All are welcome to a family-friendly weekly community dinner on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Next week we will again be joined by Amanda Stewart, Ventana’s Head of School, and Teacher Jenny to continue making Ukrainian Easter eggs (pysanky). This was an annual tradition for Amanda and her family, and Jenny taught it when she taught high school. It connects to both Jenny and Amanda’s Eastern European heritage. Given the limited supply and the cost of eggs, you must RSVP using this Google Form by Tuesday, April 22, at 5:00 p.m. if you would like to decorate eggs. We will only purchase the number of eggs needed for the evening based on these RSVP numbers. We hope you can join us!

Building Bridges Together will be offering an instructional Interfaith Passover Seder at All Saints Episcopal Church's Parish Hall, 555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto on Tuesday, April 22, beginning at 6:00 p.m. You are warmly invited to participate in an authentic Seder meal, with a Haggadah developed by Building Bridges Together™ to instruct non-Jews in the traditions and practices of a Passover Seder.  While the Seder rituals were developed after the fall of the temple in 70 CE, the Last Supper was a commemoration of Passover. Although this Interfaith Seder will occur after the holiday of Passover ends, it will include all the elements of a Seder, including prayers, readings, songs, and a dinner meal served in the middle of the Seder. Come see what our Jewish neighbors and friends enjoy about this favorite holiday.  We will be joined by Jewish and Muslim friends, as well as alumni of local Interfaith Bridges programs. Last year's Interfaith Seder was a wonderful chance to develop interfaith friendships and enjoy a wonderful experience together! Please come celebrate with us!

Signups are required! Our meal will be provided via potluck in accordance with Jewish dietary restrictions (no grains or breads, no pork or shellfish, no mixing of meat and milk products). All attendees will be asked to contribute to the potluck meal. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by April 15 to Diane Frankle (diane.frankle@gmail.com) or Bob Frankle (bobfrankle121@gmail.com). 

Christ Church offers a simple Eucharistic service each month usually on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 11:00 a.m. in the Gardenia Room in The Forum’s Health Center. This month it will be on Tuesday, April 22. Although this is held in the Health Center, it is open to all residents of The Forum. It’s a simple service with music and a bread-only Eucharist, and those who attend enjoy it greatly. Come join us if you can!

Join us after our Easter Services for an Epic Easter Egg Hunt on the Lower Lawn. Bring your basket and search for eggs, children can jump in the bouncy house, enjoy some food, music, and social time together! We’ll have a special area for younger kids and a big hunt for older kids on the Lower Lawn.

Join us Easter Sunday for our 10:15 a.m. Eucharist Service with Choir and Guest Instrumentalists. In person in the Church and live stream via Zoom. There will be no 8:00 a.m. service on Easter Sunday.

Download the service bulletin

Join via Zoom

• Click this link: https://zoom.us/j/96264812182?pwd=Y3RTNUhkWjVhVmpRQ0FlNzRxV3QvQT0

• Meeting ID: 962 6481 2182; Passcode: 435537

• Join via phone

  • Dial the phone number for your time zone: 1-669-900-9128 (Local / Pacific); 1-346-248-7799 (Mountain); 1-312-626-6799 (Central); 1-646-558-8656 (Eastern)

  • Enter this information when prompted: Meeting ID: 962 6481 2182, Passcode: 435537

Celebrate the dawning joy of Easter with our Holy Vigil. In this hauntingly beautiful liturgy, we enkindle the new fire, offer the soaring Exsultet, and proclaim the first Easter Alleluia. Come experience this familiar service anew, either in person in the Church or via Zoom.

Download the service bulletin

Join via Zoom

• Join via computer - click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87234030523?pwd=5CWejWtInaqdXGjJiJCuqb5FgPEm7R.1

• Meeting ID: 872 3403 0523; Passcode: 810792

• Join via phone

  • Dial the phone number for your time zone: 1-669-900-9128 (Local / Pacific); 1-346-248-7799 (Mountain); 1-312-626-6799 (Central); 1-646-558-8656 (Eastern)

  • Enter this information when prompted: Meeting ID: 872 3403 0523; Passcode: 810792

Enjoy a beautiful remembrance of the Last Supper and institution of the Eucharist. This service starts with dinner and Holy Communion celebrated around our tables in the Parish Hall followed by foot washing, and moves into the church for the stripping of the altar.

