St. Benedict’s Weekly Prayers: Week of July 20, 2025

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Sixth Sunday After Pentecost


The Collect:

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 
Amen.

The Reverend Dr. Beth Echols

References below names "LFF" are celebrations from "Lesser Feasts and Fasts", 2021.  Holy Days are from the Book of Common Prayer Holy Day celebrations.  You can find "Lesser Feasts and Fasts" online at https://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/21034

Daily Prayers for those in need or trouble:

Prayers for the Parish
Kathleen, Mary, David, Isabel, Gary Judy, Patricia, Matthew, Chris, Pam, Ray, Kay, Andy, John, Elisabeth, Rebekah, Jacob, Aaron, Daphne, Sally, Jane,  and Carol

Prayers for friends of St. Benedict
Nancy Jo, Adam, Tina, Amanda, Jess, Jim, Tim
__________________________________________
In the case of a pastoral care emergency please call the Rector directly
360-485-7281

Monday - July 21- For Parish Members

Jody and John
Barb
Bob and Karen

(LFF:  (Maria Skobtsova, Monastic and Martyr, 1945)

Tuesday - July 22 - For Parish Members

Felicia
Donald and Jenny
Bob 

(LFF:  Saint Mary Magdalene)

Wednesday - July 23 - For Parish Members

Judy
Collie and Martha
Jim and Sharon

(LFF:  John Cassian, Monastic and Theologian, 435)

Thursday - July 24 - For Parish Members

Otis
Alesya
Marge

(LFF:  Thomas à Kempis, Priest and Mystic, 1471)

Friday - July 25- For Parish Members

Tim and Caroline
Patty
Jane

(LFF:  Saint James the Apostle)

           Saturday - July 26-  

                                    Prayer of St. Benedict

Gracious and Holy Father, give us the wisdom to discover You,
the intelligence to understand You,
the diligence to seek after You,
the patience to wait for You,
eyes to behold You,
a heart to meditate upon You,
and a life to proclaim You.
Amen

The Reverend Dr Beth Echols

(LFF:  Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

Sunday - July 27, 2025
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Worship Services - 8 & 10:30 am

For the members of our parish family that
passed away  this year:

Ildiko Baldwin
Reverend Robert Williams
Reverend Eldwin Lovelady
Robert Wilson
Patricia Basta

Give to the departed eternal rest;
Let light perpetual shine upon them.

A Prayer for this Parish

Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for St. Benedict's parish family.  Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent.  Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
      Amen.

Parish Leaders

The Rev. Dr. Beth Echols, Rector
The Rev. Tony Irving, Deacon
Mr. Bob Zych, Senior Warden
Ms. Kelly Ellis, Junior Warden
Vestry members
Jan Akin, Bob Beckman, Karen Fraser,
Norman Gregory, Nancy Zabel, Gerry Apple, clerk

First Aid Station Updated

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A few weeks ago, your Senior Warden Bob Zych was stung quite a few times by a nest of bees/wasps/hornets (who knows!) while working at the church clean up day.  Thanks to quick-acting nurses, Norman and Clarice Gregory, Bob was driven home, where he received Benadryl and other topical creams to relieve the sting.  Bob is highly allergic, but thanks be to God, he didn't have to use his EpiPen.  
 
After that incident, the First Aid Kits in the Parish Hall Kitchen and the Sacristy have been updated, and now contain a variety of medications to take care of Bee Stings, cuts, headaches, you name it, the kits are loaded with first aid necessities.  
 
The first Aid kit in the parish hall kitchen is labeled and stored in an open shelf unit next to the black freezer...you really can't miss it.

Come Join the Men's Group for Breakfast

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We welcome all male members of our parish to join us for breakfast and fellowship the last Saturday morning of each month at Pat’s Café, 6011 Pacific Avenue SE, Lacey, at 8:30 am.
Next breakfast is on July 26th.
Dress is casual and the talk is informal and friendly! Breakfast is off the menu which is very wide ranging and delicious!
You do not need to RSVP but please let Bob Beckman at bobbeckman66@gmail.com know if you plan to attend. Bob sends out a notice to all who express an interest.

