Pledge envelopes have arrived, for those who asked to receive them. They are arranged by last name on the table in Farlander Hall.

Christmas poinsettias are available today to bring to people in our congregation who don't get to church on a regular basis. If you'd like to deliver one, please check the list in the Narthex and sign your name next to a person to whom you'd like to deliver flowers. Thanks!
 

Second Sunday after The Epiphany - The Kingdom of God is for Everyone

Throughout the life of Jesus and his ministry he gave us a model as to how we should respond to those who are in emotional, financial, and spiritual poverty. Jesus shows us that relationships can be built when we offer a hand to share in one another's human need.

"Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious mind? In short: Who can take away suffering without entering it?" -- Henri Nouwen

Suggested Reading: Luke 6:27-42 · James 2:1-7

Consider: Proclaim the Word of God by your very being today, showing love, no matter what happens.

Visit the church Epiphany site here http://incarnation-sr.org/season/epiphany.php

Book sale! 15% off ALL books (unless otherwise marked) - some bargains at up to 50% off! Time to settle in with a good book on these winter days and nights. In the bookstore, after services.

Have you ever wanted to learn CPR but never had the chance?  Would you like to get trained in case of an emergency?  We now have two defibrillators located on the campus and we need to make sure we have folks trained to use them. Our training is this Thursday Jan 20, from 12:30 to 5 pm, at the church. The first 5 volunteers will have the cost of their training covered - after that its $50 per person. See Pastor Gail, or email her, if you'd like to take the training!

Christmas Cards for Crafts: Please bring your 'used' Christmas cards to Farlander Hall. In November, they will be distributed to The Living Room, a nursing facility, a preschool and the YWCA's A Special Place, a preschool for at risk children. It is amazing what they can do with them. These groups give us all a hearty thanks every year. There will be a container in Farlander Hall through January.

The Evening Women's Group will meet on Tuesday, January 18 at 7 pm, at the home of B. J. Yeager. All women are welcome to join us. We are a supportive group providing a place to share our lives and our spiritual journeys with each other, building friendships as we go. If you have any questions, please contact Donna Wiuff at (707) 837-8768.

Urgent: 8 am Kitchen (Coffee Hour) Help Needed. We need some volunteers to help set up, pour coffee, and bring goodies one Sunday per month - we have four Sundays open and need 6 people. Please contact Marilyn Payne (707-545-2597) if interested.

A walking cane was found in the Kitchen on Monday, December 20. It is blue with flowers on it. If you have lost a cane and think this might belong to you, please call the Church Office at 707-579-2604.

It's that time of year... Mark your calendars now for the Annual Meeting!  Saturday, Jan 29 - a reception bountiful with food, drink, and fun for all at 3 pm, followed by our business meeting at 4 pm. Childcare is available. We have much to be thankful for! Come and reflect on all we have done together in 2010, and we'll look at how to move forward in the new year. We will cast that all-important vote for new Vestry members, and elect delegates to Diocesan Convention. This is one of those rare times where people from all three services are gathered at once, so come and enjoy our vibrant community!

Please donate to the "Winter Coat and All Things Warm" Drive for St. Andrew's Food Program. Now is the time to clean out your closets for gently used winter coats, hats, gloves, rain gear, and scarves. Winter clothing items can be placed in the designated box in Farlander Hall. A warm coat or rain jacket is very much appreciated by the guests of the St. Andrew's Feeding Program, who often are homeless or live in unheated housing. Thank you very much. Incarnation has been very generous in contributing to this program in the past few years.

The Flower Chart for the year 2011 is now on the South wall near the back of the Church. You will find spaces after each Sunday date for each Month of 2011. You can sign up for one or more dates. Someone from the office will call you to learn how you want your flowers noted in the bulletin. The flower offerings can be given in memory of someone, in Thanksgiving or in Celebration of some event, etc. The members of the Altar Guild will buy the flowers to arrange and place on the Reredos for the proper Sunday you have chosen. More than one family may sign up for any given Sunday. The cost for each Sunday is $50. Just put your check in the offering plate, marked "altar flowers," or mail it to the Church Office.

Calling all alumni/ae of Community of Hope! Are you currently sharing your pastoral gifts at Incarnation or in the community? Do you visit or care for others anywhere on a regular basis? We invite you to join us in forming a new Circle of Care continuing education community including graduates from all COH classes. What a rich program we can create if everyone comes together to support one another in pastoral and outreach ministry! Our kick-off event will be either a Saturday retreat or evening meeting in February. Please let us know who you are. Contact Pastor Gail at pastorgail@incarnation-sr.org.

A Weekend with Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault -- Love, Contemplative Style: Centering Prayer and Awakening the Heart. Friday, Feb 11 & Saturday Feb 12 at Grace Episcopal Church (St. Helena, CA). $75 per person for both days, $25 for Friday only, $50 for Saturday only (includes lunch). A contemporary mystic, Cynthia Bourgeault is a writer and internationally known Retreat Leader. Call Grace Church at (707) 963-4157 or email invite@grace-episcopal.org for reservations.

