If you ring it, they will come (Updated Sept. 4th)

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Summoning the faithful to worship by the ringing of bells is an ancient tradition in the Christian church; one that is especially beloved in the Anglican/Episcopal tradition. The British have developed it into an art form, known as change ringing. When St. Benedict Episcopal Church was built in 1987 the original design called for a bell tower. However, money ran out and the tower was never completed. After a nearly 40-year wait, that plan is finally coming to fruition. We are in the process of building that long-awaited bell tower. This page will document that progress.

To follow the journey from the beginning,
jump to the bottom of the page, and scroll up.

 
 

A Second Bell Finds a New Home! 

A hearty thanks to Bob Knudson and Bob Wille, who, with the passion and inspiration of Norman Gregory, have given St. Benedict another bell, much bigger and older than the first.  Construction has started on the tower as well. We stand in awe and gratitude for the blessings that we have received. 

We welcome contributions towards the
bell and construction of the tower.

Click here to read the story of Bells, Canons, and Cannons

A bell tower needs a good foundation. We don’t want our tower to lean that that one in Pisa. Forms set and concrete poured. Word has gotten out. Todd Henderson, the Canon for Property in the Diocese of Olympia came to visit. He is being shown the progress by our Junior Warden, Norman Gregory. Mr. Henderson be on the look-out for a second bell we can use.

Our bell will need strong brackets to hold it in place. Bell ringers can be enthusiastic. Here is Arthur Fischer from the Barony of Glimm Mere group that meets at St Benedict. He came to offer his professional welding skills to help Norman and Clarice make custom bell tower brackets as called for by the structural engineer.

A bell needs a tower. The designer of the St. Benedict Bell Tower is Dennis Lyons, shown here with the model for his design. Mr. Lyons is a known craftsman in our Community who is behind many of the projects that you see throughout the neighborhood.

It starts with a bell. We searched for a bell, and found an Episcopal Church willing to donate one. A good start, but we are looking for a companion, so it won’t feel lonely.

Planting Party: Sat. Sept. 19th, 9:00 a.m.

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Saturday, September 19th, 0900. Planting of drought-tolerant plants will take place for the planting strips surrounding the trees. One of our parishioners has lovingly raised these plants, and now it's time to get them into their permanent home. Please join us. We need people to dig, plant, water in, and potentially haul some of our remaining compost to the planting holes. This will allow the starts to get settled in as our cooler, wetter weather comes to us.

-Clarice Gregory, Garden Lead.

A Blessing

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Our Executive Team has been working with St. Joseph St John in Lakewood.  The church closed a year ago, and the Diocese has allowed us to take their bell and anything in the church we could use.  We loved this beautifully handmade bowl. The bowl was used as the baptismal font at the entrance to the nave. Now it will be used as our baptismal font. We will give it a good home in our church family. Our font will be repurposed to the glory of God.

Changes

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Did you know that there are actually two ways to celebrate Communion, along with Communion under Special Circumstances?  We will try out Rite I at the 8 o'clock service during September.  The 10:30 Service will continue with Rite II.

A way to distinguish the two services is that Rite I tends to be more traditional with a focus on reconciliation and Rite II is more contemporary with a celebratory nature.  You may find that your spiritual life benefits by mixing things up a bit.

Prayer Cycle for the Week of Aug. 30, 2026

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The power of prayer keeps us connected with God and each other.

We invite you to pray daily for yourself, your family, and for our parish family.
Note: The cycle of prayer for parish members is from our Parish Directory.

LINK TO OUR WEBSITE
LINK TO SUNDAY WORSHIP BULLETINS
LINK TO DAILY PRAYERS ONLINE

The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost:  
Proper 17 Collect: 

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. BCP

Margaret Ward, Margaret Clitherow, and Anne Line, Martyrs, 1588, 1586, and 1601

The names below, "LFF" are celebrations from "Lesser Feasts and Fasts", online 2025. Holy Days are in the Book of Common Prayer.  https://www.episcopalchurch.org/wpcontent/uploads/2025/03/lesser_feasts_and_fasts_-_2024__final_.pdf

Prayers and Gratitude for the Parish

David, Isabel, Gary, Judy, Matthew, Chris, Pam, Ray, Kay, Jane, Daphne, Kissa, Carolyn, Charlotte, Stephen, Harrison, Bill, Gregory, Tim, Tasha, Gloria, Helen, Milinda, Don, Jill, Mel, Rebekah, John, Zack and Michelle.

We pray for the health of the Woodard Creek basin within our Parish.

