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News & Notes - September 20, 2020
The Siteenth Sunday After Pentecost
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Reflections from the Task Force on Regathering by Karin Dutra
The Regathering Task Force has watched the concept of "church" evolve in 2020. Each week, as conditions kept changing, we prayed and then discussed how to safely worship together. And through the struggle for a plan, many blessings have come shining through:
- Technology cannot block the Spirit that connects us. We see God in each other, even in a Zoom square. And we have reconnected with friends who moved away.
- The universal church has expanded as our services have joined thousands of services on the frontiers of social media. Online church is a robust new ministry at Incarnation.
- Our incredible sanctuary, like so many others, stands idle, but we have discovered that a brick courtyard, a grassy space, a shade tree, and open sky can become a sacred tabernacle in this pandemic wilderness.
- Even our personal and communal preparation for worship has new dimensions that can deepen our spirit and our readiness to worship.
We have also discovered a great deal of uncertainty.
- What is COVID-19? How does it spread? Who is the most vulnerable? Masks? 6 feet? 10 people? Indoor or outdoor? The answers seemed to change each week.
- Over time, and through politics, the data available to us for evaluating risk has remained uncertain at best. What is being measured? Who was doing the evaluating? How could we sort out the valuable information from the hype? How can we synthesize the widely varying data to make a decision that would fit the various viewpoints in our congregation? Add fire season and the winter weather... The task of deciding when in-person worship is 'safe' became challenging to discern.
The Task Force was put together to determine if, how, and when to add in-person worship safely to our church life. SAFETY being our prime directive. But it turns out that the taskforce cannot guarantee your complete safety or our own. So, the best path forward for in-person worship was for Incarnation to provide options for worship, while asking participants to make wise worship choices for themselves and others. Safety, like worship, is a COMMUNITY effort done together, in faith and in prayer.
We have had some successes and look forward to the future.
Our worship began in March, following the state and local rules at the time. Weekly Zoom services are up and thriving with 80+ families joining in each week. We have overcome technical difficulties and disruptive 'bombers.' We have had coffee time, mixed it up in breakout rooms, enjoyed garage church, and played with Zoom features, while admiring everyone's COVID hair.
Together, we added in-person outdoor worship on the first Sunday in August, as the state and local restrictions eased. The outdoor services are supported by the guidelines written by the taskforce and the technical expertise of John Nykamp. Communion (bread only) began in September, with in-person communion as well as personalized deliveries of communion bread to homes. We look forward to the day the diocesan restrictions ease and we can share both the bread and the wine at Eucharist.
Who knows where the Spirit will take us next with our collective worship!
As a congregation we should stay alert and open-minded for creative ways to enrich our time together. We can also pray daily that conditions improve, and the sanctuary opens again for gatherings and worship.
For the foreseeable future, we will have first Sunday in-person services with the Zoom option, and the remaining three weeks of the month will be online worship only. Now that we have that pattern in place, the Regathering Task Force is disbanding in its current form. Our staff and vestry will continue monitoring state and local guidelines and Incarnation worship services will follow all the changes and interruptions as required. We will continue to need many volunteers to make our in-person services happen. We may reconstitute a future version of the Task Force if conditions change so that we need to do more extensive discernment or adjust our worship patterns to new realities.
The Taskforce asks you to be vigilant about your health and be open with the church if you find yourself sick with COVID-19. We are here to pray with you and support you. Wear your mask humbly in all required places and be aware of others as you navigate public spaces. We are all a blessing in God's family. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Laugh often. Look up and praise God's creation. And share kindness, like you always do.
Peace be with you,
The 2020 Taskforce on Regathering
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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, September 20
Readings:
7 am - 8:30 am - Open Table's Breakfast
11:00 - 11:50 am: Inwardly Digest Book Study (for meeting links see above).
Monday, September 21
Tuesday, September 22
8:00 - 8:30 am: Outdoor Morning Prayer. 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.
12:00 - 12:50 pm: Lectionary Lunch (for meeting links see above).
Wednesday, September 23
6:00 pm - Alleluia Choir: Zoom
Thursday, September 24
6:00 pm - St. Cecilia Choir: Zoom
9:00 am - Education for Ministry (EfM)
Friday, September 25
Saturday, September 26
9 am to 11:00 am - Open Table Prep
Sunday, September 27
Readings:
7 am - 8:30 am: Open Table's Breakfast
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 Fall Book Study: Join Us Sunday
Our fall book study on Derek Olsen's Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life continues with its second session this Sunday, September 20. Join us on Zoom from 11:00-11:50 a.m. If you missed the first session, not to worry-you can
watch it online here. Subsequent sessions will also be posted. Here's the Zoom link to join us Sunday:
669-900-9128, Meeting ID: 880 7935 8521 #
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Lectionary Lunch: Tuesdays at noon
Join Pastor Stephen on Zoom for a time to study and discuss the readings for the upcoming Sunday. 12:00-12:50 p.m. on Tuesdays: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86541597529#success; or to dial in, 669-900-9128, Meeting ID: 865 4159 7529 #. |
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October 2, Friday: The Order of the Daughters of the King...
 will be meeting on Fridays, October 2, 16, and 30, 2020 via zoom. If you are an Episcopal woman who is interested in the Order please contact Joan Hans-Stafford, chapter president, by e-mail at jesstafford60@gmail.com, or by phone at 530.906.7347 to gain access to the meeting.
