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The Beacon Newsletter 04/30/2026

The Beacon Newsletter 04/30/2026
St. Christopher’s Community Church <office@stchristopherolympia.org>Thu, Apr 30, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Reply-To: “St. Christopher’s Community Church” <office@stchristopherolympia.org>
To: James Thibodeaux <james.thibodeaux@gmail.com>
 
 
 
 
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THE BEACON WEEKLY
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Articles this issue….. 

 
 
This Week at St. Christopher’s…
Week of April 27th
Monday (04/27/2026) 
  Mitford Reading Group Series – 1:30 pm
                      
Tuesday (04/28/2026) 
   Faithful Living – 6:00 am
   Centering Prayer (Online) – 8:00 pm

Wednesday (04/29/2026) – Catherine of Siena, Teacher; died 1380
  Fellowship Breakfast – 9:00 am
  Worship Band – 11:00 am
  Widows/Widowers Support Group – 1:30 pm
   
Thursday (04/30/2026)
  AA Meeting – 6:00 pm
      
Friday (05/01/2026 – St. Phillip & St. James, Apostles
  Clergy Sabath
            
Saturday (05/02/2026) – Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria; died 373
           
Sunday (05/03/2026) 
  Morning Prayer – 7:00 am
  Contemplative Eucharist – 8:00 am (In-Person only) 
  Choral Eucharist – 10:30 am (Virtual* and In-Person)
  Children’s Sunday School – Children and youth will worship with the congregation. 
   
  
   *On our website, church app, Facebook, or Vimeo. 
** Via Zoom. Requires a free Zoom account for security purposes.
Take a Minute:
Notes from the Bishop’s Council

The BC will meet again on May 11th. Stay tuned for highlights from that meeting.
 

…Check out the Happenings at StC Page! Please check out the Happenings at StC Page below the “Did you know?” section for major announcements.

…On April 30, 1993, CERN announced that the World Wide Web would be free for public use, paving the way for the rapid growth and transformation of the internet that has changed our lives in various ways

…Why all the different Bibles? You’ve seen it – alphabet soup! NIV, KJV, NRSV, ESV, CEB, NLV, MSG (no, not the food additive! The Message paratranslation.), NRSVue, RSV (no, not the virus. The Revised Standard Version), NAB, etc. These are all translation of the Bible into English. And yes. There is alphabet soup for translations in other languages. Part of the reason is denominational and theological differences about how best to convey the original language to today’s readers. “Do we translate the literal word into English or the concept behind the word? What if it’s an idiom in the original language? Do we translate the idiom to its literal meaning, to its figurative meaning, or do we deploy and English equivalent idiom?” But translation is less and less of an issue over the years as denominations have converged in their various preferences. 
   What remains is a HUGE issue creating multiple translations is publishing and copyright. Did you know that most publishers try to get their authors to quote from the Bibles the publisher publishes. True, it takes a lot of money to put together a translation team and have them do their work. Publishing houses want to recoup their investment so they can publish other good books, too. Publishers typically follow for-profit practices that eschew sharing, releasing into the Public Domain, or otherwise dispersing the Bible in ways that don’t generate income. So there you are. We’ve moved the economic collections out of the temple and stationed them at the front of the Bible!
   Everyone deserves to get their just due for their work. True. (It’s Biblical!) AND the Holy Bible needs to be freely available to anyone and everyone in forms that are scholarly accurate, accessible to readers, and well constructed (No mass market paperback Bibles, please.) as befitting Holy Scripture. 

…National Honesty Day (April 30): Each year, National Honesty Day challenges us to be truthful in all we do. We know the different kinds of lies. We’ve spared someone’s feelings, fudged the truth just a little, or maybe told an all-out whopper. Unless we walk on water, we’ve all told a lie or two. This day encourages truthfulness. Whether we’re conducting business or speaking with our children, honesty goes a long way toward instilling confidence. We all make mistakes. Sometimes, we don’t know the answer or can’t control the outcome of a situation. However, we can control our own actions and words. And we can speak the truth in all we do.

