Nursery Assistant Search

St. Paul’s is seeking two Nursery Assistants to work as a team.  Duties include child supervision and nurture, nursery room care and straightening, and regular communication with church staff and guests. Candidate must have previous child care experience, be over 18 years of age, familiar with mainstream Christianity and be supportive of our inclusive ethos.

Candidate must be able to pass a background check and complete appropriate training's for the prevention of misconduct. 

$15/hr approximately 3 hours a week on Sunday mornings.  This is a lightly attended nursery, but still an essential part of our church life.  Occasional other hours may be available for special events.

Please send a relevant list of experience (with children and churches), as well as a short paragraph about yourself; and two references to the following email, or stop by to deliver the same.

To learn more about St. Paul’s find us on facebook.  To learn more about the Episcopal Church, visit episcopalchurch.org  .

Please reply to Jane Gober, Youth and Family Minister, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 323 Catherine St. Walla Walla, Washington 99362 509-529-1083 x 102  janeg@stpaulsww.org

Lent: Brokenness and Rescue

I must confess: I love Lent.  There is the drama of the lectionary procession, a sense of circling down into the labyrinth of human brokenness.  A path that starts in amazement and ends in amazement, but in the middle it is us at our worst.  I have had profound Lenten seasons and ones where I went through the motions but only found a shallow and dry season.  We are not ideas, but incarnate stories.  We make meaning through motion, ritual and practices: faith is trust, but it is also bodies making shapes out of our belief and our unbelief. 

Religious scholar Dorothy C. Bass reminds us that "The movement of the liturgical year also honors the body as central to our search for God. The liturgical calendar is a record of embodiment, as it takes shape around the life of Jesus and the community he called into being. Fasting during Lent, foot washing on Maundy Thursday, celebrating the Easter Vigil at midnight unite us with Christians of every age who have sought to enter bodily into the narrative of Jesus’ life and death."

We are not called to the practice of a Holy Lent because it excites us or because we like the challenges of limited fasts.  We are called to practice a Holy Lent because it is the way of the people who follow Jesus throughout the ages.  If Easter was the first annual celebration of the community that became known as church, then Lent was the second.  How do you prepare for the mystery of the resurrection?  By acknowledging through prayer, fasting and looking boldly at the brokenness that our mistaken-ness inflicts on this sacred world.  A terribleness that Jesus loves and forgives and rescues, by showing us the way out of the wretchedness.  This way is love, truth and compassion.  It is becoming one with him, with what he said and how he lived.

Lent certainly begins with Ash Wednesday, but it even more so begins with Shrove Tuesday.  A big old party of fat foods and jolly frivolity.  A celebration of life and graciousness and all that is good in our life together.  So mark your calendar and come out for a pancake or two at the annual Shrove Tuesday celebration on February 9th, starting at 6pm.  Then I commend to you that you commit to an Ash Wednesday practice.   We will have liturgies at in the nave of St. Paul's at 7am, 12.10pm and 7pm (the final one with some music).  I will be offering Ashes to Go at the Reid Center on the Whitman campus from 11am till 2pm. 

Episcopal Handbook: LIVE!

LIVE FROM WALLA WALLA: The Episcopal Handbook. 

Bishop Jim at Convention with some of the SPOKES Team

Perhaps sometimes and in some places called an Inquirers class, sometimes Episcopal 101.  This is a chance to learn more about the blessings and challenges of our unique tradition and practices. 

We will make a quick survey of many topics that newcomers and experienced friends have questions about: Prayerbook, Scriptural Approach, Liturgy, History, Practices and Expectations of mature Christian church membership.  It is truly for any adult friend who wants to know this tradition more completely. 

It is also a 'flipped' classroom, where much of the content is pursued independently and class time is focused on community and dialogue.  Some of the independent content is in the handbook, some of it will be in online videos and other pieces will be in online articles (which can be printed for you). Yes, independent content is also sometimes called homework!

This is the class for any adult (High School and older) who is interested in Confirmation, Baptism, Reception or Re-Affirmation.  Confirmation has a complicated and varied history, however in general we see it as an adult affirmation of the faith promised at Baptism.  Many of the adults who are confirmed in the Episcopal church were Baptized in another Christian tradition.  Reception is fairly similar in intention, however it both does not repeat an earlier confirmation, or is the way we formally make a member of a friend who was Baptized and Confirmed in other Christian traditions. A person can also choose to reaffirm, as many of us have. 

This class is open to adults and high school teens, and is an adult learning experience.  We begin confirmation in Senior High because it is by this age that our young friends are ready to invest in a mature learning approach.  There are no tests or quizzes, just people seeking a deeper understanding of the Episcopal Christian tradition and how to nurture our discipleship in this special way of being Church.

In the Episcopal Church is is Bishop's who Confirm and Receive and Reaffirm, and Bishop Waggoner will be making his final pastoral visit with us on April 17th.  This is also an day for Baptisms (the others this spring being Easter and Pentecost).  These classes will be meeting once a week from February 8th through April 11th.  The first meeting will be at 7pm, however we can discuss the timing at the first meeting.  Please contact the office to reserve your spot!