Announcements, June 25

TODAY and the WEEK AHEAD

Rev. Miranda will be away at General Convention on Sunday, June 28. Our priest associate the Rev. John Rasmus will preach and celebrate, following our usual Sunday summer order of worship. Father John will also be available if anyone urgently needs to speak with a priest between June 22 and July 4.

Worshipping with Zion City Church, Sunday, June 28: The service is from noon to 2:00pm.  Meet at St. Dunstan’s at 11:30am to carpool, or meet at Zion City Church shortly before noon. They are located at 1317 Applegate Road in Madison. This is just south of the Beltline, off of Fish Hatchery Road. Share song, prayer, and friendship with these brothers and sisters in Christ!

Grace Shelter Dinner, Sunday June 28, 7pm: Every fourth Sunday a loyal group of St. Dunstan’s folk provides dinner for residents at the Grace Church shelter, and breakfast the next morning. See the signup sheet in the Gathering Area to help out.

St. Dunstan’s is recruiting a basketball team (or two) for Hoops for Housing! Members, friends, and family – all welcome, and players can be of all ages and skills. Each team will have 4 – 6 members, and is asked to raise at least $100 through pledges and donations for Briarpatch Youth Services. Hoops for Housing will take place on Saturday, August 8. It is a friendly community basketball tournament, sponsored by St. Dunstan’s, to raise funds for Briarpatch, which serves homeless youth in the Madison area. Team pledge envelopes are available in the Gathering Area; sign up & start gathering a team! Questions? Talk with Rev. Miranda.

Books Needed for Little Library! With warmer weather many more people are stopping by for a new “read” and we in need of books to supply the library. If you have books to donate, please bring them to St. Dunstan’s and put in the labelled box in the Gathering Area. Thanks!

GENERAL CONVENTION…

Prayers for General Convention: Every three years, the Bishops and elected Deputies – both clergy and laypeople – of the Episcopal Church gather to consider issues and new directions in the life of the church, and through democratic process, to make decisions and set directions and priorities. This year we will also be electing a new Presiding Bishop, who is the public face of our denomination and helps run the national church office. Rev. Miranda is one of the elected clergy deputies from our diocese who will be attending General Convention, which takes place in Salt Lake City from June 23 through July 3. Please pray for the Convention, for all bishops and deputies, for the Presiding Bishop candidates, and for the mission of our church.

Stir Up the Spirit – Celebremos! is the theme of this year’s Triennial of the women of the Episcopal Church – (the ECW). Three hundred thirty women will be gathering from 85 Dioceses in Salt Lake City, June 25th-July 1st. They will be meeting in conjunction with the General Convention, sharing worship, exhibit hall and space with the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. Their program includes keynotes, workshops, and reports, business, a 5K run, a Distinguished Women Luncheon and the celebration of 125 years of United Thank Offering. If you want to see what they are doing, go to ecwnational.org. Thanks to Connie Ott for her faithful service in the ECW both locally and nationally!

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

Birthdays and Anniversaries will be honored next Sunday, July 5, as is our custom on the first Sunday of every month. Come forward after the Announcements to receive a blessing and the community’s prayers.

Healing Prayer, Sunday, July 5: Next Sunday one of our ministers will offer healing prayers for those who wish to receive prayers for themselves or on behalf of others.

MOM Special Offering, Sunday, July 5: Next Sunday, half the cash in our offering plate and any designated checks will be given to Middleton Outreach Ministry’s food pantry. Groceries are welcome gifts, too. Here are the current 10 most-needed items at the pantry: sugar, cooking oil, cereal, meals-in-a-box, jelly, toothpaste, toilet paper, paper towels, diapers (sizes 4, 5, and 6), and laundry detergent. MOM is always in need of quality bedding items such as comforters, sheets, blankets and towels, too. Thank you for all your support!

Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, July 8, 7:15-9pm: Julian’s era was one of turmoil and crisis. Contemporary reports indicate that at least half the population of Norwich died from the Plague. Meanwhile, disease killed the cattle and harvests failed. In the larger world beyond Norfolk, the Hundred Years War between England and France raged on, and the Great Schism split the Church in 1377 with one pope in France and the other in Rome. Does this chaos sound familiar? In the midst of all of this, Julian came to believe unshakably that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

Post-General Convention Information Session, Wednesday, July 15, 6:30pm at St. Dunstan’s: Come and learn about the actions and decisions of the General Convention.

Men’s Book Club, Saturday, July 18, 10am at St. Dunstan’s: “Masters and Commanders: How Four Titans Won the War in the West, 1941-1945” by Andrew Roberts. This is an epic joint biography of four titanic figures – a President, a Prime Minister, and two Generals, who shaped the grand strategy of the Allies during World War II. Great read. Have fun!

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES…

Summer Evening Worship, Thursdays at 5:30pm: Our Thursday evening “Sandbox Worship” will take place outdoors whenever the weather permits. Come at 5:30pm for a shared meal (provided), simple evening worship, and then hanging out around a fire for conversation and s’mores. “Summer Sandbox” will begin on June 18. All ages are welcome.

Between Church, July 2015: Beginning July 5, you’re invited to simple outdoor worship between our two regular services. “Between Church” will meet from 9:15 to 9:45am, every Sunday in July – and maybe August too. We’ll gather at the stone altar to sing, discuss a short piece of Scripture, share blessings and concerns in prayer, and sing some more. Come as an enrichment to regular Sunday worship, or just enjoy this simple service as your summer worship.

Sermon, June 21

This sermon is heavily indebted to a baccalaureate sermon preached by the Rev’d Canon Sam Wells, which you may read in full here. If you find inspiration herein for your own preaching or writing, please credit Canon Wells! 

The story of David and Goliath is a Sunday school classic.  And for obvious reasons: it’s a great story! An unarmed shepherd boy takes on a warrior-giant, in the name of God… and wins. If we had to say what the take-away is, we’d probably say something like this: if you trust in God, it doesn’t matter what’s stacked against you. Have faith and do what needs to be done.

But there’s an assumption there – an assumption that we are all Davids. Samuel Wells, an Anglican priest who was Dean of Duke Chapel during my year at Duke, preached an outstanding sermon on this story at a baccalaureate service in May of 2010. I’m going to share the gist of it with you today. I hope it’s something you need to hear. I know that, on the threshold of the emotional, mental, and physical demands of serving as a deputy to our church’s General Convention next week, I very much need to hear it.

Sam Wells starts with that point I just raised: we tend to identify with David.  America is a nation of underdogs.  Our popular culture is full of skinny little guys somehow triumphing over the huge, aggressive quarterback type, literally or metaphorically.  We love it when a small liberal arts college makes it to the Final Four.  We love movies where the small-town lawyer wins out over the huge polluting corporation.

