Holiday Open House TODAY at Heavenly Treasures! Are you ready for the best shopping experience you'll have this holiday season?  Come over to Heavenly Treasures today after services.  You'll find the perfect sparkly outfit for that holiday party, cuddly cashmere sweaters, Christmas decorations, holiday wrap and cards.  You'll also find brand new gifts like jewelry, pashmina shawls, stylish scarves, and tons more.  Take advantage of bargain basement prices, and know that your purchase does real good--our profits are donated to social service and justice causes.  We'll be open until 1:00, so stroll over and let us help you with your holiday shopping.

Pancake Breakfast TODAY! Get 'em while you can. We have $2000.00 more to go to meet our goals. Any donation will help. 

The next Twilight Pipe Organ Mini Recital, held the second Friday of every month, will be on Friday, December 9th, 6:00 PM, approx. 1/2 hour in length. The artist is Colleen O'Malley, organist at First United Methodist Church, Santa Rosa. She will be joined by Anne Sekara, flautist, and Sadie Luke, vocalist, in a selection of Christmas music. Following the recital, those who would like are invited to a no-host dinner with the artist. A free will offering is requested to cover cost and support the purchase of the 32'pedal stop, which will complete the Cassavant organ. The event is co-sponsored by the Redwood Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Please contact Harold Julander, 707-694-1896, for further information.

There are some unclaimed Fall decorations that were left in Farlander Hall. If you are missing some, look for them in the Library. Thanks!

December Guild Events: The next Women's Guild meeting will be Tuesday, December 6th.  We will begin with Holy Communion in the church at 10:30 am and continue with a short business meeting in Farlander Hall at 11:30 am. A catered lunch will be served at noon, followed by a program of Christmas music by Melissa Craig-Morse and Harold Julander. Everyone is invited to join the festivities!

Holiday Bazaar Thanks: The members of the Guild of the Incarnation would like to thank all the knitters, crocheters, sewers, jewelry makers, jelly makers, bakers, etc, etc, who made all the beautiful items for our Holiday Bazaar. It was a great success and we thank you all for supporting us so we can continue our outreach programs. The raffle winners were Eleanor Nykamp, who won the tree skirt and stocking and Chelle White, who won the trip to The Olympic Village. Congratulations to you both. A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ERIC for all his hard work and support.

Bring a Friend to Church! The Holidays are for some a wonderful time of the year, and for others a not-so-wonderful time as they are dealing with loneliness, loss or one of the many hardships of life. Your friends and family members need you in ways you might not fully know until you ask or spend time with them. This Advent Season, we invite you to spend time thinking about and praying for people dear to you, to both celebrate all that is good in their lives, and for healing however needed. Today and next Sunday, Father Matt will be leading us in devotionals to give us time to reflect on others. If you are so moved, please invite those family and friends whom you have been praying for to join you for church on the fourth Sunday of Advent, December 18th. We hope that Incarnation will be their spiritual home for the Holidays as we share God's love and gift of peace with them.

The Scarf Project - As The Scarf Project comes to an end for this year, I would like to thank all of the people who have contributed to its success:  Peggy, Terry, Marti, Diane, Julie, Mary, Lily, Vicki, Carol, Kathryn, Yvette, Lisa, Juliette, Jean, Tish, Beth, Sharon, Heather, Shan, Liz, David, Barbara, and especially  BJ. All who made and contributed scarves, bought and gave me yarn, contributed money or just encouraged me deserve recognition for their efforts. This has truly been a community project. Many, many thanks for all your help! If you have scarves yet to contribute, get them to me as soon as you can. We will be distributing them to the Open Table folk at Christmas and need a little time to get organized! In case you are wondering, we have accumulated about 150 scarves... so far! Again, many, many thanks for your help! 

-Debora Leitner (707-523-1536)

Benedict's Way meets this Tuesday in the library, 6:30-8pm. We are a community that gathers to practice the Rule of Benedict. To support one another as we strive to quiet our lives in the busyness that is life. Starting in December we will begin to use the book Monastery of the Heart by Joan Chittister. Consider joining us for a time of reflection, contemplation, and fellowship. If you have any questions you can contact Mitch Garcia at smallgroups@incarnation-sr.org or call 703-4162. Come and join us, all are welcome.

Here's your chance to be part of the giving to St. Andrews. Every year we fill 25 stockings and take them out to St. Andrews for a Christmas celebration. This year we have all kinds of goodies to put in the stockings. You can help by donating money towards what has already been purchased. Stop by and see what we have, it couldn't be easier to give to the needy this year!

