New Website! After hours and hours of labor, Mitch Garcia and Liz Nix have produced a newly designed website for the Church! Check it out at www.incarnation-sr.org, and email questions or comments to Mitch Garcia (smallgroups@incarnation-sr.org).
 
Pancake Breakfast is back! Join us this morning for the Pancake Breakfast after the 8 am and 9:15 am services. The pancake breakfast raises money for our youth programs, "youth group night" dinners, ski trips, and outings. So come, support the youth programs here at Incarnation by attending our Pancake Breakfast - we look forward to serving you!
 
The Feast of St. Michael & All Angels is a major Feast Day, on September 29th. In celebration of this, Fr. Ed Howell will be offering Eucharist at the usual 8 am Morning Prayer service on that particular Tuesday, September 29th. Come join us for this special occasion!
 
Tuesday Morning Book Group meets on Tuesday at 9:30 am in the Library, off Farlander Hall. We are reading and discussing God: Stories, a collection of " twenty-five dazzling short stories by eminent writers of varying persuasion," including James Baldwin,  Philip Roth, James Joyce, Flannery O'Connor, John Updike and Eudora Welty and edited by C. Michael Curtis. No advance study is necessary. Come and join us! You can find out about purchasing a book when you come to the meeting.
 
The Memorial Service for Bernice Winsor will be held here at the Church on Friday, October 2nd at 1:30 pm.
 
Blessing of the Animals: Next Sunday! On October 4th, please join us for our combo Discovery Sunday and Blessing of the Animals service: bring your beasties great and small for a blessing. We will be worshipping outside in the Quad area, so bring an extra coat or blanket just in case it gets chilly!
  
Inquirers & Seekers Class: Beginning next Sunday, October 4th (for four consecutive Sundays) 12:30-2:30 pm. These classes are offered for you who are new to our church, for you who are seekers, and for the curious, for those who think they might want to join the church, and even for those who definitely plan to join the church. You'll have a chance to meet some of our clergy and lay leaders, hear about their faith journeys, and learn about the ministries and life of our congregation. Note - For those wishing to be confirmed next June: this course serves as partial preparation for confirmation, and is strongly recommended as part of our confirmation process. If you're interested in attending these classes, please register by signing up in Farlander Hall.
 
Numina presents: Spiritual History through Art on October 4th, 11th, & 25th, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. here at the Church. From the Renaissance through the Wars of Religion, each session will highlight one of the foundational stages in the development of Spirituality in the West. Featuring slides of some of the world's greatest paintings, these presentations will have an interdisciplinary character, combining history, religious studies and art. Sessions are led by Professor Bruce Ellioitt, a professor at UC Berkeley, Stanford Continuing Studies, and Sonoma Statae Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. $15 per session, $40 for the series. Go to www.numinacenter.org for more details.
 
All-Parish Stewardship Dinner: You are invited to an all-parish potluck dinner to be held next Sunday October 4th, in Farlander Hall. The theme of the dinner will be "Gratitude." In addition to eating fabulous food and reconnecting with new and old friends, we will celebrate the joy we feel as members of this community. Please bring  a dish to share. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. for wine and appetizers, and dinner will served at 5:30 p.m.
 
Outreach to Burbank School ~ Volunteering for even one hour a week helps teachers  and students. The teachers need help grading papers or other tasks in the classroom that can be done. Call Patty Hickey for more information or to sign up (568-6856).Another way to help is to donate pencils and erasers, as supply money is more limited than ever. There will be a marked black bag in Farlander Hall to put your pencils and erasers in. The children will be very grateful.
Thank you.
 
Mini Organ Recitals at Church of the Incarnation: A series of short, ½ hour organ recitals beginning at 6:00 p.m. has begun this fall, on the second Friday of each month. Designed to feature the Incarnation Casavant Pipe Organ and local musicians, the recitals offer an opportunity to start your Friday evening with some enjoyable organ music, perhaps followed by a dinner in a downtown Santa Rosa or Railroad Square restaurant. We got to hear a wonderful recital from Harold Julander in September - on Friday, October 9th at 6:00 p.m., we'll have the pleasure of hearing Leslie Dukes! Further recitals for this year will be held on November 13th and December 11th, and will continue in Spring 2010. A free-will donation is intended to cover expenses. We hope to see you there! See Harold Julander for more info.
 
Adult Spiritual Formation Presents:
A Centering Prayer Workshop
Save the date, Saturday October 10th, 2009, 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. Come to The Church of the Incarnation for an introduction to Centering Prayer, offered by the Rev. Amber Sturgiss (Episcopal Priest), and spiritual director Ruah Bull, Ph.D. Centering Prayer is an updated method of a prayer form that has been in the Christian tradition for centuries. Centering Prayer helps develop a state of contemplative prayer, which opens the mind and heart, our whole being to God. In this prayer we open our awareness to God, and consent to God's action and presence within us. The cost for the day is only $25.00 (lunch is included.) Some scholarships are available, please contact Mitch Garcia for information. If you're interested in attending, there are sign-up sheets on the Small Groups table in Farlander. Any questions, please contact: Mitch Garcia at (707) 703-4162 or email smallgroups@incarnation-sr.org, or Suzanne Kurtz at thruthewoods@hotmail.com. Note: you only have a few days left to sign up for this event!