Wells writes,  “In movies, athletics, business and politics,  we all feel the pull of that righteous cultural conviction: Stand up for the little guy.” Then he reminds his audience that, in fact, the school they are graduating from … is Duke. The Yankees of collegiate basketball. Hardly an underdog by any standard.  And he reminds them, too, that those movies where the plucky little guy – or girl  – triumphs over the huge, faceless corporation are made by huge, faceless corporations, who know exactly what we like.

Wells writes,  “We want our movies to be about David, but we spend our lives trying desperately… to be Goliath.”  We admire David’s resourcefulness and faith, but we spend our lives and resources and energies stockpiling what makes us feel strong and safe: SUVs, alarm systems, advanced degrees, 401ks… all the apparatus of a secure middle-class existence. If we were honest with ourselves, are there moments when we feel a little like David in Saul’s armor, so weighted down that we can hardly move?

Those Duke graduates Wells was addressing – they’d just spent four years, lots of time and effort, and a staggering amount of their parents’ money to acquire a degree from Duke.  Why? Because it gives you a chance to become Goliath. It gives you strength. Acclaim. Respect.  All the things Goliath had…  and David didn’t.

But we love David, in this story – cute, plucky, teenage David, whose call to kingship is still a secret between himself and Samuel. It’s hard to say whether he has more faith in God or in himself, but either way, he’s an appealing character here, even in his slightly obnoxious cockiness. But what happens next? Where does the story go from here, as it unspools in the chapters and weeks ahead?

David defeats Goliath. The people swing behind David and support him. Saul, increasingly unhinged, loses the people’s confidence. There’s a bitterly-fought civil war between Saul’s people and David’s – the lectionary skips that! Eventually, sure enough, David becomes king.  And… power does to David what power tends to do to people.

David becomes Goliath. He becomes a bully. He becomes a taker. He becomes a cynical manipulator, a merciless powerbroker.  He becomes a man whose own power is everything to him. David becomes Goliath. 

Wells asks the graduates to reflect, as they stand on the cusp of a new life, on whether that’s the direction they want to go,  or whether they want to chart a different course. Most of us don’t stand at such a turning point, this particular Sunday in June 2015. But it’s never a bad time to ask ourselves what we trust. What we rely on. Where we turn,  when we feel in need of strength, of power.

Wells calls our attention to those five stones, the five smooth stones that David gathered from the riverbed for his sling, his only weapon. He uses those stones to count off the sources of David’s power. Listen.

Here’s the first stone, the first source of David’s power: He trusts the value of ordinary days and ordinary work. He has spent his young life, at this point, keeping the sheep and running errands for his father and brothers. Wells writes,  “Some parts of every life, and every part of some lives, are unrewarding, unregarded and unattractive.” We all spend some hours of our days and some years of our lives doing stuff that doesn’t feel important or meaningful – or maybe it feels important to us, but nobody else seems to think so. Stuff like caring for young children. Being unemployed or working a humble job. Tending to your own health or that of a family member.  Taking care of home, garden, pets, all those tasks that become undone again the moment you wake up in the morning.  David is proud of how those years have shaped him. He knows that mundane and humble work has been training for what’s ahead. It’s grounded and strengthened him, and made him who he is.  That’s the first source of his power: his confidence that his life has prepared him for this moment, that ordinary days and humble work have blessed him.

Do you find power there?

Here’s the second stone – in Sam Wells’ words, David has made friends with the outdoor world. He’s not a technology guy.  Skip the armor and the sword, which where the ICBMs of his era. David knows about sheep, and lions. He knows about riverbeds, smooth stones, the trajectories of projectiles. He’s developed some skills, some competence and confidence that you’ll never get in job training, in a lab or an office. Wells writes,  “If you want to be like David, ask yourself,  ‘When was the last time I felt the joy of nature and sharpened my wily wits by spending some time in the fields, in the streams, in the mountains?’… David learns from his outdoor life the wisdom of the owl, the cunning of the fox, the agility of the wildcat, the sharp eye of the eagle. That’s where he gets his power.”

Do you find power there?

Here’s the third stone. David knows himself. Saul tries to make David into a mini-me: here, put on my armor; here, wear my helm; here, strap on my sword. None of it fits, and wearing it makes David unable to use the skills he has. David knows he’s not going to win by being Saul, nor by being Goliath. He tells Saul, You do you, man. But it’s not my thing.  Wells asks,  “If you’re feeling burdened and heavy laden right now, is it because you’re wearing someone else’s armor? Are you trying to be someone you’re not and never will be? … Don’t be a second-rate version of someone else. Strive to be what only you can be.” David knows his strengths, and he knows his weaknesses. He knows the only way he’ll prevail here is by being who he is and doing what he does.

Do you find power there?

Here’s the fourth stone.  David knows God.  Wells writes, “David knows Goliath is not God. Goliath is the reality in front of him right now, and that reality is big, ugly and intimidating. But David knows what’s in front of him isn’t ultimate reality.”

Wells makes a provocative and powerful suggestion here: he says maybe a big reason that Christianity has lost so much cultural favor in this country is that Christians turned Jesus into Goliath. Into a “My way or the highway” bully, forceful and arrogant. But Jesus isn’t Goliath. God isn’t Goliath.  And Goliath isn’t God. David knows that. He knows that divine power, holy power, looks and sounds and acts differently than human power.  He knows that the deep order of the universe, the heart of reality,  the bend of the great arc, is not about history’s Goliaths. It’s about the slow and subtle and mysterious workings of a different kind of power, a paradoxical strength. David finds power in his knowledge that Goliath’s power, as overwhelming as it seems,  is limited.  God’s power is different. God’s power is more.

Do you find power there?

Finally… here’s the fifth stone.  The fifth source of David’s power… is simply that he recognizes that power is the issue here.  He sees Goliath’s power, and he knows the sources of his own power –  the graces of an ordinary life; the gifts of the natural world;

knowledge of self and knowledge of God. He knows he needs to muster those resources to walk safely through this challenge. To prevail, for himself and for his people and for his God.  As David stands over the giant’s corpse,  we see that the power in this story lay, in Wells’ words,  “not in Goliath’s bravado but in David’s skill; not in Goliath’s muscle but in David’s faith; not in Goliath’s plausibility but in David’s truth; not in Goliath’s armor but in David’s wisdom.”

Can you find power in daily living, in ordinary tasks? Can you find power in the generous gifts of the natural world?  Can you find power in knowing yourself deeply and truly? Can you find power in knowing that God’s love and purposes arch boldly over our human moments of struggle or perplexity?  Can you find power in simply taking a step back to name the power dynamics of the situation in which you find yourself – the situation of a moment or a year or a lifetime – facing honestly the powers at work around and sometimes against you, and reminding yourself that you, too, have power? The kind of power that can’t be taken from you – the kind that you can only lose by forgetting you have it.

