By Sarah T. Moore
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, locally known as the “church with the labyrinth, a red door, and a seaside garden on the shores of the Salish Sea,” will kick off a new Sunday morning program for children, ages 4-12 at 10 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 6.
St. Francis Day is observed in the Episcopal Church on Oct. 6, celebrating the patron saint of animals and ecology. Children will begin this new program by helping with the Blessing of the Animals, and gathering around the outdoor flag yardarm by the labyrinth, after the worship service. People are encouraged to bring their pets for a blessing, witnessing the importance of animals in our lives.
“God made everything,” a local 6-year-old recently said, looking at the surrounding beauty of Orcas Island. “Hmm,” he continued. “Then I wonder…who made God?”
That’s the kind of questioning that inspired Emmanuel members to explore, alongside children, and offer a Christian education program for kids.
Every Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m., families are invited to bring children to join the intergenerational service then move to a classroom to engage with volunteer teachers in a wide range of topics touching on Christian principles of God’s work in the world, our service in the world, reconciliation, love, forgiveness, nurture and nature, healing, justice and peace.
Dubbed E-KIDS, children are invited to “Wonder and Wander” in the classroom, on the outdoor labyrinth, and with all ages, to talk about and engage in crafts exploring spiritual ideas, biblical stories, the natural environment, caring for humanity, the earth and God’s creation.
“We would like to see Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Orcas Island as a welcoming Christian community for children,” says the Rev. Berto Gandara-Perea, rector of the congregation. “We are a community of faith that shows how to live lives of deep spirituality within a Christian religious community: A religious community that is different from what some of us have experienced as dogmatic, guilt-ridden, and rigid.”
Gandara-Perea, who just observed his 10th anniversary as leader of the congregation, is affectionately known as Father Berto. “I would like to see them grow to feel they can be religious and spiritual at the same time.”
Fr. Berto is joined in this effort by steering committee members Christine Kenady, Betsy Nelson and Sarah Moore and more than 16 adult volunteers who will rotate Sundays to meet with children on wide-ranging topics.
All families on the island are invited to come every Sunday morning at 10 am. Three Sundays a month, children will be excused from participating in directed age-appropriate learning and faith explorations. The fourth Sunday of the month will be a child-centered worship service, where children will be an integral part of the Episcopal service as they begin to feel comfortable in a worship setting.
Emmanuel Episcopal Church is one of more than 100 congregations comprising the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia known as the Episcopal Church in Western Washington. With central offices in Seattle, the diocese is one of 106 dioceses across 22 countries or territories. The Episcopal Church, headquartered in New York City, is the only U.S based member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is part of the world’s third largest group of Christians with currently more than 1.4 million members.
For more information on this program contact Emmanuel at Phone: 360-376-2352; Email: parishoffice@orcasepiscopal.org; website: orcasepiscopal.org or Facebook: www.facebook.com/orcasepiscopal. Or drop by, 242 Main Street and explore the seaside campus.
