Today's Episcopal Church is a descendant of the earliest Christians who gathered to share stories of their heritage and knowledge of Jesus' teachings. From these early disciples, apostles were appointed to provide leadership for the growing Christian communities around the Mediterranean region. These apostles were the forerunners of clergy—deacons, priests, and bishops—who provide guidance and direction to today's churches.

The Episcopal Church is a member of the Anglican Communion, which encompasses all of the churches around the world descended from the Church of England. In turn, the Church of England is a descendant of the Church of Rome (the Roman Catholic Church) from which it separated itself in the 16th century. The Episcopal Church evolved to fill the middle ground between Catholic and Protestant traditions, becoming a sacramental church (like the Roman Catholic Church) that also stressed individual responsibility in decision-making (similar to Protestant churches).

When America declared independence from England it was important to have an indigenous church. The Episcopal Church in the United States grew up with the founding of this country in the late 1700s. Many of the early colonists were members of the Church of England. Some of the framers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were also founders of the United States Episcopal Church. It's not surprising that there are many similarities in the structures of the American government and the American Episcopal Church.

Congregations of the Episcopal Church are groups of Christians gathered in a geographic area called a diocese and led by a bishop. The Diocese of Olympia was formed in 1910 but traces its history as a missionary territory to 1853. It covers the state of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains summit. The diocese's 102 congregations range from small congregations in rural communities to large corporate-size parishes and include a diocesan cathedral, St. Mark's Cathedral on Seattle's Capitol Hill. The Right Reverend Vincent W. Warner has served as diocesan bishop since 1990.

Authority for decisions in the Episcopal Church is shared between lay persons and clergy—deacons, priests, and bishops. Lay delegates are elected every year by each congregation in the diocese. These delegates meet at least annually with the clergy in a convention at which the bishop presides. This convention makes policy and programmatic decisions on behalf of the congregations in the diocese. In turn each diocesan convention elects deputies to a national, or General Convention, which meets every three years. So the Episcopal Church is not a "congregational" church; its authority is not derived from the local level but rather by its participation in the wider Christian fellowship.