For our shared meal in the parish hall:

If your last name starts A-H — please bring a side dish to share.

If your last name starts I-O — please bring a dessert to share.

If your last name starts P-Z — please bring a main dish to share.

This service will be in-person only.

The Women's Read-What-You-Want-Book Club meets next on Thursday, April 17 at 2:00 pm in the Fireside Room. Come join our group of book lovers who enjoy talking about their latest reads. There are interesting discussions, plenty of laughter, and lots of great book recommendations. Give it a try!

All are welcome to a family-friendly weekly community dinner on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall. When we gather on Wednesday, April 16, Amanda Stewart, Ventana’s Head of School, and Teacher Jenny will join us to make Ukrainian Easter eggs (pysanky). This was an annual tradition for Amanda and her family, and Jenny taught it when she taught high school. It connects to both Jenny and Amanda’s Eastern European heritage. Given the limited supply and the cost of eggs, you must RSVP using this Google Form by Tuesday, April 15, at 5:00 p.m. if you would like to decorate eggs. We will only purchase the number of eggs needed for the evening based on these RSVP numbers. We’ll have Mediterranean food and pizza for dinner - hope you can join us!

All are welcome to join the Foothills Congregational Church community for a wildflower viewing hike on Wednesday, April 16 at 10:30 a.m. at Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve, 10 Old Stage Coach Road, Redwood City. The group will meet at the Clarkia trailhead off of Cañada Road. Please reach out to Bobbi Callison via email at bcallison@sbcglobal.net with any questions. 

Join us for a Holy Week prayer vigil in collaboration with Los Altos United Methodist Church that will engage not only our hearts and minds, but also our hands, on Monday, April 14 at 6:00 p.m. on the Christ Church Lower Lawn. Together, we will grieve, lament, and confess how we have been betrayed, and how we have betrayed ourselves and others. As the service unfolds, we will explore how we can initiate the work of Resurrection in our lives as we prepare for Easter. Join us for this creative service that begins with catharsis and moves into the hope of new life in Christ. 

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the holiest week in the church year wherein Christians around the world not only remember but usually re-enact the last days of Jesus life, betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. Together we not only hear about the last supper and Jesus' washing his disciples feet - we gather for a meal; we eat, sing and pray; we kneel to wash one another's feet; and we journey with him into the desolate garden. We not only recall the crucifixion but carry a wooden cross into the church and lay nails before it, kneeling and kissing the wood. We not only say to ourselves and one another, "He is risen!" but gather as the sun goes down on Saturday to kindle a new fire, to hear the ancient stories of salvation, entering into the darkness of the tomb with Jesus and making a joyful noise as we recall his resurrection. Where do the customary observances of Holy Week and Easter come from, and why do we continue to practice them year after year? Join us this Sunday, April 13, at 9:00 a.m. between services in person in the Fireside Room for an illuminating single-session forum on Holy Week. Childcare is available in the chapel. Please note: there will be no 8:00 a.m. service and no Adult Forum on Easter Sunday, April 20. 

Schola Cantorum is an unique choral arts organization with multiple community programs whose members include parishioners Marie Alberry-Hawkins, Jo Darius, and Charles Thompson and Ventana School teacher Julie Kelsey. On Friday, April 11, at 8:00 p.m. join Schola Cantorum, the West Valley College Choir, and soloists for Sounds of Comfort, a moving performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem accompanied by organ. The concert will be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 13601 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga. Tickets can be purchased here.

The meditation group meets via Zoom on Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. If you’re interested in learning more about contemplative practices drawn from the Christian and Buddhist traditions, as well as contemporary psychology, you’re welcome to attend. All are welcome!

