We are a community of faith that welcomes and values all people.

We commit to follow Christ, serve others, grow in faith and

transform the world by sharing God’s love.

As you may know, St. Barnabas is committed to raise funds to support Helpline House build a new facility. For over 40 years, Helpline House has used the original buildings to meet the food insecurity and social services needs of our neighbors. We are progressing well on our way to meeting our goal of $100,000 to help close the final fundraising gap to build a new Helpline House facility that will meet the rapidly expanding demand. But I realize that we have many parishioners that may not be aware of how Helpline House supports our island community—for it is FAR MORE than a food bank!

As early as the late 1960s, Corinne Berg (then music director at St. Barnabas) organized women from seven local churches to create the Inter Parish Council and Fishline Volunteers. During the seventies and early eighties, the need for and response to mental health and food insecurity needs continued to grow. Helpline House, funded by government, foundations, and other regional and local funds, came into being shepherded by two longtime St. Barnabas parishioners, Joan Holcomb and Joan Barnes, with a number of parishioners having served on the board and staff over time. It moved into the facility on Knechtel in 1983. Services have always been free and are utilized by a very wide range of clients, including: 1) from children to the elderly, 2) fixed income retirees to low-wage, essential workers and 3) those who are homeless, those recently divorced, and others in critical need. Perhaps surprisingly, one in ten islanders will use Helpline House services each year.

For social services program, referral to agencies that meet specific needs is a key component, coupled with helping clients develop a plan to address their particular needs. Sometimes just providing public transit tokens to make referral agency appointments in Bremerton, doctor/counseling appointments or job interviews is all that is needed. Other times, it’s covering a portion of utility fees to keep essential services running temporarily until the client can find alternative funding. Other times, it’s walking clients through the process to apply for key services from Medicare, Social Security and Washington Apple Health (Medicaid). Mental health counseling is provided by appointment, but private meeting space is very limited in the old buildings—especially for the increasing demand from 5-12 year old clients (ages not served by Bainbridge Youth Services).

The food bank service is the other major focus of Helpline House. The food bank is fortunate to have support from local farmers, our two island grocery stores, Federal surplus food program, and a network of Puget Sound Food Banks to provide stock; food drives and individual donations still supply a large portion of the food. Volunteers are a key component (16,000 volunteer hours in 2024!) to this side of the operation, and St. Barnabas has a long history of participation. Food bank demand has quadrupled since they opened and in the last two years it has grown by 66% alone. In 2024, one fourth of the clients were new to this Helpline House service; 479 seniors and 462 children were in food bank served households. The Kids Pantry program that provides lunches when school is not in session (holidays and summer break) has grown 20% in the last two years. A senior free lunch program now serves hot meals four times per week, and our St. Barnabas kitchen provides the prep/cooking/facility support with our Kitchen Manager, Tim Shelly, taking the lead. Often 125 clients daily are served by the food bank. While the demand continues to grow rapidly, the space to store food and display it to clients is utterly inadequate in the old building.

Over the past 50 years the old facility has been well utilized, but now it no longer can provide the space or accessibility needed to meet the rapidly increasing need. The new facility will significantly expand both the food bank and social service space to help another generation of islanders in need. Response from parishioners has been so encouraging! Thank you! I hope you will join others in the congregation and donate to the Helpline House Capital Campaign. If you were thinking a small donation wouldn’t make an impact, this is the moment your gift is needed. Remember… every dollar you donate will be matched up to $25,000! With God’s help we can support the Helpline House motto by providing, “a hand up—not a hand-out.” You can make a difference in the lives of others.

Faithfully submitted,

Phil Fergusson

People’s Warden

Friday | June 20

9 p.m. | Compline | Zoom

Saturday | June 21

Noon-8 p.m. | Bainbridge Island Pride Fest | Waterfront Park

Volunteer Below!