Looking forward into David’s life and kingship,  Wells writes, “David lost sight of [this kind of] power, later on.  Most of us do, for a season.  And when we lose sight of that power,  that’s precisely the moment when we’re drawn to Goliath. In the end Goliath’s problem is not that he’s too strong but that he’s too weak. The more we try to become Goliath, the weaker we become. It shows we’ve lost sight of where true power lies.”

Here’s what I ask of you, friends, as I prepare to set out for General Convention. Where there will be the joy of gathering as a church from all corners of our nation, and beyond; of spending time with old friends and making new ones; of being part of discerning and shaping our denomination’s future.  Where there will also be the physical struggle of long, long days of meetings and legislative sessions and intense conversations; the mental struggle of organizing time, forming opinions, and keeping up with it all; the emotional struggle of staying grounded in my own convictions, experience, and faith, and staying open to new ideas and learnings, when conversations get heated and visions clash.

I ask that you pray, for me, for our bishop Steven, for the other deputies from this diocese and for all the bishops, deputies, and others attending our Convention, that we may resist the power of Goliath – the power of force, might, and arrogance, the sneering power that belittles the opponent – and put our trust instead in the true sources of holy power, in David’s five smooth stones.

And I pray for you, friends, that in whatever ordeals, strains, struggles or decisions you face, you, too, may trust deeply that the power you need is already at hand; and may find that to be abundantly true.  Amen.

 

Announcements, June 18

SUNDAY and the WEEK AHEAD

The Poetry of Mary Oliver, Sunday, June 21, 9am: Dan Hanson will share some of the poetry of contemporary poet Mary Oliver.  All are welcome!

Rector’s Discretionary Fund Offering, Sunday, June 21: Half the cash in our collection plate, and any designated checks, will go towards the Rector’s Discretionary Fund on every third Sunday. This fund is a way to quietly help people with direct financial needs, in the parish and the wider community. Please give generously.

Liturgy & Music Committee Open Meeting, Sunday, June 21, 12pm: At this meeting we will check in with how our regular liturgical ministries and weekly liturgies are going, then spend some time on ideas and hopes for the seasons ahead. All interested folk are welcome to attend and participate.

Evening Eucharist, Sunday, June 21, 6pm: Join us for a simple service before the week begins.

St. Dunstan’s is recruiting a basketball team (or two) for Hoops for Housing! Members, friends, and family – all welcome, and players can be of all ages and skills. Each team will have 4 – 6 members, and is asked to raise at least $100 through pledges and donations for Briarpatch Youth Services. Hoops for Housing will take place on Saturday, August 8. It is a friendly community basketball tournament, sponsored by St. Dunstan’s, to raise funds for Briarpatch, which serves homeless youth in the Madison area. Team pledge envelopes are available in the Gathering Area; sign up & start gathering a team! Questions? Talk with Rev. Miranda.

Ladies Night Out, Friday, June 26, 6pm: Join our monthly get-together as we dine at area restaurants and enjoy good conversation among women of all ages from St. Dunstan’s. This month we will meet at the Dhaba Indian Restaurant at 8333 Greenway Blvd. in Madison.

GENERAL CONVENTION…

Prayers for General Convention: Every three years, the Bishops and elected Deputies – both clergy and laypeople – of the Episcopal Church gather to consider issues and new directions in the life of the church, and through democratic process, to make decisions and set directions and priorities. This year we will also be electing a new Presiding Bishop, who is the public face of our denomination and helps run the national church office. Rev. Miranda is one of the elected clergy deputies from our diocese who will be attending General Convention, which takes place in Salt Lake City from June 23 through July 3. Please pray for the Convention, for all bishops and deputies, for the Presiding Bishop candidates, and for the mission of our church.

Stir Up the Spirit – Celebremos! is the theme of this year’s Triennial of the women of the Episcopal Church – (the ECW). Three hundred thirty women will be gathering from 85 Dioceses in Salt Lake City, June 25th-July 1st. They will be meeting in conjunction with the General Convention, sharing worship, exhibit hall and space with the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. Their program includes keynotes, workshops, and reports, business, a 5K run, a Distinguished Women Luncheon and the celebration of 125 years of United Thank Offering. If you want to see what they are doing, go to ecwnational.org. Thanks to Connie Ott for her faithful service in the ECW both locally and nationally!

OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE…

Calling an “Oikos Team” to Help St. Dunstan’s Welcome Newcomers: The people of St. Dunstan’s talk a lot about feeling that St. Dunstan’s is their “church home,” with a strong and welcoming community. The word “oikos”, in the Greek New Testament, is the word for “household” – as in, “you are now members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). Would you like to help visitors and newcomers feel a sense of welcome and belonging in this “oikos,” this household of God? As a member of the Oikos Team, you’ll be matched with a person or household new to the church, to help them connect and get to know our parish. We’re not trying to manufacture friendship, but to be intentional about planting the seeds of community. You’d only be “matched” with one person or family at a time, and it won’t be a major time commitment. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, talk with Rev. Miranda at  238-2781. We hope to have all kinds of folks and families on our Oikos team.

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

Worshipping with Zion City Church, Sunday, June 28: The service is from noon to 2:00pm.  Meet at St. Dunstan’s at 11:30am to carpool, or meet at Zion City Church shortly before noon. They are located at 1317 Applegate Road in Madison. This is just south of the Beltline, off of Fish Hatchery Road. Share song, prayer, and friendship with these brothers and sisters in Christ!

Grace Shelter Dinner, Sunday June 28, 7pm: Every fourth Sunday a loyal group of St. Dunstan’s folk provides dinner for residents at the Grace Church shelter, and breakfast the next morning. See the signup sheet in the Gathering Area to help out.

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES…

Summer Evening Worship, Thursdays at 5:30pm: Our Thursday evening “Sandbox Worship” will take place outdoors whenever the weather permits. Come at 5:30pm for a shared meal (provided), simple evening worship, and then hanging out around a fire for conversation and s’mores. “Summer Sandbox” will begin on June 18. All ages are welcome.

Between Church, July 2015: Beginning July 5, you’re invited to simple outdoor worship between our two regular services. “Between Church” will meet from 9:15 to 9:45am, every Sunday in July – and maybe August too. We’ll gather at the stone altar to sing, discuss a short piece of Scripture, share blessings and concerns in prayer, and sing some more. Come as an enrichment to regular Sunday worship, or just enjoy this simple service as your summer worship.

Women’s Mini Week 2015: Mini Week will be August 13 to August 16, at Camp Lakotah in Wautoma, Wisconsin. This year’s theme is “Surprised by Joy!” For registration materials and to answer questions, visit the website: www.womensminiweek.org.

