Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 7.10.26

Dear brothers and sisters of our Little Church family,

You might notice that some of our summer updates are a bit shorter as the choirs and other activities take a much needed break.  It is part of the beloved balance that the liturgical year offers between fast and feast days, calm seasons and more active seasons.  Worry not, it is now less that six months till Christmas!…smile. 

For this upcoming Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, the Gospel passage presents before our souls the beautiful Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9,13-23).  The image of sowing seeds would have been a familiar image in Jesus’ time.   In the ancient world, seed was often planted via “broadcast” throwing…spreading seed with a seeming abandon, with the seeds landing wherever they might. 

Nowadays, our modern technology assures carefully measured planting with machine implementation, complete with GPS guidance. Giant tractors move across vast fields with the modern human farmer sitting high above in an air-conditioned cab far removed and protected from the soil. Giant steel fingers rake the ground poking the soil, planting the seed with great precision, even adding an exact measurement of water before automatically covering each hole with dirt.  Birds can still get to the seed, but they have to work much harder for it!  

But even with many centuries between us and this parable, we can instantly comprehend and appreciate it’s ancient meaning which never becomes old! The farmer throws the seed which falls on various kinds of soils:  the shallow, the rocky, the thorny, and the good.  And the type of soil determines the formation and fate of the seed. 

Jesus interprets the parable in a way that we all can relate, and I hope to connect his interpretation to our own lives and times in Sunday’s sermon.  

We will celebrate the funeral mass in thanksgiving of the life of our dear Patrick Carr, Saturday, July 18 at 11:00am. Patrick was a beloved and faithful member of the congregation, and we will miss him deeply.  Our prayers and love go out to his wife, Kate.  

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 click here to contact Claudia Dumschat for more information. 

As many of you know, the church owns some 17,000 square feet of rental space (adjacent to the church) that was left vacant during the pandemic.  What started as a dire crisis for the parish, losing a main source of our annual income, has evolved into an extension of our 177 years of outreach to the theater community.  We are not where our pre-pandemic income numbers were, but we are sailing in the right direction. 

Following the pandemic, we faced a new reality and hard realization that we could no longer locate and depend on a single renter for our space.  Then a group of parishioners created a vision and business plan for our space, naming it Houghton Hall after our founding rector, Father George Hendric Houghton.  They envisioned it as a rehearsal space for many in the theater community needing affordable and accessible space.  Today, Houghton Hall is a growing and thriving reality with the hope to increase our revenues annually.

So, if you're ever looking to rent some space, consider Houghton Hall Arts Community. Houghton Hall offers offices, rehearsal rooms, acting studios, and meeting space to performing arts organizations, teachers, actors, and other arts professionals. Rehearsal rooms are from 250-1,750 square feet and are available by the hour or by the day. Given that Houghton Hall is owned by the Church of Transfiguration, all bookings directly support the church. Spread the word! To learn more, visit their website here. 

The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday.  We will pray the Joyful 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. Click here to email 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