Sunday | June 22

Rev. Nancy Tiederman

8 a.m. | Holy Eucharist, Rite I | Sanctuary

Post–Service Coffee Hour | Parlor

10 a.m. | Holy Eucharist, Rite II | Sanctuary

Post-Service Coffee Hour | Clergy Transition Update | Parish Hall

Monday | June 23

9 p.m. | Compline | Zoom

Tuesday | June 24

9 a.m. | Centering Prayer | Sanctuary

1:30 p.m.| Staff Meeting | Zoom

Wednesday | June 25

1:30 p.m. | Senior Ministry | Fieldstone

9 p.m. | Compline | Zoom

Thursday | June 26

9 a.m. | Sacred Circle: A Time for Prayer and Scripture | Sanctuary

1:45 p.m. | Senior Ministry | The Madison

Friday | June 27

Noon | Organ Recital featuring Andrew Scanlon | Sanctuary

9 p.m. | Compline | Zoom

Sunday | June 29 | The Reverend Andrew Cooley

8 a.m. | Holy Eucharist, Rite I | Sanctuary

Post–Service Coffee Hour | Parlor

10 a.m. | Holy Eucharist, Rite II | Sanctuary

Post-Service Coffee Hour | Parish Hall

Coffee Hour: This Sunday!

Join us at Coffee Hour this Sunday, June 22, for a brief Clergy Transition update presented by People’s Warden, Phil Fergusson.

Interim Rector Announcement

Exciting news!

Your Vestry is very excited to announce that Rev. Dianne P. Andrews of Port Townsend has accepted the call to the position of Interim Rector at St. Barnabas! We are thrilled to have her join us in ministry, worship, and service. Having recently retired as Rector of St. Paul’s in Port Townsend, she is uniquely qualified to attend to us during the bittersweet transition period that we are entering. Click the Clergy Transitions button above to read more about Rev. Dianne!

2025 Bainbridge Island Pride Fest

St. Barnabas is excited to have a booth at the 2025 Bainbridge Island Pride Festival! BI Pride will be held on Saturday, June 21, from noon to 8 p.m., and we will have our booth set up until at least 4 p.m. (possibly later if things are still hoppin!). This year, we are partnering with Grace Episcopal to have a unified Episcopal presence at Pride, and we are all excited to spread the word about the inclusivity of our church with the BI community! We are looking for a few friends to volunteer at our booth, handing out swag and water, and to help spread God’s love to all! Volunteers working the booth are asked to serve in two hours shifts. We need at least two volunteers at the booth at all times, but the more the merrier! We will have festive buttons and stickers for volunteers and visitors alike, but feel free to BYOB—bring your own BLING! 

We also need a few volunteers to help with set-up and tear-down. If you are willing to help in more than one slot, you are more than welcome to do so. Sign up today! 

Lisa-Marie MacKenzie and Alex MacKenzie have graciously taken over the organizing of St. Barnabas’s participation in this event from Etienna while she’s under the weather. Thank you, MacKenzie family!

This Sunday, June 22!

This Sunday, we’ll celebrate St. Barnabas Day (transferred from the feast day on June 11) during both morning services. Join us for our traditional St. Barnabas Day treat of strawberry shortcake in the Parish Hall during coffee hour after 10 a.m. service. You don’t have to wear a party hat like St. Barnabas pictured above, but no one will stop you if you do! Hope to see you there!

Organ Recital at St. B!

Friday, June 27, Noon, Organ Recital

I’m delighted to welcome guest organist Andrew Scanlon, associate organist & choirmaster at Church of the Advent, Boston, to the Bond organ! He is a wonderful artist and will perform works by Bach, Widor, Langlain, and Hampton. Please invite your music-loving friends—admission is freewill donation to support the music program. 

—Sheila Bristow

Music Director and Organist

Adult Faith Formation Survey

Deadline Approaching! We want to hear from YOU!

The Adult Faith Formation Team wants very much to include you in our planning for the 2025-26 program year. The team has created a survey to give you an opportunity to tell us your needs, wishes, and ideas. So far only 27 individuals have responded to the survey. Please participate by the end of June so we can learn more about your insights on Adult Faith Formation! Even if you think you haven't participated, you may be surprised when you open the survey to find some of your favorite activities have been part of the formation offerings!

Please take the time to complete the survey by clicking the button below. For those of you who prefer, please pick up a printed form located in the black box on the bulletin board in the Parlor and return it to the church office. Questions? Contact Linda Maxson, ljmaxson@gmail.com, Michael Fitzpatrick, decorus_veritas@hotmail.com, or Patricia Robertson, revprome@hotmail.com. Thanks for your participation!

