Dear Friends, Welcome to an updated “Across the Diocese” newsletter. We’ve updated the look and feel, the included content, and the frequency of these emails in a desire to both increase important communication with you while also streamlining what we send in order to make these emails more engaging and informative. I hope you’ll take the time to read through and check out this new format. We’re in the midst of Advent and also “the holiday season.” More and more companies have created Advent Calendar offerings—running December 1-24, which rarely aligns with the Church Calendar for Advent. Their desire is to capitalize on the counting down to Christmas for more sales on top of those things which we’ll have under the tree. And then come December 26, secular Christmas will be over, Christmas Candy will be half off, and stores will be working desperately hard to get out the Valentine’s Day merch. Which is what happens when we turn Christmas into a capitalistic enterprise. My hope for all of us is to embrace a counter-cultural posture. To try to focus our gifts more on presence—prioritizing giving experiences with those we love, recognizing that our time and relationship building is of higher importance than most material things. An outing to a local theater or museum perhaps, or giving a gift card for a local coffee shop with the promise of making a date to enjoy it together. Or when giving a game or puzzle to someone, setting aside time to enjoy it with them. And there’s no better time to enjoy those types of gifts than during Christmastide. While decorations will start coming down on December 26, we can make those 11 additional days of Christmas a time of joy, of sharing our love with those who are important to us, and making memories. Because the arrival of the Christ Child is to bring great joy for all people. Let’s take our part in both giving and receiving joy this year. Advent Blessings, |
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| Zimzum Discipleship: Practices for a Christ-Centered Life Join us on our three-year discipleship series on Zimzum Discipleship, of intentionally making space to live as a faithful apprentice of Jesus. The fourth lesson on Silence is now available on the home for our Zimzum discipleship series, where you can also find resources, community, and more at the link below! |
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| 2026 Global Mission Grants Now Open! Does your congregation have a global partnership to support? Learn more at the link below! |
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| The Pageant of the Nativity at Saint Mark’s Cathedral December 17, 7:00 pm | Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle With multiple choirs, instrumentalists, and cathedral finery in the soaring space of the cathedral nave, Saint Mark’s Pageant of the Nativity is a children’s Christmas pageant like no other—a prayerful, scripture-centered, and inspirational meditation on Christ’s coming into our world. |
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| Wisdom School: Wilderness Spirituality January 10, 9:00 am | Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle Discuss the realities of being in the wilderness—whether a hiking trail or a difficult season of life—and contemplate how to prepare for those times with spiritual practice, discovering how we can cross the threshold from a time of descent to one of delight. |
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| Listening to the Land Retreat January 16-18 | Sacred Waters Center, Union Join diocesan Creation Justice members for a weekend of deep listening, prayer, and reconnection with land and water as we explore what it means to live into a watershed-based gospel. |
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| Following in the Footsteps of Paul: A Pilgrimage to Greece and Turkey October 8-19, 2026 | Greece and Turkey| $5,999 – 6,149 Registration ($1,500 Limited Availability Single Supplement) Led by The Very Rev. Steven L. Thomason and local archaeological guides on the ground, this 12-day pilgrimage traces the footsteps of Paul in Greece and Turkey as he engaged the early Christian communities there. |
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For more upcoming diocesan events, visit our Diocesan Events Page at the link below. |
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Join our congregations across Western Washington for events and activities, including: an Advent Quiet Morning with Julian or Norwich at St. Paul’s, Seattle; a Multicultural Holiday Craft Fair at St. Peter’s, Seattle; an Advent Healing Prayer Service at St. Margaret’s, Bellevue; a St. Nicholas Breakfast at St. Thomas, Medina; Christmas for a Cause at St. Timothy, Chehalis; and Carols and Cookies at Good Samaritan, Sammamish. Learn more about all of these events and more at the link below. |
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Our diocesan staff will be traveling across the Diocese in the coming months. Here is where you can find them next. - December 7 | St. Elizabeth, Burien | Bishop Phil LaBelle
- December 7 | Good Shepherd, Vancouver | Canon Cristi Chapman
- December 21 | St. Michael & All Angels, Issaquah | Canon Cristi Chapman
- December 24 | Christmas Eve at Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle | Bishop Phil LaBelle
- December 28 | St. Stephen’s, Seattle | Bishop Phil LaBelle
- January 4 | St. Michael’s Sudanese, Auburn | Canon Cristi Chapman
- January 4 | All Saints, Bellevue | Archdeacon David Bishop
- January 4 | St. Germain, Hoodsport | Canon Carla Robinson
- January 4 | St. John’s South Sudanese, Kent | Canon Ivar Hillesland
- January 4 | St. Paul’s, Port Townsend | Bishop Phil LaBelle
- January 11 | Holy Spirit, Battle Ground | Archdeacon David Bishop
- January 11 | Good Shepherd and Emmanuel, Federal Way | Canon Carla Robinson
- January 11 | St. Joseph-St. John, Lakewood | Canon Crist Chapman
- January 11 | St. Christopher, Olympia | Canon Ivar Hillesland
- January 11 | Good Shepherd, Vancouver | Bishop Phil LaBelle
- January 18 | Redeemer, Kenmore | Bishop Phil LaBelle
- January 18 | Christ Church, Tacoma | Canon Carla Robinson
- January 25 | Church of the Apostles (COTA), Seattle | Cristi Chapman
- January 25 | St. Clement’s, Seattle | Canon Carla Robinson
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