A nurse log from Shenandoah National Park Dear Incarnation, We are writing to you today with important information regarding year-end giving, our Advent offering, and an update on the financial health of our church.  A Note from Amy At a parish meeting  earlier this year, we shared an image from our vestry conversations of a car rolling down a hill, with God at the wheel and all of us running behind it, trying to jump in.  Now, on the cusp of launching what has become Holy Co

Albrecht Altdorfer, The Birth of Christ (1513). I first encountered this painting through Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Advent letters from prison, in which he reflects on the painting's depiction of Christ among the ruins. Dear Incarnation, Earlier this week, I had the privilege of seeing our own Katie Foran (vestry warden, worship leader, and all-around beloved Incarnation member!) perform in a Christmas concert with the Choral Arts Society at the Kennedy Center. (Thanks to Karen R

A picture of the Beverley Hills and Incarnation joint choir, preparing to sing of God's "marvelous" deeds. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him (Psalm 91:1) As the Worship Pastor for Incarnation, part of my job is to ensure that the songs we sing help us encounter Jesus through the flow of the liturgy. In some ways, this aspect of my job is easy. The liturgy does a lot of the heavy lifting

Dear Incarnation, Another week of Advent in the books! How is it going? Several of you have shared with me a sense of failure in your attempts to observe Advent thus far. Maybe you feel like you’ve let too much Christmas in too early. Maybe you feel like your attempts to slow down are frustrated by a crazy-busy holiday schedule. Maybe your desire to light candles and pray has been overtaken by noise and chaos and, well, life. If so, please hear me: you can’t fail at Advent. D

The remnants of Christ the King Sunday: canned goods, the lion and the lamb, and so many paper crowns at the altar Dear Incarnation, Welcome to Advent! Sunday’s Lessons & Carols service was beautiful. I’m so grateful for all of our scripture readers; the amazingly talented singers in our All Y’All Choir and the Beverley Hills choir; the musical leadership of Grant, Russell, and Steve; and the hospitality of so many who contributed pecan pies and Takis and lingered long afterw

Note from Amy: We are excited to celebrate Deacon TJ Ono's ordination to the priesthood this Saturday, Dec 6, at 4pm — everyone's welcome! I've been so grateful for the ways TJ has served Incarnation this year as a deacon, and I invited him to share a bit about his journey to ordination. You can read his story below. This is one of my favorite pictures from our first summer camp. A fun fact about this picture is that one of our summer interns in this picture is now serving as

"Jesus the Good Shepherd’" by Sr. Claire SMMI, India Dear friends, I am writing with a heavy heart. Archbishop Steve Wood has now been inhibited (suspended from ministry) following accusations of misconduct. You can read more about his inhibition in this letter  from the College of Bishops, or in this story  from The Washington Post  (this is a gift link that should bypass the paywall). In addition, our bishop, Chris Warner, has written a letter to our diocese that I recommen

The Little Free Pantry outside of BHCUMC, by the gate to the playground. In every location where God has led Incarnation to worship, he has also provided ways to bless our neighors in that location, and Beverley Hills is no exception. BHCUMC maintains a Little Free Pantry outside the church and would welcome additional contributions. Pastor Deborah has mentioned that any items they stock seem to go really quickly. As we begin spending more time at Beverley Hills, we have an o