Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Worshiping God, living in community, reaching out to the world.

Category: The Diocese of Olympia

Zimzum discipleship
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ final call is to go and make disciples:
- To become those who follow his life and teaching.
- To become those who fish for people.
- To live faithfully as those committed to his way.
Yet living as disciples is often hard in our day and age. We too often lead frenetic lives. Jesus invites us to slow down and to make space and to intentionally choose a different path.

He invites us to embrace zimzum and to be his disciples.

You may be asking what zimzum is, and what does it have to do with discipleship. You can learn more by joining me on our new three-year discipleship series on zimzum discipleship, of intentionally making space to live as a faithful apprentice of Jesus. Visit the new home for our zimzum discipleship series where you can find resources, community, and more at the link below!

I hope you and others in your congregation will engage in this invitation to live as followers of Jesus in this day and age.

The Right Reverend Phillip LaBelle
Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia

Read more about Zimzum Discipleship and find other resources

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The Rt. Rev. Phillip N. LaBelle

The Rt. Rev. Philip N. LaBelle is the Ninth Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. The Diocese elected Bishop LaBelle on May 18, 2024, and he was Consecrated and Ordained on September 14, 2024.

Bishop LaBelle previously served as rector of St. Mark’s Church in Southborough, Massachusetts. During his time in the Diocese of Massachusetts, Bishop LaBelle did the following:
- Co-led the Mission Strategy Committee.
- Served on Executive Committee and Diocesan Council.
- Directed the Fresh Start program.
Additionally, Bishop LaBelle served in the Diocese of Colorado—where he was on the Commission on Ministry—and in the Diocese of Connecticut. Over his nearly 20 years of ordained ministry, he co-led more than a dozen mission trips for youth and adults. Before seminary, he worked in marketing communications and web development at multiple internet startups.

Education

In June of 2024, Bishop LaBelle received his Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Seminary focused on Christian Spirituality. His thesis work explored the theology and practice of zimzum and how to make space in our overly busy lives for God, others, and the natural world. He received his Master of Divinity from Yale University in 2004, along with a diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Bishop LaBelle holds a Master’s degree in composition and rhetoric from Northeastern University, and a Bachelor’s degree in English with an additional concentration in theological studies from Gordon College. He has also received certificates in congregational development and religious fundraising.

Family Life

Bishop LaBelle is married to Dr. Melissa Tobey LaBelle, an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education at Bridgewater State University, focused on language and literacy development. Together, they have two young adult children:
- Noah, a recent high school graduate currently on a bridge year program in Senegal.
- Olivia, a high school senior who has been recruited to run track at college.
Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
April 2, 2025
Christmas 2024: A Message from Bishop LaBelle

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Greetings, Diocese of Olympia.

I’m here in what will become our chapel space in Diocesan House. It’s the old library here in the mansion and something that has been under construction. When I first imagined doing a Christmas video for you, I was hoping to have a nice tree set up nearby and looking all perfect in this space and yet here we are, under construction.

Often we hear from our culture about how perfect Christmases can be. We get this in ads and in magazines and watching commercials. There’s those folks who are given Lexuses with car bows all wrapped up, and it feels as if everything has to be perfect. And yet, at least my own experience has been that Christmas sometimes is less than perfect.

Like the one from my childhood, which included the Milky, the Marvelous Milking Cow incident, or the time when I had bought a train table for my son Noah when he was little, and I hadn’t even set it up prior to Christmas Eve services and was wondering if I would get it all done. There was the Christmas that we ended up moving two days after Christmas on the 27th and thinking that we would have Chinese food for Christmas dinner, taking a page out of “A Christmas Story,” only to find that all of the Chinese restaurants near us were closed because they were Christian. And then there was one, even just two years ago, when I got COVID on the 22nd, as did two other members of my family, and I sat there on Christmas Eve in the study of the rectory watching people walk by going to services.

