Beacon News Article

May 3, 2020

Need a prayerbook? Here’s where to get an ELW or BCP…

At St. Christopher’s we us several sources for our worship and print them up in the bulletin. Mostly though, we use the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of the Episcopal Church and Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. It’s a good idea to have one or both of these at home for personal use and for times when you might gather in small groups at home or elsewhere. Having your own will also be handy in the near future as social distancing restrictions are lessened. We will not be able to share hymnals, prayerbooks, or […]

May 3, 2020

Missed Worship on Easter 3? Find it here.

The Road to Emmaus as metaphore for Christian discipleship with Christ (10:30am) and also reflections on miracles according to the longer ending of Mark (8am).

April 25, 2020

Easter 2 Online Worship, April 19

Worship from the Second Sunday of Easter, April 19, 2020. Broadcast live at 8am and available for you to view here.

April 19, 2020

Children’s Sunday School Lesson for the Second Sunday of Easter

Godly Play at home. I wonder who was at the tomb?

April 19, 2020

Easter Sunday Worship: Did you miss it? Find it here.

Did you miss Easter Sunday worship? Watch the recording right here.

April 12, 2020

Children’s Easter Sermon

Click here to watch the children’s Easter sermon here.

April 11, 2020

Miss the Easter Vigil? See the video here.

Click here to see the recording of the April 11th Easter Vigil with St. John’s Episcopal Church, Olympia

April 11, 2020

Hot Crossed Buns without Yeast

No Yeast? Watch the video below for making this traditional Easter bread. There are all kinds of recipes on the internet – paelo, dairy-free, whole grain, etc. So whatever your dietary need or kitchen supply restrictions, you are likely to find a recipe that works for you. Search “Hot Crossed Buns ______” and add your preference/missing ingredient.

April 11, 2020

No Dye Kit? 8 Ways to Dye Easter Eggs

With the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order in place you may not have purchased an egg dying kit. Watch the video for 8 ways to dye you eggs. (If you need other options or more instructions, do a web search on “different ways to dye Easter eggs”.)

April 10, 2020

Stations of the Cross An Immigrant Journey – 1pm-5pm Good Friday

April 10, 2020

Did you miss Good Friday? See the video here.

April 4, 2020

Holy Week at Home

Holy Week at Home. You’ll find all our instructions, videos, and links to online worship right here.

April 1, 2020

Meetings & Studies Now Online: You Need “Zoom”!

New Updates as of April 1, 2020.

March 29, 2020

Online Worship for The Fifth Week of Lent

March 20, 2020

Lent, Holy Week, & Easter: A Coronavirus Update.

Dear Ones,

I’ve received notice from Bishop Rickel of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia that all diocesan congregations will remain closed to the public through Holy Week and Easter.

This has not come as a surprise to most clergy, including myself. And I have been talking with my colleagues about backup plans prior to this announcement. So here is our plan…

March 17, 2020

Being the Church in the Face of COVID-19: A F.A.Q. of Worship and Events at St. Christopher’s

Dear St. Christopher’s and Friends,

A number of you have asked similar question or very good questions, all of which deserve an answer. Here is what I’ve heard…

Q: Is St. Christopher’s closed or will it be closing?
A: No. Our building is closed to the public and Washingtonians have strict measures in place about gatherings, but many things are taking place online and off. The outdoor worship spaces remain open for you to use individually – the Labyrinth, the Stations of the Cross, and the Columbarium. The Open Hands foodbank garden is still slated to go on. And we are adding more and more online worship, fellowship, and learning opportunities.

Q: Will there be another Eucharist online? How does online Eucharist work?
A: Yes. We are pre-recording a Eucharist and posting it Saturday night/Sunday morning each week. We post it on Facebook at facebook.com/stchristopherolympia and we post links to the video on our website’s front page – www.StChristopherOlympia.org .

March 17, 2020

Beyond Livestream Worship: Keeping Faith Communities Connected in the Face of COVID 19

By the Rev. Ken Howard

This is the first in a multipart series on strategies and tools for doing and being church in the face of COVID19

The COVID19 pandemic is not the first time Christianity has been faced with the moral question of how to respond in the face of pandemic. In fact, the question is nearly as old as the Church itself. One of the first times was during the third century Roman plague. Something likely akin to Ebola, the so-called Cyprian plague (after Bishop Cyprian of Carthage) which ravaged the Empire from 250-270 CE.

March 7, 2020

COVID-19 and St. Christopher’s

Updated March 13, 2020

Dear Friends,

As the situnation surounding COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop I think it will not surprise you that St. Christopher’s facilites are closed to all in-person group meetings and group worship through at least March 22nd. This is in compliance with the closures of all Diocese of Olympia congregations. Below you will find more info from the Diocese of Olympia and the Southwestern WA Synod.

This does not mean St. Christopher’s is closed… We are simply doing ministry in different ways. Over the weekend you will hear of ways we can remain worshiping, fellowshiping, and serving together. Much of this will occur by phone, text message, email, video conference, and online.

Sunday Services go online… I intend to have some form of video streaming or conferenced worship at our normal times on Sunday. I will have more info on that n the next 24 hours as I work out the details of software, harware, licensing, and copyright. Please be patient.

… there’s more …

February 26, 2020