This year’s Parish Talent Show will be Sunday, October 25! What will you share? A poem, a song, a dramatic monologue, a dance? A sample of art, craft, tinkering, building, study or science? Group acts are encouraged. Chat with your friends this summer and begin to plan and practice!

 

Sermon, June 14

The Sayers essay quoted below is published with a number of her other essays in the compilation “Letters to a Diminished Church,” W Publishing Group, 2004. The wording has been altered slightly in places to make it easier for oral presentation to an American audience. 

If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Cor 5:17-21

Here’s the same text rendered in casual American English, by Eugene Peterson in The Message, a Bible paraphrase:

“God has given us the task of telling everyone what God is doing. We are Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; God is already friends with you.”

This portion of Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth reminds me of a quotation from Stanley Hauerwas, scholar, teacher, iconoclast, and sharp-tongued pacifist.  It’s from a talk he gave in 2011 and it’s one of a number of snippets of text posted around my workspace in my office, so that when my eye – and mind – wander from a task, they may fall on something that reminds me of my true work. Here’s the line from Hauerwas: “The church is a prophetic community necessary for the world to know that God refuses to abandon us. We are God’s hope for the world, and you are a servant of that hope.”

The church is a prophetic community necessary for the world to know that God refuses to abandon us. We are God’s hope for the world, and you are a servant of that hope. God has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us. We are ambassadors for Christ.

It is quite clear, in the Scriptures, liturgies, and teaching of the church, that we are called, as followers of Christ, to proclamation. To speaking out God’s good news. To telling other people about the grace and hope and life we have received, by turning to God and living a life of faith. To preaching, in word and action, our countercultural conviction that there is love for us when we feel least lovable, that there is hope for us when we feel most hopeless, that there is a better way for us, a new path, even when we feel the least in control of our lives -and also even when we feel the most in control.

There are so many ways to put words to that Good News – and not only words, but actions and symbols and songs. There are many, many ways to proclaim the Good News. But we are called – asked – ordered – to proclaim it. By Paul: Be ambassadors for Christ. By Jesus: Be my witnesses, to the ends of the earth. By our Book of Common Prayer, right there in our baptismal covenant: Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ? By the words of the prayer we say together after the Eucharist: “Now send us forth, a people forgiven, healed, renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world.”

Anybody squirming yet? … This call to proclamation does not always sit comfortably with us Episcopalians. We tend to be ill-at-ease with evangelism – or as many of us prefer to call it, The E-Word. We don’t care for the idea of being all up in other people’s faces about Jesus or God. Now, there are some substantive reasons for that. For one thing, we are an open-minded faith that believes in many paths to God, and we don’t assume our neighbors are doomed to Hell if they happen to be Presbyterian or Catholic or Jewish.

For another thing, we are an incarnational faith, that sees God’s presence in the world around us, as I mentioned last week. So we don’t believe that an act of service  or a deep conversation or an hour spent on your knees in the garden has to have Jesus stamped all over it in red ink to be holy.

But let’s be frank – a big part of our reluctance to proclaim the Gospel is because it’s hard to be “out” as a Christian in our workplaces and neighborhoods, among our acquaintances and even our friends and family. As my friend Rob the strategic marketing guy says, Christianity has a huge brand problem. People think a lot of awful things about Christians. Christians are superstitious, sanctimonious, anti-science, incapable of critical thought, moralizing, punitive, bossy, judgmental, hypocritical, and really just not the kind of people that you’d want to chat with over a coffee or a beer.

One of the questions I’ve been asking folks in recent weeks is, Have you ever talked about St. Dunstan’s to someone who doesn’t attend? Your answers have followed two strong themes. You talk about your church to people, who seem like they might need what it could offer: a sense of community, unconditional love, a safe space to question, heal, seek and grow. And you talk about your church to people who wonder out loud, What the heck is up with those Christians, anyway? You gather your courage and you say, We’re not all like that. And you talk about belonging to a faith community that’s inclusive and welcoming and smart and curious.

I love that. I love that people are speaking up for St. Dunstan’s, speaking up about the Episcopal Christian way, in those moments. AND… I know it’s hard. I know there are probably lots of moments when you back away from those conversations. Because you’re not sure how it will be received, or because you just don’t have the energy or the words right now. I certainly do. I have a clergy friend who ALWAYS wears his clergy collar when he’s traveling, and welcomes the opportunities to start conversations about faith with strangers on an airplane or a bus. I cannot imagine doing that. Let’s just put in our earbuds and agree not to make eye contact. It’s tough to put yourself out there – to out yourself as a Christian – when our brand image is so bad, and when the starting point has to be, But not THAT kind of Christian. 

That problem is not new, though it’s taken different forms over the decades and centuries. One of the ways that we here at St. Dunstan’s are working towards knowing our own tradition more deeply is by remembering the lives and work of some of the saints who have gone before us, and their witness to the faith, in whatever form it took. Who here knows the name Lord Peter Wimsey? Lord Peter is not a saint, as he would be the first to admit. He is a fictional detective, and the best-known creation of the British writer Dorothy Leigh Sayers, who lived from 1893 to 1957. Sayers is not on our calendar of saints for some reason, though several of her friends and contemporaries are – Evelyn Underhill, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton. Her birthday was June 13, so I’m taking the liberty of claiming and commemorating her, this Sunday.

Sayers’ mystery novels are what most people know about her, if they know anything, and they’re certainly how I came to know and love her. But she was much more than a novelist. She wrote broadly on politics, feminism, and faith. She translated Dante, and wrote a fantastic, funny, engaging play about the life of Jesus; one of these years we’ll stage it here! Her work on human creativity and the doctrine of the Trinity is well-regarded and delightful.

We tend to carry a vague idea that it was easier to be Christian back in the first half of the 20th century, because everyone was Christian then, right? But that isn’t necessarily true – and it certainly wasn’t true in the intellectual, academic, and activist circles of Sayers’ social world, which may have had a lot in common with the intellectual, academic, and activist circles of our lives in contemporary Madison, Wisconsin. She found, as we often do, that the Christianity most people think they’re avoiding isn’t the Christianity that we claim and strive to follow.

In an essay called “The Dogma Is the Drama,” Sayers addresses exactly this issue, and tries to lay out the true heart of Christianity, the real good news, as she understands it, in the face of public views of Christianity as dull, conventional and rather repressive.

As our commemoration of the life, work, and witness of Dorothy Leigh Sayers today, and as encouragement for the socially-risky business of proclaiming our faith, let me read to you a portion of Sayers’ essay, “The Dogma Is the Drama.”