Our Coffee is Still Local (ish)

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As many of you know, for many years we have been purchasing our coffee from Dancing Goats (originally Batdorf and Bronson) Coffee Roasters.  Although they have sold their roasting plant and the beans are now being roasted in Sumner, we continue to get coffee from the Dancing Goats outlet across from the Olympia Farmers’ Market.  If you have any questions or comments please see Spence Daniels (who, ironically, does not drink coffee!).

St. Benedict's Day

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—Nancy Zabel, Sacristan

This photo is Our first Altar, made by Murray Barnes, now used in our chapel.

St. Benedict of Nursia is commemorated in the Episcopal Church calendar on July 11. He is honored as the founder of Western monasticism and the author of the Rule of St. Benedict, which has shaped Christian monastic life for centuries. 

St Benedict’s first service was held August 3, 1980, at Saint Placid Priory, a girls’ school operated by Roman Catholic Benedictine nuns. The Reverend John W. Gibbs, curate at St. John's, became our first vicar.
In less than a year, Saint Benedict outgrew its space at Saint Placid and in June 1981, we began worshiping in the student union building of Saint Martin's College, which is affiliated with the Roman Catholic order of St. Benedict.
On a cold windy Sunday afternoon in December 1986, with members of the Olympia Highlanders bagpipers leading the way, we broke ground for our new church building on Bowker Street.
On August 23, 1987, we began with the ministry of the word in the student union building, carried our prayer books and other belongings across the field to Bowker Street and concluded our Eucharist in our new 13,000 square-foot structure. Bishop Cochrane conducted the dedication September 16, 1987.  Lucy Reuter & Nancy Zabel
 
We celebrate our beginnings between July 11 and August 23rd.  This year our celebration and picnic will be on August 10th. 
 
We will have photos and stories to share.

Faith in Action: Thurston County Food Bank

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The Rev. Dr. Beth Echols

The Thurston County Foodbank has reached out to St. Benedict Episcopal Church to help with the crisis of hunger in our neighborhood.  This is an opportunity for us to put ‘the hands of Christ’ to service.

I plan to participate as my schedule allows and am scheduling a time for Student Chaplains to serve.

"We strive to provide healthy, nutritious food to families and individuals experiencing food insecurity, ensuring they have what they need to thrive. Hunger affects people of all ages and backgrounds, and the need has never been greater. We rely on the dedication of volunteers like you to help us distribute food, host drives, and assist with packing and sorting food donations."Eliminate Hunger Within Our Community, in the Spirit of Neighbor Helping Neighbor.'  is to 'Our mission." At the Thurston County Food Bank, we are on a mission to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry. We are reaching out to invite you to join us in this essential work by volunteering your time and talents to help those in need."

  • Lacey Food Pantry Service

    • Tuesday and Thursday Service 9:00 am-12:30 pm and 12:00 pm-3:00 pm

    • We have an evening food distribution event on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. We need volunteers from 3 pm to 6:30 pm. (March 12th, April 9th, May 14th)

  • Olympia Food Pantry (Greatest Need on Mondays)

    • These opportunities are available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from (8:00 am-12:00 pm)  and (11:45-4:00 pm). Contact Jessica Colson at jessc@tcfb.org

  • Kiwanis Food Bank Gardens       

    •  Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday (9:00 am- 12:00 pm) (1:00 pm-3:00 pm). This program has three different locations so please check the location before volunteering.

Evangelism from St. Benedict

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Norman Gregory, Building Steward

I was pondering writing an article about the work we’ve been doing to spruce up our church and make it more visible and then my mind pivoted to the topic of evangelism.

Our Evangelical brothers and sisters might say that we Episcopalians don’t do a good job of spreading the Gospel because we don’t go out and shout from the rooftops at the top of our lungs. We even self mockingly joke about being the “frozen chosen”. I think this misses the point – we are much better at whispering to get attention and sharing our message. While this may be more subtle it can be very effective.

Our rector once commented on seeing that we have Episcopal shields on our vehicles (available from Amazon) that we were doing quiet evangelizing and she was right as periodically folks will ask us what that symbol means and a conversation is started (and who knows how many people remember that the driver of a car who politely let them merge on I-5 had an interesting symbol on the back). I have argued for years that whenever Clarice and I (and several others in our congregation) give care as nurses we are sharing our belief in God’s love through our hands. Spence and his team that quietly/faithfully make Meals for Many every month are doing evangelism by sharing their love to God’s Children in need. Even just welcoming a group that spins wool and makes garments from it counts as a form of quiet evangelism.