Interfaith Winter Solstice Peace Celebration/Meditation on December 16th at 6:15 pm (until 9:30 pm) at Farlander Hall: Come join us as Incarnation hosts our Sonoma Counties' 23-year tradition/a 4-seasons  gathering for World peace. Presentations by Peace 21: Musical offerings by recording artists Hannah (flute, dulcimer, and harmonium), and by Sahar (tabla). Both artists have assisted Peace 21 meditation gatherings over the years, offering beautiful & diverse world-wide chanting experiences, with audience participation & with virtuosity, love, and the light of wisdom. Presentations from A.M.O.R.C., the Rosicrucian Order, Santa Rosa: Presentation from Phillip O'Connell (gifted in the area of Guided Meditation & creative Visualization & the Rosicrucian Outreach Coordinator for our greater area) followed by a brief Silent Meditation. Two 8 minute imaginative films regarding World Peace will be presented, then a Q. & A. time. BLUESHIFT, voted #6 in Bay Area alternative music with brilliant songs & intricate guitar playing, offering a "soft set" for your peaceful contemplation... Refreshments served, donation $10/ $15 sliding scale requested & greatly appreciated. Questions: martinahill77@aol.com, 707-869-9636

Needed: People! Dear parishioners possessing many talents, we need you. Me? Yes, you! We have identified many needs at Incarnation and we would love for volunteers to come forward. Here are the following positions we have open:

1) Official Reporter of the Church of the Incarnation. You will write feature articles for the Newsletter and occasional news updates to post on Incarnation's Facebook page. You will cover events that have happened at Incarnation, and upcoming events. You will write short features on persons of interest. You will have that long, fancy title to impress people. 

2) Party Planners. Do you like to plan parties? If so we have a committee forming that you will absolutely love to be a part of!  Fun awaits you...

3) Welcome Office Volunteer. Claire still really needs people to help in the Welcome Office by answering phones, making photocopies, handling mail, etc. 

4) Graphic Designer. If you know how to do a little of this or that on Photoshop, the Welcome Committee needs you! We want to put together more polished looking print materials.

5) Bookstore. The Bookstore needs volunteers to help ring up people's purchases. All it takes is the ability to do simple math and share a smile.

6) Hospitality. Are you hospitable, friendly, a good listener and/or chatty? We need you for an exciting new program! 

Interested?  Or possibly interested if you knew more about any of the above positions?  If so please speak to Stephanie Blair (stephchristel@gmail.com, 707-837-2972).

Pageant time is here for the Christmas Eve 4:00 pm service. We still have a few parts left, email Daphne to sign up. We are looking for some wise men, innkeepers, a shepherd, sheep and angels, all ages come one come all. Be a part of the fun. Contact Daphne at youthmin@incarnation-sr.org.

Small Groups and Adult Spiritual Formation Presents Christian Contemplative Path Series "Spiritual Deepening on the Contemplative Path". The theme of all contemplative gatherings is God. The ways in which we will attend to God will vary. Our intent is to learn to be open, receptive to God, to draw closer to God and each week we will attend to God with a different prayer form practice. This six week series will be on Saturday mornings in Room 3 from 9:30 - 11:30 AM, January 7th - February 11th, 2012. There are flyers and a sign-up sheet on the Small Group table in Farlander.

New to Incarnation or have been thinking about joining a small group?Are you looking for a way to connect with others? Then check out our Small Groups. Small Groups span a wide area of interest. We offer Care + Support groups, Study + Reflection groups, Topics + Interest groups, and Prayer + Contemplative groups. To learn more about each one go to our website and explore the possibilities! If you have an desire to form a small group, I would love to hear from you. You can call me (Mitch Garcia) at 707-703-4162 or email me at smallgroups@incarnation-sr.org.

Like us on Facebook! Incarnation is now officially on Facebook. We will keep our page up-to-date with events, news, and discussions. "Like" the church's page to get all of the updates. To find our page, type "Church of the Incarnation Episcopal" in the search field at the top, center of your home page. The Church's new page is discoverable by the outside public, so it will be a great way to let potential newcomers know how active and alive this parish is! The more followers, the more discussions, the better! Thanks!

Sharing the Wisdom of the Enneagram

Saturday February 4th, 2012

The Bishop's Ranch, Healdsburg, CA

Fee: $105 per person, including lunch

The Enneagram Workshop led by Bill Glenn, MA, MDiv, will focus on explicating the wisdom of this spiritual and psychological system to those interested in further developing their awareness of the graced complexity of human nature and human relationship. Bill will provide an overview of the Enneagram, a thorough explanation of the nine strategies, or types, each strategy's relationship to its complements (the wings), and the interwoven relationship of all nine types into a whole. Using anecdotes, illustrations from contemporary culture, both sacred and profane, with a generous dollop of humor, and some interactive work to boot, beginners will find the workshop both accessible and informative, and those already steeped in the Enneagram will find it an opportunity to deepen insight into its ongoing wisdom. Hopefully all will find it an aide in the development of a psychologically astute spiritual life. Leader: William D. Glenn MA, MDiv is a licensed psychotherapist and spiritual director practicing in Sonoma County. He was introduced to the Enneagram in 1978, and has worked with its intuitive principles both in his clinical and spiritual practice and as a workshop leader for over thirty years. A former Jesuit, Bill has worked extensively in schools, in health care, and in prisons. He has lectured extensively, and has been published in several magazines and anthologies.