Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 10.16.26
Dear members and friends of our parish family,
Open House New York weekend is almost here! If you don't know, Open House New York is an annual celebration of all the places that make New York a special place to live, work, play, and worship, and it will be held tomorrow, Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18. Join with the Church of the Transfiguration, the Episcopal Actors’ Guild, and Houghton Hall Arts Community for a spectacular weekend of music, art, and history celebrating our long tradition of diversity and inclusion, and invite your friends!
Guided tours of the church will be held Saturday at 10:45 and 1:00, and Sunday at 12:30 (in Spanish) and 1:00. Concerts will be held Saturday at 11:45 (Family Concert with Claudia Dumschat) and 3:00 (piano concert with Matei Varga), and on Sunday at 2:00 (“Broadway in Song” with members of COT, EAG, and HHAC). Other events include a display of vestments with Steve Leavitt, a display of the EAG theatre archives, and a trading card activity at Houghton Hall. For the complete schedule, please click here.
On Sunday, we will welcome our Candidate for Holy Orders, Dr. Chanmi Byun, to the pulpit for all masses. The Gospel passage is the famous reply of Jesus about paying taxes to the Emperor (Matthew 22:15-22). “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Join us Sunday, October 25th at 4:00pm for our Octoberfest Concert, a delightful afternoon of comic cantatas and Gemütlichkeit featuring J.S. Bach's Coffee Cantata (Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211) and G.F. Telemann's Der Schulmeister (The School Master) with members of the Transfiguration Boys & Girls Choir, Sam Strickland, Berit Johnson and Dominick Matsko, Period Instrument Ensemble, Claudia Dumschat, harpsichord and conductor. Tickets are $25 / $15 for students and seniors and can be purchased online here.
At this Octoberfest concert, our choir will be holding a raffle for Starbucks gift cards! Four lucky winners will receive one of the following: $50 gift card (2 available) or $100 gift card (2 available). Raffle tickets will be sold for $5 per 1 ticket and $20 for 5 tickets. All proceeds will benefit the choir. The winners do not need to be present to win! Please see a choir parent at the back of the church after the 11 am mass if you would like to purchase tickets.
This week we began our annual pledge campaign. We are grateful for those who have already made their 2027 pledge, and we are hoping for 100% participation. Many will be able to specify a financial amount of money that will enable the parish’s vestry to prepare a budget for the upcoming year. Others, who at present cannot commit to a specific amount of money, can make an Open Pledge, committing what they can in time, talent, or treasure for the support of the parish. Pledges can be submitted online here, but printed out copies will still be available in the back of the church and in the parish office.
Save the date for the installation of former seminarian, Danelie Millien, as Priest-in-Charge of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Spring Valley, New York, November 1, 2025. Click here to see the invitation.
The Bishop of New York, The Rt. Rev. Matthew Heyd, will make his first visitation to Transfiguration on Sunday November 15th. If you are considering Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation, please contact the office. This is a beautiful time of renewal.
Thank you so dearly for the outpouring of generosity and response to our restoration of the St. Joseph of Arimathea Chapel. How privileged we are to have stewardship of this treasured and historical space! Scaffolding is up, and the large Transfiguration window will soon be removed for restoration. So we’ll look a little ragged for the winter months before the dazzling completion. Click here to read more about this current project.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the Joyful mysteries this Sunday.
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 email the parish office (parishoffice@littlechurch.org) 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