Bulletins & News
Bulletin for Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026
From the Halls of St. Paul's
Sept. 20, 2026
Hymns for Sunday
Sept. 20, 2026 — 17th Sunday after Pentecost
chords All Who Hunger G 852
chords All Who Hunger
G 604
chords Change Our Hearts
G 493
chords Shepherd of Souls G 910
chords For the Beauty of the Earth
G 633
St. Paul's Perspective on Proposed
Tiny Home site on Sheridan Rd.
On August 17, the Bremerton Planning Commission voted 3-1 to recommend that the Sheridan Road parcel owned by Bremerton Housing Authority not be exempt from zoning requirements that prohibit pallet shelters (Tiny Homes). The Bremerton City Council will now act on the recommendation. They can either vote for the zoning exemption over the recommendation of the Planning Commission or vote to maintain the status quo, where no pallet shelters could be erected for more than 6 months.
St. Paul's has scheduled two evening community meeting sessions at the church for Tuesday September 8 and September 15.
St. Paul’s Perspective
St. Paul’s has been a part of the Sheridan Park neighborhood for more than 60 years. In our time we have seen this neighborhood grow, thrive, and contract. We are excited about the plans to redevelop the neighborhood with higher density close to ground and ferry transit. We also know from the history of Bremerton’s boom and bust that there have always been poor and unhoused people in this part of Bremerton.
More than 30 years ago, leaders at St. Paul became concerned that seniors were not able to stay in Bremerton as they aged and housing became more expensive. We worked with Episcopal Retirement Communities to sell half of our property. We dug up the dead and moved them so the living could access an affordable apartment living in this neighborhood. As this neighborhood redevelops, St. Paul’s will continue to advocate for all our neighbors, housed and unhoused - even when we do not agree about particulars.
• At St. Paul’s, we think in generations, not fiscal years. Our leaders believe the property in this neighborhood is very valuable and will be more so once it is developed. We want to make sure that as fellow Bremerton business and civic leaders realize that value, they do not do so at the expense of the poor who have always been with us. We believe it is poor stewardship of Bremerton’s lands to not proactively plan for a place at the table for the poor in our neighborhood.
• At. St. Paul’s, we acknowledge that people who are unhoused are more more likely to be the victims of robbery, sexual assault, and murder than people who live behind a door that locks
• We acknowledge and respect the dignity of all persons, housed or unhoused, addicted or sober, mentally ill or neurotypical.
• We seek partnership with anyone who wants to serve our neighbors and neighborhood,
The Rev. Arienne Davison
Priest in Charge
Resources to Review
• 2023 Washington Criminal Justice Snapshot: Statistically, crime is down.
• R Street’s “The Crime and Safety Blindspot: Do homeless populations pose an increased risk to public safety.”
This center-right think tank dives into the research on homelessness and crime. Drawing heavily on research conducted in Western states, they cite a Seattle study that showed little correlation between homeless encampments and spiking crime rates. Instead, studies suggest the homeless are more likely to be the victims of interpersonal violence and property crime than housed people.
What you can do
• Write an email: Send an email to city.council@bremertonwa.gov.
1. Draft an email in your own words describing your reasons for supporting or not supporting the Tiny House Village. You can use the “St. Paul’s Perspective” bullet points as a starting point.
2. Make sure the subject line identifies the issue you are commenting on: “Sheridan Park Tiny House Zoning Exemption” “Tiny House village zoning” etc.
3. Identify your connection to St. Paul’s located in Council District 2, about 2 blocks from the site. The church’s Council Person is Denise Frey.
4. If you live in Bremerton, please identify your district and mention your councilperson. For example, if you used the map and realized you live in district 5; you can use the “your councilperson” link to review the list of councilpeople by district and see their pictures. Whomever your rep is, tag them in your email to let them know you care about this issue and want to be part of serving our neighbors.
• Register to Comment in Person or via Zoom:
There are two kinds of City Council Meetings: study sessions and regular meetings. In study sessions, Councillors are briefed by staff on matters coming before the Council and share information about ongoing business. In regular meetings, City Councillors receive public comment and vote on matters. Meetings of the Council and Study Sessions alternate each Wednesday at 5:00 PM. The next study session is Wednesday, September 9 @ 5 PM in the Norm Dicks Building First Floor Meeting Room. There will be a public hearing at
the Council Meeting the following week, Wednesday, September 16 @ 5 PM in the Norm Dicks Building First Floor Meeting Room.
If you choose to attend in person, you will need to sign in at the beginning of the meeting. Once you’ve signed up, you can stand in line and speak to the issue. If you choose to comment remotely, you will need to register Tuesday at noon prior to the Wednesday meeting here. If you speak,
1. Take several deep breaths when you are waiting in line to speak.
2. Say a prayer that focuses you on doing your part, not fixing the problem or people who are mad.
3. Do not respond unkindly to people who are unkind to the homeless, addicted, or mentally ill. Notice how afraid they are and feel compassion. Compassion is not agreement.