“It would not perhaps be altogether surprising if, in this nominally Christian country where the Creeds are daily recited, there were a number of people who knew all about Christian doctrine and disliked it. It is more startling to discover how many people there are who heartily dislike and despise Christianity without having the faintest notion what it is. If you tell them, they cannot believe you. I do not mean that they cannot believe the doctrine; that would be understandable enough, since it takes some believing. I mean that they simply cannot believe that anything so interesting, so exciting, and so dramatic can be the orthodox creed of the Church….”

Sayers then proceeds to offer up a short “examination paper,” in question-and-answer format, laying out what the general public apparently believes about Christianity:

“Q: What does the Church think of God the Father? A: He is omnipotent and holy. He created the world and imposed up on humanity conditions impossible to fulfill; he is very angry if these are not carried out. He sometimes interferes by means of arbitrary judgments and miracles, distributed with a good deal of favoritism. He likes to be flattered and is always ready to pounce on anybody who trips up over a bit of difficulty in the Law, or is just having a bit of fun. He is rather like a dictator, only larger and more arbitrary.

“Q: What does the Church think of God the Son? A: He is in some way to be identified with Jesus of Nazareth. It was not his fault the world was made like this, and unlike God the Father, he is friendly to humanity and did his best to reconcile humans to God. He has a good deal of influence with God, and if you want anything done, it is best to apply to him.

“Q: What does the Church think of God the Holy Spirit? A: I don’t know exactly. He was never seen or heard of until Pentecost. There is a sin against him that damns you forever, but nobody knows what it is.

“Q: What was Jesus Christ like in real life? A: He was meek and mild and preached a simple religion of love and pacifism. He had no sense of humor. Anything in the Bible that suggests another side to his character must be an addition. If we try to live like him, God the Father will let us off being damned hereafter and only have us tortured in this life instead.

“Q: What is meant by the Atonement? A: God wanted to damn everybody, but his vindictive sadism was satisfied by the crucifixion of his own Son, who was quite innocent, and therefore, a particularly attractive victim. He now only damns people who don’t follow Christ or never heard of him.

“Q: What does the Church think of sex?  A: God made it necessary to the machinery of the world, and tolerates it, provided that the people involved a) are married, and b) don’t enjoy it.

“Q: What is Faith? A: Resolutely shutting your eyes to scientific fact.

“Q: What is the human intellect? A: A barrier to faith.

“Q: What are the seven Christian virtues? A: Respectability, childishness, mental timidity, dullness, sentimentality, judgmentalism, and depression of spirits.

“Q: Wilt thou be baptized into this faith? A: No thank you!”

Sayers concludes,

“I cannot help feeling that as a statement of Christian orthodoxy, these replies are inadequate… But I also cannot help feeling that they do fairly accurately represent what many people take Christian orthodoxy to be…. Somehow or other, and with the best intentions, we have shown the world the typical Christian in the likeness of a crashing and rather ill-natured bore – and this in the name of One who assuredly never bored a soul, in those thirty-three years during which he passed through the world like a flame….  Let us, in heaven’s name, drag out the divine drama [of Jesus’ true life and teaching] from under the dreadful accumulation of slipshod thinking and trashy sentiment heaped upon it… We do Christ singularly little honor by watering down his personality till it could not offend a fly…

“It is the dogma, [the Gospel itself,] that is the drama – not beautiful phrases nor comforting sentiments nor vague aspirations to loving-kindness and uplift, nor the promise of something nice after death – but the terrifying assertion that the same God who made the world, lived in the world, and passed through the grave and gate of death. Show that to the non-believers, and they may not believe it; but at least they may realize that here is something that a person might be glad to believe.”

Let us pray.

Almighty God, you spoke the universe into being and made us to hear and tell the story of your love. Give us the courage, insight, humor, and passion that we might, like your servant Dorothy, proclaim that story still, in faithful witness to our hope in you; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit is glorified in the telling. Amen.

Thanks to the good folks at Key Hall for posting this wonderful prayer, which fits our celebration of the life and witness of Dorothy Sayers so well! 

Announcements, June 11

Sunday School, Sunday, June 14, 10am: This Sunday our 3-6 year old class will be learning about the apostle Paul and his journeys, while our 7-11 year old class will explore the calling of David the shepherd boy to be King of Israel. We’ll also thank and celebrate our Sunday school teachers and helpers!

St. Dunstan’s is recruiting a basketball team (or two) for Hoops for Housing! Members, friends, and family – all welcome, and players can be of all ages and skills. Each team will have 4 – 6 members, and is asked to raise at least $100 through pledges and donations for Briarpatch Youth Services. Hoops for Housing will take place on Saturday, August 8. It is a friendly community basketball tournament, sponsored by St. Dunstan’s, to raise funds for Briarpatch, which serves homeless youth in the Madison area. Team pledge envelopes are available in the Gathering Area; sign up & start gathering a team! Questions? Talk with Rev. Miranda.

Church, Faith & Life Conversation, 12 – 1pm: When are you most conscious of yourself as a person of faith, in your daily life? Does your faith support you in hard times? Why do you belong to a church – in five words or less? Come share open-hearted conversation about these and similar questions, with Rev. Miranda and others from the St. Dunstan’s community. This is the final opportunity to participate in a focus group (a loosely-structured, informal group interview) as part of Rev. Miranda’s Missional Leadership Cohort inquiry process. Anyone who’d like to take part is welcome.

Younger Adults Meet-up at the Vintage, 7pm: The younger adults of St. Dunstan’s are invited to join us for conversation and the beverage of your choice, at the Vintage Brewpub on South Whitney Way. Friends and partners welcome too.

Saint Dunstan T-Shirts, $5.00 – BYOS: Bring in a plain T-shirt (at least 60% cotton) that fits you, and the logo “Saint Dunstan: Annoying the Devil since 943” will be applied (in fuzzy blue iron-on vinyl) for $5. Funds raised will go towards purchasing new tubs for our Backpack Snack Pack ministry at Falk Elementary School. Talk to Rev. Miranda with questions. Checks can be placed in the offering plate with “T-shirt” on the memo line.

OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE…

Vacation Bible School Team Signup: This year’s Vacation Bible School will run from Sunday, August 2, through Thursday, August 6, from 5:30 – 7:30pm. We could use Kitchen Helpers, people to watch over the classrooms and groups, a Librarian, and several other roles — both on-site and ahead-of-time. Please see our Sign-Up in the Gathering Area, or talk with Rev. Miranda to learn more.