So why did evangelism come to mind when pondering writing about our garden and sign projects? Maybe because Clarice has made a new friend with our garbage collector who comments every week about the progress he sees. Maybe because I met our neighbors across Bowker Street and next door when we got into conversations about the work being done. Maybe because of the random people who have driven by and stopped to comment about how much better our grounds look with the work we have done so far even this early in the project. Finally, maybe because people have commented that our new mock-up sign has opened their eyes to the existence of a church they never noticed before. In other words the very act of changing the look of our grounds and having parishioners outside and willing to chat has made people aware that there is a living church here and that can well be the first step in quiet evangelism.

Activity Bags for Children during Church

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Dear Parents and Guardians, 
Since Sunday school is not going to meet for the summer, we know that you would like to have activities for your children to do during church. There will be activity bags available in the narthex for you to pick-up and use. The children will find crayons, colored pencils, and color sheets to use while in church. There are younger and older bags to choose from, indicated on the bag.
Please return your bags at the end of the service and we will re-supply with new activities the next week. 
 
Your Sunday school teachers

Diocesan Events for Summer

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Summer for Children & Teens — There's so much going on for children & teens in the Diocese of Olympia including Vacation Bible School, day camps, and overnight camps! Visit the summer activities page to see what's happening in June, July and August.
 
Dinner with the Bishop — People in their 20s & 30s are invited to the Office of the Bishop in Seattle for a casual gathering with our new Bishop, Phil LaBelle. We'll eat, do some Q & A with +Phil, tour the just-renovated Leary mansion, and then welcome summer with a solstice liturgy. Wednesday, June 25, 6:00 PM. Free! More info and RSVP here.
 
Seattle Pride Parade — Show your pride and demonstrate the warm welcome of the Episcopal Church by marching in the Seattle Pride Parade! Sunday, June 29, downtown Seattle, noon. More info and register here.
 
Sailing Adventure — High-school-age youth are invited to sail away on the historic schooner, Adventuress. This voyage is a little bit creation care (Adventuress is a floating science lab), a little bit high seas adventure (climb the mast! explore local islands!), and a great way to deepen faith and friendships. August 27 - 30. $250/person; sibling discount and scholarships available. More info and register here. 

Dear Sunday School parents and students

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Kelly Ellis, Junior Warden

Sunday school came to a close last Sunday. We have had such fun with your children and we will be looking forward to starting up again in the fall on September 7th.  

On this last Sunday, our students painted rocks to take home and also leave here in our church garden as a gift to this congregation. If you find a painted rock in your walks around the church, please enjoy it, and re-hide it for others to find. During Sunday stories, we read the book “Everyone needs a Rock” by Byrd Baylor and decided to help everyone find their important rock.  

We have loved being your children’s teachers this year and look forward to stories and adventures for the next.  

Kelly Ellis 
Helen Johnston 
Mary Jones  
Caroline Madden 

Wednesday Healing Service

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The Episcopal Church has an established tradition of providing healing services. The St. Benedict Healing service is a public gathering where folks come together to pray for healing and wholeness for themselves and others, with the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. The Service emphasizes prayer, spiritual support, and a sense of community in seeking God's healing presence.

Our community is blessed with the Great Cloud of Witnesses and so we call on the Saints of our faith to inspire us to wholeness.

We gather each Wednesday at the side chapel at 12:15. I hope you will join us.

Book Club Update: June 11

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The Wednesday Morning Book Group is starting a new book:  We Will Be Jaguars:a Memoir of My People  
by Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson. Nemonte is a leader of the Waorani people from the Amazon 
Region of Ecuador as well as being the winner of the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize.

We expect to start discussing We Will Be Jaguars at our 11:00 am Zoom meeting on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.

If you’re new to the group and wish to join us, please send me an email, and I’ll send you a link to the meeting.  
Send the email to Anne Metzler at annieg426@gmail.com .