4. Focus your comments on common goals: housing is a human right, a safe place for everyone to sleep, etc.
- The Rev. Arienne Davison
Info packet presented to Planning Commission 8-17-2026
Episcopalians from the United States and France folded and donated more than 5,000 origami cranes to the Diocese of Olympia ahead of the church’s Asiamerica Ministries’ annual retreat for Episcopal clergy and lay leaders of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage. Photo: Courtesy of Janelle Hiroshige
Episcopalians send thousands
of origami cranes to Olympia
for detained immigrants
During the Asiamerica Ministries’ annual retreat in spring 2026, the pilgrims also followed a Stations of the Cross designed by the Rev. Arienne Davison at the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park
Episcopal News Service
Episcopalians from the United States and France folded and donated more than 5,000 origami cranes to the Diocese of Olympia ahead of the church’s Asiamerica Ministries’ annual retreat for Episcopal clergy and lay leaders of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander – AANHPI – heritage.
The cranes were strung together and brought to a shrine in front of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention center in Tacoma, Washington, where the 70 retreat participants gathered to pray for peace and solidarity with detained migrants.
“Each crane sent to us was a prayer, and at the vigil we were all praying together with everyone who folded paper cranes,” the Rev. Jo Ann Lagman, The Episcopal Church’s missioner for Asiamerica Ministries and a Filipina American, told Episcopal News Service. “To me, it was quite healing.”
Lagman noted that some Quakers who are part of an ecumenical Bible study group with Episcopalians in Pensacola, Florida, also made and shipped origami cranes ahead of the April 15-17 pilgrimage and retreat.
The idea to make origami cranes came from Tsuru for Solidarity, a nonviolent, direct-action campaign project of Japanese American social justice advocates. They are working to end immigration detention sites and support immigrant communities by advocating for fair immigration policies and other means.
In Japanese culture, the crane, or “tsuru” in Japanese, symbolizes transformation, healing and nonviolence. Origami “tsurus” are called “orizurus,” and they are frequently used to honor Japanese American victims and survivors of concentration camps during World War II.
The origami project aligned with this year’s theme, “Let it Not Happen Again.” The phrase is the guiding motto of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, which was one of several pilgrimage sites the group visited.
“The theme … is not just about caring for others in general, but also to remember that our ancestors went through a similar journey,” said the Rev. Janelle Hiroshige, associate for youth and community partnerships at the Parish of the Epiphany in Boston, Massachusetts. Hiroshige, who is of Japanese descent, assisted with this year’s retreat preparations. “It’s about remembering to make sure that others don’t experience things like, and to give us the courage and the strength to keep working for justice.”
Some 60,311 migrants and asylum-seekers are in ICE custody, according to the latest ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data compiled by NBC News.
During the retreat, the pilgrims visited additional sites throughout the Diocese of Olympia that are significant to AANHPI history and culture, including St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish, a historically Japanese church in Seattle whose congregation includes the descendants of victims and survivors of concentration camps during World War II. They also toured the Filipino community Village in Seattle and joined members of the Church of the Holy Apostles, a Chinese congregation in Bellevue, for dinner. Southern Philippines Bishop Ernie Martin Moral led opening prayers before the meal.
Alan Murray, a board member of the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice and a member of the Episcopal Church in Western Oregon’s Commission on Ministry, described the shared meal as “breaking bread.”
“It was like we got to see Christ present among us, and also we started to recognize each other and who we are as we gathered together for the breaking of the bread,” Murray, who is Singaporean American, told ENS. “I think it was so powerful for us as Asian people.”
The pilgrims visited the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park, a garden space that commemorates the violent expulsion of about 200 Chinese residents from Tacoma and the subsequent destruction of Chinese-owned businesses and residences in 1885. At the park, they followed a Stations of the Cross designed by the Rev. Arienne Davison, priest-in-charge at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bremerton and the Diocese of Olympia’s former canon to the ordinary.
This custom Stations of the Cross reflected the timeline of the Chinese expulsion from Tacoma. One station, for example, depicted a pastor preaching anti-Chinese violence before the expulsion began, and another depicted someone telling the same preacher that he was going to cause more trouble by speaking out.
“These moments really reflect the cruciform reality that Chinese Americans experienced 141 years ago,” Davison, who is Chinese American, told ENS. “I intentionally designed this Stations of the Cross to help everyone understand that what happened to Jesus happened over and over again throughout history and is happening now with immigrants at detention centers.”
Davison noted that the ICE detention center can be seen from Chinese Reconciliation Park.
“With the prayer stations, we entered history so that we could go deep into the place where the violence happened and turn our attention to the place where the violence is happening now,” she said.
Lagman described the gathering and origami crane project as “really transformative.”
“People learned some of their ancestral history that they hadn’t considered before or looked at with that lens, in that context, and to do it with community,” Lagman said. “This experience is something that they are reflecting on and will continue to reflect on for a long time.”
– Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.
