Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 10.9.26
Dear members and friends of our parish family,
Blessings to you on this beautiful fall Friday.
I look forward to this upcoming Sunday as I prepare for the sermon text of the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14). It is a somewhat difficult parable that calls for careful study and care. It doesn’t end happily as a man without a proper wedding garment is bound hand and foot and thrown into the outer darkness! Please attend mass this Sunday as not to leave your pastor alone with this challenging text….smile!
This week brought news of celebration as parishioner, Nanci Blaisdell, was made a postulant for Holy Orders. Nanci will study to become an ordained deacon of the Church. Congratulations Nanci, and sincerest appreciation to those who served on her parish committee!
On Wednesday, October 14 at 1 pm, our 1 West / 1 East Midday Music Concert “Americana—Songs, Hymns, and Sounds of the Nation” continues here at the Little Church! Organist Thomas Hobson Williams will be performing Music by Charles Ore, Janette Linker, and Evelyn Larter. Suggested donation is $10.
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! 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 this year it will be held this Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18.
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 (pianoconcert 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.
Join us Sunday, October 25th at 4:00pm for 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.
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, 2026. 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 click here to 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 Luminous 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