Christmas is often imperfect. But for me, that’s the real truth of this season because Jesus comes into the places of our lives which are unfinished. Jesus enters in not to a palace, but that stable. Coming to Bethlehem and lying there among the sheep and the cows and the donkey and being placed in a manger. Far too often, we think about the coming of Christmas as all the stuff that is perfect. And yet, Jesus meets us right where we are. And friends, that is the good news.

So as we celebrate these 12 days and as we gather with friends and loved ones, I hope that you remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect, that you don’t have to be perfect, but rather to allow Christ to enter into you again in a new way, in all of the messiness of life, so that you might truly experience hope and peace.

Wishing you and all those that you love, a very Merry Christmas. May God bless you during this time.

The Rt. Rev. Philip N. LaBelle

The Rt. Rev. Philip N. LaBelle is the Ninth Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. The Diocese elected Bishop LaBelle on May 18, 2024, and he was Consecrated and Ordained on September 14, 2024.

Bishop LaBelle previously served as rector of St. Mark’s Church in Southborough, Massachusetts. During his time in the Diocese of Massachusetts, Bishop LaBelle co-led the Mission Strategy Committee, served on Executive Committee and Diocesan Council, and directed the Fresh Start program. He co-founded Southborough Neighbors for Peace with Dr. Safdar Medina in their small town. The organization hosted peace vigils, began a community-wide Iftar dinner during Ramadan, established an interfaith Thanksgiving service, and sponsored other bridge-building events. Additionally, Bishop LaBelle served on the core team of Central Mass. Connections in Faith, an organization centered on fostering relationships and learning about other religious faiths through quarterly gatherings.

Read more about Bishop LaBelle.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

December 24, 2024
This Is Happiness: A Farewell Message from Bishop Provisional Melissa Skelton

This was happiness because even in the turbulence of transition, in all the comings and goings, all the wrong and right turns, it was wonderful to be able to do these things with all of you in this part of the world, with all of you in this part of the Episcopal Church.

The Most Rev. Melissa Skelton shares her final message as Bishop Provisional and reflects on her time with the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia.

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The Most Rev. Melissa Skelton

The Most Reverend Melissa Skelton is the Bishop Provisional in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. The diocese voted to place itself under the authority of Bishop Skelton at the Diocese of Olympia’s 2022 Diocesan Convention.

Bishop Skelton has deep ties to the Diocese of Olympia, previously serving as the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Seattle and as the Canon for Congregational Development and Leadership for the Diocese of Olympia. During this time, she developed and launched the College for Congregational Development, which continues to this day and is currently hosted by eight dioceses across the Episcopal Church. In 2013, Bishop Skelton was elected 9th Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster [Vancouver, BC] of the Anglican Church of Canada. In 2018, she was elected Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon, making her the first woman in the Anglican Church of Canada to hold the position of Archbishop.

Before her time in the Diocese of Olympia, Bishop Skelton served as rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Castine, Maine, while also serving as the Executive Director of a land trust. Prior to this, she was Vice President for Consumer Products and Community Engagement at Tom’s of Maine, Vice President for Administration at The General Theological Seminary, and Brand Manager at The Proctor & Gamble Company. While at General Seminary, she served as the Director of the College for Bishops.

Bishop Skelton holds an MA in English from the University of South Carolina, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and an M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary. Additionally, she completed a certificate in Organization Development at the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science. After retiring from the Anglican Church of Canada, Bishop Skelton returned to the Diocese of Olympia to serve as Assisting Bishop. She is married to the Rev. Eric Stroo, a mental health counselor and a deacon in the Episcopal Church. Between them they have three children and five grandchildren.

Her time ends as Bishop Provisional with ordination and consecration of the Rev. Dr. Philip N. LaBelle as 9th Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia on September 14, 2024.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

September 4, 2024
Diocese of Olympia notified of successful canonical consent process for next bishop
(The Episcopal Church) The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia has received notification from the Presiding Bishop’s Office that Bishop-elect Philip N. LaBelle has received the required majority of consents in the canonical consent process detailed in Canon III.11.3. The consents received have been certified by the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe, registrar of the General Convention.

