Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 8.15.25
Dear brothers and sisters of our beloved parish family,
Blessings to you on this the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin!
This Sunday, August 17th, we will celebrate this special feast once again. This day is always a special day for our parish, but this year, we will have the Archbishop of Brisbane, Jeremy Greaves, with us as our preacher. Our diocese is hosting Bishop Jeremy, and Transfiguration was selected for his Sunday visitation. Please make every effort to attend and welcome Bishop Jeremy! Our dear Bishop Suffragan, Allen Shin, will celebrate, and our beloved rector emeritus, Bishop Andrew, will be present as well. This might be a first for us….three bishops for the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin! And it will be my utmost honor to lead in the singing of the Angelus at the conclusion of the 11:00am mass.
Blessed Mary’s vocation was to bring Jesus into this world, and that vocation didn’t end with his birth at Bethlehem. Still today, Blessed Mary brings Jesus to our hearts! The closer we come to Mary, the closer we are drawn to her blessed Son! Both individuals and churches, throughout Christian history, have known and loved Jesus in the most special of ways through the intercession, example, and love of Mary. It is my belief that a parish receives a unique and special blessing as it honors and enjoys a loving devotion to the Blessed Mother. Let us prepare worthily for a great day in honor of our Lady!
Here is a little more about our guest preacher:
Archbishop Jeremy Greaves was elected the tenth Archbishop of Brisbane in August 2023 and was installed in December of that year. The Diocese of Brisbane covers an area of more than half a million square kilometers, from Bundaberg in north central Queensland to Coolangatta on the New South Wales border and west to the borders of South Australia and the Northern Territory. About four million people live within the Diocesan area, including more than 8,000 Anglicans in church each Sunday. In the ACSQ, there are over 175 active clergy in more than 130 parishes. The Diocese owns 13 schools and employs around 4,000 people in its community services arm through Anglicare.
Prior to being elected Archbishop, Jeremy served as one of the three regional bishops in Southern Queensland for seven years.
Since being ordained in 1997, he has served in urban, regional and remote settings in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Jeremy is married to Josie, a midwife, and they have three adult children and a border collie called Paddy.
And we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Mary the Virgin with some wonderful music this week. Hymns include Hail, Holy Queen Enthroned Above and God Himself is with us, which includes the wonderful prayer “let my soul like Mary, be thy earthly sanctuary.” The Summer Choir will sing three movements of the Mozart, Regina Coeli, K 108. Mozart wrote this when he was 15 years old and working for Salzburg Cathedral. Minnie Li will grace us with the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria and we will all, choir and congregation, pray and sing the Angelus together.
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. Please email Claudia Dumschat at cdumschat@littlechurch.org for more information.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the Glorious mysteries this Sunday in honor of Blessed Mary!
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 email the parish office at 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