Join Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry and Stanford Canterbury for an evening of worship through choral music, featuring the Memorial Church Choir. Delight in the beauty of prayer, music, and scripture as we celebrate the feast of the Ascension, one of the principal feasts of our liturgical year. We particularly welcome members of the wider Stanford community: students, faculty, and staff, as well as Lutheran and Episcopal congregations in the South Bay to join us in worshiping God in the beauty of holiness.

Continuing in the Speaker Series: Community, Faith and Racial Justice: exploring Christianity's involvement in perpetuating racial injustice on Wednesday, May 8th at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto.

Confronting Christian Nationalism: Rev. Dr. Cooper-White is an Episcopal priest and clinical psychologist and retired Christine Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary. A prolific author, Dr. Cooper-White will speak on the topic of her recent book, The Psychology of White Christian Nationalism: Why People are Drawn In and How to Talk Across the Divide. Dr. Cooper-White's book will be available for purchase and signing following the event.

The series explores the role of Christianity, including the white Christian Nationalist movement, in racial injustice and seeks to define a path toward racial justice, healing, and reconciliation. For more information on the series, its co-sponsors, and future speakers, please visit St. Mark’s website. 

No charge for admission – donations appreciated.  Please register here for the event. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto.

All are welcome to a family-friendly weekly community dinner on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm in the Parish Hall. Teacher Jenny will show us how to make paper flowers in honor of Mother’s Day.

Please RSVP using this Google Form so we can make sure that we have enough food (pizza, a gluten free option, salad, veggies, drinks and dessert).

On Sunday, May 5th, we will be hosting Kenan Moos, co-founder of Justice Vanguard, for a discussion about the history and meaning of Juneteenth after coffee hour in the Parish Hall. We will get to learn about his experience running education programs on Black history and systemic racism in local schools, how Justice Vanguard’s annual Juneteenth Festival in Los Altos makes that possible, and how our community can participate. We have been observing Juneteenth as a feast of the church for the last several years and this is a wonderful opportunity to deepen our understanding of this important historic occassion. Our speaker, Kenan Moos, is the recipient of multiple Congressional and Senate Recognition Awards and the 2022 African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) MLK Gene Young Award. He was named the 2020 Los Altan of the Year and has spoken at prestigious institutions including Stanford University and Yale University, as well as numerous local high schools and middle schools. 

Our community is also warmly invited to the 5th Juneteenth festival on Saturday, June 22nd, which is attended by thousands of Bay Area students, parents and families every year. Come engage with the community in a positive celebration of culture and progress, and have fun at an outdoor summer festival. There's no cost to attend and all are welcome! 

We are teaming up with our friends at Foothills Congregational Church for a hike, For Wednesday, May 1, Karen Lemes has invited our group on a short hike and history of her property on Moody Road in Los Altos Hills. It is a short hike with some up hill and plenty of rest stops. It is mostly in the shade. Bring your poles, especially if you decide to venture where the trail gets steeper. There are places to sit if you don't want steep. Or, if you don't want to hike, just come for lunch and conversation. Definitely bring a bag lunch as she has many tables and chairs in the front yard- good visiting area. Her address is 27271 Moody Road. We meet at 10:30 in her front yard. Please be on time as we will not wait more than 5 minutes.

Go to El Monte and head west. Go past Foothill College. At the first stop sign, turn left onto Moody Road. Stay on Moody road, go past Duvenecks. In 1/2 mile her house will be on the right. She will put out an American flag to identify her place. If you reach the hairpin turn, you have gone too far - turn around - house will now be on your left.

Anyone is welcome on these hikes- bring a friend. RSVP is required, even if you drive yourself. That way, we can let you know of any change in plans. See you on the trail! RSVP to info@foothills-church.org by Monday, April 29.

A Community  Conversation in 3 parts based on the book -
How to Know a Person:
The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
by David Brooks

A practical, heartfelt guide to the art of truly knowing another person in order to foster deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives. This event is free and open to the public.

Facilitators:  Molly Anderson & David Green

Part 1  Tues., April 2 | 7-8:30 PM
Part 2  Tues., April 16 | 7-8:30 PM
Part 3  Tues., April 30 | 7-8:30 PM

Los Altos Community Center
Birch Room
97 Hillview Avenue
Los Altos, CA  94022

Are you concerned about the increase in burglaries in your neighborhood? Want tips to avoid becoming a target? Hosted by Christ Church and Neighbors Taking Action, please join us on Sunday, April 28, 4:30-6:00 p.m. for a free Community Safety Forum to get tips on how to protect your home. A panel of speakers from state and local government agencies will share how they are addressing the rise in neighborhood crime and be available to answer your questions. This information is not limited to the neighborhood around the church and will be valuable no matter where you live. A reception will follow. Click here to learn more and register for free tickets.

Back by popular demand, CSA hosts their annual Homeless Services fundraiser as an ice cream sundae party in the park for the third year in a row. 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 bowls, and fun children’s activities, this year’s event takes place on Sunday, April 28th from 2-4pm in Rengstorff Park. Buy your tickets here.

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.

