PARISH VOICES

Our series looking back twenty years enters its sixth month. Last month I shared the May 2006 issue of The Messenger, the parish catching its breath after its very first Pascha in the new Shoreline building. June is when our heroes finally get to throw a party. The front page of the June 2006 issue looks toward the parish's name-day: the Holy Apostles Feast Day Celebration. Vespers on Thursday, June 29, with dessert and coffee to follow, then Orthros and Divine Liturgy on Fr

We celebrate your hard work and all your gifts! May God guide your steps and bless the years ahead! We are so proud of you!

Our Men's Ministry just wrapped up the last Pub Night of the ministry year! Let's look back at the last two years of fellowship and connection by the numbers: 10 Pub Nights 5 Breakfast Outings 1 Octoberfest Cookout 1 Mother's Day Brunch (with bonus fire alarm!) Countless boxes packed and moved into storage! Thank you to Nick Strauss for leading our Men's Ministry over the past two years, and thank you to all the men of Holy Apostles who have participated!

In just a few days, Holy Apostles volunteers will show up at the lunch room of Edmonds Heights, a local school, and pack weekend meal kits for around 200 kids. These kits provide food to children who are often without a reliable place to call home. Without them, the kids would go hungry when school meals aren't available.

Looking for an elegant way to stay consistent with your daily Bible readings? Check out the new Kandili Orthodox Daily Readings app, developed by our very own Holy Apostles parishioner, Brian Warren! Kandili is beautiful and intuitive. It includes daily Epistle and Gospel readings, Saints and Feasts, and fasting guidelines along with key morning and evening prayers. It’s also lighting fast, to help you avoid the temptation of impatience!

Christ Is Risen! Christos Anesti! Our series looking back twenty years enters its fifth month. Last month I shared the April 2006 issue of The Messenger, and our heroes were anticipating the parish's first Pascha in their new Shoreline building. That Pascha has now happened, and the May 2006 issue is the parish doing what every Orthodox parish does just after the marathon of Lent, Holy Week and Pascha: catching its breath, looking at photos, and trying to articulate what just

It seems like 2026 has hardly begun, but is also already half over! So it must be time to take a look at our first quarter budget. With everything that is going on with the building, it can feel like we barely use the same door two weeks in a row and the walls are in different places every time we set foot inside the church. But there's still the routine cycle of managing our expenses and contributions to make sure that we're keeping the lights on and setting aside what we ne

Sunday, May 3, 2026 — Our parish gathered for the Spring Parish Assembly to hear from ministry and committee leaders and parish council members on the current state of Holy Apostles, the building project, and our financial picture. Parish Council President Josh Ensley reminded us of our focus: being (and building!) a dwelling place for Jesus!

Sunday, April 27 2026 — The second Sunday after Pascha we celebrate the Myrrh-bearing Women. These devoted followers of Jesus remaining with him during his crucifixion and brought spices (myrrh) to his tomb on Pascha morning. Because of their faithfulness, they were the first witnesses to Christ's Resurrection. Our sweet Myrrh-bearers served throughout the services of Lent and Pascha, reminding us of the Myrrh-bearing Women's faithfulness. Today, again, they helped bring o

Our series looking back twenty years enters its fourth month. Last month I shared the March 2006 issue of The Messenger, in which Fr. Tom likened the freshly-painted walls of the new Shoreline building to the soul-work of Great Lent. In 2006, Pascha fell on April 23rd, and in this April issue the parish is deep into Holy Week preparations. Highlights include a full walkthrough of every Holy Week service from Lazarus Saturday through Pascha and news that Metropolitan Gerasimos

Sunday, April 12, 2026 — Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! What a night. Here are some scenes from Great and Holy Pascha 2026. From the midnight Resurrection service to the procession on our new concrete pathway to our darling myrrh-bearers in white with their candles, it was a beautiful Pascha! After Fr. Tom blessed the Pascha baskets, we packed into the fellowship hall and perched alongside our long, red-draped tables for the 2 AM Agape Meal. So many people brought food..

Saturday, April 11, 2026 — Arise O Lord!! This morning we gathered to celebrate Christ's triumph over the gates of Hades! The kids enthusiastically shook shakers, banged on pans, and clanked sticks together while Fr. Tom, at least as enthusiastically, processed through the nave flinging bay leaves and rose petals by the handful. Holy Saturday this year was, as always, such a beautiful turn towards the joy of the upcoming Resurrection!

Palm Sunday is tomorrow, and the dozens (or hundreds!) of Palm Crosses that Fr. Tom will hand out were each lovingly made by a member of the parish following our Lazarus Saturday Liturgy! . This is such a lovely tradition as everyone—kids, parents, young, old—did their best to follow the traditional folding pattern that turns strips of fresh palm into a pocket-sized cross!

Our series looking back twenty years enters its third month. Last month I shared the February 2006 issue of The Messenger, the one with "Welcome Home!" splashed across the cover and a photo collage of parishioners scraping, hauling and trimming to get our new Shoreline building into shape. By March 2006, the parish has been in the building for a month. The cover photo of the March issue features Fr. Tom with his arm around his dear friend Fr. Evan Armatas, both of them in

Saturday, Feb 28, 2026 — Thank you all who planned, cooked, served, donated desserts, or danced! You helped make our 2026 Holy Apostles Crab Feed a tremendous success. Kandili is beautiful and intuitive. It includes daily Epistle and Gospel readings, Saints and Feasts, and fasting guidelines along with key morning and evening prayers. It’s also lighting fast, to help you avoid the temptation of impatience!

Last month I shared the January 2006 issue of The Messenger, Holy Apostles' then-monthly newsletter. Just in case your eyes filled in what your brain expected to see, that's 2006, not 2026. The big building project our Holy Apostles' parish was focused on back then was moving in to our new Shoreline building. In January, our heroes were still packing. This month, they're in! The February 2006 issue opens with a photo collage of parishioners doing the unglamorous work of m

Happy 2026 everyone! Now that we’re a few weeks into the new year, let’s take a moment to see how our 2025 finances wrapped up. The big headline is that we had a strong December for giving, and because of this finished out 2025 a little over 10% ahead of our fundraising goal for the year. Expenses continued to fall back into line after the rough start to the year. Here are a few details: Some remodeling-related bills impacted our Q4 parish operational budget. These were thin

Sunday, February 1, 2026 — Today our new Parish Council members introduced themselves to the community after the Divine Liturgy. If you didn't have a chance to meet these twelve amazing and dedicated people, this video will help you put names to faces and allow you to learn a little bit more about what our parish's leadership strives to do this year.

Twenty years ago this month, Holy Apostles was packing up. The January 2006 issue of The Messenger, Holy Apostles' old monthly newsletter, was mailed out with the parish's old Kenmore P.O. box still printed on the back cover. Inside, in bold type: "WE'RE MOVING INTO OUR NEW CHURCH HOME!" Three Saturday work parties were scheduled throughout that first month in 2006, to get the new Shoreline building ready. The first Divine Liturgy in the new space was set for February 5. We w

Sunday, January 11, 2026 — We shared a glorious afternoon celebrating our post Theophany Blessing of the Waters at the Edmonds Waterfront. Congrats to Titus who was the first to retrieve the Cross and all those who took the Polar Plunge into the blessed waters of the Puget Sound!