The meditation group is on summer break and will return on Wednesday, September 3. Details will be in the newsletter a couple weeks prior to starting up again.

Next Tuesday, June 3, from 8:45-9:45 a.m. in the Church narthex will be our final class with Desiree Weaver. All are invited to join us as we celebrate Desiree in this special last class. We are so grateful for her ongoing commitment to Christ Church's yoga offering and wish her well. We are close to hiring a new yoga teacher and once that has been completed our yoga class will shift back to Mondays from 8:30-9:45 a.m. More information to come once the details have been finalized. There will be no yoga class the week of June 9th. 

This Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, moving from the celebration of Christ's Resurrection during Eastertide into preparation for the descent of the Holy Spirit into our midst at Pentecost. We will hold a special Adult Forum, on Sunday, June 1, 9:00-10:00 a.m. between the services in person in the Fireside Room as we explore the theological dimensions of Christ's Ascension into heaven, and what meaning it holds for faithful people remaining here below. Together, we will delve into the Scriptural accounts of this mysterious moment in the life of Christ, and unpack what theologians have had to say about it over the centuries. All questions are welcome, and all are invited to join us in this adventure. Childcare is available in the chapel.

On Thursday, May 29 at 6:00 p.m. there will be an Ascension Day Eucharist Service at Stanford Memorial Church (450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford) sung by the combined choirs of local Episcopal and Lutheran congregations. Bishop Austin Rios of the Episcopal Church Diocese of California will be preaching, and Bishop Jeff Johnson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Sierra Pacific Synod will preside. An outdoor reception will follow. All are welcome!

All are welcome to a family-friendly weekly community dinner on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Lower Lawn picnic area. Next week we’ll have our first BBQ of the season – burgers, sausages and a vegetarian option. Please bring a salad or side dish (last name starts A-M) or dessert (last name starts N-Z) to share. Bring serving utensils with your dish if that will be needed. Hope you can join us! RSVP using this Google Form so we can make sure that we have enough food.

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

Former Christ Church section leader Ivan Dario Vielma will have his Senior Voice Recital on Sunday, May 11, at 1:30 p.m. at the San Jose State University School of Music Concert Hall. His recital will feature art songs in varying languages, as well as a set of mariachi rancheras, and a set of some of his favorite musical theatre songs. All parishioners are welcome to attend!

We have room for more volunteers! Join the Christ Church and Ventana School community to pack meals for Rise Against Hunger in the Parish Hall, on Saturday, May 10, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Our previous events have been fun, energizing and inspiring as we came together to make a positive impact and provide food for over 10,000 families in an impoverished country. Children of all ages are encouraged to participate - there is something for everyone to do. All are welcome! Registration is required, click here to register. We need volunteers for set up and clean up, you also can sign up for either of those when you register.

On Wednesday, May 7, we will kick off our spring and summer season of outdoor community dinners with a special Neighborhood Celebration! Join the Christ Church and Ventana School communities as we welcome our neighbors to celebrate the warmer weather on the lower lawn at 6:00 p.m. Enjoy live music from parishioner Bob Stanfield's band The Sunday Seven, food trucks and getting to know our neighbors. Feel free to bring picnic blankets to sit on the lawn! Your RSVP using this Google Form will help us plan for enough food.

Join us on Sunday, May 4 at 11:45 a.m. in the Parish Hall during coffee hour for an update on the campus Master Plan. You will hear from vestry members on the progress of our campus master planning followed by a discussion of our next steps. We hope you'll join us!

All are welcome to a family-friendly weekly community dinner on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall. On April 30, our Community Dinner will feature a presentation by Dr. Kalpa Bhattacharjee, a licensed clinical psychologist based in San Francisco (rescheduled from a date earlier in March). She will share information about myriad topics relevant to parenting, including how to identify whether a child may possess the trait of high sensitivity and some insights about how to parent highly sensitive children skillfully.  In addition, she will shed light on psychological testing for children, the concepts of neurodivergence, normalization of some psychological challenges inherent in parenting, and how to identify whether a parent needs to seek additional support. In addition to seeing individuals in private practice, Dr. Bhattacharjee is also an adjunct professor in the PsyD program of the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium, and adjunct professor in the School of Nursing and Health Professions Clinical Psychology PsyD program at USF. We’ll have dinner from 6:00-6:30 with Dr. Bhattacharjee’s presentation from 6:30-7:30. Childcare will be provided during the presentation. Hope you can join us! RSVP using this Google Form so we can make sure that we have enough food.

Join us for a holy hike at Pearson-Arastradero Preserve on Sunday, April 27 at 2:30 p.m. We will meet up in the parking lot of the preserve, located at 1530 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. We'll be joined by members of Christ Church Portola Valley & Woodside for a fun afternoon adventure with both parish communities. This hike will be beginner-friendly, and all ages and levels are welcome! 

CSA's annual fundraiser Empty Bowls, traditionally a soup supper, became Sundaes on a Sunday to accommodate an outdoor take on the worldwide phenomena pairing potters to fundraise for organizations serving the homeless. Featuring bottomless ice cream, beautiful handmade bowls, and fun children’s activities, this year’s event takes place on Sunday, April 27, 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Rengstorff Park, 201 S Rengstorff Ave., Mountain View. Empty Bowls will be at the BBQ Area of the park on Crisanto Ave. Parking may be limited – consider biking or taking the Mountain View Community Shuttle. Overflow parking is available at the Mountain View Senior Center. For more information on tickets or to make a donation, please visit www.csacares.org/events.

Christ Church members are warmly invited to attend the memorial service for longtime parishioner, Diana Collins, to be held in the Church on Saturday, April 26, at 11:00 a.m. A reception in the Parish Hall will immediately follow the service.

The service will be live streamed via Zoom.

Download the service bulletin

Join via Zoom

• Click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83174385114?pwd=mEbbkFb3DL2awb4gk4SzQqCEbhwgnu.1

• Meeting ID: 831 7438 5114; Passcode: 392280

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.

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.