About Our Church
Who We Are. How We Began.
Our Vision
O God, help us to be progressive Christians in an open,
inclusive and affirming community of faith.
O Jesus, guide us in providing a safe harbor for those
on their spiritual journey.
O Holy Spirit, be with us in our endeavors to reflect
God’s peace and loving justice into our world
Our Priest in Charge
The Rev. Arienne Davison
Baptized and ordained in the Diocese of Olympia, the Rev. Arienne Davison served in several congregations and as the Canon for Multicultural Ministries (2011-2017) before accepting the call as Canon to the Ordinary in March 2020.
A student and teacher in the field of intercultural ministry, The Rev Davison is also a trainer in the College for Congregational Development network and consultant.
Arienne lives in Bremerton with her family and extended family nearby. In her spare time she observes the night sky and plays games with friends and family.
Our Deacon
The Rev. Bill Thaete
The Rev. Bill Thaete is the new deacon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bremerton. He was appointed by the Rt. Rev. Philip N. LaBelle, bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. The Rev. Arienne Davison, priest in charge at St. Paul’s, made the announcement during the March 9 Sunday service: “St. Paul’s hasn’t had a deacon for quite a while and some folks aren’t familiar with what a deacon is and what a deacon does. I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about the ministry of deacon and how Deacon Bill will work with us.
“In the time after the first Pentecost, the apostles would become leaders of their own churches. Their ministry would later be called ‘Bishop.’ This is the story of how the first Deacons were called”:
A reading from Acts
“Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in
the whole number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because the(ir) [Hellenist] widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’ What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.”
Deacon Bill was ordained 9 years ago. He felt called to ministry as a young man, but knew he wasn’t a priest. When he learned about the ministry of Deacon, he was nominated by our siblings in Christ at St. Bede, Port Orchard to study for ordination. In addition to his ministry inside the church, Deacon Bill has served as a fire and emergency services Chaplain for South Kitsap Fire for about 11 years.
As our Deacon, he will be responsible for specific liturgical tasks: reading the Gospel, setting and clearing the Table during Communion, and sending us out into the world.
Because of his experience as a chaplain, I’ve charged Deacon Bill to work with us to provide spiritual and pastoral care to our neighbors and members at Canterbury Manor.
A copy of the Bishop’s agreement with us about Deacon Bill’s ministry is available if anyone is curious about more details.
Let’s welcome Bill to this new ministry among us!"
Our Church History
The 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, between the U.S. government and the Suquamish and other area tribes, had made the land available for non-Native settlement. Bremerton, named for founder William Bremer, was incorporated as a city in 1901. St. Paul’s became an Episcopal mission in downtown Bremerton. The first service was conducted in Charleston,
Navy officials had a low opinion of Bremerton public behavior in the city's early days.
what’s now part of West Bremerton, in the Presbyterian Church.
But church leaders in this new town, population 1,700, faced an uphill battle. Bremerton quickly become known for its gambling, prostitution, wild saloons, opium houses and robberies of sailors. Charles Darling, assistant secretary of the Navy, in 1902 pulled all repair work from Bremerton and moved it to Mare Island near San Francisco.
In 1903, Bremerton’s leaders responded by revoking all liquor licenses in town. Business and civic leaders in Seattle also wanted the economic boost the Navy brought, and Darling moved work back to Bremerton. Saloons soon prospered again, though.
In 2013, the church completed a renovation of the Parish Hall kitchen to provide better services to the diner and to other organizations and groups using the building. Providing space to nonprofits is part of the vision for serving the community.
Now the church faces another crossroads. Harrison Medical Center, a focal point of this neighborhood for decades, has moved to Silverdale. It’s unclear what will happen to this area.
And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, thrusting Kitsap County and the rest of the country into a recession. St. Paul’s closed the church and services moved to Facebook. We worshipped from home, but as “together” as possible.
Ever industrious, the congregation took the opportunity to repaint the church sanctuary and make much-needed repairs to the roof.
Finally, on Pentecost 2021, St. Paul’s reopened and people returned to worshipping together in their beloved church. Services continue to be streamed on Facebook.
You’d think that would be the end. But then in November 2021 a storm and a rare “atmospheric river” slammed Bremerton and caused severe damage and leaks to our recently repaired sanctuary roof. Undaunted, the parish moved services downstairs to the Parish Hall during months of repairs and remodeling to the sanctuary (and ultimately the leak-damaged Parish Hall itself).
The congregation finally returned to the remodeled sanctuary on April 10, 2022 — Palm Sunday.
In January 2024, the Rev. Kathleen Kingslight retired from St. Paul's after 14 years as rector. An interim priest, the Rev. Dr. Jane Maynard, was named in mid-January.
Throughout 2024, Pastor Jane led the congregation and worked with the Vestry on preparation to call a new rector. Late in the year, the Vestry accepted the Diocese's recommendation to hire a priest in charge. The vestry hired the Rev. Arienne Davison in November for that position and she began serving at St. Paul in February 2025.
Hang on as our second century continues ….
St. Paul’s was formed in Bremerton, Washington, in 1902, 11 years after a Naval Station was established on the shore of Sinclair Inlet at Turner Point.
This was in the territory of the Suquamish Tribe, which had called this area home for as long as 5,000 years.
But St. Paul’s was doing well enough to move to a new location — Sixth Street and Chester — in 1915. Then came the U.S. entry into World War 1 in 1917, the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and then the Great Depression in 1929. St. Paul’s survived it all. And following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy Yard took on a vital role, and Bremerton grew to about 80,000 people.
Starting in the late 1930s, the church became well-known for making and canning English plum puddings for the holiday season as a fund-raiser. These were sold in stores and became quite popular, and St. Paul’s became known around Kitsap as “the Church of the Plum Puddings.” This tradition lasted for 40 years.
St. Paul’s finally became a Parish, graduating from Mission status, in January 1943.
In 1957, the U.S. Government began to sell the land on which war-time housing stood, giving first right of refusal to area churches. St. Paul’s a year later bought a 7.9 acre tract of prime view property in East Bremerton, its current location — 700 Callahan Drive.
In 1968, St. Paul’s leaders finished the new church home near the recently constructed Harrison Hospital. It included a new Balcom & Vaughan pipe organ.
Then in 1986, church leaders made the commitment to remain in Bremerton despite the rapid development of Silverdale thanks to the
deployment of Trident submarines
at nearby Bangor.
St. Paul's popular plum pudding was sold in stores as a church fundrasier starting in the 1930s.
The church the next year completed a major rebuilding and redevelopment on the Callahan property — the building we know today.
St. Paul’s continued with an increasingly progressive vision, supporting the local LGBTQ community and partnering with Lord’s Neighborhood Diner to host a weekend meals program in the Parish Hall for low-income families.