Advent ~ Christmastide Liturgy Schedule

Sundays Mornings in Advent
December 1, 8, 15, and 22
10:00 am Morning Prayer and the Holy Communion
10:00 am Children’s Sunday School

Tuesday, December 24
Christmas Eve

🌲 5:00 pm Evening Prayer and the Holy Communion

Wednesday, December 25
Christmas Day

🌲 10:00 am Morning Prayer and the Holy Communion

Sunday, December 29
The First Sunday after Christmas

10:00 am Morning Prayer and the Holy Communion
10:00 am Children’s Sunday School

Sunday, January 5
The Second Sunday after Christmas

10:00 am Morning Prayer and the Holy Communion
10:00 am Children’s Sunday School

ACW Advent Ingathering of Baby Items

St. Bartholomew’s ACW is partnering with Catholic Community Services (CCS) during Advent by collecting new and gently used items for the CCS Infant Layette Program.

Every month, CCS distributes layette gift bags to families in need in Snohomish County who have just had a newborn baby. CCS is almost out of supplies and is requesting items from the list below.

Layette items will be collected in the Narthex through December 22. Monetary donations are also welcome. (Make checks payable to the church with “Layette Program” in the memo line, and place them in the offertory plate.)

INFANT LAYETTE ITEM LIST (New or Gently Used)
Diapers SIZE 1 or 2 (diapers size 1 are most needed)
Diaper wipes (most needed)
Onesie T-shirts (sizes S, M, L)
Play and Sleep outfits (sizes S, M, L) (most needed)
Infant socks and/or tights (multiple sizes and colors)
Infant booties and/or shoes
Going Visiting Outfits (sizes S, M, L)
Sleepers (sizes S, M, L)
Hat (cotton/summer type)
Washcloth or Hooded towel
Receiving Blankets
Baby jacket or sweaters
Crib Blanket and Sheets
Children’s Books
Bottles, pacifiers
Rattle and safe infant toys
Baby shampoo
Diaper Bag

QUESTIONS? Speak with any ACW member, or contact Anne F.

Embrace Halloween’s Christian Roots

Halloween should not be a day when our churches go dark and Christians retreat into the shadows, but when we fill the darkness with Christ’s light and go out into the culture, inviting everyone to the prepare for the festival of the saints with all the joy we can muster.

Dear brother and sisters in Christ:

As we near All Hallows Eve, a.k.a. Halloween, I usually get asked some questions and Halloween, a.k.a. All Hallows’ Eve, and its Christian roots and celebration.

Fr. Steve Grunow, from Word on Fire, has some excellent answers to these common questions and he responded with everything you ever wanted to know about Halloween and its deeply Catholic roots.

(Fr. Grunow’s interview was originally published on October 31, 2019.)

Faithfully yours,
Father Rick Gregory

Photos from the Blessing of the Animals

This year, the St. Francis Day Pet Blessing took place on Saturday, October 5th. We had a wonderful time meeting the extended family of St. Bart’s: dogs and turtles! Thank you to all who helped make this a special day for our dear pets who love us unconditionally.

Photos courtesy of Katie Guthrie.

Participants in the event included the très chic Winifred R. (far left) along with two noble German Shepherds and their human mother, Elizabeth Feiberg. To the right side is the extended canine family of Harrison and Rachel Hess.

Pets received a St. Francis medal with their blessing.

A delicious assortment of treats for the pets and their humans.

Cooper, the copper lover of souls.

One of the Talbott turtles came for a blessing.

The vigilant Zoe Guthrie stands guard over the event.

Keep up to date on all the parish news. Contact Father Rick to be added to the weekly parish newsletter e-mail list.

Photos from Our Patronal Celebration

August 25, 2024

We had a fantastic time and enjoyed our delicious meal from Larry’s Smokehouse immensely. Desserts were provided by Larry Talbott and the Hess Clan. Thanks to all who participated. For those of you who were not able to join us, we missed you!

Photos courtesy of Katie Guthrie.

Celebrating Our Patron Saint

Orthodox icon of St. Bartholomew holding a scroll

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We will gather this Sunday, August 25, to celebrate our Patron Saint and our parish, but why is a church family so important?

Because church is like a family reunion. The Bible says that we are brothers and sisters in Christ and part of the family of God (Ephesians 2:19; 3:14-15). As such, we gather to celebrate the Sacraments especially the Holy Communion, pray for one another, encourage one another, and help each other. We need each other’s support to live out the Christian Life and fulfill God’s Will in each of our lives.

Faithfully,
Fr. Rick

Parish Patronal Schedule

Sunday, August 25
10:00am Morning Prayer and The Holy Communion
10:00 am Children’s Sunday School
Join us for a delicious BBQ feast following the Liturgy. All are welcome.

New APCK Courses Offered for Laity and Clergy

Saint Joseph of Arimathea Theological College, Berkeley, CA

As time goes by the Seminary wants very much to offer classes in which the laity will be able to participate more fully. Indeed, the primary goal remains to prepare men for Holy Orders, but a well-educated laity (including our youth and confirmands) is equally important for a successful Province of Christ the King. We have been asked about a Mission Statement; and here it is, that we educate and re-educate and re-educate our clergy and laity in the fundamentals of the Faith once delivered to the saints.  Michaelmas Term begins the week of September 17th. See course descriptions and registration form for additional details.

Seminary Courses for Clergy and Laity

Survey of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
Tuesdays, 5:00 pm*

Development of Early Christian Theology
Wednesdays, 11:00 am*

Confirmation Class
Thursdays, 5:00 pm*

Biblical Greek 2
Fridays, 10:00 am*

Ecclesiastical Latin 1
Fridays, 3:00 pm*

Ecclesiastical Latin 3
Fridays, 1:00 pm*

* Note: Courses will be conducted on the Zoom platform. Course hours given for Pacific Time (PST). Please adjust times for your location.

Examples from the Saints

Dear Parish Family,

Two saints this week offer to us examples of how we can impact our world and the Church for the better. St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuit Order in the Roman Church, but Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises continue to affect Seminarians and the Faithful throughout the Christian world, regardless of denomination. St. Nicodemus worked behind the scenes at the Crucifixion, helping rescue the body of Our Lord and ensure He had a proper burial. (See their stories below.)

Faithfully yours,

Fr. Rick

About St. Ignatius of Loyola, Confessor

The founder of the Jesuits was on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannon ball shattered his leg. Because there were no books of romance on hand during his convalescence, Ignatius whiled away the time reading a life of Christ and lives of the saints. His conscience was deeply touched, and a long, painful turning to Christ began. Having seen the Mother of God in a vision, he made a pilgrimage to her shrine at Montserrat near Barcelona.

He remained for almost a year at nearby Manresa, sometimes with the Dominicans, sometimes in a pauper’s hospice, often in a cave in the hills praying. After a period of great peace of mind, he went through a harrowing trial of scruples. There was no comfort in anything—prayer, fasting, sacraments, penance. At length, his peace of mind returned. It was during this year of conversion that Ignatius began to write down material that later became his greatest work, the Spiritual Exercises. Read more →

About St. Nicodemus

St. Nicodemus was a secret disciple of Jesus. As a member of the Sanhedrin, he would meet Jesus by night so that the others would not see him with Jesus. Eventually, it was Nicodemus who reminded the Sanhedrin that Jesus had the right to a trial. Together with St. Joseph of Arimathea, he prepared Jesus’ body and placed him in the tomb.

Tradition holds that St. Nicodemus was martyred, though no record remains.