Weekly Update 3 October 2025

Reflection

Mark
Perschbacher

Mark Perschbacher

On Saturday, October 4, we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of Italy, animals, archaeologists, ecology, merchants, messengers, and metal workers. According to Franciscan history, Francis was the son of the wealthy garment merchant Peter Bernadone. Evidently, he was quite the party animal, pardon the pun, whom his friends referred to as King of the Revels. Francis decided to become a knight and, during a battle with the nearby town of Perugia, he was captured and tossed into prison. Once he was released, a huge change came over him. He attended to a colony of lepers in the vicinity of Assisi, and went so far as to sell a large portion of his father’s merchandise, including his father’s horse, to fund his mercy efforts. Needless to say, his father was not pleased.

After that incident, Francis disavowed his previous life of fine clothes and debauchery. He wandered about dressed in the poorest attire and begged for food. He is best known for his claim that animals are our “brothers and sisters.” Legend has it that he travelled to the town of Gubbio where a notorious wolf was terrorizing the inhabitants, and supposedly had killed and eaten a number of them. Francis met up with the wolf, which immediately bared its teeth and charged him. After Francis made the sign of the cross and rebuked the animal, the wolf lowered its head and became as docile as a lamb. Francis then told the wolf that if it stopped terrorizing the town, he would arrange for the townspeople to provide food for it. The wolf and people of Gubbio lived in harmony until the wolf died of old age. Francis died at age 44. Prior to his death, he had requested that his unclothed body be laid out on the ground for a short time so he could be near God’s creation. He seems to have been one of the earliest ecologists in a time when the human race was still working hard to tame the Earth.

Sunday Services

Sunday, 5 October 2025
The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Year C Proper 22

Chandler’s Square Morning Prayer
9:30 am
Chandler’s Square Retirement Community
1300 “O” Avenue, Anacortes
Presider: Melissa Simonsen

Christ Church Holy Eucharist

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: Emily Sander
Eucharistic Minister: Jason Wells
Altar Guild: Mary Gronholt
Bread Ministry: Jim Minton
Readers: Diane Guinn, John Guinn
Ushers: MJ Barrett, June Cook
Organist: Lynne Berg
Eucharistic Visitor: Maggie Collinge
Coffee Hour Host: Wells Family

Readings
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
Psalm 37:1-10
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10
Readings may be found in the Episcopal Lectionary.

Hymns
H 416 - For the Beauty of the Earth
MHSO 81 - Your Word
MHSO 118 - We Sing of the Saints
H 593 - Lord, Make Us Servants of Your Peace
H 400 - All Creatures of Our God and King

Bulletin Link: 5 October 2025
YouTube Sunday Service Link

Coffee Hour & Blessing of the Animals
Coffee Hour and Blessing of the Animals will follow the service.

Red Door Thrift Shop Memorial Tree Dedication
Tree Dedication will take place at 1pm at the thrift shop.

Announcements

A Joyful Noise October 2025

Find all the October news at A Joyful Noise October 2025.

Blessing of the Animals

All are welcome.

Sunday, October 5
Following the service
Christ Church Lawn
Presider: The Rev. Courtney Jones

Please bring your beloved pet to Christ Church for a Blessing! You may also bring a photo of your pet to be blessed. There will be Blessing Certificates and, of course, Treats!

Please invite your friends and neighbors, human, furry, and feathered.
All are welcome.

Questions? Please contact Shirley Barrett, shirleybarrett062@gmail.com, 360-305-1305.

Red Door Tree Dedication Ceremony

Sunday, October 5
1pm
Red Door Thrift Shop
1019 Seventh Street, Anacortes
We will be dedicating trees in memory of several Red Door volunteers/supporters.
All are welcome.

An Invitation: Ecumenical Hymn Sing

Our friends at Westminster Presbyterian Church have invited us to join them for a Hymn Sing!

Sunday, October 12
2pm
Hosted by Westminster Presbyterian Church & Anacortes Lutheran Church
Held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1300 Ninth Street, Anacortes

When you arrive you’ll be invited to write the names of your favorite hymns on slips of paper and place them in a basket. If your hymn is drawn, we’ll all sing it! Laurie Julius-Carver of Anacortes Lutheran and Bev Bowen of Westminster will provide the music.

All are welcome.

Fall Book Study: The Four Vision Quests of Jesus

Sundays, October 19, November 2, 16, and 30
Following Coffee Hour
Parish Hall Conference Room
Facilitators: Maggie Collinge & Melissa Simonsen

All are welcome to join in a thought-provoking exploration of The Four Vision Quests of Jesus by Steven Charleston, Episcopal bishop and member of the Choctaw Nation.

Weekly Prayer Services

Maggie
Collinge

Centering Prayer
Weekly on Wednesdays
1:15 - 1:45 pm
Christ Church Sanctuary
All are welcome at this short, simple service: a scripture reading, 20 minutes of silence, an intercessory prayer, and the Lord’s Prayer. 
Questions?
Please contact Maggie Collinge, 360-202-5588.

Jim Minton

Evening Prayer
Weekly on Wednesdays
6:00 - 6:30 pm
Christ Church Sanctuary
All are welcome.
October 8 Presider: Jim Minton
Questions?
Please contact The Rev. Vicki Johnson, 509-302-7364.

The Rev. Eric
Johnson

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

Dawn Jex

Dawn Jex, Red Door Manager

Hello Everyone and Welcome to October!!!!

Shop Business:
On October 5th at 1pm We will be hosting a Memorial Tree Dedication at The Red Door. We will be honoring: Nancy Halton, Sara Shao, Janice Walker and Diana McGaw. We would love for you to come and spend a moment with us being grateful for the service each of these folks provided to The Red Door. 

On another note, I am looking for a few volunteers to come in on Mondays and help out. Yesterday, Debbie was in the shop all by herself - with one person in donations. I would love to have at least one clothing person and one hard goods pricer. Please and Thank You. 

We are starting October this week and we are in full scale Fall and Halloween mode with all things spooky going on in the shop. Sales this week are: White Tag Clothing half price, Men's shirts and slacks half price, All scarves also half price. 

We do NOT have any shop holidays in October. We are OPEN for set up on 10/13. On 10/31 please feel free to wear a costume. I will be bringing candy to give away. 

A Big Thanks
I just wanted to tell all of you thank you for being so kind and loving to each other. I have seen many of you talking about your problems, hugging each other, going out to lunch, calling to check on each other when you are sick. It makes me so proud to know that I work with a group of people that are so kind. Not only are you volunteering to be here - you are also creating community and supporting each other. I'm happy to see that love and caring wins at The Red Door. 

The end of October is the deadline for our grant applications. If you know of a local non-profit that is looking for funding, please send them in my direction and I will share the grant application with them. 

The colder weather is here and we are on the Short Runway to the Holidays. This is a busy time of year for everyone so buckle up and enjoy the ride! Only 12 more Fridays till Christmas!!! Debbie has brought all of the halloween boxes (about 20) out of storage and we only have 1 box of decor for Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Upcoming Holidays and enjoy those pretty fall leaves,
Dawn

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

Veronica
Shelley
Mary
Bob & Gaylene
Diane
Rev. Rilla & family
Linda, sister-in-law of Lynne
Creamy
Myrna
Arra, aunt of Carol
Sandy
Dale
Zoanne
Linda
Tom
Karen
Leslie
Diana
Val
John
Foundation for Academic Endeavors
Pete & Charlene, O’Donnell Family, Brendan, and Sandy, family & friends of Mary