Calling an “Oikos Team” to Help St. Dunstan’s Welcome Newcomers: The people of St. Dunstan’s talk a lot about feeling that St. Dunstan’s is their “church home,” with a strong and welcoming community. The word “oikos”, in the Greek New Testament, is the word for “household” – as in, “you are now members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). Would you like to help visitors and newcomers feel a sense of welcome and belonging in this “oikos,” this household of God? As a member of the Oikos Team, you’ll be matched with a person or household new to the church, to help them connect and get to know our parish. We’re not trying to manufacture friendship, but to be intentional about planting the seeds of community. You’d only be “matched” with one person or family at a time, and it won’t be a major time commitment. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, talk with Rev. Miranda at  238-2781. We hope to have all kinds of folks and families on our Oikos team.

Prayers for General Convention: Every three years, the Bishops and elected Deputies – both clergy and laypeople – of the Episcopal Church gather to consider issues and new directions in the life of the church, and through democratic process, to make decisions and set directions and priorities. This year we will also be electing a new Presiding Bishop, who is the public face of our denomination and helps run the national church office. Rev. Miranda is one of the elected clergy deputies from our diocese who will be attending General Convention, which takes place in Salt Lake City from June 23 through July 3. Please pray for the Convention, for all bishops and deputies, for the Presiding Bishop candidates, and for the mission of our church.

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

Game Night, Friday, June 19, 6pm: Join us for an evening of games for all ages. Friends, partners, kids – all are welcome. Bring a snack to share, or come as you are!

Liturgy & Music Committee Open Meeting, Sunday, June 21, 12pm: At this meeting we will check in with how our regular liturgical ministries and weekly liturgies are going, then spend some time on ideas and hopes for the seasons ahead. All interested folk are welcome to attend and participate.

Evening Eucharist, Sunday, June 21, 6pm: Join us for a simple service before the week begins.

Worshipping with Zion City Church, Sunday, June 28: The service is from noon to 2:00pm.  Meet at St. Dunstan’s at 11:30am to carpool, or meet at Zion City Church shortly before noon. They are located at 1317 Applegate Road in Madison. This is just south of the Beltline, off of Fish Hatchery Road. Share song, prayer, and friendship with these brothers and sisters in Christ!

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES…

Summer Evening Worship, Thursdays at 5:30pm: Our Thursday evening “Sandbox Worship” will take place outdoors whenever the weather permits. Come at 5:30pm for a shared meal (provided), simple evening worship, and then hanging out around a fire for conversation and s’mores. “Summer Sandbox” will begin on June 18. All ages are welcome.

Between Church, July 2015: Beginning July 5, you’re invited to simple outdoor worship between our two regular services. “Between Church” will meet from 9:15 to 9:45am, every Sunday in July – and maybe August too. We’ll gather at the stone altar to sing, discuss a short piece of Scripture, share blessings and concerns in prayer, and sing some more. Come as an enrichment to regular Sunday worship, or just enjoy this simple service as your summer worship.

Vacation Bible School, August 2 – 6, 5:30 – 7:30pm (with a 7pm pickup option for younger kids): We had a lot of fun with Vacation Bible School last summer, and plan to do the same this year! Our theme will be “Message Received: Hearing God’s Call.” Using drama, art, and games, we’ll explore the stories of five people called by God, from the Old and New Testaments, and how we hear God’s call today. Dinner is included.

 

Sermon, June 7

The Scripture lessons for this Sunday may be read here. 

The people Israel had been living in the Promised Land for many generations. Sometimes following God’s ways, sometimes not so much. Often at war, sometimes conquered. Not particularly powerful nor particularly wealthy, as nations go.

This story took place about three thousand years ago, a little over a thousand years before the birth of Jesus. The prophet Samuel had been ruling the people Israel for several decades. But he was growing old, and his sons were not of his caliber. So the leaders of the people came to him and said, Samuel, appoint a king for us. All the other nations around us have kings to rule and govern them. Courageous kings, at the head of armies; noble kings, dispensing justice from thrones; virile kings, surrounded by their lovely wives. We want what everybody else has. We want a king too.

Samuel didn’t take it well; but then God told him, “Samuel, cheer up! They’re not rejecting YOU. They’re rejecting ME. You, and the prophets and judges who went before you, have ruled in My name and served My will. Now my people want a human leader. So be it. Give them a king. But warn them. Show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

So that’s what Samuel did. He said, “This is what your king will do, because this is what all kings do. He will take your sons to serve him as guards and warriors. He will use the wealth of the country to build up an army for the wars he will wage. He will take your daughters to work in his palace – as perfumers and cooks and bakers – if you’re lucky. He will seize the best of your land, your fields and vineyards and orchards, and give them away as gifts to his courtiers, his favorites. And of the land he leaves you, he will take one-tenth of the produce you grow, and one-tenth of the sheep and goats of your flocks, to feed his army and fill the table for his feasts. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, to work for HIM. And you will be no better than slaves  to his power, ambition, and greed. And on the day when you finally see this clearly, you will cry out to God because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but God will not answer you that day.”

But the people did not listen. They said, “No! We are determined to have a king, so that we may be like other nations, with a king to govern us and fight our battles.” And so Samuel anointed the warrior Saul, whom God chose to be the first King of Israel.

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings – really all one long chronicle – are written with great nuance and skill. I love it when the summer of Year B rolls around and we begin to walk through this amazing piece of ancient literature once again. Like all great literature, these Biblical books tell a particular story that is also a universal human story, an always-and-everywhere story. And the always-and-everywhere element of this chapter, of Israel’s desire and Samuel’s warning, is the very human tendency to want what we want, even when people warn us of the cost.

We want what we want, even when we know the cost. We know about the destruction of our planet, but we still drive our cars and run our computers and, God help us, buy bottled water. We know about slave labor and child labor, but we still want our iPhones and our chocolate. We know about the underpaid, underprotected factory workers, but we still want cheap clothes and goods. We know about residential segregation, and the ways it perpetuates economic and racial stratification, but we still want to live around people who look like us, who’ll take care of their yards and drive appropriate cars, and we very much want to send our kids to a “nice” school. We know the costs. But we want. So we forget.

This is what my Facebook feed feels like sometimes:  Yes, yes, slaves… Yes, yes, pesticides… Yes, yes, racism… Ooh! Cute cat video!…  We want. We want our consumer goods, our comfortable lifestyle – nothing ostentatious, just, you know, nice – we want the best of everything for our children, of course – maybe we just want to be able to get through the day without feeling too terrible about ourselves. So we look away, we stop our ears, to avoid hearing the prophets who are tallying the costs of the way of the world.

There are many moments in Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, where the way of the world and the way of God are held up against each other. In tension, even at war. Many Christians hold that tension central to their way of being; they live day by day striving to follow God, knowing that puts them at odds with the ways of society, the ways of humanity.