In giving consent to his ordination and consecration, standing committees and bishops exercising jurisdiction in The Episcopal Church attest to knowing of “no impediment on account of which” Bishop-elect LaBelle ought not to be ordained as bishop, and that his election was conducted in accordance with the canons.

LaBelle was elected bishop diocesan on May 18, 2024. His consecration and ordination service is scheduled for September 14, 2024.

Philip N. LaBelle elected ninth bishop of Olympia

The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia elected the Rev. Philip N. LaBelle as its next bishop during a May 18 special electing convention at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, Washington.

LaBelle currently serves as rector of St. Mark’s Church in Southborough, Massachusetts. While in the Diocese of Massachusetts, he has co-led the Mission Strategy Committee, served on the Executive Committee and Diocesan Council, and directed the Fresh Start program.

“The very first thing that struck me about the Diocese of Olympia was hearing about your deep love for Jesus,” LaBelle said upon learning of his election. “Further, the desire to share that love in a predominately secular culture became all the more apparent throughout the search process, especially with the connection made between the gospel message and the intention to become the Beloved Community and to protect and heal our natural world. I am deeply honored to be called to be your bishop, to be a faithful pastor among you, and to help care for and equip the people of the Episcopal Church in Western Washington in your mission to share Jesus’ love.”

LaBelle will be consecrated and installed as the ninth bishop of Olympia on September 14. He will succeed Bishop Greg Rickel, who resigned on December 31, 2022. The Most Rev. Melissa Skelton, bishop provisional, serves the diocese in the interim.

Skelton presided over the electing convention. “I’m deeply gratified that the lay and clergy delegates of the diocese have spoken,” she said.

LaBelle was elected on the fourth ballot with 91 clergy votes and 119 lay votes; 76 clergy votes and 113 lay votes were needed. Clergy and lay delegates representing the nearly 100 worshiping communities across the Diocese of Olympia, which stretches south from Canada to Oregon and west from the foothills of the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

The bishop-elect was chosen from a slate of four nominees. The other nominees were the following:
- The Rev. Hillary D. Raining, rector of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
- The Ven. Jordan Haynie Ware, archdeacon for justice, Anglican Diocese of Edmonton, Canada, and rector of Good Shepherd Anglican Church, Edmonton
- The Rev. Kate E. Wesch, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Essex, Connecticut.
Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
July 3, 2024
Ordination to the sacred order of priests
God willing and the people consenting, the ordination of the Rev. Theresa Newell, our deacon, to the sacred order of priests happens on Saturday, June 15, 2024, at 10:30 am at St. Mark’s Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. East in Seattle.

All are invited to attend. Archbishop Skelton will ordain six people that morning, so parking is likely to be tight. We recommend carpooling or public transit.

For those unable to attend, your prayers are requested. You may watch the service live-streamed on the St. Mark’s website.

St. Mark’s Cathedral live-stream site

Ordination

Ordination is a sacramental rite of the church by which God gives authority and the grace of the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by bishops to those being made bishops, priests, and deacons (Book of Common Prayer, pp. 860-861). The three distinct orders of bishops, priests, and deacons have been characteristic of Christ’s holy catholic church.
- Bishops carry on the apostolic work of leading, supervising, and uniting the church.
- Presbyters (often known as priests) are associated with bishops in the ministry of church governance, along with the church’s ministry of missionary and pastoral work, in preaching of the Word of God, and in the administration of the sacraments.
- Deacons assist bishops and priests in all of this work, and have special responsibility to minister in Christ’s name to the poor, the sick, the suffering, and the helpless (Book of Common Prayer, p. 510).
Ordination rites

The Book of Common Prayer provides rites for the ordination of bishops (p. 512), priests (p. 525), and deacons (p. 537).

The earliest known text of ordination rites is in the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus (c. 215).

The 1549 BCP did not include ordination rites. The Church of England published “The Form and Manner of Making and Consecrating of Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons” in 1550. Many subsequent revisions of the Prayer Book included rites for ordination.

