Bethesda Sunday

Dear Friends,

Unlike the many churches named for saints, there is no “St. Bethesda” on the church calendar. Many churches named for, say, St. Paul or St. Mary, will hold a special service to celebrate their ministry together by honoring their patron saint on the saint’s feast day. In fancy ecclesiastical language this is known as a patronal festival.

Well, we don’t have that option at Bethesda-by-the-Sea! And while I’ve joked about creating a fun “backstory” for a fictional St. Bethesda, this leaves us with something of a quandary. Which is why, a few years ago, we designated the last Sunday of January as Bethesda Sunday.

This is first and foremost a celebration of our common life together as a parish community. Here are the ways we will mark this occasion:

I’ll offer my Rector’s Annual Address (think sacred version of the State of the Union) in the context of the sermon at both the 8 am and 11 am services.

The Annual Parish Meeting will take place at 9:30 am in the Parish Hall. I’ll share my year-in-review slide show, we’ll elect vestry members, hear a brief presentation of the 2026 Vestry-approved budget, I’ll share some remarks and answer questions

We’ll gather following the 11 am service for a Potluck Picnic (bring your favorite dish to share!)

There truly is much to celebrate at Bethesda-by-the-Sea in this moment — the Holy Spirit is moving in our midst in extraordinary ways. Thank you for being part of this life-giving community, and I look forward to seeing you at this weekend’s Bethesda Sunday celebration.

Peace,

Tim+