Episcopalians – Anglicans – are not a tradition that tends to draw that line starkly. We were founded, back in the 16th century, as a national church. The religious order and the political and social order were not identical; but there was a LOT of overlap. Remember, the Queen is STILL the official head of the Church of England, our mother church. And we are the inheritors of that mindset in many ways, that mindset of establishment. We’ve never been an established church, in this country, nor even a particularly large church. But we have a history of being the church of the wealthy and the educated. I remember when I was in high school, one of our Social Studies books, for some reason, had a list of all the presidents of the United States with their religious affiliations. And the Episcopalians had the most, by far. It’s less true than it used to be, but for many generations the Episcopal Church was the church of the elites – to the point that upward mobility could mean abandoning the Methodist or Baptist church to “go Episcopalian.” That kind of strong identification with those at the top of the heap hardly encourages a church to point the finger at the injustices, consequences and costs of the status quo.

There are some really good things about Anglican and Episcopalian this-worldlyness. I’m not calling us to become the kind of Christians who view the present and material world with suspicion. One of the hallmarks of the Anglican and Episcopal way is an incarnational and quotidian spirituality – incarnational in that we see God present in this world, not only in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but in many ongoing and lifegiving ways; quotidian, a fancy word for everyday, in that we see the potential for holiness and service to God in ordinary life and even the most humble tasks. I love that aspect of our distinctive Christian way. But maybe we need to draw a cleaner, clearer line between assuming that God is present in this world, and assuming that this world, therefore, is the way God wants it to be.

There is a lot about the way of this world that is sick, and broken, and destructive. In our baptismal rite, we are asked to renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God. Which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God… What images flash before your eyes, if you reflect on that phrase? Waterfowl with oil-soaked wings? Children in refugee camps? So many examples. You’ll have your own list.

Jesus loved the world so much. He saw the potential for holiness and grace in everyday life and ordinary people. And at the same time, he was outspoken about the ways in which the status quo of his time and place corrupted and destroyed God’s creatures. That’s why he got called crazy.

In today’s passage from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ mother and brothers come to find him and bring him home, for his own protection, because everyone is saying that he’s out of his mind. He’s out of his mind because he’s saying that the old holy prophecies of healing and hope for God’s people can still come true. He’s out of his mind because he acts like sin can be healed, forgiven, released, instead of worn as a shabby shameful garment for a lifetime. He’s out of his mind because he says that God’s ultimate desire for humanity is that we should live and grow and flourish, not that we should follow a bunch of nitpicky little rules.

Michael Curry is the bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina. He was my bishop while I was seeking ordination, and he ordained me to the priesthood in 2009. He’s also currently one of the candidates for Presiding Bishop, and he’s one of the best-known preachers in our church. He preached on this Gospel a few years ago, and talked about our calling to follow Jesus and become “crazy Christians.” He said,

We need some Christians who are as crazy as the Lord. Crazy enough to dare to change the world from the nightmare it often is into something close to the dream that God dreams for it…. We need some crazy Christians. Sane, sanitized Christianity is killing us.  That may have worked once upon a time, but it won’t carry the Gospel anymore…. [We need some Christians] crazy enough to believe, as Dr. King often said, that though “the moral arc of the universe is long, it bends toward justice.” …. We need some Christians crazy enough to believe that children don’t have to go to bed hungry; that the world doesn’t have to be the way it often seems to be; that there is a way to lay down our swords and shields, down by the riverside; that as the slaves used to sing, “There’s plenty good room in my Father’s kingdom,” because… we are all equally children of God, and meant to be treated as such.

Bishop Curry’s words remind me of a line from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, which is coming along in next week’s lectionary: “If we have been unreasonable, it is for God; if we have been reasonable, it is for you.” Paul’s talking about holding that space of being just sane enough to get people to listen, and just crazy enough to dare to speak and live God’s radical truth.

Unreasonable for God’s sake. Crazy Christians. It makes a great slogan, and a pretty good sermon. But how do we do it? How do we claim that craziness? How do we find the patience and strength and courage to believe in, and work for, a future in which our simple everyday pleasures – good food, rewarding work, rest, play, time with those we love – are not bound in complicated and far-reaching ways to human or environmental degradation, exploitation, waste or suffering? How do we become strong enough to count the costs, and, sometimes, to re-calibrate our wants? How do we get strong enough to be that kind of crazy?

One thing is certain: we’ve got to do it together. By doing this: coming together for worship, sharing prayer and song, food and conversation, receiving Scripture and reflecting on it together. In the words of Kyle Oliver, a priest and educator who thinks a lot about these questions, “We Episcopalians are a ragtag bunch united primarily by our firm conviction that praying together forms us into the people God is calling us to be.”

Walter Brueggeman, the great Old Testament scholar and writer, has a keen sense of how the ways of the world differ from the ways of God; and he, too, says that it’s the gathered life of the community of faith that makes us able to step back from the first, and step into the second.  (Here’s a summary of the Brueggeman talk I’m citing here.) He talks about inculturation, nurture, formation, discipleship. He says that all our ministries, all the things we do together as a faith community – preaching, liturgy, education, social action, administration, stewardship, ministries of food and fellowship and hospitality – they are all instruments and tools for the nurture of God’s people into that alternative worldview. Into the ways of God, that are often unreasonable or flat-out crazy by the standards of the world.

And I love this: Brueggeman says, of course we’re ambivalent about that. We’re not sure we want to detach from the status quo, to opt out and turn our back on everything normal and taken-for-granted. Do you really want to become that person on Facebook who’s always ranting about bottled water?  We like a lot of the normal stuff. We like malls and Smartphones and exotic vegetables. We’re likely to spend a lot of time trying to straddle the ways of the world and the ways of God, betwixt and between, back and forth, neither one nor the other.

But, says Brueggeman, there’s good news even in our uncertainty, our double-mindedness: “The good news is that our ambivalence as we stand [between worlds], is precisely the [space] for the work of God’s Spirit…. It is in our ambivalence that the Spirit in us can be stirred and we can be opened to new possibilities… Surely one of the crucial tasks of ministry is to name the deep ambiguity that besets us, and to [reframe that ambiguity as a space of] waiting for God’s newness among us. This work is not to put people in crisis. The work is to name the crisis that people are already in… Ministry is for truth telling about the shape we are in. And that truth telling makes us free.”

Over the past few weeks I’ve had the blessing of talking with many of you, through a series of focus groups, about how your church and your faith shape and support your daily life in the world. And a lot of you have said, in one way or another, that belonging to a church, and to this church, is what helps you not to be too overwhelmed or discouraged by the ways of this world. Not to lose heart, to use Paul’s language, when faced with the powers that corrupt and destroy the creatures of God. You’ve said that coming to church helps you reset and release hatred, bitterness, fear.  That it helps you see the big picture, remember that long arc of justice. That it reminds you that you’re not alone; that you’ve got companions in the work, the struggle, the ambivalence. That it simply reminds you that goodness exists – and sometimes that’s enough.

