Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 7.17.26
Dear brothers and sisters of our Little Church family,
It is with grateful hearts for a life well lived that we mourn the death of Marius (“Mart”) Hulswit, a long time and beloved parishioner of this parish and former Executive Director of the Episcopal Actors’ Guild. Mart died this past Wednesday night at his home surrounded by his beloved wife Maria, his children, and grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending. Click here to read the beautiful tribute by the Episcopal Actors’ Guild. May his rest be this day in peace, and his dwelling place in the Paradise of God.
We will celebrate a funeral mass in thanksgiving of the life of our dear Patrick Carr, tomorrow, Saturday, July 18 at 11:00am. Patrick was a faithful member of the congregation, and we miss him deeply. Our prayers and love go out to his wife, Kate.
The Gospel passage and sermon text for this upcoming eighth Sunday after Pentecost is yet another farming parable; the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). This will be the third such parable in a row which might be a stretch for us city folk, but it still has something beautiful to teach us.
In the story, an enemy plants weeds alongside healthy wheat in a field. By the time the farm workers discover the problem, both the wheat and the weeds were growing together. The owner cautions the workers to wait and not pull out the weeds, lest some of the good wheat gets torn out with it. He instructs them to wait until after the harvest to separate the good from the bad.
The Parable of the Wheat the Tares is a parable about patience and care when it comes to judgment, and it offers much for our refection in today’s world and reality. I am honored to preach on this text and to taste its riches, even after 2000 years!
Our monthly Spanish mass is offered this Sunday at 5:00pm in the Family Chapel. All are welcome!
We will celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration on Sunday, August 2 (anticipated from its fixed date of August 6th). Our feast of title is always a special day. All are welcome to join us in person at 8:30 am and 11:00 am. Our 11:00 am mass will also be live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube. For those who are able to help with the special reception following the 11:00am mass, donations of salads and desserts, as well as volunteers to assist with the clean up, would be greatly appreciated. Please contact the parish office (parishoffice@littlechurch.org) if you are able to help out in any way.
Do you love to sing? Do you miss singing with a choir? Are you looking to improve your voice and/or your sight reading skills? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then think about joining the summer choir here at Transfiguration Church! We sing most Sundays through mid-September at the 11am service. We rehearse prior to that in the church from 9:30 to 11:00am. For some special feast day services, we have a Saturday morning rehearsal. Join us when you can! Please contact Claudia Dumschat for more information.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the Luminous mysteries.
We continue to live-stream each Sunday’s mass at 11:00am, and a link is sent out each Sunday morning at 8:00am. We live-stream on Facebook and YouTube. Please contact the parish office if you would like to pray the morning and evening offices with us by Zoom.
Thank you for your continued faith, support, and love for the parish.
Fides Opera
With loving wishes,
Fr. van Dooren