A Sanctuary on Callahan Drive
St. Paul's Episcopal Church occupies a 7.9-acre tract of view property at 700 Callahan Drive in Bremerton's Sheridan Park neighborhood, about two blocks inland from the Salish Sea. The current sanctuary, completed in 1968 with a Balcom and Vaughan pipe organ, sits behind trees and lawns the parish has tended for more than six decades. Inside, worship has run continuously on this hilltop since the late 1950s. The congregation that gathers here, however, is far older. St. Paul's was established as an Episcopal mission in 1902, just eleven years after a Naval Station was established on the shore of Sinclair Inlet at Turner Point, on land that had been home to the Suquamish Tribe for thousands of years. The parish is now well into its second century.
The Church of the Plum Puddings
The parish's earliest history unfolded in a young, rough Navy town. Bremerton, named for founder William Bremer and incorporated in 1901, was known in its first years for gambling, prostitution, wild saloons, opium houses and robberies of sailors. The first St. Paul's service was conducted in the Presbyterian Church in Charleston, in what is now West Bremerton. By 1915 the mission had grown enough to relocate to Sixth Street and Chester, surviving the hardships of World War I, the 1918 Influenza Epidemic, the Great Depression and the wartime boom that followed Pearl Harbor. As Bremerton's population swelled toward 80,000 to support the Navy Yard, St. Paul's grew alongside it.
Starting in the late 1930s, the parish began making and canning English plum puddings as a holiday fund-raiser. The puddings sold in stores throughout Kitsap County and became so popular that St. Paul's became locally known as "the Church of the Plum Puddings." The tradition ran for forty years. In January 1943, the mission finally graduated to full Parish status.
In 1957, the U.S. Government began to sell land on which wartime housing stood, giving first right of refusal to area churches. St. Paul's a year later bought its 7.9-acre tract in East Bremerton. The new church home was finished in 1968, near the recently constructed Harrison Hospital.
The parish's commitment to stay in Bremerton was tested again in the 1980s, when the deployment of Trident submarines at nearby Bangor and the rapid development of Silverdale drew jobs and population away from the older neighborhoods. St. Paul's leaders chose to remain. A year later, in 1987, the parish completed a major rebuilding and redevelopment of the Callahan Drive property, the building members and visitors know today.
A Progressive Vision for the Sheridan Park Neighborhood
The parish's stated vision reads like a prayer: "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."
That vision has long been lived out through the parish's relationship with its neighborhood. More than thirty years ago, St. Paul's leaders grew concerned that seniors could not afford to remain in Bremerton as housing costs rose. The parish partnered with Episcopal Retirement Communities to sell half of its property and make way for affordable senior apartments next door. In 2013, the parish completed a renovation of the Parish Hall kitchen specifically to better host Lord's Neighborhood Diner, a weekend meals program serving low-income families. Hosting space for community groups remains part of the parish's vision today.
St. Paul's also advocates publicly for its neighbors, particularly around housing and homelessness issues affecting the Sheridan Park area. The parish has hosted community meetings at the church and encouraged members to weigh in with the Bremerton City Council on local proposals affecting unhoused residents. A pastoral letter from the priest in charge laid out the parish's perspective: "We acknowledge and respect the dignity of all persons, housed or unhoused, addicted or sober, mentally ill or neurotypical," and "we seek partnership with anyone who wants to serve our neighbors and neighborhood." The priest in charge has also designed custom liturgical materials, including a Stations of the Cross for the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park that connected the history of Chinese expulsion from Tacoma to contemporary immigrant justice concerns.
Sunday Mornings at Eight and Ten
Worship at St. Paul's centers on Holy Eucharist each Sunday, celebrated at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. The liturgy follows the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, with congregational hymns drawn from the hymnal Gather and supplemented by a thoughtful music program. Services are also livestreamed on Facebook for those unable to attend in person. After the pandemic closed the church in March 2020, services moved online and the congregation worshipped "from home, but as 'together' as possible." That livestream ministry has continued as a steady companion to in-person worship.
Visitors can expect a warm, traditional Episcopal liturgy with a strong choral tradition. Hymn selections from a recent bulletin include "Let All Things Now Living," "All the Ends of the Earth," "How Great Is Our God" and "This Little Light of Mine" as the closing song.
Clergy, Deacon, and Director of Music
The Rev. Arienne Davison serves as Priest in Charge. Baptized and ordained in the Diocese of Olympia, she served several congregations and was the diocese's Canon for Multicultural Ministries from 2011 to 2017 before becoming Canon to the Ordinary in March 2020. A student and teacher in the field of intercultural ministry, she is also a trainer in the College for Congregational Development network and a consultant. She lives in Bremerton with her family and, in her spare time, observes the night sky and plays games with friends and family.
The Rev. Bill Thaete serves as deacon. He was appointed by the Rt. Rev. Philip N. LaBelle, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. Ordained nine years ago and nominated by his home congregation at St. Bede in Port Orchard for ordination, Deacon Bill has served as a fire and emergency services chaplain for South Kitsap Fire for about eleven years in addition to his ministry at St. Paul's. As deacon, he reads the Gospel, sets and clears the table at Communion, and assists in sending the people into the world. He also provides spiritual and pastoral care at Canterbury Manor.
Colleen Shoemaker serves as Director of Music. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Voice Performance from Pacific University and a Master of Music in Voice Pedagogy with an emphasis in Contemporary Commercial Music from Shenandoah Conservatory. Her journey as a church musician began at age ten, when she joined her church choir in Sequim. Since joining the St. Paul's choir in 2023, she has deeply enjoyed connecting with fellow choir members, musicians and the broader congregation, and is thrilled to deepen her involvement as Music Director. Outside St. Paul's, Colleen runs Carpenter Voice Studio and teaches general music, choir, band and handbells at a Lutheran school in Bremerton.
Music as a Living Ministry
Music sits at the heart of parish life at St. Paul's. The chancel choir, supported by accomplished soloists and instrumentalists, prepares music across a wide range of styles. Performances shared through the church's YouTube channel and Facebook page include settings of Advent and Christmas favorites, African American spirituals like "Down by the Riverside" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," gospel hymns including "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," hymn mashups and original arrangements of contemporary praise songs. Special music is woven into seasonal worship, including Christmas Eve, Epiphany, Lent and Easter, with many performances recorded for those who cannot attend in person.
Partnerships on the Peninsula
St. Paul's gives time, space and financial support to a network of community organizations across Kitsap County. The Bremerton Backpack Brigade, originally a ministry of St. Paul's, provides weekend supplemental food to more than 240 families and over 590 children each week across Bremerton's elementary schools, including West Hills Restorative and Catalyst Public schools. Other supported partners include the Salvation Army Bremerton, Bremerton Foodline, Kitsap Rescue Mission, YWCA Kitsap County, the Coffee Oasis, the Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center, and Episcopal Relief and Development.
The parish also opens its building to nonprofit groups, making the Parish Hall available for community meetings and meal programs. Hosting space for community partners is treated as a form of ministry in its own right.
Coming to Worship
St. Paul's Episcopal Church is located at 700 Callahan Drive, Bremerton, WA 98310. Holy Eucharist is celebrated Sundays at 8 and 10 a.m. Services are livestreamed on Facebook. The church office is open Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., staffed by Office Manager Jessica Lewis. The phone line is (360) 377-0106, and email reaches the parish at stpaul700@gmail.com. Online giving is available through the church's secure giving portal.
Visitors will find a congregation that describes itself as "a safe harbor for those on their spiritual journey," a parish that has rebuilt itself more than once and is now well into its second century, carrying the same progressive, inclusive spirit that has marked it for generations.