From the Rector: News on News and Notes | Church of the Incarnation

Dear friends,

This week we're trying out a new format for News & Notes. This has been in the works for some time: back in 2020, shortly after the lockdown, we developed our new website. However, it's taken us till now to begin using some of its richer features.

Those features include posts and event listings that can be updated regularly, making our website a better place for both members and newcomers to see what's going on at Incarnation. That also means we can build News & Notes from those posts rather than compiling it manually on a separate platform. For a long time, Alison, our parish administrator, has had to manually enter in everything from announcements to calendar listings into News & Notes each week. Meanwhile most of that information never makes it to our website.

Over the next several weeks we'll be working to start creating a routine so that public news items and event listings are posted first to our website, then automatically included in News & Notes. The result should be a much better integration between our website and our parish newsletter. Of course, more private announcements intended just for our congregation and things like the prayer lists will still appear just in News & Notes.

This is a work in progress, so please bear with Alison and me as we figure out how to best make it work. You'll see different fonts and layouts in this newsletter, but all the content you're used to in News & Notes will still be there. We'll be interested in hearing from you as we go.

Meanwhile, I want to thank everyone who participated in our Annual Parish Meeting last Sunday. It was a wonderful celebration of our parish's life. You can still read our Annual Report here and our Treasurer's Report here. I'm grateful to all those who stood for election as Vestry members or Convention delegates, to our outgoing Vestry members, and to all those who made the logistics of lunch and the meeting happen. Together we are moving forward, listening for God's call together in 2023.

In Christ's love,

Stephen

Tags: News & Notes

People decide to visit a church for lots of different reasons, often because they're at some sort of transition point in their lives. Maybe you're a longtime Episcopalian; maybe you have experience in another faith tradition; or maybe you've never been to a faith community at all.

Whoever you are, and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you enrich us with your presence, and there's a place for you here.

Learn more about visiting Incarnation.

Incarnation is located at 550 Mendocino Avenue in downtown Santa Rosa, just south of the corner with Cherry Street.

Our church parking lot is located around the corner at 636 Cherry Street. The lot often fills up for our Sunday morning services. Additional free church parking is available in the small gravel lot at the corner of Mendocino and Cherry, or in the city garage at 521 7th Street (free on Sundays), which is a two-minute walk from the church. Finally, street parking is also free on Sundays.

We're also located close to several bus lines, and we have a bike rack in the central courtyard.

Children aren't just the church's future—they're an essential part of our faith community right now. At Incarnation we strive to serve our kids' growing faith, and we know they have much to teach adults, too. Children are always welcome in worship: any age, any time.

Learn more about our children's ministries.

Episcopal worship follows an ancient pattern that dates to the earliest days of the Christian church. The first half of the Eucharist is the Liturgy of the Word the second half is the Liturgy of the Table, also called Holy Communion. If you've spent time in Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, or Eastern Orthodox churches, much of our liturgy will seem familiar. If you're unfamiliar with liturgical Christian worship, don't worry. You're welcome to participate as fully as is right for you, or to just relax into the liturgy and let the rest of the congregation carry you in worship.

Click here for online worship, or to learn more about Episcopal worship.

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Often someone who's been visiting for a while will ask us how to become a member of Incarnation. Learn more about becoming a member.

To support our work sharing God's love here in Sonoma County, you can make a donation online.

Giving is one of the most powerful spiritual practices in existence. It's a statement of gratitude and trust in God.

At Incarnation we encourage all our members and friends to prayerfully choose a percentage of their income to give toward causes that serve God's mission. We ask that part of that intentional giving be a pledge of financial support to the parish, both so our leadership can plan ahead in making a budget, and as a tangible commitment to what God is doing here at Incarnation. For more on the practice of proportional giving, see this FAQ.

You can make a donation to Incarnation online, toward your pledge or as a special offering, by clicking below.