The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

8:00 am   The Traditional Eucharist
9:30 am   The Joyful Noise Eucharist
10:30 am   The Musical Eucharist


From the Rector

Dia De los Muertos
Next week we celebrate All Souls' and All Saints' day on Sunday morning. We do so by starting in our Memorial Quiet Garden and remembering the departed loved ones we have buried there, and other loved ones who have died. Bring pictures you don't mind leaving, be ready to write names down and place them onto our memorial altar and be ready to call out the name of your loved one. 

After this moving and joyful act of remembrance we will go inside the church and remember all of the saints of the church. We have examples of holiness in our saints, but I personally believe in the sainthood of all believers. What I mean by this is that every one of us contains the seeds of grace, and it is our task in life to water them and help them grow. Every one of us is 'becoming' a saint. 

Join us next week as we remember loved ones, are inspired by the example of the saints and seek to grow in holiness ourselves. On the front cover this week you will see a series of Icons created by my friend Regan O'Callaghan, in his series that depicts the 'sainthood of all believers' - these are three women who acted as 'mothers' to the parish he served in the East End of London and these images were commissioned for the diocesan offices in the diocese of London.

Healing - like water
So we had our prayers for healing last week on St. Luke's Day. We made healing a special focus of our Eucharist, looked at the 12 steps, honored physicians and thought about how prayers for healing could be part of an ongoing journey towards wellness.

In the week since I have had several conversations about prayers for healing, with some of you telling me that you have valued this ministry in our church. One conversation in particular made me think. It was with a parishioner who said that she did not know what to ask for one time when she went up for healing, and made something up. When she told me what she had said it actually sounded like a deeply authentic request that she was downplaying, but in responding to her comment I asked: "you do know you don't have to say anything?"

I went on to say that I always go up for healing prayers, but that I never say what I am praying for. I always have an intention, but I never tell the people praying because I know that God knows. Sometimes it is a physical thing, sometimes an emotional one, sometimes a spiritual issue. I always go because I believe that we are all always both broken and healing at the same time. Personally, I believe that receiving prayers for healing is less like taking a pill when you feel unwell, and more like drinking water - you do it all the time because it is an essential part of being well.

Thank you to our healing team for making this ministry possible. It is a great gift to me personally, and I know to a great many others.

Stewardship: we are family
Thank you to everyone who helped make Oktoberfest possible yesterday.

I am writing this before the event has taken place, but I am confident that it will have been full of fun and excitement! 

And thank you to our Stewardship team of Claudia, Jeanette and Tania for bringing us this year's stewardship campaign. Please read the materials, look at the installations in church and contemplate for the next few weeks how Transfiguration is an extended family to you.

In a couple of weeks we will send out stewardship pledge cards for your responses so that we might support the ministry of our church for the year to come. Monica and I are so excited about ministry with you in the coming year, thank you already for your generosity and commitment to Transfiguration.

Love, 
Matthew+


Monica away this weekend. . .
Monica is away today visiting Isabella and Kyle for their baby shower. Her first grandchild is due in mid-December. Monica will be back in the office on Monday.

Wondering Together
From Virginia: Our Wondering Together dinners wrap up Sunday night. Thank you to the Vestry members for their generous hosting and to all those who came and shared their stories. We will be reporting back all that we learned in the coming weeks.

From Matthew: I am so grateful to Virginia for spearheading this program with the Vestry, she has put together the framework, facilitated each meeting and coordinated guest lists with Noreen Huey, our Administrator. 

I also wanted to thank Matt Longnecker who hosted and Keith Jobe who assisted at the first meal, Jan Jensen who hosted and Bob Adams who assisted at the second meal, Mike Robinson who hosted and George Philipp who assisted at the third meal, Skip Howie who hosted and Bethany Lukach who assisted at the fourth meal, John Tornquist who hosted and Shannon Yonker who assisted at the fifth meal and Gari Patton who hosted and Claudia Dierkes-Banks who will be assisting Sunday night at the final meal. Thank you also to understanding and loving spouses who assisted their Vestry member partner in preparing homes and hosting meals. I am excited about this program and very grateful for the efforts of all. 


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News & Announcements
Home & Hope walk/run coming up in November
The 3rd Annual "The Journey Home" Walk/Run Fundraising Event is to be held on Sunday, November 8th at 1:00pm at Seal Point Park in San Mateo. This is a sponsored event to raise funds for Home & Hope.  Please go online to join our team
or to make a donation


Distil - for the Fall  
Distil (young adult group) will have a new format for the Fall - faith conversation around the dinner table!  Sunday night potluck dinners, 6:15-8pm:
TONIGHT, Oct. 25th - "On Thor and Food" at Dawn's in Palo Alto 
Sunday, Nov. 29th - "Muddy Field vs. Bright Field"Sunday, Dec. 20th - "Fast and Slow"
Distil is also still hosting Sanctuary Yoga with yogi, Yael.  Please join us for yoga on
Thurdays, 
Oct. 22nd, Nov. 12th and Dec. 10th, 
6:15-7:15pm.
Questions?  Speak to Dawn Bailey.

