The Flame

Each week we send out an e-newsletter, the Flame. It includes a reflection by Cameron, brief articles by parish leaders, community announcements, and the parish prayer list. On Saturdays we also send out "The Spark" with links to the Sunday Worship booklets and brief announcements. Past issues of both the Flame and Spark can be found here. If you would like to add someone to the prayer list for the Flame and the Sunday bulletins, please reach out to our parish administrator. To ask for prayers from the Prayer Chain, please reach out to Lois Roach here.

Fellowship Divine

The Flame for Friday, October 31, 2025

This morning as I drove by the San Francisco State campus on my way to church, I stopped at a crosswalk for a man in a frog costume, walking a corgi. It struck me as a fitting welcome to All Hallows’ Eve – the beginning of the Fall Triduum – here in San Francisco. I loved how this man and his jaunty pup embodied Portland-inspired resistance in the wake of the most recent No Kings marches and last week’s increase of federal enforcement activities in and around San Francisco.

The Fall Triduum consists of three days: the Eve of All Hallows (or Halloween), All Saints, and All Souls. These days successively honor all of the saints – those canonized or recognized as holy ones of God – as a collective whole, and then all who have died. Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead, expresses this tradition in beautifully vibrant ways, creating space for authentic mixtures of grief, remembrance, and joy. Over the last few weeks Nicole Miller has led several workshops for making ofrendas, creatively adorned altars to remember lost loved ones, which will be shared in our worship on Sunday morning. Additional opportunities for observing Dia de Los Muertos around San Francisco can be found here.

Meanwhile, tomorrow evening we look forward to Saints and Sinners, our fall fundraiser featuring a live and silent auction, DJed music and dancing, delicious food from La Corneta, and you dressed up as your favorite saint or sinner. This fundraiser is an opportunity for us to come together in support of all of our ministries at St. Aidan’s, to gather in energy and joy, celebrating the collective work that we are so privileged to do together, fed and nourished by God and sharing that nourishment beyond ourselves in gratitude for all we have been given. The fun starts at 6 PM, and much preparation will precede that as well – so many people have been doing so much to make this event happen, and I am so grateful for this expression of commitment to and love for our community.

So join us tomorrow evening – the special event website is here, with ticket and auction information – and then again on Sunday morning when we’ll come together for the feast of All Saints and All Souls, gathering with love and joy with all the host of heaven around God’s table.

As we step into these three holy days now, we honor the thinness of the veil that separates this world from the world to come. We honor those who have lived and loved among us and have gone home to God. We reverence the lives of all the saints “who from their labors rest.” So may we step into this holy time together with gratitude, with joy and whimsy, with fierce love, and an unbreakable sense of belonging to this collective body – the all-ness and one-ness of this Fall Triduum. I’ll leave you with my favorite verse from the classic hymn of this holy day, “For All the Saints:”

O blest communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. Alleluia, alleluia!

Peace,
Cameron

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Saints & Sinners Halloween Costume Bash!

We are now not only in the midst of our annual Stewardship Campaign, Beacons of Hope, but are also almost ready for our FUNdraising auction, Saints & Sinners: Halloween Costume Bash on Saturday, November 1st at 6pm!

While donated auction items were due last Friday, October 24th, baked goods and night-of-auction ‘for sale’ items are welcome anytime. Let the auction committee (Dave, Nicole, Sarah) know what you plan to bring! Remember, bidding began Monday, October 27th 6pm and closes Sunday, November 2nd 6pm.

Come as your favorite Sinner, Saint or in any Halloween costume you’d like!

Music & Dancing with DJ Gregory Talbot

Dinner by La Corneta

Click the link below to: Donate, Register and Buy Tickets
https://auctria.events/StAidansSFAuction

New Action Opportunities in Support of Trans Rights

There are two upcoming opportunities for solidarity with the trans and non-binary community, both in observance of Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR):

On Sunday, November 16, the 6 PM service at Grace Cathedral will mark TDOR, including special prayers of the people, confession, and preaching
On Thursday, November 20, there will be a TDOR rally at the SF City Hall steps at 5 PM, followed by a march to the SF LGBTQ Center on Market Street from 6-6:30 PM, with a program that will begin at 7 PM. SF Transmarch has described the event as follows: “On November 20th (Thursday) we invite our community, friends, and allies for our annual Trans Day of Remembrance celebration to honor and remember our lost trans elders and siblings, and recharge the people to fight against oppression.