Come to one of the Congregational Leadership Conferences (CLCs). Attending CLCs is free! CLCs are open to all clergy, vestry members (new and continuing), treasurers and any other congregational leaders interested in this opportunity to DISCOVER, SHARE & LEARN innovative best practices used by other congregations in your deanery -- not to mention a unique opportunity to network with your peers! Please save the date: Southwest Deanery Conference, March 5 at St. John's, Petaluma. Can't make this date? Others are available, see the Diocesan Website (www.norcalepiscopal.org) or call the Diocesan Office (916-442-6918) for info. All Congregational Leadership Conferences will take place on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch will be served.

Adult Spiritual Formation Presents:

An Enneagram Workshop
 

The Enneagram is based on nine distinct personality types, and is a profound psychological and spiritual guide to growth which helps gain clear self-understanding. The Enneagram shows how to overcome obstacles that may exist in relating to self, God, and others, and it helps us realize the unique gifts and strengths of each type.

While the Enneagram suggests there are nine basic personality types, with each person having a dominant type, we all have some of each type within us. Gaining an understanding of these nine basic types helps recognize how people can have different motivations, values, and priorities, thus it is a helpful tool in growing compassion for self and others.

A goal of learning the Enneagram is to facilitate the liberation of personality traits that may be constricting, or limiting a fuller experience of life. The Enneagram helps us to become receptive to grace, and it shows new possibilities can be created within and without.

Bill Glenn, psychotherapist, spiritual director and former Jesuit will offer an Enneagram workshop at The Church of the Incarnation on Saturday, February 5, 2011 from 9AM to 4PM. The fee of $75 for the workshop will include a light breakfast and lunch.

Bill has been working with the Enneagram since 1978 and has offered many workshops on the Enneagram. This workshop will provide an overview of the Enneagram for newcomers, and will provide increased awareness and depth for those with prior experience. 

Please email smallgroups@incarnation-sr.org or call Mitch Garcia (707) 703-4162 for further information or to reserve your space. There are only three spots left, so please call to reserve your space right away!
 

Small Groups at Incarnation

What Are Small Groups? A Small Group is simply a group of people who gather on a regular basis for friendship, conversation, and support. We have Small Groups covering a variety of different topics and new groups forming all the time, looking for people just like you! Check out the Small Groups table in Farlander and if you would like more information, sign-up or please call Mitch Garcia at 707-703-4162 or email smallgroups@incarnation-sr.org. If you are interested in starting a small group, please call or email!

Centering Prayer: Meets every Monday from 5:00-6:15 pm in the Clergy Conference Room. Centering Prayer is a technique of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God's presence within us. This practice of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. All are welcome!

Philosophy Group: Come check out the philosophy reading and discussion group.  Philosophy is traditionally defined as the love of wisdom, but the most famous philosopher of antiquity (Socrates) claimed to know nothing at all.  In the same spirit, Proverbs 3:5 warns that human understanding may not be so firm as we believe it to be.  Philosophy studies matters that are elusive,  yet there is something satisfying about the activity of exploring itself.  Join a group where you can explore the limits of your understanding and look deeper into questions about knowledge, truth, justice, being and ethics.  We will read texts as a group and come together to ask questions and discuss them in a spirit of openness and inquiry. For location and date and times of our gathering, please email: kennethwayneblair@gmail.com or call: 707-703-4162.

Poetry Gathering: We meet the 2^nd Monday of each month (3-4:30) in a local home.  "Poetry is the language of devotion in prayer, chant and song. Reading poetry creates clarity, deepens and expands spiritual inquiry, and cultivates wisdom, compassion, self-confidence, patience and love." (Robert McDowell). This groups explore a wide range of poets and their poetry. Through readings and discussions we discover the richness of this art and how it can be used as a spiritual practice in our lives.

Bridge Group: Bridge--anyone? All who are interested in bridge for fun, friendship and fellowship are invited.  All are welcome: experienced players, beginners, and those wanting to learn. We meet on Sunday afternoons twice a month.

Prayer of the Heart: We meet about once a month, to practice the Prayer of the Heart (The Jesus Prayer) together, to support and enhance our individual practice (if we have one). Everyone who wishes to practice the Prayer of the Heart in a group is welcome.

Tuesday Book Group: This group meets every Tuesday from 9:30-10:30 AM in the library. A lively morning study group that pursues a variety of faith issues. Sometimes we gather for Bible study, sometimes we consider faith issues as raised in contemporary literature, sometimes we gather for a book study. Most courses run 6-8 weeks. Our search is for the ways life and faith merging in surprising ways and places.

Men's Group: Meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month at 7 PM in the Sanctuary. This group explores the challenges men face in living their lives of faith in a safe, intimate, environment.

Evening Women's Group: Meets the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in a local home. This is a supportive group that provides a place to share our lives and our spiritual journeys.

Why should I be in a Small Group? The simple answer is: you will not grow in your relationship to God in isolation. Sunday worship is where we gather to celebrate and praise God as a body, in a large group setting. Small Groups are where we see God working in our own life as well as the lives of others. Small Groups are gatherings where we can encourage each other and where we are connected with one another-Small Groups are where this happens. If you are not yet involved, now is the time!