Legacy Society Party
On Sunday, November 1st, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. the Endowment Committee is hosting a "Thank You Party" for Legacy Society members and others in our community who have made long term commitments to Transfiguration.
While the group is enjoying refreshments at the home of Ruth Ciranni, special guest Amanda Kierman, JD, will give us food for thought. At Notre Dame University, Amanda obtained a law degree with a focus on trusts, estates, tax and nonprofit law. She is now the Planned Giving Officer of our Diocese and will talk to us about "Philanthropy and Intergenerational Wealth."
If you would like to attend this party, RSVP to Ruth Ciranni. All are welcome!

The New Jim Crow book study (Nov. 5-Dec. 10)
Holy Family-Half Moon Bay will be hosting a reading and discussion group on the important new book by Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of color blindness. This is an open group, and friends and neighbors are welcome to participate. Please contact the Rev. Julia McKeon  if you would like additional information, or would be interested in carpooling from Good Shepherd-Belmont. This is another opportunity to get to know our Episcopal neighbors and wider community.

Collaborating for a Slave-Free Bay Area
On Nov. 4th at 7:30 am at Cafe Bliss (Carlmont Shopping Center), Belmont Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a presentation about human trafficking in the Bay Area. Featured speakers will be Brian Wo, leader of the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition, and Mike Brosnan, Human Trafficking Program Coordinator for the County of San Mateo. Gather with neighbors for breakfast and learn what we can do to eliminate this modern form of slavery, especially in our own backyards.

Transfig Fireflies
Fireflies, a preschooler play group (ages 0-5), meets in the parish hall every Thursday, 10am-noon. 
The group is free and everyone is invited, church member or not. We have a play time, story time with musical instruments, healthy snacks and finish with a craft project and/or game activity. We have fun, make new friends and share our joy, wisdom and sometimes frustrations of family life with other parents and caregivers. Stop by and check us out. Even if you do not have the children in this age group, please, let your friends, neighbors and family members of preschool age children know that we would love to welcome them at our playgroup.  Questions? Contact Dace Samta through the parish office.




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This Week

Sunday, October 25
The Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost
8am             The Traditional Eucharist
9:30am       The Joyful Noise Eucharist
10:30am      The Musical Eucharist
noon            Transfig Teens - Off Topic
6:15pm        Distil -Potluck Dinner (at Dawn's) 
Monday, October 26
3:15pm         Snake Dragon Club -Japanese language storytime(classrooms)
7pm              FA Meeting (Parish Hall)
Tuesday, October 27
9am              Morning Prayer (at Good Shepherd, Belmont)
10:30am      Parish Care Committee (Parish Hall)
6:30pm       New Millennium Chamber Orchestra rehearsal (Church)
7pm              AA Meeting  (Parish Hall)
Wednesday, October 28
9am              Morning Prayer (Chapel)
10:30am      Gospel Preview Bible Study (Parish Hall)
3pm             Good Grief (Patton home)
3:15 -5:45pm  Looking Glass Korean LearningCenter (classrooms)
4-5:30pm    Looking Glass Korean LearningCenter (Parish Hall)
7:30pm        Finance Committee (Peters home)
Thursday, October 29
9am              Morning Prayer (Chapel)
10:30am      Transfig Fireflies (Parish Hall)
2pm              Staff Meeting (Parish Hall)
7pm              Choir Rehearsal
Friday, October 30
3:30pm       Girl Scout Brownie Troop Mtg (parish Hall)
Saturday, October 31
Halloween
8:45 -11:15am  Looking Glass Korean LearningCenter (classrooms)
Sunday, November 1
Daylight Savings Time Ends
All Saints'/All Souls' / Dia de los Muertos
10am           The Festival Eucharist  One parish-wide worship service
3pm             Legacy Circle Tea (Ciranni home)




MINISTRY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
8:00 The Traditional Eucharist
Presider & Preacher: The Rev. Matthew Woodward
Lector: Gari Patton
Usher: Bob Adams
Coffee Hour:  Bobbie O'Keefe, Betty Strombom
9:30am The Joyful Noise Eucharist
Presider: The Rev. Matthew Woodward
Storyteller:Michelle McLean
Coffee Hour: Michelle McLean
10:30am The Community Eucharist
Presider & Preacher: The Rev. Matthew Woodward
Acolytes:  Charlie Fox, Patrick Fox, Zoe Leckey
Eucharistic Ministers: Keith Jobe, Bill Peters
Lectors: John Phillips  (Scripture)
Tom Yonker  (Prayers)
Director of Music: Eric Choate
Welcoming/Greeting: Skip and Sarah Howie
Kids Club/Chapel Time: Eric Johnson, Joseph Villa, Lydia Villa
Childcare:  Veer Singh, Nikki Singh 
Coffee Hour: Dawn Bailey

Altar Flowers: Bobbie O'Keefe
Altar Guild:  Betty Haines, Holly Bailey
Sunday Bankers: Tim Fox, Betty Strombom
Dedication
The Altar Flowers today are given to the Glory of God by Bobbie O'Keefe 
in loving memory of her husband, Richard.