We know that loss is a part of life, but why does grief have to be so hard?  Many of us try to push grief away or will the clock to speed up in the hopes that "time really could heal all wounds," when the reality is that grief will be our companion for life. Come to an interactive workshop where we will explore the intricacies of grief and loss, the ways that grief affects us, and how our relationship with grief was formed.  We will give names to grief experiences and complex emotions in a gentle, shared space where we can begin to invite grief into our lives.  We will open up space for grief to lead us toward glimpses of joy, as we reflect on our losses, remember our loved ones, and ultimately, relearn how to live in a world where what we knew, and who we thought we were, were shattered.  This is not your typical grief workshop.  Please join us with an open mind, and an open heart.  This workshop will be led by  Spiritual Wellness Coach Jessica Field, MPS, who has decades of experience providing spiritual and mental health care in clinical settings, mentoring children and teens in foster care, working as a case manager, running groups for teens, and working as a Spiritual Wellness Provider at Canyon Ranch Wellness Resort.  Find out more about Jessica at YourSpiritualWellnessCoach.com.

Please RSVP using this Google Form, so we can make lunch arrangements.

Christ Church parishioners are warmly invited to attend the memorial service of longtime member, Alice Larse, to be held in the Church on Saturday, April 27 at 11:00 a.m. Please join Alice’s family and friends as we celebrate her life and legacy together. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.

The service bulletin can be found here.

Join via Zoom

• Click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89836936701?pwd=WnpnRHNMWEdHWFBHOXBiZ0VTNGNMQT09

• Meeting ID: 898 3693 6701; Passcode: 862809

Join us for a celebration of fiber, community, and handcrafts at Hidden Villa’s Sheep & Fiber Arts Festival! Marvel at the art of sheep shearing as skilled shearers harvest wool from our flock. Experience the joys of traditional craftsmanship with fiber-processing demonstrations and activities. Discover the profound climate benefits of natural fibers and dyes as we explore how eco-friendly practices contribute to a healthier planet. Meet local makers and find inspiration in the beauty and magic of handmade traditions.

For kids and adults of all ages, there's something for everyone:

• Follow the thread from sheep to shawl: Visit the sheep. Help prepare wool for spinning. Watch herders, shearers, and craftspeople at work.

• Get your hands wet at the community dye pot: turn the ordinary into something extraordinary with plant-based pigments

• Visit our gallery of works from local fiber and textile makers

• Enjoy live music and food trucks featuring food from the farm

• Bring your handwork and join our makers' lounge

For more information and for parking instructions and tickets, please see their Eventbrite page.

We all want to nurture resilience in our children, but how? In our post-pandemic, hyper-competitive, anxiety-ridden times, this can feel like an especially daunting challenge. Join us for an interactive presentation with Jessica Field, a mental health provider and spiritual wellness coach with decades of experience providing spiritual and mental health care in clinical settings, mentoring children and teens in foster care, working as a case manager, running groups for teens, and working as a Spiritual Wellness Provider at Canyon Ranch Wellness Resort. In addition to best practices for mental health and thriving, Jessica highlights the surprising research that a healthy, holistic sense of a child's natural spirituality - independent of religious affiliation or practice - is the number one preventative factor for depression, anxiety, drug use, and other risky behaviors in the teenage years. Being resilient does not mean we live a life without suffering; it means that we are resourced for the challenges before us and able to tolerate the discomfort of our emotions in the face of them.  This workshop will provide you with practical tools and strategies for how to help your children (and yourself) tap into that deepest part of self - the part that intrinsically seeks belonging, connection, meaning, and purpose – so that you do not simply bounce back from the tough times but become stronger from them.

You and your children are welcome at Community Dinner in the Parish Hall from 6pm - 6:30pm. Here is the link to RSVP for dinner. Childcare will be provided from 6:30pm - 7:30pm during the workshop. 

Christ Church offers a simple Eucharistic service each month on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 11 AM in the Gardenia Room in The Forum’s Health Center. 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! Our next service will be on April 23rd.

Recently we had a visitor to Christ Church who found us through Rev. Claire’s Town Crier article. Karen Kehlet is the Director of Learning at The Changemaker Initiative, and she reached out with this invitation:

Join us Wednesday, April 17 from 5-6:30pm at Los Altos United Methodist Church for a stimulating in-person conversation with authors of the recently released book, Picking Up the Pieces: Leadership after Empire. Reverend Kathi McShane (co-founder of The Changemaker Initiative) and Rabbi Elan Babchuck will explore biblical and contemporary stories about the need for a shared leadership model - in religious organizations and elsewhere. Sponsored by The Changemaker Initiative, the free event will include a Q&A session, book signing, and light refreshments. Books will be available for purchase ($20, payable by cash, check, or Paypal).  Register here. For more information, contact Kim Jones (kim@thechangemakerinitiative.org).