Summer Book Studies!

Adult Formation learning opportunities are regularly offered at St. Barnabas to encourage and nurture our continued spiritual growth in our lives in Christ. All are welcome at any events, and we welcome suggestions for future events!  To help the team with planning and to inform future offerings, PLEASE fill out the survey linked above.

Summer Offerings:

The Saint Barnabas Book Club will be reading Yann Martel's The High Mountains of Portugal. The date and time of our first gathering will be confirmed in the next few days. Please join us! Please contact Linda, ljmaxson@gmail.com, for more details and to express your interest.

Beginning Wednesday, July 16 at 6:30 p.m., Michael Fitzpatrick will lead a 4-week book study on former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ short book Passions of the Soul. We often get opportunities to reflect on how to care for our bodies, our communities, our mother Earth. This is an opportunity to learn about caring for our souls. Williams draws from Eastern Christian theological traditions to present practices that cultivate distinctly Christian virtues in our souls. We will discuss specific chapters from the book each week, starting with the Introduction and Chapter 1. This study will be of particular interest to anyone curious about Eastern Christianity, historic Christian teaching, mysticism, contemplation, and spiritual formation. If you'd like to join, please email Michael Fitzpatrick, m.c.fitzpatrick@outlook.com, for information on the book and the reading plan.

Tuesdays at 9 a.m.

Centering Prayer: Body Prayer, Chanting, 20 minutes of silence, followed by contemplation of The Gospel of Thomas.

Wonder what ZimZum Discipleship is all about? Come to an organizing gathering on Friday, June 27 (following the organ recital!) to learn about this program provided by our bishop. Concert begins at noon, our meeting will begin at approximately 1:15 p.m. in the St. Barnabas library. The intention is to form a group that will meet periodically to pray and discuss new learnings. For more info, email Rev. Patricia Robertson, revprome@hotmail.com.

The St. Barnabas Prayer Chain consists of a group of pray-ers who believe in the power of prayer and who devotedly pray for others. If you would like to add someone to the prayer list, or if you would like to join those who receive information about those for whom we pray, email Prayer Chain Coordinator, Drucy Burnet Hodge, drucy15@msn.com. Parishioners remain on the prayer list for one month, non-parishioners for two weeks. The long-term prayer list is periodically reviewed and revised. 

*St. Barnabas Members

Deacon Dan Fowler and other volunteers from St. Barnabas lead devotion services at area senior living centers on Bainbridge Island. All are welcome join us!

The Madison House

Every Thursday at 1:45 p.m.

Fieldstone—June 25, July 9 & 23

Memory Care 1:30 p.m.

Assisted Living 2 p.m.

Please share info about community events with the church office!

Got summer plans? Kids (ages 3-11) are invited to cap off summer break at Grace Kids Camp.

Monday – Friday, August 18 – 22

9:00 a.m. – Noon

For pre-K – Grade 6

Through silly songs, crafts, and games, campers will build friendships and explore what makes each of us uniquely amazing. Volunteer crew leaders (ages 12+) wanted (Etienna will be there—bring your kiddos!). Contact Coordinator for Youth Ministries at Grace, Melissa Meyers, or click the button below to learn more and register.

Save the Date! Seattle Pride Parade is June 29!

The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia—a network of 100 churches across Western Washington—marches in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community, celebrating God’s love for all. Grounded in our Baptismal Covenant, we commit to “respect the dignity of every human being” through action: building affordable housing, serving unhoused neighbors, and resettling hundreds of immigrant families annually.

Our churches welcome everyone—not just through our doors, but at our tables and behind our pulpits. Over half of our active clergy identify as women, BIPOC, and/or LGBTQIA+, reflecting our belief that the church thrives in diversity. Together, we strive to create a beloved community where all are cherished.

Office Hours: Monday–Thursday | 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

Outside of office hours, contact the office at info@stbbi.org or 206/842-5601.

For pastoral care emergencies, please contact Rev. Nancy Tiederman, nancytiederman10@gmail.com.