Updates from your Pastoral Care Coordinator | Church of the Incarnation

The Challenges of Aging: Senior Support Groups
Huzzah! The first of these groups will have met five days ago. I’m calling this our “Beta Fish” group, because we’ll practice swimming in this pond of network building and deeper connection for the first time. Thank you to all who have let me know you want to participate, and those of you who have completed the survey, too. About 25 people want to take part in this new ministry! Fantastic! Please be patient with me as I juggle schedules to align people into groups of no more than 8 per session. Just to make things more complicated, I’ve tossed my own vacation into the mix! I will be out of town from Wednesday, July 17 until Monday, July 29.

Friendly Visitors Ministry
About two weeks ago, 8 people joined our Friendly Visitor reflection and training call. We have added two volunteers to become Visitors, and I am now creating a schedule of Visitation for members and friends of the parish who are predominantly home-bound.
If you are 1) home-bound and would like to receive visits, or 2) excited about the idea becoming a Visitor, contact me: [email protected] or 951-347-1837.

August Forum: From Aging to Eldering
On Sunday, August 18, join me at 9:00 am in Short Hall for thoughts about reframing the idea of aging as a downward slide into oblivion, into aging as the season of manifesting healthy eldership. Carl Jung thought that we are born with the archetype of elder” already inside us and that part our life purpose is to grow into healthy elders. As healthy ELDERS, we transform into wise mentors who offer and provide deep, integrated insight through years of real life-experience. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can recognize the supreme value and significance we bring to our communities during this important stage of life. Anyone 18 and over is invited to participate!
Doreen Van Leeuwen, LMFT
Pastoral Care Coordinator

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.

To stay connected with everything that's going on, please subscribe to our e-newsletter, News and Notes.

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.