The Preface to the Ordination Rites of the Prayer Book notes that the church intends to maintain and continue the three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons. Therefore, the church appoints ordination services . Unless ordained, no person is to exercise the office of bishop, priest, or deacon. The manner of ordination in the Episcopal Church has been generally recognized by Christian people as suitable for conferring the sacred orders of bishop, priest, and deacon.

Ordination services

The services of ordination include the following:
1. A presentation of the ordinand to the ordaining bishop or bishops.
2. The ordinand’s Declaration of Consent that states their belief in the scriptures and conformity to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.
3. The people’s consent to the ordination and their promise to uphold the ordinand in the new ministry.
4. The Litany for Ordinations (BCP, pp. 548-551).
5. Lessons and sermon.
6. The examination of the candidate or candidates.
7. The singing of the hymn “Veni Creator Spiritus” or “Veni Sancte Spiritus.”
8. A period of silent prayer.
9. The prayer of consecration and laying on of hands by the ordaining bishop or bishops.
10. Vesting of the newly ordained person according to their new order of ministry.
11. Participation in the eucharist by the newly ordained person in ways that are appropriate to their order of ministry.
At the ordination of a bishop, the Presiding Bishop (or designee) and at least two other bishops lay their hands on the ordinand’s head. At the ordination of a priest, priests join the bishop in the laying on of hands. Only the bishop lays hands on the head of the ordinand at the ordination of a deacon.

The bishop-elect leads the Nicene Creed at the ordination of a bishop after the Examination. The Creed precedes the Examination at the ordination of a priest or a deacon.

The newly ordained bishop is the chief celebrant at the eucharist. A newly ordained priest joins in the celebration of the eucharist with the bishop and other presbyters. A newly ordained deacon may prepare the Lord’s table and dismiss the people at the eucharist.

A life-long vocation

Normally, the Episcopal Church sees ordained ministry as a life-long vocation. The canons require careful selection, discernment, and preparation before ordination takes place, calling for the following:
- Theological instruction in the Holy Scriptures; church history, including the ecumenical movement.
- Christian theology.
- Christian ethics and moral theology.
- Studies in contemporary society, including racial and minority groups.
- Liturgics and church music.
- Theory and practice of ministry.
The diocese and bishop may modify the requirements and standards of learning may in the ordination of local priests and deacons.

The Book of Occasional Services provides a form for the “Reaffirmation of Ordination Vows.”

[This information comes from Ordination.]

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
May 22, 2024
Habemos episcopam, the Rev. Philip N. LaBelle of Massachusetts
The convention of the Diocese of Olympia met to elect the 9th Bishop Diocesan on May 18, 2024. On the fourth ballot the Convention has elected the Rev. Philip N. LaBelle of Massachusetts. He has agreed to the election.

Assuming the necessary consents (approvals) are received from around the Episcopal Church, the consecration of the 9th Bishop of Olympia is scheduled for September 14, 2024. More details will follow as the become available.

The Reverend Phil LaBelle

The Reverend Phil LaBelle

The Rev. Philip N. LaBelle (he/him) serves as rector of St. Mark’s Church in Southborough, Massachusetts, arriving there in January 2011.

In the Diocese of Massachusetts, Phil has done the following:
- Co-led the Mission Strategy Committee
- Served on Executive Committee and Diocesan Council
- Directed the Fresh Start program
He co-founded Southborough Neighbors for Peace with Dr. Safdar Medina in their small town. The organization has hosted these activites:
- Hosted peace vigils
- Began a community-wide Iftar dinner during Ramadan
- Established an interfaith Thanksgiving service
- Sponsored other bridge-building events
Additionally, Phil served on the core team of Central Mass. Connections in Faith, an organization centered on fostering relationships and learning about other religious faiths through quarterly gatherings.

Education

In June, Phil will receive his Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Seminary focused on Christian Spirituality. His thesis work explores the theology and practice of zimzum and how to make space in our overly busy lives for God, others, and the natural world.

