Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 10.30.26

Dear members and friends of our parish family,
 
We will celebrate the Feast of All Saints this Sunday on its fixed date of November 1st.  It is one of the seven “Principal” feasts of our Lord, and unique in that it isn’t a feast based on an event of his life, such as Christmas or Easter.  All Saints is a feast of our Lord Jesus as he is known and loved in the lives of human beings….the Saints!
 
I adore the story of the little girl in Sunday school class, being asked the question, “Who are the saints?” Thinking for a moment, she pictured in her mind the people depicted in the stained glass windows of the church.  She responded, “The saints are the people who let the light in the Church.”  How true!
 
In addition to the great and famous saints, this Sunday will be a day when we ask ourselves, "Who are the people who have let the light in our lives?!"
 
I am honored to be the celebrant this Sunday, and Fr. Patrick will be our preacher.  Please make every effort to be with us for this most special and beautiful feast.  The hymns alone will make our souls soar!
 
Remember to set your clocks back one hour this Sunday for Daylight Saving time. And also allow a little more time for your church commute due to Sunday’s New York marathon.  
 
Whereas All Saints commemorates and celebrates the lives of the saints living and dead, the Feast of All Souls, the following day (Nov. 2), specifically commemorates the faithful departed.  Our Mexican friends call it the “Day Of the Dead.”  While more somber than All Saints, the Feast of All Souls isn’t morbid.  It is simply a day when we remember, before the Altar of God, those who have died in the love of the Lord. The color black is used, not as a color of darkness, but as the color of grief.  And grief is intimately connected to love!  We can only grieve if we have loved! 
 
Our All Souls mass will be a small said mass on Monday at 12:10pm. While small and unelaborated, how dear and sacred to lift up those who rejoice with us still, but “upon another shore and in a greater light.” Please email parishoffice@littlechurch.org with names of the departed, which will be placed before the altar
 
We are continuing our annual Pledge/Stewardship campaign for the upcoming fiscal year, 2027.  Thank you all who have already make your pledge commitment!  Click here for more details.  We hope to end the campaign by Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 22nd.  
 
Amidst our present stewardship campaign, we are excited to announce another way of giving to the Little Church. Zelle is a fast and secure way to send money from your bank to ours. To give through Zelle, you will need to use your banking app and find Zelle (usually under "send money"). For the recipient, please type "LittleChurch" (our Zelle tag). Our name is listed as "The Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen" (this is the start of our full legal name and it's all the bank can fit).  From there, you can set the amount and add a message to designate your contribution. You will have the opportunity to review before you submit.   A QR code will also be available in the weekly bulletin. If you have any questions, please contact the parish office. 
 
The Episcopal Actors' Guild Annual Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, November 8 at 3 pm. Since 1925, members of NYC's performing arts community have gathered together to honor and celebrate those colleagues we lost in the previous year. Join us for a traditional Evensong service led by Fr. Patrick Cheng. It will include music by Little Church Director of Music and organist Dr. Claudia Dumschat and the Church of the Transfiguration Choir of Men and Boys and Girls, a memorial address by EAG Council Member Peter Von Berg, a reading of the names of those we have lost, and a call for one final standing ovation. 
 
The Bishop of New York, The Rt. Rev. Matthew Heyd, will make his first visitation to Transfiguration on Sunday November 15th. Please save the date and plan to attend.  

Thank you so dearly for your 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 glorious mysteries this Sunday in appreciation for the feast of All Saints!      

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 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