Weekly Update 9 January 2026

Reflection

The Rev. Eric Johnson

The Reverend
Eric Johnson

The One Parish One Prisoner (OPOP) team was introduced to Alivia, our incarcerated person, who resides in the Washington Correction Center for Women. Here’s what she wrote to us by way of introducing herself:

Alivia

“My name is Alivia, I’m a bubbly, fun, outgoing, funny woman who’s been through a lot in life. I’m trying to pull my life together, or better yet, start my life. I have recently been told I’m a grandma so I’m feeling very excited to meet my grandson. I have very few positive people in my life so I’m really needing new friends. I was born in Sedro-Woolley and raised in Concrete, WA. I am excited to meet new folks and hope this all goes well. Thank you for your time.”

We have all written to Alivia and she has responded to all of us. We’re looking forward to expanding our relationship with our new friend in the coming year.

Our reading from Isaiah this week recites the first of the “servant songs” and states that our mission is “to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

I have to admit that my eyes have been blind to many of the oddities of the prison system in our country. There is much I don’t know, but I have learned a little about this system in just the past month, and all of us on the OPOP team hope to share our learnings with you as we continue our journey with Alivia.

Sunday Service

Sunday, 11 January 2026
The First Sunday after the Epiphany:
The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Year A

Holy Eucharist & Holy Baptism

We will be celebrating the baptisms of Onalee Merritt and James Stewart.

10:30 am
Christ Church Sanctuary
1216 Seventh Street, Anacortes
The service is also available on YouTube.

Servers
Presider: The Rev. Courtney Jones
Deacon: The Rev. Eric Johnson
Homilist: Ed Barton
Altar Guild: June Cook, Kris Whitely
Eucharistic Minister: Jason Wells
Bread Ministry: Jerlyn Caba
Readers: Tom Young, Sharman Badgett-Young
Ushers: Diane Guinn, John Guinn
Eucharistic Visitor: Shirley Barrett
Organist: Lynne Berg
Coffee Hour Host: The Hospitality Team

Readings
Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17
Readings may be found in the Episcopal Lectionary.

Hymns
LEVAS 141 - Shall We Gather at the River
WLP 767 - Baptized in Water
H 117 - Brightest and Best
H 76 - On Jordan’s Bank
LEVAS 143 - Wade in the Water

Bulletin Link: 11 January 2026
YouTube Sunday Service Link

Coffee Hour
Coffee Hour follows the service. All are welcome.

All-Hands Sunday Liturgy Team Meeting

The Reverend
Courtney Jones

Sunday, January 11
12:30–2:00pm
Christ Church Sanctuary

Who Should Attend
Everyone involved in Sunday worship.  This includes clergy, worship leaders, readers, ushers, acolytes/Eucharistic ministers, Altar Guild members, and anyone who regularly serves in the liturgy.

What to Expect
The purpose of this meeting is two-fold:
1. To update and drill our safety procedures.
2. To “tune up” our Sunday morning liturgy. 

We’ll begin with prayer and a brief reflection on our ministry of hospitality, followed by a practical emergency-preparedness training. We’ll then break into small groups to review best practices for readers, ushers, worship leaders, EMs/acolytes etc. 

If you serve in any Sunday role, or if you would like to start, please plan to attend. Your presence helps us offer worship that is safe, welcoming, and beautifully executed. 

A Joyful Noise January 2026

Find all the January news at A Joyful Noise January 2026.

The Coming Week…

Evening Prayer

Wednesday, January 14
6pm
Christ Church Sanctuary
All are welcome.

Men’s Group

The Men’s Group meets weekly on Fridays.
9:00 – 10:00 am
Parish Hall Gathering Room
Questions? Please contact The Rev. Eric Johnson.
All are welcome.

The Red Door Thrift Shop Update

Dawn Jex

Dawn Jex, Red Door Manager

Hello Everyone,

Thank you to everyone who attended our Ribbon Cutting/Grand Opening Ceremony. You all made our special day all that more festive! It was fun to see everyone and celebrate our big accomplishment!

As we begin to move into January, I would like to ask for your patience as Debbie and I work to make our space the most useful it can be. If you have suggestions or comments, please bring them to Debbie or I so we can discuss what works best for the whole shop. 

Thanks also to those of you who are offering to do more than one shift per week to cover vacations and/or short staff issues. Debbie and I try to fill in where we can but sometimes we need a little more help. Thank you for giving of your time. We really appreciate it. 

Sales this week shift to blue tagged clothing being half price. 

For those of you doing clothing pricing you will notice that I have exchanged the muffin tin out for an ice cube tray for our tags as we are now printing out the tags up to $12 and needed more than 6 containers. I will be doing this for each of the color tags as the months progress. If you are unsure about tag making, please ask Debbie or I. 

I think that's it for today. Short and Sweet. Things are going well and we are adjusting to our new addition. Sales have been amazing the last couple of weeks and I hope that stays on track. For 2024 our daily average was approx 1,200 and this past year 2025 we upped that to approx 1,350. Maybe for 2026 we can hit 1,500 daily average? It's something to shoot for!!!

Love y'all,
Dawn Jex

Christ Church’s Red Door Thrift Shop is located at 1019 Seventh Street in Anacortes.
Red Door Thrift Shop
360.202.9966

Red Door Shopping Hours:
Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 10am – 3pm

Red Door Donation Hours:
Monday & Wednesday: 10am – 1pm
Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 10am – 3pm

Profits generated at the Red Door Thrift Shop fund Christ Church’s Community Support program.
Shoppers, Volunteers, & Donations are always welcome!

Day by Day

Day by Day daily devotions may be accessed at the following link:
Day by Day Daily Devotion.

Prayer List

John, brother of Lynne, & family
Pat, mother of Dan
Creamy & family
Jim, father of Stephanie
Gaylene
Veronica
Mary
Diane
Rev. Rilla & family
Linda, sister-in-law of Lynne
Myrna
Arra, aunt of Carol
Sandy
Dale
Zoanne
Linda
Tom
Karen
Leslie
Diana
Val
John
Foundation for Academic Endeavors
Cedar, Pete & Charlene, and Brendan, family & friends of Mary