Phil received his MDiv from Yale University in 2004, along with a diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. He holds a Master’s degree in composition and rhetoric from Northeastern University and a Bachelor’s degree in English with an additional concentration in theological studies from Gordon College. In addition, Phil has also received certificates in congregational development and religious fundraising.

Previous activities

Phil has served in the Diocese of Colorado—where he was on the Commission on Ministry—and in the Diocese of Connecticut. Over his nearly 20 years of ordained ministry, he has co-led more than a dozen mission trips for youth and adults. Before seminary, he worked in marketing communications and web development at multiple internet startups.

With St. Mark’s, Phil received a Clergy Renewal Grant from the Lily Endowment in 2017. He explored wilderness spirituality, the beauty of the natural world, and the need for climate justice. Additionally, he and his family walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and he and Noah have summited Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
May 18, 2024
Camp Huston summer camps for 2024
Camp Huston’s summer 2024 registration is open. Bring a friend and join the fun at Camp Huston. These camps all have space available:
- Discovery Camps
- Mini Camp
- International Discovery Camp
- Horse Camps
Camp Huston has gender-affirming accommodations available. Request in advance.

Costs range from $498 for the Mini Camp to $795 for the Discovery Camps. The Horse Camps are $900. The camp has scholarships available.

See what camps are available and at what times by selecting the following link to register.

Select this to register for Camp Huston.

Camp Huston

Camp Huston is an Episcopal summer camp and conference center in the foothills of the Cascade mountain range, about an hour east of Seattle.

As well as a summer camp program, Camp Huston hosts family and adult programs year-round. The conference center facilities are available to rent for religious, nonprofit and educational groups for conferences, retreats and events.

The summer camp program is accredited by the American Camp Association. It is located at 14725 Ley Rd, Gold Bar, Washington, next to Wallace Falls State Park.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
April 25, 2024
Lent 2024: A Message from Bishop Skelton

Greetings, people of the Diocese of Olympia.

From John’s Gospel:

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
John 12:24-26

You may notice that the visual we’re using for Lent is a picture of the Northwest woods with a large, really a huge fallen tree across whatever might be seen as a path, a fallen tree already in the process of becoming new life. For me, Lent is a lot like this image.

We ended Epiphany with the story of Jesus’s Transfiguration on the mountaintop, the Transfiguration in which the disciples for a moment glimpse Jesus’s full beauty and glory rising before them, like some magnificent cedar, if you will, complete with all the attendant awe and wonder we hear about from the disciples. But on Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent, we get to gaze at something else, the fallen tree becoming a new thing, the mystery of Jesus, and the mystery of our own lives that we call the Paschal mystery.

Roman Catholic writer Ron Rolheiser has described the Paschal mystery in this way. He says, “We must let go of current life and spirit to receive new life and spirit.” This is my way of describing it. Living out of the Paschal mystery is learning over and over again that God’s favorite way of creating a new thing is through things falling apart and our expectations being shattered.

And so I want to invite you into a holy Lent. By this, I mean into a Lent in which you reflect on and consider embracing the parts of your life that are falling apart, are falling down into the earth, or need to fall to the earth, all in order to wait for God’s own renewal, for new life in God.

From John’s Gospel:

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

My blessings to you for a holy Lent.

—The Most Rev. Mellissa Skelton
Bishop Provisional of the Diocese of Olympia

The Most Reverend Melissa Skelton

The Most Reverend Melissa Skelton is the Bishop Provisional in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. The diocese voted to place itself under the authority of Bishop Skelton at the Diocese of Olympia’s 2022 Diocesan Convention.

Bishop Skelton has deep ties to the Diocese of Olympia, previously serving as the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Seattle and as the Canon for Congregational Development and Leadership for the Diocese of Olympia. During this time, she developed and launched the College for Congregational Development, which continues to this day and is currently hosted by eight dioceses across the Episcopal Church.

In 2013, Bishop Skelton was elected 9th Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster [Vancouver], The Anglican Church of Canada. In 2018, she was elected Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon, making her the first woman in the Anglican Church of Canada to hold the position of Archbishop.