This years theme is ‘Stages of Grief,’ where we create and share space to collectively mourn, imagine, and strive for a future where all peoples are liberated from systematic repression.

As transgender and gender non-conforming people continue to face unprecedented rates of state sanctioned discrimination, harassment, and fatal violence across the globe, we believe that community is the path to safety. Join us this November.”

Opportunities for Immigrant Solidarity

Several local organizations offer opportunities to stand with immigrants facing Trump administration attacks.
Faith in Action(www.faithinactionba.org): Local branch of a national community-organizing group anchored in faith communities around the country. In the Bay Area they focus on housing and immigration. Opportunities include:

Immigration Court. Accompany immigrants to their court hearings. You’ll need at least conversational Spanish, and you’ll be trained before you get started. For more information and the sign-up link: www.faithinactionba.org/accompaniment.
Rapid Response Network (203) 666-4472: Faith in Action operates the San Mateo County Rapid Response phone network, providing information for immigrants and their supporters in the whole Bay Area, not just San Mateo. Call the number:
- If you or a loved one has been detained by ICE
- If you learn that someone has been detained by immigration enforcement
- If you see ICE activity in the community
- If you need accompaniment at an ICE Check-In or court appearance
- If you need support filling out your asylum paperwork within the first year of entering the country
- If you think immigration enforcement is contacting you by phone call or text message

Immigration court demonstrations and vigils: Several groups maintain a presence outside the immigration court at 100 Montgomery in downtown SF. Here are a couple:

Interfaith Court Vigil (www.im4humanintegrity.org/category/events/): Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday every week. Sponsored by the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity. Click here to sign up: bit.ly/CourtVigilVolunteer.
Tuesday and Friday demonstrations: Loosely organized, pretty confrontative demonstrations, called by Democratic Socialists of America and others.

Immigration Court Observers: The National Lawyers Guild trains non-lawyers to participate in observing and documenting what happens in immigration courts in S.F. Click here for more information: nlgsf.org/programs-committees/nlg-sfba-programs/immigration-justice-program/

Comprehensive action calendar: (www.actiontogetherwest.org/bayarea) A project that grew out of the 2016 Pantsuits Nation group, this is a very well-maintained and up-to-date calendar of resistance activities in the Bay Area.

Day of the Dead Altar Workshop

St. Aidan's parishioners are invited to make a Day of the Dead altar honoring a loved one or animal companion who is no longer with us. The altars may be displayed in your home or as part of the November 2nd Day of the Dead SF event sponsored by the Marigold Project. Guidelines for participation in the Marigold event will be provided for folks who are interested.

Supplies to assemble the altars will be provided. Folks only need to bring reproduced photos to use in the altar and any special decorations you may want to use. We will meet 2-3 times after church on Sundays at St. Aidan's in September and October depending on schedules. More on the history of altars can be found here: https://www.dayofthedeadsf.org/festival-of-altars

Contact Nicole to join at: jnicolemiller@gmail.com

Men's Group: Saturday, November 1, 9-10:30 am, via Zoom. We will connect for prayer, study and fellowship. All men are cordially invited. If you haven’t received connection information by October 30, contact Dave Frangquist (frangquist@acm.org).

Good News Gardens
Our next gardening date is: Saturday, November 1 from 12:30-2 PM. Please mark your calendars for the next gardening dates as well: Dec. 13, and feel free to reach out to Deacon Margaret with any questions at mdyerc@stanford.edu.

Wrestling with the Scriptures meets every fourth Tuesday at 10:30 am (via Zoom). The next meeting will be Tuesday, November 25. Please feel free to reach out to the office for the Zoom access information: office@staidansf.org.

St. Aidan's Gourmet Book Club
We will continue to meet via zoom with LeeAnn DeSalles serving as our zoom master. If you need the link or would like help with zoom, please contact LeeAnn at leeanndesalles@comcast.net. If you would like to be on the Book Group’s mailing list, please contact elaine@mannon.com.

Monday, December 1, 2025, 7:00 p.m. Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across The American Divide - by Tony Horwitz - The author follows the trail of landscape architect, Frederick Olmstead, who was an undercover correspondent for the New York Times before the outbreak of the Civil War. Amidst the discord and polarization of our own time, Horwitz searches for an answer to the question “Is America still one country?” (496 pages)

The next Diamond Diners will be Wednesday, November 5th at the usual time and place: 12 PM in the St. Aidan's sanctuary. We look forward to enjoying lunch with you then!