 
 
 
 
 

Articles 

St. Christopher’s 2026 Pledge Drive
“Tell Out My Soul” Has Begun! Pledge Cards being collected this Sunday, Dec. 14th. Make your pledge at https://bit.ly/My2026Pledge or on the MyChurch App under “Give”.                                   ———>>>

Click here to learn more

 
 
Happenings at StC
Important Announcements & News…

GNA Litter Pickup: The Griffin Neighborhood Association (GNA) has scheduled the litter pickup with St. Christopher’s for May 16, 2026, 10 am – 12 noon.

St. Christopher’s Needs Your Help:

  • Interested in hosting coffee hour (weekly on Sundays after 10:30 service)? Please contact Annaka at Annaka.Thibodeaux@gmail.com or (206)678-3437 (call/text).
  • Interested in acting as a Reader? If you are interested in reading at one or more services, please sign up on the list by the sign-in book in the church. If you have questions, please contact Marcia Rugg at (206) 200-5536 or via email at ruggmbeach@comcast.net. Interested in Volunteering for Hot Meals Outreach (3rd and 4th Wednesdays of Each Month)? Please contact Linda Karamatic at ljk552000@yahoo.com or (360) 701-5635 or Matt Tilger (509) 741-0452 (talk/text).
Text Message Reminders about Worship. Would you like text message invitations to our online and in-person services? Receive reminders on your phone by texting WORSHIP to (360) 810-3292 or clicking this link https://mtxt.cc/list/join/360.810.3292/worship. You can opt out anytime by texting STOP or text HELP to see other options.

 

 

 
 

In our Prayers

Prayer of the Week: O God our shepherd, you know your sheep by name and lead us to safety through the valleys of death. Guide us by your voice, that we may walk in certainty and security to the joyous feast prepared in your house, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.


Congregational Prayer List

Jessica
Bryan Clark
Larry Little
Cory Hilby
Bron & Tuula Lingren
Leila DePaolo
Brenda Sloan

Congregational Cycle
Don & Gail Valentine

Diocesan Cycle
St. Peter’s, Seattle
Trinity, Seattle
Apostles, Seattle

Synod Cycle
United, Tacoma
Mount Cross, University Place

 

Daily Scripture Lessons 

Regular time spent in scripture and prayer ways we grow as people of faith: here is a list of suggested daily readings to complement the Sunday readings in worship. (from the Daily Revised Common Lectionary).  

Monday
Psalm 100
Ezekiel 34:17-23
1 Peter 5:1-5

Tuesday
Psalm 100
Ezekiel 34:23-31
Hebrews 13:20-21

Wednesday
Psalm 100
Jeremiah 23:1-8
Matthew 20:17-28

Thursday
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Genesis 12:1-3
Acts 6:8-15

Friday
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Exodus 3:1-12
Acts 7:1-16

Saturday
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Jeremiah 26:20-24
John 8:48-59

Sunday
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14

 
Next Week at St. Christopher’s…
Week of May 4th
Monday (05/04/2026) 
  Mitford Reading Group Series – 1:30 pm
  Brotherhood of St. Andrews Meeting – 6:30 pm
      
Tuesday (05/05/2026) 
  Faithful Living – 6:15 am
  Centering Prayer – 8:00 pm
      
Wednesday (05/06/2026) 
  Worship Band – 11:00 am
  Widows/Widowers Support Group – 1:30 pm
                                
Thursday (05/07/2026) 
  Olympia Commons Meeting – 2:30 pm
  AA Meeting – 6:00 pm
             
Friday (05/08/2026) – Dame Julian of Norwich, Anchoress; died ca. 1417                              
  Clergy Sabbath

Saturday (05/09/2026) – Nicolaus Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf, Renewer of the Church; died 1760
  
Sunday (05/10/2026)
  Morning Prayer – 7:00 am (Online only) 
  Contemplative Eucharist – 8:00 am (In-Person only) 
  Choral Eucharist – 10:30 am
  Children’s Sunday School – 10:30 am 

   *On our website, church app, Facebook, or Vimeo. 
** Via Zoom. Requires a free Zoom account for security purposes. 
           
 
Contact Us:
(No solicitations, please.)

(360) 866-2111

Office@StChristopherOlympia.org

St. Christopher’s Community Church
7902 Steamboat Is. Rd. NW
Olympia, WA 98502
 
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