Newcomers
Welcome to St. Brendan's. We are glad you've joined us.
We invite any visitors interested in learning more about St. Brendan's to fill out one of the visitor cards at the welcome table on Sunday or contact us via phone or email. ​
If you are new to the Episcopal Church or would like someone to sit with you during service, please let one of our greeters at the welcome table know and we would be more than happy to guide you through the service.
St. Brendan's Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Church and follows traditional Episcopal liturgies found in the Book of Common Prayer. We welcome people from all faith backgrounds. The structure and liturgy of the Episcopal Church has many similarities to the Roman Catholic Church and many of our former Roman Catholic members felt right at home on their first Sunday at St. Brendan's.
Choosing a worship service
St Brendan's offers three weekly services, each with their own unique feel. Visitors are welcome at all services.
Sunday 8:00 am - Holy Eucharist Rite II
This is an intimate, traditional worship service with communion and without music. The service typically lasts about 45 minutes. This service is held in the chapel off of St. Brendan's main sanctuary and in our outdoor chapel during the summer, weather depending.
Sunday 10:00 am - Holy Eucharist Rite II
This family-friendly service features traditional worship with music and communion. The service typically lasts about 1 hour 15 minutes. We offer childcare for children three and under and Sunday school for children age four through fifth grade during the first part of this service. Immediately following the service, we host coffee hour with coffee, lemonade, and baked goods.
Learn more about our worship services here.
​​Following along with the service
When you arrive on Sunday, you will be handed a weekly bulletin that includes the outline of the service. The full service liturgy can also be found in the red Book of Common Prayer in the back of the seat in front of you. Words to hymns are printed in the bulletin and music can be found in the hymnals in the back of the seat in front of you. Most of the hymns are from the blue hymnal and music from other hymnals will be listed in the bulletin.
Taking communion
We invite all baptized persons of God to participate by accepting Holy Communion at our services if they choose. Most parishioners choose to take the communion wafer in their hands and either sip the wine or dip the wafer in the wine (intinction). If you would feel more comfortable with a blessing, you may cross your arms at the communion rail and the priest will administer a blessing to you. For those with food allergies, we offer gluten-free communion wafers. [NOTE: During the COVID pandemic, we have not offered wine. We look forward to resuming communion in both kinds soon.]
Children are welcome
Children are always welcome in services. Learn more about how St. Brendan's engages children here. A "Toddler's Table" is situated in the back of the church. If your toddler or young preschooler needs space to move around or some toy/item to engage with during worship, feel free to utilize this space for such times. We believe that children still learn and benefit from being in church, even during play.
Getting involved
Be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Navigator's Log, to keep up to date with all the going-ons at St. Brendan's. (Email us and we can add you to the email list.) Interested in getting more involved with St. Brendan's or one of our ministries? Have an idea for a new ministry? St. Brendan's encourages all members, whether they have been attending for one month or ten years, to get involved with service and fellowship activities. Our priest or one of our vestry members would be happy to speak with you further about your interests and connect you to others in the parish who may share your callings!
More questions?
Check out these resources:
What to expect when you visit an Episcopal Church, from the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia.
Feel free to contact our office with any additional questions.
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