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.

Dear People of St. Barnabas,



This edition of the parish newsletter is going to be especially full because so many good things are happening at St. Barnabas. Last Sunday, your vestry gathered for a highly productive meeting. Further down in this newsletter, you will find a report of the meeting by People’s Warden Phil Fergusson.

What I want to focus on in my message is a trial change in the Sunday morning schedule that will open up a space between services for events such as parish breakfasts; Adult Faith Formation, Finance, and Property offerings; as well as other presentations that have traditionally occurred following the second service. After thoughtful discussion, the vestry approved the proposed change.

The change will move the second service back one half hour to 10:30 am beginning on Homecoming Sunday September 14. The vestry agreed that at the February 1, 2026 parish Annual Meeting we will, as a congregation, evaluate the shift in schedule and decide whether to continue the trial run through Easter or whether to revert back to a 10:00 a.m. start time for the second service. If we opt to continue the new schedule, there will be a second evaluation and a decision made regarding which set of service times best aligns with the Mission and Ministry of St. Barnabas.

The idea for this schedule change arose from the Adult Faith Formation presentation to the vestry offered at the July 20 meeting during which presenters articulated drawbacks to the existing schedule. Though not ideal for all, some benefits of the new Sunday schedule would include:

•  an opportunity for those who attend either of the Sunday services to participate in learning opportunities and presentations
• an opportunity to deepen relationships, especially between first and second service worshippers
•  potential benefits for ministries with children and families
• the creation of a standing block of time that offers opportunities for all-congregational events such as parish breakfasts
•  a shortened Sunday morning for those who have traditionally stayed for presentations following the second service
• more time for the Altar Guild to prepare for the second service.

NOTE: Coffee time following the 8 am service could continue in the parlor, if desired.

Identified downsides to the proposed change:

• the second service will end one half hour later
• the choir needs to rehearse before the second service and would therefore not be able to attend between services events.

So, we will try this schedule and see how it works. The promise is that we will collectively assess the usefulness of the change after we have tried it on for a while.

Now that a decision has been made about the Sunday morning time changes, we can announce the schedule for Homecoming Sunday, September 14!

On that day we will begin implementation of the new trial Sunday morning schedule and enjoy an all-parish breakfast and a Ministries Fair that will happen between services. See details about the Ministries Fair below!

Yours in the love of Christ,

Dianne+

The Rev. Dianne Andrews

Interim

revdianne@stbbi.org

Friday | August 22

9 p.m. | Compline* | Zoom

Sunday | August 24

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

Post–Service| Worship Discussion | Sanctuary

Post–Service | Coffee Hour | Parlor

9:45 a.m. | Sunday Storytellers, Grades Pre-K4 to 5 | Youth Room

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

Post-Service | Coffee Hour | Campus Stewards Presentation | Parish Hall

Monday | August 25

9 p.m. | Compline* | Zoom

Tuesday | August 26

9 a.m. | Centering Prayer | Sanctuary

Wednesday | August 27

9 p.m. | Compline* | Zoom

Thursday | August 28

9 a.m. | Healing Eucharist | Sanctuary

1:30 p.m. | Adult Faith Formation Team Meeting | Library

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

Friday | August 29

5 p.m. | Super Supper | Eagle Harbor Congregational Church

9 p.m. | Compline* | Zoom

Sunday | August 31

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

Post–Service Coffee Hour | Parlor

9:45 a.m. | Sunday Storytellers, Grades Pre-K4 to 5 | Youth Room

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

Post-Service Coffee Hour | Parish Hall

*Email info@stbbi.org to be added to the Compline Zoom invitation list.

Homecoming Sunday will take place on September 14 between the morning services beginning at 9 a.m.. On this day, we will host an all-parish breakfast and ministries fair to share the work of our parish with long-standing members and newbies alike.

Every group/ministry is invited to participate and we hope you all will! Get creative, display fun props, and help spread the word about what your group does in the life of St. Barnabas. We’ll provide signage with your group’s name, and sign-up sheets so community members can join your ministry! Please email Etienna, etienna@stbbi.org by Thursday, September 11 to let us know that your ministry will participate in this special day!

A Parish Profile is a carefully crafted document that serves the purpose of painting an accurate picture of the condition and culture of St. Barnabas for priests seeking the call to become our next rector. Creating this document also allows us the benefit of learning more about ourselves and our ministry in the world. A committee has been commissioned to do the work of preparing the profile.

The Profile Committee, which meets weekly, has signed with a consulting organization called... Click here to read the full August 22 Parish Profile Update on the Clergy Transition section of our website...

Sign Up For Supper Club

Just a reminder that sign-up and information sheets for Supper Club are in the parlor and at the Welcome Table on Sunday (as well as in links below!) One dear friend told me recently that she didn’t want to sign up because she’s a terrible cook. I reminded her that that’s why pizza was invented! If you’re new to St. Barnabas, Supper Club is a must: you’ll get to know fellow parishioners in a way that’s not possible in more hurried encounters. If you’ve been here a while and are single, married, have children, have dogs, cats, llamas, if you love to cook or loathe it, you can take part and you’ll love it. If you’re not going to be at church, and you need more information, do contact me, Mo Godman, mogodman@gmail.com or call 206-317-6169. Last date to sign up: Sunday, August 31. You can sign up on Sunday by getting a sign up form in the Parlor, at the Welcome Table, or you can click here to download the form. Want more information? Click here.