Before her time in the Diocese of Olympia, Bishop Skelton served as rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Castine, Maine, while also serving as the Executive Director of a land trust. Prior to this, she was Vice President for Consumer Products and Community Engagement at Tom’s of Maine, Vice President for Administration at The General Theological Seminary, and Brand Manager at The Proctor & Gamble Company. While at General Seminary, she served as the Director of the College for Bishops.

Bishop Skelton holds a Master of Arts in English from the University of South Carolina, a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, and a Master if Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. Additionally, she completed a certificate in Organization Development at the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science. After retiring from the Anglican Church of Canada, Bishop Skelton returned to the Diocese of Olympia to serve as a Bishop Assisting. She is married to the Rev. Eric Stroo, a mental health counselor and a deacon in the Episcopal Church. Between them they have three children and five grandchildren.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

February 14, 2024
Lenten Book Discussion for Young Adults
We’ll gather on Tuesday evenings in Lent from 7:00 – 8:00 pm to discuss this autobiographical narrative. It is about a Lutheran pastor’s journey to build an accepting community in New York City. Starting the church of St. Lydia’s, the author Emily Scott united neighbors and friends. She used an informal dinner church where all were welcome and affirmed. Since the publication of this book, the “dinner church” concept has spread across the U.S.

Discussion facilitator

The facilitator is Rachel Friedland, who grew up in the Episcopal Church. She has done Youth council in Seattle and Episcopal Service Corps in Minneapolis

Currently revisiting her roots in King County, Rachel, a historian, just submitted a book for publication on the history of the city of Kent.

Rachel is active in diocesan young adult events. And she is thrilled to be returning to the Diocese of Olympia to facilitate this book discussion.

Book discussion schedule

We’ll meet using Zoom on these Tuesdays:
- February 20
- February 27
- March 5
- March 12
- March 19
On the final Tuesday, March 26, during Holy Week, we will gather together for our own version of Dinner Church at the Office of the Bishop, 1551 10th Avenue E., Seattle, on Capitol Hill.

For more information

Contact Valerie Reinke at the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, +1 (206) 325-4200. Her email address is vreinke@ecww.org.

Registration

A free copy of the book will be sent with your registration. Register here!

Register for the Lenten book discussion

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
February 10, 2024
Epiphany 2024: A Message from Bishop Skelton

Bishop Skelton shares her reflections as we enter into the season of Epiphany.

If you look up the word epiphany in Wikipedia, one of the entries you’ll find is author James Joyce’s use of the term. This is how he defined it in terms of what he was doing in his stories. An epiphany, he said, is, and I’m quoting here,

…a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether from some object, some scene, some event, or some memorable phase of the mind, the manifestation of which is out of proportion to the significance of whatever produces it.
James Joyce

I love this idea when applied to our lives, that all the time life is presenting us with objects, with events, with people, with circumstances, that manifests something that resides deep down in the spiritual heart of things. For the three Magi, that event, that person was a little baby born to peasant parents in an animal stall that somehow allowed them to see or to sense the fundamental dignity and beauty, the image of God, that all human beings by God’s grace possess.

For you and for me, all this time later, on the Feast of the Epiphany, it’s the very same thing, but also for us as we live in the season of Epiphany. It’s other events, other people, and other circumstances. It’s the comradery of family and friends. It’s the freshness of nature even and especially when our weather is overcast and cold and even rainy. It’s encounters with people who are not like us, encounters that can surprise and delight us in ways we hadn’t imagined. It’s even strangely in some of the health challenges that we can face. It can even be the circumstance that no one wishes to experience, the death of someone we love. All of these things can disclose and reveal the graciousness that we believe that is of God.

Epiphany. May we be able to behold or sense the spiritual realities that live and burn deep down in the heart of things.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

January 6, 2024

Third Sunday in Advent (Year A), December 14, 2025. Services at 8:00 am and 10:30 am. Christian education for children and adults at 9:15 am. Be patient, beloved, until the coming of the Lord.