Join via Zoom

• Click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/197694657?pwd=ekg3Y24zL2RjV2pKNEs5eVpFVzdidz09

• Meeting ID: 197 694 657; Passcode: 450305

We are excited to welcome back The Girls’ Choir of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, for a special service of Choral Evensong on Sunday, April 6 at 4:00 p.m. in the church. Founded in 2008, the ensemble was the first college-based choir for girls in the UK, breaking with 900 years of tradition and setting a precedent which has been followed by several other institutions in the UK and abroad. The choir provides a unique and invaluable musical experience for girls aged 8 to 15, with many girls going on to sing in choirs at University level and beyond. The choir sings weekly in the College Chapel, as well as giving regular concerts. Its repertoire extends from the early Middle Ages to the 21st century, including music both sacred and secular. The Evensong liturgy will include music by Dyson and Rheinberger and admission is free.

Join Rev. Claire on Zoom for this three-week journey into the creation of the Bible on Fridays, March 7, 14 and 21, 12:00-1:00 p.m. As Episcopalians, we uphold scripture as one of only three sources of divine revelation, alongside tradition and reason. But we also have many questions about the Bible and how to most faithfully engage its words. In this series, we explore the origins of the Canon we call the Holy Scriptures. If you've ever wondered who decided to put the books of the Bible together, how they became authoritative, what was left out, why some Bibles contain certain books and others don't, this series is for you! And if you've never given much thought to such questions, the history of the creation of the canon is fascinating and complex, and our time together will surely enrich your engagement with these holy works. We invite you to bring a song, poem, spiritual writing, or any other text that you would “add” to the Bible if you could.

Join via Zoom - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86029151370?pwd=twOyft69KVOk6p99lNbfZoR0RII2Fu.1

Meeting ID: 860 2915 1370; Passcode: 772849

Being With is a transformative ten-week long invitation to discover faith in the context of discovering friendship. This series is based on the belief that Being With us is what God is all about, and that being with God, one another, ourselves, and creation, is the calling of our lives in turn. Each class explores topics like essence, story, community, suffering and hope, while holding space for sharing and listening to one another’s stories. We offered the first Being With cohort in 2024 and are pleased to announce that it will be available several times this year! A new cohort will begin meeting weekly via Zoom on Thursday, March 13th from 4:00-5:30pm. We also plan to offer a summer cohort and another in the fall. If you're interested in participating, or in learning more, please email Rev. Claire at claire@ccla.us.

For many years, Christ Episcopal Church has chartered Scouts BSA Troop 30. Again this year the Scouts will be hosting our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner to give back to and thank the Church. The Pancake Dinner will take place on Tuesday, March 4, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Think pancake breakfast with all the fixings and various sides for dinner. This is a delicious opportunity to invite our friends and neighbors, all are welcome! The evening will include have some activities and games for the youngest members of our community led by Jenny Bishop.

Note: This will replace our Weekly Community Dinner which will return Wednesday, March 12.

The next talk in this series hosted by St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto (600 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto) — Religion Race, and the ‘Heathen’ — will be on Wednesday, February 26, at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Kathryn Gin Lum is a Professor in the Religious Studies Department, in collaboration with the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, at Stanford University. Her teaching and research focus on the lived ramifications of religious beliefs; she specializes in the history of religion and race in America. Dr. Gin Lum will speak on themes in her most recent book, Heathen: Religion and Race in American History, which considers how the figure of the "heathen" in need of salvation underlies American conceptions of race. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Please register for free tickets here.

On Friday, February 21, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Bobby Jo Valentine will be performing a free concert at All Saints Episcopal Church (555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto). His music exists outside the lines of any genre, but the music’s thoughtful, spirit focused lyrics and catchy melodies reach listeners across all walks of life. Bobby has found a voice with original, hopeful songs about the gentle everyday spiritual awakenings of an openhearted life. Along with theaters, house concerts, and many other kinds of stages, he is often invited to offer his stories and songs at faith communities around the nation. Bobby’s music has won Song of the Year twice at West Coast Songwriter’s Association, and his work has appeared on radio, TV, and feature films. He has performed artist residencies, hosted songwriting workshops, and been involved in helping communities of all types use their spaces and voice in more creative and powerful ways. Register for free tickets here.