The Order of the Daughters of the King is an order of women who pray, serve and evangelize the message of Jesus in their lives. We can be identified by the little silver cross that we wear habitually daily and pray, "For His Sake, I am but one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. What I ought to do by the grace of God, I will do. Lord, what will you have me to do?"
Thank you,
Joan Hans-Stafford
Women of the Table Chapter President
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October 4, Sunday: Blessing of the Animals
Send Your Pictures!
 Our traditional Blessing of the Animals on the Sunday closest to St. Francis' Day will happen on October 4. Because of COVID-19 precautions, we won't be able to have our animals present in person at church this year. Instead, we'll be doing a "distanced blessing" of our beloved creatures with a slideshow of pictures during the service. To participate in the slideshow, please send a picture of you with your animal(s) to Linelle Lane at linelle@sonic.net. Pictures need to be sent in before noon on Friday, October 2.
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Ready to Join Incarnation?
Have you been worshiping at Incarnation for a while? Are you ready to take the next step? If this parish has become your spiritual home, consider becoming an official member of Incarnation. We ask members to be active participants in the life of the parish: engaging in a regular practice of faith, caring for those inside and outside of our walls, taking part in the week-to-week life of Incarnation, and supporting the work and mission of the parish financially. Members are also eligible to participate fully in the leadership and governance of the church, including voting in our annual parish meetings and serving in leadership positions in our diocese and the wider Episcopal Church.
If you haven't previously been baptized, being baptized at Incarnation makes you a member here. If you've already been baptized in any Christian tradition, we will be delighted to recognize you as a baptized member here at Incarnation. In some cases this can happen through a letter of transfer from your previous congregation. We welcome new members periodically throughout the year and hope to have a new member welcome later this fall. To become a member of Incarnation, or to learn more, contact Pastor Stephen at sshaver@incarnationsantarosa.org. |
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Interested in Baptism?
Holy Baptism is the foundation of our lives as Christians. In Baptism we are adopted as God's children and made members of the Church, the Body of Christ. November 1, All Saints' Day, is a traditional time to celebrate baptism, and we could have the opportunity to do so at our outdoor in-person services that day. If you are interested in seeking Baptism for yourself or for a child, please contact Pastor Stephen at sshaver@incarnationsantarosa.org. |
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2021 Pledge Campaign coming to you!
This week I want to focus on two different examples of acting in faith. The first is the folks working on the first Sunday in-person services we are now able to have in the courtyard. How very gratifying it is to come together to worship. The folks who work on all the logistics to make it possible are acting in faith. What a gift!
The other is a personal commitment Inese Heinzel makes through her Hospice work- that no one dies alone. That is clearly an example of living her baptismal covenant.
Let me know if you have acts of faith, either yours or ones you know of, that I can highlight in the next weeks. Little, big or in between, that all count.
Judy Velasquez
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Sunday Open Table September Update
Special thanks to all of our Sunday Open Table Volunteers who have been so helpful in keeping this program going through weather fair and foul. We have shoppers and sandwich makers and egg cookers and coffee servers and bag handlers (handing the final product to our guests). If you would like to join this wonderful group, please learn more at opentable@incarnationsantarosa.org or sign up at incarnation.ivolunteer.com. As they say (since the early 1300s), many hands make light work. Your help is welcome even if you can only help once a month or occasionally.
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SOCKTOBER is Coming!
Since many of our guests are unhoused and have little in the way of warm clothing, they certainly appreciate what we can provide. They especially appreciate being able to change to a clean pair of socks and this need only increases in the winter months. We have limited capacity right now to receive and sort clothing donations, so we're only accepting socks at this time. You are welcome to pick up some socks for us when you are out shopping. We have also secured a source that will let us purchase socks for the homeless at a bulk rates so cash donations for this need would also be appreciated.
Donate Online or you can mail a check made out to Church of the Incarnation and mail to the church office, 550 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401. Please write socks on the memo line. Thank you all for supporting this important ministry in your prayers and contributions!
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New Groups at Incarnation
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 Becoming Beloved Community - Book Study Opportunity!
Something new is happening! For the first time, Incarnation will join the good folks of St John's Petaluma, St Stephen's Sebastopol, and St Patrick's Kenwood as a mini-deanery group to read How to Be an Anti-racist, by Ibram X. Kendi.
Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to anti-racism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.
Praise for How to Be an Anti-racist:
Ibram X. Kendi's new book, How to Be an Antiracist, couldn't come at a better time. Kendi has gifted us with a book that is not only an essential instruction manual but also a memoir of the author's own path from anti-black racism to anti-white racism and, finally, to anti-racism. How to Be an Anti-racist gives us a clear and compelling way to approach, as Kendi puts it in his introduction, 'the basic struggle we're all in, the struggle to be fully human and to see that others are fully human.' - NPR
We'll meet via Zoom every other week, committing to reading, listening to each other, and growing in our Baptismal promise to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.
Please contact Paul Mallatt, paulyfa@me.com, or Helen Killeen, hkil2e2n@gmail.com, to let us know you're interested. We'll be in touch about times and dates and look forward to another amazing time of loving change! Stay tuned!
Contact Linda Sevier to order your book though the church bookstore:
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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 John C., Jan H., Doreen, Robyn, Bruce, David & Susan, Ricette, Nancy, Rex, Andrea, George, Lauren W., Amy C., Monique & Kirk, Alice D. , Carolyn, Amanda Cortese, and Nancy Hanke.
...for those who have died: Alan Robarts, Wallace Look, Marilyn Payne, Gary Lindsey, David Ratner, Frank Gavaller, John Ziaja, 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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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. |
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
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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