Sources for Factual News from the Rev. Gary Ost:

At our Quarterly Parish Meeting on May 4, Cameron asked me to submit some suggested ways to stay grounded in reality in the midst of deliberate attempts currently to normalize the untrue and the unholy. I recommend this list for fact-based sources of information to help “fight against all such injustice in the name of Christ,” as we promise to do in our Baptismal Covenant:

For reporting on the work of The Episcopal Church in this matter:

The Episcopal Public Policy Network; news, resources and how to sign up to listen to their weekly policy network calls on Thursdays, 10-10:30 am. PDT: EPPN sign up

For news:

The Guardian for international perspective: <info@email.theguardian.com>

The New York Times: na.nytimes.com

For sound journalistic reporting, try reading or listening via these links:

The Contrarian: contrarian+jen-rubins-morning-columns@substack.com>

Joyce Vance: Civil Discourse <joycevance@substack.com>

Heather Cox Richardson: heathercoxrichardson@substack.com

Dan Rather, <steady@substack.com>

To put things in bigger scientific, historical and theological contexts, try reading:

Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart, by Brian McLaren (Successer at Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation), St. Martin’s Essentials, 2024 St. Martin’s Publishing Group, New York

The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith and Refounding Democracy, by Jim Wallis (Founder of Sojourners magazine), St. Martin’s Essentials, 2024 St. Martin’s Publishing Group, New York

Origins: How Earth’s History Shaped Human History, by Lewis Dartnell, Basic Books, New York, 2019

Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe, by Brian Swimme, Counterpoint, Berkeley, CA, 2023

The Once and Future Church: Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier, by Loren Mead, the Alban Institute, Inc., c/o Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC; 1991

And remember, we renew our faith in Jesus as our Only Lord by remembering how he first loved us—all of us!
By faith in Jesus Christ, Gary Ost

Resources for Engaging in Anti-Racism, from Elena Wong
Thank you to Elena Wong for sharing this list of resources that were in turn shared with her through her membership in the Western Association for College Counseling:

READ
Resources on talking to young kids about race and racism
The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine
“Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)

LISTEN (Podcasts to subscribe to)
1619 (New York Times)
Code Switch (NPR)
Seeing White Series on Scene On Radio

WATCH
13th Film (2 hours)
When They See Us (Four episodes)

DONATE
Color of Change
Southern Poverty Law Center

FOLLOW
Groups and people doing anti-racist work, such as @colorofchange @weinspirejustice @showingupforracialjustice

Contemplative Prayer: Tuesday & Thursday from 9-10 AM via Zoom
We offer Contemplative prayer via Zoom. Contemplative Prayer is silent with the beginning and ending marked by a bell. You can practice meditation, silent prayer, journal, or otherwise enjoy the collective quiet. Thank you to Susan Spencer for anchoring this practice. Please feel free to reach out to the office for the Zoom access information: office@staidansf.org.

Morning Prayer: Mon, Wed, Fri at 7:30 AM - M/W Hybrid, Fri via Zoom
We offer Morning Prayer in hybrid mode (at church and via Zoom) on Mondays and Wednesday, and on Fridays via Zoom only. Please feel free to reach out to the office for the Zoom access information: office@staidansf.org.

Evening Prayer: Wednesdays at 6:30 PM via Zoom

We offer Evening Prayer via Zoom. Readings for the day are from the Episcopal Church's daily lectionary or calendar of saints, and the service includes a brief reflection time on the readings. Please feel free to reach out to the office for the Zoom access information: office@staidansf.org

Hybrid In-Person/Zoom Sunday Worship

Sunday worship is hybrid at the 10 AM (not the 8 AM), with both in person and Zoom platforms available. We encourage you to connect with worship in whatever way is most accessible for you.

Mask Policy: We respect the preference of anyone who feels safer by masking. We continue to monitor public health advisories and may modify our mask policy, as appropriate. Please pray for the health and safety of all our members and friends as we continue to navigate this challenging time.

To add an announcement to the weekly bulletin of the Flame, please send your edited text no later than 11:00 am Wednesday to office@staidansf.org