That’s my prayer for this place, this community, this faith-village with its elders and youngsters, its worker-bees, bards and sages. My prayer is that our shared life, in all its aspects, will shape and bless and empower us as followers of Jesus, who, like him, love the world so much; who, like him, see the potential for holiness and grace in everyday life and ordinary people. And who, like him, are empowered to speak and act to challenge and change the ways in which the status quo harms God’s creatures, and name, together, the bold, strange, hopeful, crazy truth that things could be otherwise.

 

Announcements, June 4

Episcopal 101, Sunday, June 7: General Convention & Episcopal Church Governance, 9am: This summer our church holds its triennial gathering, and Rev. Miranda will attend as a deputy from our diocese. Come for an overview of how Episcopal Church governance works, and a whirlwind tour of this year’s General Convention.

 Parish Picnic, Sunday, June 7, 11:30am: Come celebrate summer with food, fellowship, and fun! We’ll have good food and fun activities for all ages, including our Rogation Procession around the grounds, face painting, a photo booth, and more. Please bring a dish to share. Brats and hot dogs (including vegetarian options) and drinks will be provided. The picnic will happen rain or shine. Friends & guests are welcome.

Birthdays and Anniversaries will be honored Sunday, June 7, as is our custom, on the first Sunday of every month. Come forward after the Announcements to receive a blessing and the community’s prayers.

Healing Prayer: Sunday, one of our ministers will offer healing prayers for those who wish to receive prayers for themselves or on behalf of others.

MOM Special Offering: Sunday, half the cash in our offering plate and any designated checks will be given to Middleton Outreach Minister’s food pantry. Groceries are welcome gifts too. Here are the top 10 needed items: sugar, cooking oil, cereal, meals in a box, jelly, toothpaste, toilet paper, paper towels, diapers (sizes 4, 5 and 6), and laundry detergent. MOM is always in need of quality bedding items such as comforters, sheets, blankets and towels too. Thank you for all your support!

Evening Eucharist, 6pm: A simple service before the week begins. All are welcome.

Opportunities to Serve…

Calling an “Oikos Team” to Help Welcome Newcomers: The people of St. Dunstan’s talk a lot about feeling that St. Dunstan’s is their “church home,” with a strong and welcoming community. The word “oikos”, in the Greek New Testament, is the word for “household” – as in, “you are now members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). Would you like to help visitors and newcomers feel a sense of welcome and belonging in this “oikos,” this household of God? As a member of the Oikos Team, you’ll be matched with a person or household new to the church, to help them connect and get to know our parish. We’re not trying to manufacture friendship, but to be intentional about planting the seeds of community. You’d only be “matched” with one person or family at a time, and it won’t be a major time commitment. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, talk with Rev. Miranda at 238-2781. We hope to have all kinds of folks and families on our Oikos team.

 Prayers for General Convention: Every three years, the Bishops and elected Deputies – both clergy and laypeople – of the Episcopal Church gather to consider issues and new directions in the life of the church, and through democratic process, to make decisions and set directions and priorities. This year we will also be electing a new Presiding Bishop, who is the public face of our denomination and helps run the national church office. Rev. Miranda is one of the elected clergy deputies from our diocese who will be attending General Convention, which takes place in Salt Lake City from June 23 through July 3. Please pray for the Convention, for all bishops and deputies, for the Presiding Bishop candidates, and for the mission of our church.

Hoops for Housing Teams Forming! St. Dunstan’s is sponsoring a friendly community basketball tournament on Saturday, August 8, to raise funds for Briarpatch, which serves homeless youth in the Madison area. All ages and levels of skill are invited to participate. Each team is invited to raise $100 for Briarpatch through donations and pledges. Pick up a pledge envelope in the Gathering Area and start to form your team and gather funds!

The Weeks Ahead…

Sunday School, Sunday, June 14, 10am: Next week, our 3-6 year old class will be learning about the apostle Paul and his journeys, while our 7-11 year old class will explore the calling of David the shepherd boy to be King of Israel. We’ll also thank and celebrate our Sunday school teachers and helpers!

Church, Faith & Life Conversation, Sunday, June 14, 12 – 1pm: When are you most conscious of yourself as a person of faith, in daily life? Does your faith support you in hard times? Why do you belong to a church – in five words or less? Come share open-hearted conversation about these questions, with Rev. Miranda and others from our church. This is the final opportunity to participate in a focus group (an informal group interview) as part of Rev. Miranda’s Missional Leadership Cohort inquiry process. Anyone who’d like to take part is welcome.

Summer Evening Worship, Thursdays at 5:30pm: Our Thursday evening “Sandbox Worship” will take place outdoors whenever the weather permits. Come at 5:30pm for a shared meal (provided), simple evening worship, and then hanging out around a fire for conversation and s’mores. “Summer Sandbox” begins on June 18.

Game Night, Friday, June 19, 6pm: An evening of games for all ages. Friends, partners, kids – all are welcome. Bring a snack to share, or come as you are!

Liturgy & Music Committee Open Meeting, Sunday, June 21, 12pm: We will check in with our regular liturgical ministries, then spend some time on ideas for seasons ahead. All interested folk are welcome to attend.

Ladies Night Out, Friday, June 26, 6pm: Join our monthly get-together as we dine at area restaurants and enjoy good conversation among women of all ages from St. Dunstan’s. This month we will meet at the Dhaba Indian Restaurant at 8333 Greenway Blvd. in Madison.

 Worshipping with Zion City Church, Sunday, June 28: The service is from noon to 2:00pm.  Meet at St. Dunstan’s at 11:30am to carpool, or meet at Zion City Church (1317 Applegate Rd., just off Fish Hatchery Road) shortly before noon. Share song, prayer, and friendship with these brothers and sisters in Christ!

Women’s Mini Week 2015: Mini Week will be August 13 to August 16, at Camp Lakotah in Wautoma, Wisconsin. This year’s theme is “Surprised by Joy!” To learn more, visit www.womensminiweek.org.

Between Church, July 2015: “Between Church” will meet from 9:15 to 9:45am, starting July 5. We’ll gather outside at the stone altar to sing, discuss a short piece of Scripture, share blessings and concerns in prayer, and sing some more. Come to enrich your usual Sunday mornings, or let this be your summer worship!

 Vacation Bible School, August 2 – 6, 5:30 – 7:30pm (with a 7pm pickup option for younger kids): We had a lot of fun with Vacation Bible School last summer, and plan to do the same this year! Our theme will be “Message Received: Hearing God’s Call.” Using drama, art, and games, we’ll explore the stories of five people called by God, from the Old and New Testaments, and how we hear God’s call today. Dinner is included. Mark your calendar and spread the word – and if you’d like to help out, talk with Rev. Miranda!