Jay Bowen at the Lenten Book Study on February 28th

For those who missed it, this was Jay Bowen’s presentation at the Lenten Book Study last week. The next book study will be Wednesday, March 6. Please join us for soup, bread, and discussion. We are looking at Jay’s newest book Boy to Man to Leader, Times of Klak-A-Dub, A Skagit History 1730 -1910.

Vigil for Black Lives Matter

For those attending online:

The Zoom link is here.

For those who call in by telephone, the number is +1 253 215 8782, the meeting ID is 894 7224 6280, and the password is 767284.

The video will be up on Facebook and on the Live Stream page around 9 p.m.

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It has been way too long since St. Paul’s has been able to gather in person, but we’ll be doing so this Tuesday, August 4, for a reason beyond our desire to worship together. We’ll be meeting on the front lawn of our church for a prayer service and vigil in support of Black Lives Matter.

Those attending the outdoor service, which will start at 7 pm on the east lawn of St. Paul’s (across the street from the Kiwanis Park) will be required to wear a mask and maintain recommended social distancing. According to Father Paul Moore, “The service is styled on evening prayer, but embellished with prayers from other sources, and will make a peaceful, quiet, reverential, and public statement about Black Lives Matter.”

The Tuesday evening prayer service will also feature a sermon from local African-American pastor, Vernon Washington.

“On its surface, the statement ‘Black Lives Matter,’ is self-evident,” says Father Paul. “It wants me to say that Brown lives matter…and Asian lives matter…and LGBTQ lives matter, and trans lives matter…and White lives matter — and that’s all true as well. But right now, ‘black lives matter’ is more than just an acknowledgment of the value of African-American lives at the exclusion of others.”

“I believe that what people in our country are really striving to say is that we have not paid attention to the stories of racial minorities. We have not let the minority stories among us as American citizens inform our national dialogue. We still tend to build society in our White image, and ‘black lives matter’ is a call to a deeper awareness of multiculturalism and inclusiveness. It just so happens that the largest minority among us is African-Americans, and they are the majority in some parts of our country. We need to include their story, and in so doing we can become more aware that the American Story is not just a White story.”

For our gathering this Tuesday we ask people to bring their own chairs and insect repellent… and an open and worshipful heart.

Holy Week Schedule

Here is our Holy Week schedule. Specific posts with the bulletin, Zoom link, other pertinent links, and instructions will be posted daily on Thursday-Sunday. (We promise.) Worship services on Thursday-Sunday will be posted on Facebook and on our live stream page within two hours of worship ending.

Tuesday
-Meditative music with Sister Katherine at noon on Facebook and our live stream page
-Compline with Jen at 8:30 p.m. on Facebook Live and our live stream page

Wednesday
-Meditative music with Sister Katherine at noon on Facebook and our live stream page
-Compline with Jen at 8:30 p.m. on Facebook Live and our live stream page

Thursday
-Bilingual worship at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom

Friday
-Stations of the Cross on Zoom at noon
-Good Friday liturgy on Zoom at 6:00 p.m.

Saturday
-Easter Vigil on Zoom at 7:00 p.m.
-Virtual Easter Egg Hunt right after!

Sunday
-Easter Eucharist on Zoom at 9:30 a.m.

Virtual Easter Egg Hunt
We are having a virtual Easter egg hunt this year, and we are inviting people to color eggs (real, paper, wood, candy, whatever) and hide them in a room. Take a picture of the room and send it to Jen at jennifer.e.mccabe@gmail.com along with the number of eggs hidden by 4:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 11.

The page with all the pictures will be up after Easter Vigil on Saturday night (because the Virtual Easter Bunny Jen has to do the work, yo!), so check the website around 9:30 p.m. Go hunt through the pictures and count the number you find. There will be a link to a form where you can submit your guess. Jen will let everyone know the winners on Sunday morning after church.

If you need a printable thing to color, this site has a bunch.

Sunday Worship Cancelled

Dear congregation members and any who bless us with your presence at St. Paul’s,

Following a directive from the Diocese of Olympia, we are temporarily cancelling our weekly church services.

Out of concern for what is now acknowledged to be a global pandemic, not to mention the first documented occurrence of COVID-19 in Skagit County, we will suspend services beginning this Sunday, March 15, and until such time as we receive a directive from the Bishop to resume. We will keep you updated on further communications we receive from the Diocese.

In the meantime, we are looking into ways that we can continue to share the Good News with you as the Jesus people. With the help of the Diocese, we will explore options ranging from video to live streaming to worship together, even if virtually. Please check back for updates on this.

**UPDATE** We will be live streaming Morning Prayer on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. over on our Facebook page. You do not have to have a Facebook account to watch it. The video will be posted on the Live Stream page of this website by 10 a.m.

We look forward to worshiping together with you online this Sunday!

Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

Suggested $8 donation per adult; $5 ages 4-12 — free to children 3 years old and younger

(10% of donations will be contributed to Family Promise)

Are You Ready to Get Your Shrove* On?

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mount Vernon invites you to a pre-Lent tradition that involves pancakes for dinner — and what could possibly be wrong with that?

And not just pancakes, but sliced ham, bacon, fruit, a variety of toppings, and plenty of friendly neighbors. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

The Annual St. Paul’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner is open to one and all. We ask for your donation of $8 per adult and $5 for children ages 4 -12. Kids 3 years old and younger eat for free. Of course, if you really like the food or are just feeling generous, we will thankfully accept any additional donation. So bring the whole family! You won’t find food so good for so little on a Tuesday night in February in the entire Skagit Valley. We guarantee it!

10% of donations go to Family Promise to help keep the Gospel message alive and well in our community — so you’ll leave feeling satisfied in body and soul.

Popularly known in England and Commonwealth countries as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day, Shrove Tuesday is the last day of the liturgical season historically known as Shrovetide, and precedes the penitential season of Lent. Indulging in foods that one sacrifices for the upcoming forty days is associated with Shrove Tuesday celebrations — which is why we make our Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner so darn good!

Did You Know? The term Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”, referring to the practice of eating richer, fatty foods on the night before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. (Source: Wikipedia)