 Prayers for Friends of St. Benedict

Nancy Jo, Adam, Tina, Amanda, Jess, Tim, Gary, Shane, Marianne, Ron, Kelly, Oran, Judy, Michael, Kevin, Lauri, Jason and Cindy

Prayers for Military Deployed in Service to the Nation

Richard

Prayers for the Departed 

Prayers for Birthdays & Anniversaries 
__________________________________________

In the case of a pastoral care emergency please call the Rector directly
360-485-7281

Monday - August 31 - For Parishioners
 

Felicia 
Arianna, Zyllah, Serenity 

 Aidan of Lindisfarne, Bishop, 651

Tuesday - September 1 - For Parish Members

Donald
Chun (Jenny)

David Pendleton Oakerhater, Deacon, 1931

Wednesday - September 2 - For Parish Members

Bob

The Martyrs of New Guinea, 1942

Thursday - September 3 - For Parish Members

Judy

Phoebe, Deacon

Friday - September 4 - For Parish Members

Collum
Martha

 Paul Jones, Bishop, 1941

           Saturday - September 5 - For Parish Members

Jim
Sharon

Katharina Zell, Church Reformer and Writer, 1562

A Prayer for the New School Year

God of all wisdom, we praise you for gifting us with curiosity and learning. Give to all students, teachers, and caregivers a clear sense of your love. May they feel your presence throughout this school year. Guide their choices, their quest for knowledge, and their relationships. Use their successes and failures as opportunities to grow in understanding of who you would have them to be. Continue to shape them, that they may walk in the way of Christ, grow strong in Spirit’s love for all people, and know the complete joy of life in you. In the name of Christ our Great Teacher, we pray. Amen

Sunday - September 6, 2026
15th Sunday after Pentecost
What ever you loose on earth

Word and Sacrament

Worship Services - 8 am and 10:30 am 

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

Mary Eberling
Kathleen Bruner
Kristie Louise Gouley
Paul Conroy
Judith Rockwell
Carolyn Baldwin

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

Season of Creation 2026

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Remember to Wear Orange

Creation Season begins on Sunday.  We will take the time to renew our relationship with the beautiful creation that the Lord has given us to care for and love.  The Episcopal Church has not decided on a liturgical color for the season, so we will join in dress with the United Churches of Canada from the first Sunday in September until the first Sunday in October.  The Season closes on St. Francis Day and the blessing of the animals, and lizards, and birds, and the glory of creation that finds their way to worship with us on October 4.

Evangelism Made Easy

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Sometimes we Episcopalians compare ourselves to churches with very active evangelism programs and it feels like we aren't doing anything to share the Good News. 

In reality every time we help a neighbor, volunteer our time for a community event, take time to listen to a customer or patient, or share with a local food bank we are in fact evangelizing. In other words every time we share God's caring through our actions we are evangelizing. 

It is rare that someone will stop you and ask where you get the energy to "do good" so how do you start a conversation about your religious life and beliefs without sounding / feeling pushy?  The easy answer is to ask one of the ushers or St. Benedict leadership staff for a simple decal to put on your vehicles (or I've seen one on a parishioner's front door).  In my own experience it is not infrequent that someone will mention the sticker or ask it's meaning and once that happens the conversation is started. Today is a good day to take a decal home and apply it where it will be seen.

School Supplies: Aug. 9 - Sept. 6

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Once again, school will start in our area. While you are out shopping, please consider picking up school supplies for the children, so that they are prepared for the coming year. 

The supplies you contribute will be donated to North Thurston Counseling Center and distributed to the appropriate school offices. 

We strive to enrich each child to succeed in our city, and St. Benedict has always supported that goal. 

There are school supply lists on the table in the Narthex for your convenience. The supply drive will begin on August 9th, and we will collect until September 6th. 

Thank you for your generosity.

The Book Club is reading the book: "Theo of Golden "

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The Wednesday Morning Book Group is reading the book: Theo of Golden: A Novel by Allen Levi. We expect to start discussing Theo of Golden at our 11:00 am Zoom meeting on Wednesday, August 19th, 2026.

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 . 

Episcopal News Service

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The Episcopal News Service (ENS) has been added to the St. Benedict Web Site for your convenience.  It is a successor to the bi-weekly paper, Episcopal News, that ran from 1835 to 1937. Episcopal News Service  offers in-depth reporting of local, regional, national and international news for Episcopalians and others interested in the church’s mission and ministry. Episcopal News Service is the official news source of the Episcopal Church.

The link will be posted each week for your easy access.  We hope that you find this new service helpful, click on the link below. 

episcopal news service

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.