To foster transparency about church business, we are instituting a monthly column to highlight the decisions made at monthly Vestry meetings. Additionally, any parishioner is welcome to attend our meetings (usually 11:45 a.m., the third Sunday of the month in the parish library), and minutes of meetings are available in the wall holder on the right as you enter the parlor. This month’s highlights include: family ministry spotlight, gift acceptance policy, review letter of agreement of our Interim, change in service time, solar panel project, buildings and grounds, annual giving campaign, and the upcoming ministry fair. Read the full update here!

Centering Prayer

Tuesdays at 9 a.m.

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

St. Barnabas Book Club

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by Betty Smith

Book club facilitated by Linda Maxson

The next meeting of the St Barnabas Book Club will be Tuesday, September 9, 1-2:30 p.m. at St Barnabas in the library. The discussion will be on Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Please join us! Contact Linda, ljmaxson@gmail.com, for more details and to express your interest.

As we move into this period of transition, it seems like a good time for all of us to contemplate the core values of St. Barnabas. Our mission statement, printed at the heading of this newsletter, is our guide to what is most important to us. We accomplish this mission through many different ministries in this unique place; beautiful Episcopal liturgy coupled with progressive theology, inspiring music in our worship and community events, welcoming coffee hours and social events, youth and adult formation events, pastoral care, outreach and creation care. The beauty of our buildings and grounds help to transform and sustain us in this work. The Campus Stewards group has been investigating the detailed ways our buildings and grounds can continue to support our mission.

This time of transition requires that our attention be focused on our communal life together in Christ, and the Campus Stewards group does not want to distract anyone from this focus. However, we do want to keep you informed of our discoveries. The older portions of our campus have been in service to us for nearly 80 years and are... Read More

On behalf of the Stewards of Creation Ministry and the Vestry, I am pleased to announce that the WA Department of Commerce Clean Energy Community Grants program has fully funded the solar project that we have been working on for the last year and a half! The grant will cover all of our costs.

This project has two major goals. First, we want to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible, to help care for God’s creation. Second, we want to reduce our cost of electricity, which is one of the church’s largest fixed expenses.

The aerial photo above shows where the 127 solar panels will be placed, Read more...

September 14 | Homecoming Sunday & Ministry Fair

Join your St. Barnabas community as we launch an exciting new program year—let’s kick things off together! The choir will be back in action; adult, children, and youth formation will resume; and we’ll have an all-parish breakfast and ministry fair between services to share the work of our parish with long-standing members and newbies alike. We hope to see you there!

September 26-28 | Women’s Retreat at Sacred Waters Center

Find rest and renewal in community—come away with Rev. Dianne and the women of St. Barnabas for a restorative retreat this September. Registration details coming soon.

September 6 at 2 p.m. | Milton and Donna Brookfield

September 13 at 2 p.m. |  Anina McCormic

September 20 at 11 a.m. | Elizabeth McDonald

The St. Barnabas Choir Wants YOU!

Our choral groups are growing—see if there is a choir for you! Please contact Sheila Bristow, sheila@stbbi.org, for more information or to sign up for a choir.

Who: Early Risers

Which service: 8:00 a.m., Rite I service | last Sunday of the month, beginning Aug 31

Attendance commitment: sign up in advance for each month; attend warm up before the service

Rehearsal schedule: 7:15 a.m. | last Sunday of the month | Sanctuary

Music: chanted service music, choral anthems

Notes: Our newest group!

Who: Parish Choir

Which service: 10:30 a.m., Rite II service, beginning Sept 14

Attendance commitment: regular attendance is expected

Rehearsal schedule: Thursdays, beginning Sept 4 | 7-8:30 p.m. | Choir Room

Music: choral psalms and anthems

Notes: This is a friendly group which enjoys laughing, praying, and singing together.

Who: Schola Nova

Which service: 6 p.m. vespers service | third Sundays, September - May

Attendance commitment: sign up in advance for each month; attend midweek rehearsal

Rehearsal schedule: third Wednesdays, beginning Sept 17 | 4-5:30 p.m. | Choir Room

Music: chanted service music, choral music for evening

Notes: Schola is made up of sopranos & altos from St. Barnabas and the wider community.

Sheila Summer Sightings!

Sun, Aug 24, 9:30 PM

Women’s Compline

St. Mark’s Cathedral

A wonderful group, and I’m writing the psalm setting for the service! You can attend in person, watch the live stream, or listen on Classical KING FM (98.1 ).

Children’s Programming is Back in Action in August!

Sunday Mornings in August

Grades PreK-4 thru 5 | 9:45 a.m.

Join us on Sundays in August for our Summer Sunday Storytellers series! This is a curriculum written and developed right here in our own diocese by Valerie Reinke, who is our Canon Missioner for Faith Formation. Children will come together to share a story, connect its message with our own faith, and create a fun craft together. The stories range from Wangari’s Tress of Peace, to The Three Questions, to Stone Soup, each exploring the world around us and how God, our faith, and the Holy Bible tie into it. We can’t wait to explore God and faith with the youngest EpiscoPals among us!

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—August 20, September 3 & 17

Memory Care 1:30 p.m.

Assisted Living 2 p.m.

Please share info about community events with the church office!

BI Parks and Rec FREE Summer Events!

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. Dianne Andrews, Interim Rector, revdianne@stbbi.org.