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+