The Search for a Church

My search started on Christmas Eve of last year. I am searching for a space to reflect on my life and my week, get inspiration, and to get a Bible Study program for my four year old and seven year old. I am looking for a church with traditional elements, but also a church with contemporary sermons, and a church with young families.

So, on Christmas Eve, my family and my friend’s family attended St. Barnabas Episcopal Church on Bainbridge Island. The children of the church performed a short a sweet pageant and the sermon was very brief. This is a beautiful old world church with wonderful woodwork and it has the quaint New England old church feel. I spent part of my childhood attending an Episcopal Church and was baptized in one as well. So, I have fond memories and the church here on the island reminds me a lot of the church I attended in the SF Bay Area as a child.

Since there was not Bible Study for the kids on Christmas Eve, the kids were quite fidgety, to say the least. The service lasted not much longer than 45 minutes, but with a wiggly four year old on your lap, that can feel like four hours. This church is full of the tradition I grew up with. Hymmns, scripture, standing and sitting, greeting your neighbors with peace, a brief sermon and communion. The tradition is beautiful and inspiring in and of itself. A wonderful environment for reflection and meditation. Services as 8:00 or 10:00.