Building Bridges Together will be offering an instructional Interfaith Seder at All Saints Episcopal Church's Parish Hall on Saturday April 13 from 6PM - 9PM.  Christ Church members are welcome to join this event. All Saints is located at 555 Waverley Avenue, Palo Alto and there is ample public parking in public lots on Waverley, Hamilton and Cowper.  This will be an authentic Seder, using a Haggadah developed by Building Bridges Together to instruct non-Jews in the traditions and practices of a Seder meal. Signups are required!  The  meal will be provided via potluck in accordance with Jewish dietary restrictions [eg., no grains or breads, no pork or shellfish, no mixing of meat and milk products].  If interested, contact Diane Frankle at diane.frankle@gmail.com.  Please come celebrate with us!

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 bulletin here.

Join via computer 

Join via computer

• 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 through our hauntingly beautiful evening Vigil. This year, the service is adapted to proclaim the hope of salvation history through the stories of the women of the Hebrew Scriptures. This adapted form of the ancient liturgy retains the new fire, the exsultet, and the first Easter Alleluia, interwoven with evocative music celebrating women's voices from the medieval period to the present day. 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/81027820444?pwd=S3JWTW9UR3JPYW55N0hzNFo5eU9YQT09

• Meeting ID: 810 2782 0444; Passcode: 493918

• 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: 810 2782 0444; Passcode: 493918

The choirs of Christ Church Los Altos and Christ Church Portola Valley join together in a musical remembrance of Good Friday here at Christ Church. The reading of the Passion is interwoven with musical offerings reflecting on the crucifixion and its contemporary echoes in today's world, with works by Kenneth Leighton, Edward Elgar, Adolphus Hailstork, Craig Hella Johnson, and others. 

Download the concert bulletin

This concert also will be available via livestream on YouTube. Here is the link.

Enter into somber contemplation of Jesus’ crucifixion and laying in the tomb. This liturgy is offered in person in the Church and also via Zoom. All who are able are encouraged to remain after the service concludes, either in the church or at home, for a time of silent vigil until 3:00 p.m.

Download the service bulletin

Join via Zoom

• Join via computer - click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82956443826?pwd=VGtscGFvVkJURVRja3NwcDQ2cjF0Zz09

• Meeting ID: 829 5644 3826; Passcode: 058397

• 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: 829 5644 3826; Passcode: 058397

Enjoy a beautiful remembrance of the Last Supper and institution of the Eucharist. This year we will return to our tradition of starting the service with dinner in the Parish Hall followed by foot washing. Then we will move to 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.

Join us for a unique and transformative experience at our inaugural Spiritual Rave - an afternoon designed to attune ourselves to the Divine through Scripture. We will immerse ourselves in Mark 9:2-9, alternating between seated meditation and an open period of holy work. You are invited to engage with the Scripture in a way that resonates with you, whether through journaling, poetry, art, or walking meditation.

What to Expect:

We will meet in the Fireside Room. Meditation cushions and chairs will be provided to ensure your comfort. Please bring water, snacks, and any materials you may need—a journal and pen, art supplies, etc.—to explore the profound expression of God's inspiration working within you. This Spiritual Rave seeks to create a sacred space for self-discovery and spiritual connection, allowing inspiration to unfold through various forms of self-expression. Any questions? Please contact Minister for Adult Formation Alice Kochunov at alice.j.landis@gmail.com. 

To dust you will return! Come see how the recent rains have transformed our local landscape on a hike next Friday (February 23rd), in Rancho San Antonio Preserve with others from the church and the school community. As part of our Vital and Thriving initiative, we're trying to kick off a regular hiking group to provide a space for contemplation of and connection with the divine, outside of the boundaries of the church campus. We aren’t sure what the right cadence will be, but we imagine this happening monthly or bi-weekly, likely falling on a Saturday morning or a Friday afternoon as the days get longer. For this first gathering, please RSVP to grant.audet@gmail.com so we can get an idea of numbers and share specific details. We plan to meet up at 4:30 and will wrap up by 6:00 pm to beat the darkness. The hike will be family friendly and we will take a quick pit-stop midway to snack and relax. Can’t make it this time? We’d still love to hear if you’re interested. Hope to see you out there!

Our Lenten Study this year centers the lives and stories of Christians living in the Holy Land. This year we'll join Episcopal congregations across the country in a five-week series called Bearing Witness created by the American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem. Many in our community are grieved and horrified by the violence unfolding in Israel and Gaza. This series, produced before the war began, centers the lives of Christians and the ministry of the Anglican church in this blessed and broken corner of creation. We'll hear directly from lay and ordained leaders, learn more about the day to day life in Israel and Palestine, and come to understand more deeply the challenges and opportunities of our brothers and sisters in Christ who live and move and have their being in the same land as Jesus. Each of the five sessions focuses on a theme of Jesus’ ministry: Belonging, Healing, Teaching, Breaking Barriers, Building Hope. All are welcome! 

Our Lenten Study kicks off with a potluck in the Parish Hall on Wednesday, February 21st from 6pm - 7:30pm. There is no Community Dinner that week so we'll hold the whole session in the Parish Hall. In the weeks that follow, we'll all gather for Community Dinner and eat from 6pm - 6:30pm, then everyone interested in the study will be invited to one of our classrooms from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. We'll provide additional childcare supervision of the Parish Hall during that hour for any parents with young children. The series runs from Wednesday, February 21st through Wednesday, March 20th.