St. Aidan's Episcopal Church

30 Brighton Ave.

Bolinas, CA 94924

"Breathing life over the deep."

A Church of Woods and Waves where the word dwells in our midst, and the soul is fed.

​Set in a small town in the heart of Nature, St. Aidan’s is unlike any church you’ve ever been to. It is less service than conversation, a moment where head and heart take flight, a chance to renew, not bound by the duties, but in the beauties of holiness. We are small, informal, respectful, lyrical. We explore the mysteries, changes, chances and lessons of life and listen for the voice of the Divine. We listen to the teachings of Jesus as one who understood this life and we share the Holy Eucharist in gratitude. All are welcome to our table. All are invited to participate in our conversation. You may come in for five minutes or the whole thing. 

It's a great way to start your day in the wilderness or by the sea.

HOLY EUCHARIST

Sundays, 10 a.m.

All our welcome at our table.

Bring your voices to our shared story.

No previous experience or belief necessary.

FOURTH SUNDAY POTLUCK

Once a month after church

The Rev. Carol Luther

Priest in Charge

SEASON OF LENT

A HOLY LENT

I was taking myself on a walk when I came upon a tulip tree being stirred by a warm breeze. Petals were detaching themselves from clustered blooms, and spinning in circles as they fluttered, gently, to ground. The phrase "purple petals puddling" came playfully to mind, and then I thought about how fleeting was the life of a flower, and then I was here, today, Ash Wednesday.

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

"Our days are like the grass; *
we flourish like a flower of the field;"

reads verse 15 of Psalm 103, the psalm appointed for Ash Wednesday. Most people see this as referring to the brevity of life, but today, on my walk, I saw it as referring to life's beauty. The green hills of a California spring, a carpet of wildflowers. Our lives are as beautiful as the fragrant globe of a tulip tree, impressing themselves upon the memory of an earth who never forgets.

Many people see Lent as a spare season, a season of giving up the things that give us joy to enter into a bare branched austerity. But look outside your window. The bare branches are swelling. Winter is over. Plum trees and tulip trees are bursting into bloom. Perhaps Lent is a season in which we are asked not to shrink, but to blossom, blossom with the love of God, blossom into a practice of love and compassion, and to become fragrant with joy.